Blacklist, The - Season 07 [Blu-ray]
M**E
A mostly weak season that does not age well.
Vague spoilers ahead. This is the season the show went too off the rails. I know, The Blacklist hasn't been realistic probably ever, but it used to be a lot more fun and engaging. The writing was sometimes messy but forgivable, and it felt more like the writers had a decent idea of what they were doing. I could believe they had a somewhat reasonable end game idea. Any faith I had in this creative team went out the window in season 7 and was repeatedly run over by a semi truck throughout season 8.Season 7 is still partially watchable. Sadly it marks the final appearances of the always fun Clark Middleton and spectacular Brain Dennehy, both of whom unfortunately passed away. The best thing about this season is the final performances we saw from them. Clark's character "Jellybean" is given a goofy but proper sendoff next season, and Dennehy's Dom is recast with a very capable actor, but the character never feels quite right again. Then again, very little felt right in season 8.I didn't mind the semi-animated episode at all, I was impressed they were able to pull it off in such a short time frame. The fact that almost nothing happened in it was a little bit disappointing, but anyone acting like that episode was the biggest let down in the history of the show is in for a mean surprise if they continued watching the next season. But back to season 7, the season we spend a fair amount of time on a woman who says she is Katarina Rostova. The season Liz becomes impossibly dumber and more difficult to have any sympathy for because she blindly trusts a total stranger with her small child. The season Liz instantly believes when the stranger plays the mommy card. The season Aram hooks up with a murderous woman out of sheer loneliness and because the writers don't know what to do with him. The season we get a poorly timed Ressler-centric episode (the prior episode ends with Reddington collapsing and that is completely ignored in the following Ressler installment). Surprise, Ressler and his older bro have a crazy dark secret! But not even that can make the long neglected, dull as a bag of rocks, Ressler interesting. The season we're introduced to Samar's replacement, Agent Park. This poor young woman seems to only be here so the show can say they have more than one female character on the main cast. The actress is good, but her character is completely inconsequential and that's a shame. The season we are teased with more of Red's mystery illness, but it leads nowhere. The season they had the nerve to craft an episode where it seems Katarina is murdered in a brutal and surprising way, only to have it be fake because she and Liz were able to outsmart Reddington. The episode went from being wild to an utter disappointment and shark jump with such a dumb stunt. And if you've seen the season that follows, it's all the more a smack in the face.The weak Katarina plot and continued dumbing down of the already frustrating Elizabeth Keen was infuriating to watch unfold in real time. The season itself is oddly forgettable. The overarching plot seemed borderline aimless, even before Covid messed everything up. There are a few good things that stick out like Brian Dennehy's scenes, an episode where Cooper actually had something to do, Jellybean in a contest that Red has no faith he will win, getting a glimpse into Agent Park's past, the Reddington-centric episode that plays out like a frighteningly dark game of clue. These were good things. Sadly the needlessly bizarre (like impregnated men) and pointless (which as it turns out is anything with Katarina) outweigh anything substantial. If you've watched season 8, you'll understand why season 7 feels so stupid and misleading.There's many different opinions on when The Blacklist jumped the shark. Some say it happened as early as season 2, others argue it was when Liz faked her death, some say it was with the Kaplan vs Red ordeal. I was happily along for the ride and the fun of it all, I forgave a lot of missteps because none of them were terribly detrimental to my enjoyment of the series. It was a unique show, with a mostly strong cast, and it wasn't particularly predictable. Seven seasons in with a handful of enjoyable characters (i.e. people more interesting than Liz) dead or brain damaged, and with the writers refusing to give even a tiny hint to the mystery of Red and Liz, it's no wonder the show began treading water. Season 7 was too determined to push this half baked Katarina story, too determined to be shocking instead of logical, and it often crossed the line over into being too ridiculous to be fun. I used to be caught off guard by the show's uniqueness, not by the other stupidity they would pull. Brace yourself if you haven't seen season 8. It gets so much worse.There are special features, with the blu-ray getting one exclusive extra. The tribute to Brian Dennehy is one of the precious few reasons I finally caved and bought the set when the price dropped. Don't buy this season without knowing what you're getting into. Watch it on Netflix first and then decide if you want to spend money on this. It's almost certainly the last one I'm adding to my collection.
B**H
Love it!
Nicely packaged. Bought for a birthday gift.
S**E
It was once a great show
I have seasons 1-7 on DVD. I enjoyed season 1-6 but leave it to hollywood to screw up a good thing by interjecting liberalism into the scripts. When will they learn that we watch these shows to be entertained and NOT to have political viewpoints thrown in our faces? This is a show that for the first 6 seasons centered on the corruption in world governments and business. Bad guys vs Good guys. Of course along the way many corrupt officials get dealt with in a brutal way which is something that all sides of the political spectrum can cheer. No one feels sorry that a corrupt Attorney General gets murdered or that a corrupt CIA director gets dropped out a moving airplane. I know that I was satisfied with it. The main character of the series can be brutal and violent but it is a brutal world.NOW in season seven liberal themes are emerging in the speech of the characters. I suppose that we should be grateful that it did not happen sooner. Perhaps to boost up ratings or open new overseas markets the producers and writers thought that the characters had to move to the left politically. Usually when they start using a series to preach political views it doesn't last very long after that because they alienate a segment of their base. Hollywood needs to take it's head out of it's arse, keep its moral opinions to itself and do what we pay them to do ... entertain us.
S**O
Great
I just love Demoya He is the best on the show
B**A
Love the series!
Gotten to love the series but will miss Megan Boone. All the actors are great and has terrific writers and staff, etc that keeps the storyline interesting.
E**O
Awesome show to watch
I have followed Blacklist since the start of show. I got my Brother into this show by purchasing Season 1 and have since purchased all Seasons available in which each year I send to him as a Christmas present. We both love this and I had T-shirts made for us. He lives in Puerto Rico and I am in Wilmington NC, we stay connected with this show. Hope it last a long time!!!!!
S**S
Blacklist is the best drama, always keeps its fans guessing.
I've been a fan of this show for seven years. It is a different show from any other crime drama. A new viewer of this show really has to see the previous six seasons to get an understanding of it.It involves Red Reddington, a most wanted fugitive that surrenders to the FBI offering a blacklist of wanted fugitives.He would only work with Elizabeth Keen an agent but never why has not been revealed.This show has more twists and turns in it that keeps us wondering what will happen next.
J**H
Action-packed, mystery-ridden crime drama
The writers and actors have been able to sustain the high entertainment quality of The Blacklist for yet another season. Although a few specific scenarios can be a little improbable, and even silly, the quality of the writing and acting more than makes up for it. We were particularly impressed by the creativity and resourcefulness which resulted in the partially-animated last episode (due to the constraints of the pandemic). We highly recommend this show.
R**H
Overall, a disappointment for Season 7
The Blacklist Season 7 dvd UK version; English language only, with English, & English SDH SUBTITLES; & Arabic, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Norwegian, Swedish, Turkish SUBTITLES; 19 episodes. We have seen season 6 twice, so thought it better to go for season 7 DVD, due to it not being available, and as on a fine offer, discounted to £8; with £3 off season 8. Sold & delivered by Amazon UK, new, authentic, & shrink-wrapped. Excellent image, better than our oldest Blu Ray's. The season starts off promisingly, following on from season 6. The addition of Natalie Paul as Francesca Campbell, an ex-combat medic, was very welcome, and she seemed to work well with Redington. However, although billed as a recurring character, she leaves, just as she had become part of the furniture. Amazingly, in this DVD version, after Redington says he had such high hopes for her, she actually replies that she preferred a different part in another show😳! The following episodes are average, to duds. (Fresh with coiffured hair, eye-brows, and beard, Aram becoming involved in a romance with a married woman, whose husband is in a wheelchair, brain damaged, and cannot speak, is in really bad taste - especially when husband is downstairs, when his wife and Aram are upstairs in the bedroom! This "catch" even has a hobby of breaking into expensive homes, with Aram, to have a sex thrill! A pinch of "Scorpion" tv series, with teenage looking Sonia Sohn, who does, actually, gel by the end of the season, and NCIS LA style war flashbacks, are added to the mix. The lower broadcast ratings speak volumes. (However, episodes 18 & 19 are up to the standard of Season 1 episode 3 through Season 6 episode 22, for me.) Episode 19 is the highlight, with scenes filmed spliced with short pieces of very good quality animation (due to the Corona shutdown) to complete the season finale (due to a curtailing of the production) - including a nice action piece accompanied with "Ballroom Blitz" by The Sweet, playing as loudly as "Radar Love", in Season 2. * So, the staunch fans will want it for their collection; recommended at a discount price, for the Francesca Campbell episodes, and episodes 18 &19, for the discerning . The Mrs wasn't disappointed, but I was - maybe due to getting hooked on the engaging, authentic, almost cinematic looking, thriller drama series "The Americans"- available from Amazon UK and Amazon.fr; as well as Homeland, which the Mrs also really enjoyed (See my reviews.)
B**R
Another great series of The Blacklist
This is another great series of The Blacklist.This series starts where the last season left off which see Red (brilliantly played by James Spader) being kidnapped by series new villain Katarina Rostova and we see the teams attempts to rescue him. Meanwhile Liz is also trying to track down her mother however she discovers a secret about Red along the way.The series follows the same format as the previous series with the typical list of criminals on the blacklist being brought down by Liz and the team.This is a action packed series.It was a shame that due to the covid filming of the series was cut short (with 3 episodes still to be filmed before production was shut down), so to wrap the season up with some sort of ending the last episode is a mix of live action (with shots that they managed to film) mixed in with comic book style animation so they were able to wrap up the series. Although the animation didn't really appeal to me I respect the producers of the show for doing this so they will able to draw the series to a some sort of a close.The series ends with a cliff-hanger due to the episodes having being cut so this promises an action packed opening into the next series (with the 3 unfinished episodes will now forming the start of season 8).With the recent deaths of some of the main characters in the show (Dom and Glen) I'm little unsure how the new season will deal with there deaths in the show.However I will be patiently awaiting season 8.Would recommend
C**O
This series will never be on my Blacklist.
For me James spader wears the character of Red like one of Raymond's expensive suits. Made to measure, but with room enough to fit all the weapons he needs. I say weapons but all he requires is his acid put downs & when required (even when not required) his disarming charm and wit. Just wish he could persuade William Shatner to appear in a story arc, just like Spader did with Alan Alda. Instead of Star Trek references they could do Boston Legal shout outs, like sharing a good whisky & cigar on a balcony, enhancing the growing menace between the two. I know I'm in dream land but boy, I think it would make great TV. I live in the UK & ordered from Amazon UK, but the box set was supplied by Rarewaves USA & I was surprised at how quickly I received it, as it was right in the middle of the pandemic at the time & the Donald was trying to control the US postal service. Now Red V's the Donald I'd pay serious money to see that outcome.
S**P
Awful end
Really disappointed with the cartoon ending ruined the whole thing would have been better to have ended it short and someone just stating that due to covid they will add the end bit of that series properly filmed to the next
P**R
One to watch
One of the best box sets I’ve ever watched. We saw series 1-6 just about every evening.. I do prefer do it this way as we don’t need to wait a week before the next episode. Great storylines, excellent acting and a twist at every turn. Added S7 to the list and watched it within a week or so. It did not disappoint at all so now we are eagerly awaiting S8!
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