The Blacklist
Madeline Pratt
Episode 1, Episode 14 Thoughts and GIFs

2/28/2014


Please visit Reinbeast Expanded to view the rest of the gifs I made from this fantastic scene.

Wow. Can I take a moment? I've had many since Monday night, but I need one more... Alright, I'm good for a few minutes...maybe. We'll see how it goes. That was another perfect, Emmy-worthy scene from James Spader. I feel I was ill prepared for this. I thought I was put through an emotional wringer before, with everything that happened in prior episodes, but, again, wow. If you want to be depressed, just watch Spader at his best.

I haven't had a chance to read what people are saying since "Madeline Pratt" aired. I've only seen a few great gifs - the scene where Red tells Liz he's going with her, and the one where he hilariously distracts and then disarms a man guarding Liz. But I have one family member who was confused by whether Red's confession to Madeline was real and another who doesn't believe it. I can overlook that, because they haven't rewatched episodes and are not glued to Tumblr in their spare time. Though, it makes me wonder whether anyone else thinks the same way. I happened to believe it. Red can be sly and and ruthless to get what he wants, but he also was a loving father and family man whose life was disrupted in the most awful way, so I believe he used that to his advantage.

In the pilot, (which I really wish was called "Ranko Zamani," since all others are named after the Blacklister of the week) Red was said to have abandoned his family on Christmas Eve in 1990. His car was found by the side of the road, so that part about running out of gas is likely true. He had a young daughter, and whatever happened to her fuels his rage to this day. The emotion tied to her is real. We know that because we saw it in his memory at the end of "Frederick Barnes," a scene where he had no one to lie to. He bought and destroyed his old house because what happened there still haunts him. As we learned from Red's scene with Diane in "The Cyprus Agency," he doesn't know what happened to his family. And when a case involves children, he has clear hatred for the perpetrator or an understanding of the person desperately trying to save them.

James Spader is exceptional. As he often gets to show on The Blacklist, his emotions are spot-on. No one could be that good and not have it come from a real place; not necessarily an actual experience but a deep understanding of human connection. If the part was played by a lesser actor, the performance would feel false no matter how it was written. Spader played it as real. Even though he was manipulating Madeline to get what he wanted, he shared his tragedy to make that connection with her and also explain why he left her without a word. It wasn't a performance by Red but a part of his history he can't let go. Maybe it's not the whole truth, but taking everything I know about Red's character and background, I believed the shattered heart that permeated that scene and, therefore, the story he told.

Episodes mentioned are available on Amazon
Ep1 Pilot [HD] | Ep7 Frederick Barnes (No. 47) [HD] |
Ep13 The Cyprus Agency (No. 64) [HD] | Ep14 Madeline Pratt (No. 73) [HD]

Red Alpha

2/23/2014

Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos

Read about my latest knife (my birthday knife!), Red Alpha, at ShinyDangerousThings. I really wish this one was real.

SUPERNATURAL
Wayward Sons Vs. Moose and Squirrel
T-Shirts

2/13/2014

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Snow Day! And I have work. :( Well, I'm supposed to be working right now, but I have Dragon Naturally Speaking here taking it's sweet time adapting my user profile. So I went to check my email and found these two perfect Supernatural shirts. I would not know what to choose if I was buying today. "Wayward Sons" is fantastic. I love how it's a single color and still so detailed, and of course being named after the show's unofficial theme makes it that much better. And "Moose and Squirrel" is hilarious. I never liked Rocky and Bullwinkle, but I'll be laughing at Sam, Dean, and Crowley's expressions all day. Why must there always be a great SPN tee (or two!) that I have to pass up? If only I had a giant closet and more money to spend frivolously. But you can get one before the end of the day for just $11 at TeeFury.

UPDATE:
WAYWARD SONS now available for $18 in the TeeFury Gallery.
MOOSE AND SQUIRREL now available for $22.97 in SpiritGreen's RedBubble store.

Goodbye, Psych

2/06/2014

Well, I missed this announcement yesterday. I was avoiding spoilers (i.e. Twitter) since this season I haven't been able to watch Psych until the next night after airing. Such a sad day, but not a surprise. I was hoping for at least another season, but when I heard last year that Maggie Lawson was cast in Back in the Game, I got scared. Then recently Tim Omundson was cast in Galavant and I was sure. But instead of being uselessly angry, I'll remember that all things end...some undeservedly far sooner than others. I am so happy that Psych made it for eight seasons. It has been consistently hilarious with all the silly pop culture references and the wonderful homages, such as Clue ("100 Clues") and The Shining ("Heeeeere's Lassie"). I will miss this lovely cast, the well-developed characters, and the inspired guest stars, particularly Cary Elwes as Despereaux, the greatest and most entertaining art thief ever. I will miss the episodes that still could have been written. Goodbye, Psych. You always made the good times great and the bad times better.

Just to cheer you up a little bit...

Doctor Who
Doctor Rockwell Versus the Oncoming Storm
T-Shirts

2/04/2014

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I wanted to write something up about today's Two Fury battle when I found out about it, but I was busy with my uncle in the hospital, planning my parents' 40th anniversary, and a Super Bowl party. I would love to get either one of these, but Doctor Rockwell is the winner for me since it pays tribute to the many lives of The Doctor and I have so few Who tees. Shirts are $11 each and come in a variety of colors. They are available for a limited time. It will be gone forever in just 24 hours. I wish I had time to say more, but I have to get to bed. There's a lot of work in the morning and more worrying to do.

UPDATE
DOCTOR ROCKWELL is available for $18 in the TeeFury Gallery!

The Blacklist
The Cyprus Agency
Season 1, Episode 13 GIFs ~ Red's Emotions

2/03/2014

Red confronting Diane gifRed-If you know the truth gif
Red confronting Diane jpgRed-If you know the truth jpg
All images are property of NBC.

To those who stumbled across this who haven't watched The Blacklist yet but want to, SPOILERS follow. If you're not a fan, you don't get why it was renewed for a second season after just nine episodes, just look at that face. James Spader plays a man who lost his family years ago and has a deep-rooted desire to find out what happened and an endless well of vengeance.