The Blacklist - Mato - Review: "The Summer Palace"

"If I could read your mind, love
What a tale your thoughts could tell
Just like a paperback novel
The kind the drugstores sell"
- "If you could read my mind" - Gordon Lightfoot

I recently told an employee of mine that The Blacklist has been fun to watch through its first two episodes of its fourth season. I have always been a big fan of The Blacklist, considering it was the first show I reviewed for SpoilerTV. This may be why I am overly critical of each and every episode, however, I rarely, if ever, belittle the show (even during what I thought was an unsatisfactory and imperfect season three). I find solace in ratings, for some reason, which is why I tend to list them in the beginning of my reviews. I find they are an important indicator (although the current system is a tad outdated) of a show's progress.

With that in mind, The Blacklist has not done so well in the ratings department since its imaginative and incredible freshman season. However, the ratings are not so bad as to worry us about its future on our television screens. The latest chapters, 'Esteban' and 'Mato', have had modest viewership. The premiere garnering an 'ok' 6.4 million viewers with 'Mato' losing some of them and getting 5.99 million. I mention all of this because The Blacklist is one of my favorite shows on television at the moment and should have much more viewers than they currently have. I also mention this because I think this Season 4, although only two episodes in, seems to be heading back to its Season 1 roots, which made me say out loud to my employee that I could sum up this season so far with one word - 'fun'.

The first two episodes this season have been extremely enjoyable to watch. Episode 2, 'Mato', especially, had me engrossed throughout the entire hour - from the first moment of the cold open where Liz purposely downed the plane her and Kirk (and an unfortunate pilot) were traveling in to Ressler and the FBI coming to the aid of Liz in the final moments.

The Blacklist has always been great at harmonizing the relationship between a procedural drama and a serialized one. It is one of the many facets making this show enjoyable to watch each week. One can't dismiss the show's ability to weave together two and sometimes three plots that are all equally satisfying and pleasurable to witness. This weeks 'C' story is the tale of a distraught and vengeful father chasing the man that took his newborn daughter from his grip and leaving him for dead. We have come to not only love Tom but learn he is relentless in his pursuit of whatever he desires. His scenes, these past episodes, especially in 'Mato', prove he is an ultimate fighter and can wiggle his way out of any desperate and extreme situation.

The 'B' story this week showcased Red's relationship with one of his most trusted companions, Mr. Kaplan. The fan favorite Mr. Kaplan appeared to be a dead-woman walking from the moment we learned she helped orchestrate Liz's fake death, betraying Red, back in Season Three. Red's insistence on having all of his 'employees' give him complete loyalty seems a little selfish, but I suppose is required when you are running such a large and vast criminal enterprise. Throughout these first two episodes, Mr. Kaplan has been trying to justify her actions to Red, but they seemed to be falling on deaf ears. Red had already made up his mind on his 'Cleaner' a long time ago and it appeared that there was no changing it. It was sad to see how they ultimately parted ways, but we have seen in the past that crossing Red has morbid and deathly consequences.

The 'A' story line for the first two episodes this season focused primarily on Liz and her obscure and mysterious connection to Alexander Kirk. His claim of being her biological father flies in the face of every important fan theory there is to date about her dubious parentage. Kirk spares no free moment to wedge himself further and further between Liz and Red's relationship. Fans have long been torn between whether or not to believe Red is Liz's biological father, but now Kirk's claims, albeit convincing, have thrown the metaphorical wrench into those theories. However, just because something sounds convincing does not make it true, it is merely convincing. Liz's motivations revolve around her love for Agnes and she will stop at nothing to get Kirk as far away from her daughter as possible. At the moment Kirk seems content with having just Agnes in his possession, but I believe he wants Liz in his orbit as well.

Kirk ultimately gets Liz to what he calls "The Summer Palace" - a house he owns in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Apparently, through flashbacks, we learn that Liz partially grew up in this 'Palace' with her mom. The scene where we witness her and her mother, Katarina, bury a time capsule using a Hills Bros. Coffee Can was emotional and sentimental to watch. It is here Kirk tells Liz about Red's obsession with her and his deep love for her mother, painting Red to be a scorned 'boyfriend' rather than a loving father figure we thought of him beforehand. We will obviously need quite a few more episodes before the truth is revealed about Kirk's claims of both himself and Red's association with the Rostova family.

Not much has changed, however, in regard to Liz's 'daddy' issues. She shows Kirk the same defiance and hatred she showed Red at times while mixing in that little bit of love every so often, see-sawing between the two emotions abruptly. I see The Blacklist playing on our love of Red and Kirk's claims for a while. Perhaps going so far as to not get a definitive answer to Liz's parentage until the mid-season finale. I am fine with this as long as we finally get some concrete answers. Although a prat of me does enjoy the mystery and guessing with each clue given to us. I am just glad The Blacklist has found its bearings and become a show I anticipate each week like it was in its first few seasons. Kirk may no longer have "The Summer Palace" to call his own, but I can see Liz continuing to have flashbacks originating there to illuminate some more of her backstory.

The episode, along with the season 4 premiere, has done a great job of weaving in a 'blacklister-of-the-week' with the serialized story line of Liz's fractured immediate family. It has been a long time since I have had so much fun watching an episode of The Blacklist and recently there have been two I can say that about. I hope it keeps up this momentum and we continue to get more exciting episodes of The Blacklist.



Red's Quotes

- "Regret requires age or wisdom"
Red to Tom

- "...you can't get a table at The Fat Duck without a reservation, but I find, in either case, a generous donation gets you in the teepee."
Red to Mato while interrogating him

- "I'm standing before a stranger"
Red to Mr. Kaplan

Music from the Episode

- "Wrong Path" - Craig Stull
Mato races through a bar as Tom, Dembe and Mr. Kaplan chase after him.

- "Where You Are" - Portico (feat. Jono McCleery)
Elizabeth flashbacks back to her youth at the Summer Palace; (flashback) A young Masha (Elizabeth) and her mother bury a keepsake box in the garden; Elizabeth digs up the coffee can from the garden.

- "If You Could Read My Mind" - Gordon Lightfoot
Dembe drives Red and Mr. Kaplan out into the woods; Red walks away from Kate after shooting her dead; Mr. Kaplan grasps a patch of grass as she clings on to life.

Thoughts and Discussion

- Why did Mato perform what looked like an old Native American ritual on Agnes? Was there some purpose to it? His dance over Agnes is called "Honor the Earth" and is part of a few Native American Prayers for the Earth.

- Did you notice...Mr. Kaplan told Tom she is just "The Cleaner" in an important scene between the two. We have always known she was Red's cleaner, taking care of Red's kills after all is said and done. In the episode, when Mr. Kaplan runs down Mato in the car to ultimately capture him there is a Laundromat on the other side of the street in plain view.

- In the final scene of the episode we see Mr. Kaplan grasp a handful of grass as she lay on the ground. Could Mr. Kaplan be alive? Is this what the director and the writers were trying to tell us? That would be an interesting twist and make for a great story line later on if she is found and recovered from Red'd gunshot. I wouldn't be surprised if Red intentionally shot her in a certain way so she could survive. Obviously, Red knows how to kill people and if Mr. Kaplan ends up being alive, it would make sense that it was because Red wanted her to remain as such.

- Did you notice...When Liz is walking through The Summer Palace she picks up a book by A.N.Yexob titled Kawtahka. This is a children's book concerning Russian history.

- I love how Tom has been a total badass these past few episodes. From his lines to his actions, I can't wait for the spinoff. Especially when he was interrogating Nikos and places the pic of Agnes on the surgical lights - it was perfect.

- Did you notice...When Liz is searching her old room she picks up a drawing she drew in her youth of her younger self, and what appears to be her mother and her father. The 'father' in the drawing is wearing red pants. I thought this was important to point out as red pants are not common and it's possible there was a hidden meaning at work here. I would love your thoughts on this.

- Did you notice...The password to get Mato back to Little Nikos' office is 'Nakaidoklini' - to which Tom replies is 'some famous medicine man, I don't know'. Nakaidoklini was a very important figure in American history. A respected Apache medicine man among his people and chief of the Cañon Creek band of the Cibecue Apaches, a group of the Western Apache. He often counseled leading warriors such as Cochise and Geronimo. His movement circled around the Apache Wars of 1881, an important part of American History. So, Tom, he was more than just a famous medicine man.

- Something Mr. Kaplan said to Red struck me as interesting. As Tom was 'interrogating' Nikos, Mr. Kaplan talks to Red informally about her current standing with him. She says, "I betrayed you for the same reason I just betrayed Nikos, to keep Elizabeth safe. Just like you asked me to all those years ago, when you first put her in my arms as a baby girl. And your existence put their lives in constant danger." So, Mr. Kaplan worked for Red for a long time and we can assume she was there around the time when Liz was born and must know intimate details of who the biological father is perhaps.

- Did you notice...To further confuse us, Kirk has a picture of a young Liz sitting on a swing with her mother behind her. This is the same picture we saw in Red's secret loft back in the 19th Episode of Season 2, "Leonard Caul". Both Red and Kirk consider this photo worthy of a frame and place high on a shelf.

- Did you notice...Something else of note from this episode is the items found in Liz's time capsule with her mom. A toy block was present, along with the bracelet Liz puts on, however, more importantly, was a 'piece' of a Russian nesting doll. What makes this noteworthy is that in that episode from Season 2, Episode 19, Red's loft also had Russian nesting dolls.

Thank you for checking out my Review! I will do my best to get back on track and get a review out each week. Please comment below so we can discuss the episode and the series further! Have a great weekend everyone!

About the Author - Geo N

Geo N is from Detroit, MI. His favorite shows include The Blacklist, Outcast, Hell On Wheels, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, LOST, The Leftovers, The Strain, Sons Of Anarchy, Sleepy Hollow and countless others. When he's not watching tons of TV, he enjoys reading, playing hockey, comic books, weightlifting, and writing. Thanks for checking out my post.

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