The Blacklist Season 3 Episode 10 Review: The Director: Conclusion
Sean McKenna
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Putting Liz and Red on the run for the first half of The Blacklist Season 3 was a bold shake up and a pleasant change of pace.
Rather than just stagnate on the standard case of the week aspect, the show tried a bit more of a serialized structure while sprinkling in blacklisters to deal with along the way. Even allowing characters not named Liz or Red to get more involved was a welcome shift.
And with the fugitive arc concluded on The Blacklist Season 3 Episode 10 — and probably at the right time, too — I can only hope those aspects continue for the latter half of the season.
Who doesn’t want to see more involving the likes of Aram, Dembe, etc.?
Things worked out relatively how you might have expected for an episode titled “The Director: Conclusion,” as Liz was finally exonerated and the Director was defeated … and thrown from a plane.
And even if it seemed obvious that Liz would be freed, at least the deal to get that didn’t completely wipe her slate clean. She still had to answer for her killing of Tom Connelly.
She’s no longer an agent, but she will be an asset like Red and get to keep working with the team. I’m looking forward to seeing how that plays out and if the following episodes highlight the distinction between her past and present roles.
I want it to feel different for her when it comes to hunting blacklisters and not just be a simple title switch.
Come to think of it, will Tom be joining the team now?
He certainly was integral to helping achieve Liz’s freedom, and there’s clearly more to come involving his relationship with Liz.
I even thought that perhaps he might be the one to show up to pick Liz up at the end.
Of course, the plan wouldn’t have worked without Red or the lucky bet that the Director’s wife would indeed call an emergency therapy session when she started to get dizzy. Perhaps a little too lucky?
Either way, it was fun seeing Red and the team work together to set up the elaborate bait and switch. Bringing Aram into the fold ("I love magic!", Dembe being Dembe, and even the return of Mr. Kaplan helped illustrate the need for all the characters to get involved to make it all work.
Even the apple moment wound up being a good one. I actually thought that the Director might have figured it out. Turns out, everybody just likes apples.
Plus, Red’s actual plan for the Director was clever. Planning on taking him to trial for war crimes was an intriguing way to deal with his character and provide leverage for Liz.
Unfortunately for the Director, the cabal no longer had use for him, giving Red the heads up to deal with him. Poor, Director, we all knew your time would come.
But does that mean there’s an even bigger and badder villain to deal with involving the cabal? And now Red has found his way to get a seat at the table? What?
It really does make you wonder about Red’s endgame beyond helping Liz and being there for her. The Director seemed to have more insight into Red and Liz’s relationship, the typical tease the show loves to give, but will the truth be revealed soon?
Let’s hope the reveal is a satisfying payoff considering that whole mystery surrounding Liz and Red has been building for three seasons. Does anyone still think Red is Liz’s father?
This was a decent way to close the chapter on the fugitive storyline. Granted, the ultimate outcomes for both the Director and Liz seemed pretty obvious: death and freedom, respectively. And things did seem to be wrapped up with a rather nice bow, too.
If anything, this conclusion has me looking forward to the next chapter and seeing The Blacklist Season 3 keep things fresh on the continued journey. Just what is next for Liz, Red and the gang?
What did you think of the conclusion of the fugitive story? What do you want to see next? Sound off below, and don't miss a second of this show! Watch The Blacklist online here at TV Fanatic!
NOTE: The Blacklist Season 3 Episode 11, "Mr. Gregory Devry," airs Jan. 21 at 9 p.m.
Sean McKenna was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. He retired in May of 2017. Follow him on Twitter.
