The Blacklist, Season 1, Episode 19: “The Pavlovich Brothers”
Written by Elizabeth Benjamin
Directed by Paul Edwards
Airs Monday nights at 10 pm EST on NBC
This week the confrontation between the Keen couple finally occurs, and with that comes answers to a long gestating mystery. The Pavlovich Brothers, who kidnapped the daughter of a general in the pilot of the show, make a return to kidnap a woman involved in a chemical weapons project called White Fog. Both plotlines help to remind us how far Lizzie and Red have come in their partnership and also spotlight how much they rely on each other.
The best part of the episode is the interview and subsequent fight that takes place in the Keen home after Tom is brought to Liz by the Pavlovich Brothers. Ryan Eggold, who plays Tom Keen, does a strong job of not only showing the darker side of his character in this episode, but also allows audiences a few precious seconds to feel sympathetic towards him after he forces his wife to handcuff herself to the banister. The relationship between the couple has always been tainted by the fact that both were lying constantly, so viewers probably found relief that both characters are finally forced to tell each other the truth.
James Spader doesn’t get any real highlights this episode, but his conversation with Liz and his ability to console her is what a good friend or father would do. I love how Red Reddington never gives Liz the answers she needs, he just points in the right direction. The show in turn has now done the same, giving us yet another mystery element with the contents of what is in that steel container. My guess as to what’s in that box is the reason why Red gave himself to the FBI or files from Liz’s life before her time as a profiler. The only direction The Blacklist can go now is up. Let’s hope that whatever Liz finds the contents of that box doesn’t destroy her life further. Next episode is going to be a doozy.
– Chike Coleman