The Blacklist [3]: the Complete Third Season (2015-2016) [Blu-ray]
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close  The Blacklist [3]: the Complete Third Season (2015-2016) [Blu-ray]
Rated:  TV 
Starring: James Spader (Raymond 'Red' Reddington, Megan Boone, Diego Klattenhoff, Harry Lennix, Hisham Tawfiq, Ryan Eggold, Amir Arison.
Director: Jon Bokenkamp
Genre: Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller
DVD Release Date: 08/02/2016

Season (1)  |  Season (2)  |  Season (3)  |  Season (4)  |  Season (5)

Tagline: Hit Man of the Year.

Former government agent Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader) has eluded capture for decades. But he suddenly surrenders to the FBI with an offer to help catch a terrorist under the condition that he speaks only to Elizabeth "Liz" Keen (Megan Boone), a young FBI profiler who's just barely out of Quantico.

Storyline: Former government agent Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader) has eluded capture for decades. But he suddenly surrenders to the FBI with an offer to help catch a terrorist under the condition that he speaks only to Elizabeth "Liz" Keen (Megan Boone), a young FBI profiler who's just barely out of Quantico. Written by NBC

3.01 The Troll Farmer [No. 38] - With Liz and Reddington on the run, Reddington reaches out to his contacts to help flee the city and help clear Liz's name. Ressler interrogates Cooper about Liz's last known whereabouts and also does everything to find them now as Director of the task force. Meanwhile, an associate of the NCS Director kidnaps Dembe's infant granddaughter to attract his attention, blackmailing him to inhale an unspecified drug in exchange for her life.
[Show Spoiler]

3.02 Marvin Gerard [No. 80] - After Liz turns herself in to the Russian Embassy, the Cabal uses this opportunity as a means to covertly kill her. Reddington warns Ressler of Liz's impending doom and has him stop that convoy, which gives Liz a chance to escape. Later on, Liz and Reddington reunite at a diner which later turns into an improvised hostage situation when Ressler and his team show up. Reddington demands the release of fellow Blacklister Marvin Gerard a former top defense lawyer, who Red wants to help decode the Fulcrum and expose the Cabal. The hostage situation is later revealed to be a jailbreak for Gerard, as the diner turns out to be a smuggling location, which allows them to flee the scene. Elsewhere, Cooper is forced to resign without facing charges with connection to Liz. Dembe is tortured for information on Red's whereabouts and Tom reappears to Ressler, offering help.
[Show Spoiler]

3.03 Eli Matchett [No. 72] - Red and Liz continue to be on the run and end up in Iowa to search and help destroy the Cabal. Ressler and the rest of the task force continue to track the fugitives. Meanwhile, Cooper turns to Tom Keen for help.
[Show Spoiler]

3.04 The Djinn [No. 43] - Reddington and Liz continue their quest into clearing Liz's name. Meanwhile, Redington seeks help from the task force into catching Blacklister named "The Djinn" a criminal who seeks revenge fantasies and that could lead them to the Cabal. Tom accepts Cooper's undercover assignment to pursue Karakurt, and looks to infiltrate a crime ring that may be protecting Karakurt. Meanwhile, Dembe successfully escapes, but is shot by Mr. Vargas when he learns how to locate Reddington.
[Show Spoiler]

3.05 Arioch Cain [No. 50] - Reddingtion and Liz receive news of someone trying to kill Liz to avenge their mother's death, believed to have been killed by Liz, a Blacklister named "Arioch Cain." Meanwhile, Ressler testifies before a court which leads to partnering with Director Peter Konzioklis. Also, Reddingtion is betrayed by one of his own thinking that Dembe has been killed. Tom continues his undercover mission for Cooper.
[Show Spoiler]

3.06 Sir Crispin Crandall [No. 86] - Ressler adjusts to working with the Director, who has forced the FBI to cooperate with the CIA in tracking Reddington and Keen. The two fugitives learn that an advisor with connections to the Director has gone missing, which leads them to Sir Crispin Crandall, a reclusive billionaire who has kidnapped some of the smartest people in the world in a bid to save the human race from a supposed mass extinction. They track Crandall to his lab, a perpetually airborne aircraft that Reddington forces to land, and take the advisor's thumbs to open a lock, which contains money that the Director had been stealing from the Cabal, as an escape plan. Tom ends up in a fight club in order to find and capture Karakurt. He kills Asher Sutton after being forced to fight him to the death, but succeeds in finding Karakurt and dragging him back to DC to exonerate Liz.
[Show Spoiler]

3.07 Zal Bin Hasaan [No. 31] - The task force looks for a Blacklister named Zal Bin Hasaan, an Iranian terrorist responsible for the murder of numerous Mossad agents, including those Samar worked with, and the capture of several scientists working on Israel's missile defense system. In doing so, Samar is reunited with her brother, thought to have been killed in a bombing years ago. It turns out that her brother is Zal, and in the end, she gives her brother to Reddington to provide him with the leverage he needs to set up an important meeting. Meanwhile, Tom delivers Karakurt to Cooper, and they force Karakurt to agree to confess to framing Liz. Ressler becomes upset that Cooper went behind his back to work with Tom. After an emotional day, both Ressler and Samar end up sleeping together.
[Show Spoiler]

3.08 Kings of the Highway [No. 108] - While waiting for Dembe to retrieve an important item for their plan to clear Liz, Reddington is kidnapped by the "Kings of the Highway," a common gang that aims to steal money and possessions from unsuspecting travelers. Stranded by Reddington's abduction, Liz calls Samar to locate him, but Ressler fires her from the task force after he finds out she used his laptop to track him. Liz tracks the gang down by taking one of their members hostage to trade for Reddington. The exchange, which also involves the item Dembe had retrieved, is interrupted by the FBI, and Ressler arrests Liz after a lengthy chase, while Reddington escapes. Cooper and Tom find themselves being pursued by Solomon's men, and must protect Karakurt from being killed and prevented from confessing to the OREA bombing. The hunt for Solomon takes Reven Wright to Laurel Hitchin, who helped Solomon when he worked for the CIA. Hitchin then kills Wright to cover up her involvement with Solomon.
[Show Spoiler]

3.09 The Director [No. 24] - Ressler puts Liz in the box at the post office to protect her until the U.S. Marshals can transport her to her arraignment. The Director and Hitchin, hoping to prevent her from testifying, arrange to remove Liz from the box before the Marshals arrive. Aram, determined to protect Liz from the Director, changes the door code to the box to keep the Director from taking Liz. The Director resorts to flooding the box with nitrogen, suffocating Liz, to force Aram to give up the door code. Meanwhile, Tom and Cooper take Karakurt to an empty cabin belonging to a neighbor with whom Cooper's wife Charlene was having an affair. With Ressler's help, they fend off an assault by Solomon and his men, who have tracked them to the cabin, and arrest Solomon in the process. Ressler returns to the post office quickly enough to prevent the Director from taking Liz, and warn Hitchin that he knows that she killed Wright. Reddington and Samar manage to retrieve the case the FBI took. The case, containing state-of-the-art printing plates for money, created from the software upgrades General Ludd stole from the U.S. Treasury, is Reddington's leverage to get Venezuela to agree to help him and Liz and help take down the Cabal.
[Show Spoiler]

3.10 The Director, Conclusion [No. 24] - Reddington secretly meets with the task force while Ressler brings Liz to the federal courthouse and protects her there. Through an elaborate ruse, Reddington and the task force kidnap the Director and bring him to the Venezuelan authorities, who intend to charge an American official with war crimes. The threat of war crimes prosecution is leverage that allows Reddington to strike a deal with Laurel Hitchin through Marvin Gerard, his attorney who helped him to design the plan to prove Liz's innocence. Thanks to Tom delivering Karakurt to the federal courthouse, Gerard is able to get the U.S. government to drop all the charges against Liz except an involuntary manslaughter charge from the killing of Attorney General Tom Connolly (in 2.22). The plea deal prevents Liz from going to jail but also prevents her from returning to the FBI, unless as an asset to the task force. With Liz finally set free, Ressler steps down as head of the task force, giving authority back to Cooper, and Reddington, on Hitchin's permission, kills the Director to rid the Cabal of a liability. Reddington and Hitchin meet afterwards to discuss involving him in the Cabal.
[Show Spoiler]

3.11 Mr. Gregory Devry [No. 95] - Liz, though exonerated, finds adjusting to normal life difficult without being an FBI agent. She is stripped of her concealed carry permit, has difficulties finding a new apartment and passersby look at her with suspicion. Marcus Caligiuri, an international criminal, kills Mr. Kaplan's team of cleaners as a warning to Reddington that he knows about his connection to the FBI, endangering his criminal empire. In response, Reddington has the task force look into a gathering of criminals which includes Caligiuri, and their hunt leads them to a man who claims to be Raymond Reddington. In the box at the post office, the impostor warns the task force that Caligiuri plans to kidnap an FBI executive to expose Reddington as an informant. The kidnapping succeeds, which forces the task force to offer the impostor immunity in exchange for infiltrating the criminal gathering. The real Reddington, however, joins the meeting first, and the late-arriving impostor is then falsely presented as the FBI asset hired by Caligiuri to betray the gathering of criminals. Both are then killed by Reddington, restoring his reputation among his fellow criminals. Beyond suspicion once again, Reddington tells Liz the impostor was his friend, Gregory Devry, a con man dying of cancer who sacrificed himself to help Reddington. Meanwhile, Tom proposes to Liz again, a prospect that Reddington explicitly forbids. Liz is assaulted in the street, and during her recovery in the hospital, she finds out that she is pregnant.
[Show Spoiler]

3.12 The Vehm [No. 132] - Tensions within the post office begin to endanger the relationships within the task force, as Cooper is sleeping in his office after separating from Charlene, and Ressler and Navabi are partnered together on their next case. A series of grisly murders, including the murder of one of Reddington's associates, prompts the task force to track down the Vehm, a group of religious fanatics who hunt and kill pedophiles. Reddington, not convinced that his associate was a pedophile, suspects that someone involved in money laundering is controlling them to also eliminate the competition. The investigation leads Reddington to a priest who has been using the Vehm to target money launderers under the pretense of murdering pedophiles. Reddington then turns the Vehm on the priest by convincing them they were tricked. The priest is killed, and the Vehm become allied with Reddington. Meanwhile, Liz ponders whether to keep the baby she is about to have or put the baby up for adoption. Tom is eager to start a new life with Liz, but his plans to take Liz with him are sabotaged when Reddington interferes by cutting off his career opportunities and placing Liz under his protection and surveillance.
[Show Spoiler]

3.13 Alistair Pitt [No. 103] - The task force pursues Alastair Pitt, the head of an organization called the Promnestria, which brokers arrangements between criminal empires for profit. Pitt is brokering a merger between two warring crime families by arranging a marriage between their children. The groom-to-be is already engaged, so Pitt has his fiancee killed and blames it on the other family. To stop the violence, the two children agree to get married. Reddington infiltrates the wedding party to stop it by exposing the truth about the fiancee's murder, forcing Pitt to reveal himself before the FBI swoops in. They arrest everyone except Pitt, who is taken by Reddington to France, where years ago, Pitt arranged a similar marriage between a woman Reddington loved and a man who eventually beat her into a catatonic state. Reddington then kills Pitt in revenge. Tom, seeking money to take Liz away from Reddington, seeks out Gina Zanetakos, who brings him in on an elaborate but successful jewelry heist. Liz works with an adoption agency for her baby, but while a couple has agreed to take the baby, they insist on a closed adoption that would prevent Liz from seeing her child. Samar has to handle the news that Levi, her former Mossad partner and ex-lover, is engaged to someone else.
[Show Spoiler]

3.14 Lady Ambrosia [No. 77] - Reddington brings Liz a case involving a series of abductions of children who have special needs. One of the abducted children is found, leading the task force to investigate the child's parents and an employee of an adoption agency who takes children unwanted by one of their parents to Lady Ambrosia. In turn, Lady Ambrosia and her son, who also has special needs, take care of the children and, when they turn twelve, euthanize them in a magical spectacle for the other children. Reddington abducts their accomplice from the adoption agency and tortures him to reveal the location of Lady Ambrosia's school of children. He takes one of the girls and leaves Lady Ambrosia to be killed by her son, who then commits suicide, while the other children are taken to safety by the task force. The girl Reddington rescued is returned to her mother, who returns the favor by giving him a file with information on Katarina Rostova, Liz's mother. Liz finally finds a couple who will take her child in an open adoption, but needs Tom's consent to complete the adoption. Unbeknownst to Liz, Tom is betrayed by Gina, who has him shot and left for dead. He survives long enough to be found and taken to a hospital.
[Show Spoiler]

3.15 Drexel [No. 113] - Drexel is a serial killer whose murders double as performance art, and his latest murder of a co-founder of a start-up financial firm is investigated by the task force. The murder is posted by an underground publication before the police investigate, and the task force concludes that Drexel has been using stolen NSA technology, a RAT, to hack into personal computers and access their webcams. The task force reveals that the murder was meant to lead them to an illegal business that sold access to webcam feeds of unsuspecting people. Reddington uses the investigation to track down Drexel, who, according to the file he received, has been working on a painting commissioned by Katarina Rostova, depicting Liz standing over his grave. Liz finds Tom recovering in the hospital thanks to Nik, a doctor and Liz's ex-boyfriend, now under Reddington's employ after taking his money for saving his life. With his and Reddington's help, Tom escapes the police's investigation of the jewelry heist he participated in. The entire ordeal leads Liz to change her mind about giving her child up for adoption.
[Show Spoiler]

3.16 The Caretaker [No. 78] - When a US state government official is killed by the Chinese as retaliation against a murder of a Chinese official in USA by a Chinese American and US forces. The contract of this killing, which puts the blame of the killing to the US government is protected by The Caretaker. Reddington then introduces Keen to this case who then, via the FBI, interrogates the Chinese-American to reveal his method of communication with the Caretaker. After getting to know that underground pipes by US post are used, Reddington, Keen and Dembe pay a visit to one of Reddingtons's clients of which The Caretaker is also a client. Simultaneously, Tom confronts Gina Zanetakos on the intent of peace which leads to a fight between the two. Reddington provides the location of The Caretaker to Ressler and Navabi who hunt down The Caretaker, who is digging up a canister from a corpse in the cemetery. Upon interrogation, he says that he was releasing the canister to a group which had abducted his daughter. This canister involved a contract between an airline and the Germans. Upon further investigation, it is found out that the group of terrorists that orchestrated an attack on the airline has acquired a metric ton of C4 which via Reddington is located, however that truck contains a bomb made of that C4, which was triggered after Ressler shot the person holding the button. With the bomb squad 12 minutes away and the bomb exploding in 2, the duo enlists Aram's help via phone on defusing the bomb, which is completed in remaining 9 seconds. At the same time, the duo of Reseller and Navabi infiltrate the place where The Caretaker's daughter is held and shoot one of the guards. It is later revealed that the guards are former marines, and that the daughter had staged her own abduction: In order to could get away from The Caretaker, as he had kidnapped her when she was a baby. Keen also finds out the truth about her mother, via a retired Russian agent. However towards the end, Reddington burns a piece of information, leading to his information about Katarina Rostova which would have proved Keen's current knowledge wrong.
[Show Spoiler]

3.17 Mr. Solomon [No. 32] - Mr. Solomon is broken out of federal custody and nearly killed by Cabal agents before being rescued by an unknown patron. Liz and Tom decide to get married immediately, despite Reddington's objections. Liz asks Cooper to officiate at the wedding and invites the other members of the task force to attend. Gina Zanetakos and the Major pay Tom a visit at Liz's apartment. The Major prepares to kill Tom, but at the last minute Zanetakos kills the Major instead and departs, leaving Tom to bury the body. Tom confesses what happened to Liz, fearing that she will change her mind about marrying him, but she reaffirms her love for him. The task force learns that Solomon is attempting to steal a tactical nuclear weapon. They capture one of Solomon's accomplices, who tips them off about his plans, but the tip turns out to be a dead end. After investigating further, Reddington realizes that the accomplice deliberately allowed herself to be captured and the plot to steal the nuclear weapon was merely a distraction to divert the FBI's attention from Solomon's real target: Liz. He rushes to the church where Liz and Tom are about to be married, arriving just before Solomon surrounds the church with his men and demands that Liz come out. A massive firefight breaks out, with Reddington, Dembe, Tom, Cooper, and Navabi managing to hold off Solomon and his men until Ressler arrives to help. Liz and Tom escape the church and drive off, still unmarried.
[Show Spoiler]

3.18 Mr. Solomon Conclusion [No. 32] - Solomon continues his relentless pursuit of Liz and Tom, using satellite and data surveillance to track them. During the chase, Liz and Tom end up in a car accident, injuring her baby. Mr. Kaplan takes them to a secure location where Reddington's medical team is waiting. Nick, Liz's ex who now works for Reddington, examines Liz and says he must perform an emergency Caesarian section or the baby will die. Mr. Kaplan rebukes Reddington for endangering Liz and her baby. Meanwhile, the task force frantically tries to identify Solomon's men. The C-section is successful, but Liz refuses to let Reddington see her child, whom she names Agnes after her adoptive grandmother. Shortly afterward, Liz has a life-threatening reaction due to amniotic fluid leaking into her blood. Just before Nick puts Liz into a medically induced coma, she forgives Reddington. Left with no choice, Reddington has Liz taken to a hospital, despite the risk that Solomon will find her, and alerts Cooper of his plan. Solomon's men pursue an ambulance which they believe contains Liz; this turns out to be a decoy. They then find and stop the real ambulance. The FBI arrives and kills Solomon's men, however Solomon escapes. Inside the ambulance, Ressler finds that Liz has died despite Nick and Reddington's efforts. The task force grieves her death, and a devastated Reddington goes to comfort Tom, who is watching over Agnes.
[Show Spoiler]

3.19 Cape May [No. N/A] - A distraught and broken Reddington travels to Cape May, New Jersey, where he saves a woman from drowning herself and it is revealed that he has a connection with her. Reddington tells her his feelings about Liz, her death, and the future of her child Agnes. Later on, she reveals that there are people after her to kill her. She and Reddington team up to take them down. Afterwards, she again tries to drown herself and Reddington is unable to save her this time. It is then revealed that this woman was a ghost who existed only in Reddington's mind: his memory of Katarina Rostova, Liz's mother.
[Show Spoiler]

3.20 The Artax Network [No. 41] - The task force mourn Elizabeth Keen's death and seek revenge on her killers. They discover Solomon's employers were using a defunct satellite network, the Artax Network, to track Liz at every step. The investigation uncovers a mysterious, unidentified woman who may be the mastermind behind Liz's death. Meanwhile, Reddington is in hiding, trying to make amends with Liz's maternal grandfather, Dom. Eventually he returns to the task force, ready to help find Liz's killers.
[Show Spoiler]

3.21 Susan Hargrave [No. 18] - The task force continues to mourn the loss of Liz. Reddingtion comes out of hiding and tells the task force to search for a powerful woman who was assigned to kidnap Liz named Susan Hargrave Famke Janssen. It is later revealed to Reddingtion that the person who is responsible for Liz's death is a man named Alexander Kirk.
[Show Spoiler]

3.22 Alexander Kirk [No. 14] - Reddington informs the task force to search for Alexander Kirk, the man responsible for the death of Elizabeth Keen. It is revealed that Kirk is after Liz's daughter Agnes and Tom, Solomon and Hargrave must team up to protect her. To draw Kirk out, the team reluctantly co-operates with Solomon and his crew to pull off a heist for Kirk's money. Everything runs smoothly until Solomon makes a remark about Elizabeth, causing Tom to shoot him, although he escapes soon after. Despite this hurdle, the heist is successful. After the team splits paths, Tom returns to the hospital only to find Agnes missing. He meets with Hargrave with the intention of killing her, but finds that she moved Agnes to save her from Kirk. Tom also discovers that Hargrave is also his mother.
[Show Spoiler]

3.23 Alexander Kirk: Conclusion [No. 14] - The task force is closing in on Alexander Kirk. Meanwhile, Reddington reveals that he wants to leave the task force following Liz's death because he has no use left. Mr. Kaplan keeps an eye on Tom and Agnes as Kirk's men track them. Tom eludes his security details and flees to a villa Cuba with his daughter to go into hiding. When Red discovers this, he learns that Mr. Kaplan helped Tom flee the country which makes Reddington furious, as Kirk has also tracked Tom and Agnes to Cuba. Mr. Kaplan reveals to Reddington that Elizabeth Keen is actually alive and that she arranged to fake the death of Liz in order to protect her from Reddington. Reddington travels to Cuba only to find the empty villa and signs of a struggle. A captive Elizabeth is met by Alexander Kirk, who reveals himself to be her father; Konstantin Rostov. May 19, 2016
[Show Spoiler]

------------------------------


Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Michael Reuben, August 10, 2016 Ever since Lucille Ball gave birth at the same time as her fictional counterpart on I Love Lucy, producers of episodic TV have had their imaginations challenged by the pregnancy of a female lead. When the creators of NBC's The Blacklist learned that star Megan Boone was expecting, they concocted one of the riskiest solutions since The X-Files had Dana Scully abducted by aliens (thereby giving actress Gillian Anderson a break for motherhood). The arc of Boone's tormented FBI agent in Season Three kept fan sites buzzing for weeks, but rest assured that it will not be revealed here.

As if Boone's pregnancy weren't enough of a storytelling challenge for an action heroine, The Blacklist's producers upped their degree of difficulty by undertaking the creation of a spinoff series, for which the final episodes of Season Three serve as a covert pilot. Centering on Tom Keen (Ryan Eggold), the duplicitous husband of Boone's character, The Blacklist: Redemption is set to debut later this year. But between preparing for an imminent birth and laying the groundwork for a new series, The Blacklist may have taken on too much in Season Three. While the production values and acting flair remain undiminished, the series seemed to be idling by mid-season, without the propulsive forward momentum that fuels its suspension of disbelief. Even James Spader's Raymond Reddington seemed to be losing his edge, although he regained it by the season conclusion.

Spoiler alert: While the key developments of Season Three are not revealed below, events from prior seasons are freely discussed. If you aren't caught up with the first two seasons of The Blacklist (reviewed here and here), proceed at your own risk.

The twenty-three episodes of Season Three divide into three distinct "acts". The first (episodes 1-10) deals with the fallout from the previous season's conclusion, when embattled FBI Agent Elizabeth Keen (Boone) became a fugitive after publicly executing the U.S. Attorney General in what amounted to an act of self-defense. The second act (episodes 11-18) turns on Elizabeth's discovery that she is pregnant by estranged husband Tom, necessitating a re-evaluation of her life in general and specifically her ongoing association with the notorious "concierge of crime", Raymond Reddington (Spader). The season's final act (episodes 19-23) follows the birth of Elizabeth's child, and all that can be said without spoilers is that it sends The Blacklist in such an unexpected direction that her initial flight from justice, with her former FBI colleagues in hot pursuit, seems tame by comparison.

Blacklist episodes continue to be titled with the name of a villain-of-the-week, but in Season Three Reddington is no longer the exclusive source of these so-called "blacklisters". At least one appears by chance; another is discovered by Aram (Amir Arison), the technical expert in Elizabeth Keen's FBI unit headed by Asst. Dir. Harold Cooper (Harry Lennix); and a third is actually an ally recruited by Reddington in his ongoing war with the criminal organization known as "the Cabal". Yet another is an ambiguous figure who turns out to be essential to the foundation of the Redemption spinoff.

A noteworthy aspect of Season Three is the change in Reddington's function after he learns that Elizabeth is pregnant. Still unwilling to reveal what he knows about her background and the reason for his singular devotion, "Red" now finds himself relegated to the sidelines, as he repeatedly implores Elizabeth both to reject her former husband and to give up her child for adoption. For several episodes, the investigation of "blacklisters" effectively takes a back seat to Red's monotonous nagging, robbing The Blacklist of the energy that the series usually draws from the criminal mastermind's unflappable elan.

Still, the pregnancy machinations do allow The Blacklist's creative team to experiment with the show's format, of which the most notable example is episode 19, "Cape May", which is unique among Blacklist episodes for being titled after a place instead of one or more persons. "Cape May" provides both a new perspective on Reddington and further clues about the dark past that connects him to Elizabeth Keen. Still more clues appear in the final episodes of the season, which are an uneasy mixture of emotional drama and dense exposition. With the appearance of a reclusive Russian oligarch named Alexander Kirk (Ulrich Thomsen), The Blacklist seems poised to answer at least some of the questions that have remained hanging since Reddington first walked into FBI headquarters in the pilot episode. Only time will tell whether this latest twist is the beginning of a new era for the series or just one more misdirection.

The Blacklist's inventive premise, slick writing and talented cast led by James Spader have allowed the series to bank a sizeable reserve of goodwill with its fans. Season Three drew down on that reserve, as the show's creative team labored in service of multiple goals that often seemed incompatible, but by season's end, the show seemed to have regained its equilibrium, and I eagerly await both Season Four and Redemption, if only to see what's next. Highly recommended on its technical merits, but be prepared for a different kind of Blacklist.

------------------------------


Cast Notes: James Spader (Raymond 'Red' Reddington /....[31 episodes, 2013-2015]), Megan Boone (Elizabeth Keen [31 episodes, 2013-2015]), Diego Klattenhoff (Donald Ressler [31 episodes, 2013-2015]), Harry Lennix (Harold Cooper [30 episodes, 2013-2014]), Hisham Tawfiq (Dembe [29 episodes, 2013-2014]), Ryan Eggold (Tom Keen [27 episodes, 2013-2014]), Amir Arison (Aram Mojtabai [26 episodes, 2013-2014]), Parminder Nagra (Agent Meera Malik /....[21 episodes, 2013-2014]).

IMDb Rating (11/16/17): 8.1/10 from 132,005 users
IMDb Rating (07/28/15): 8.2/10 from 77,540 users
IMDb Rating (11/29/14): 8.2/10 from 55,004 users

Additional information
Copyright:  2015-16,  Sony Pictures
Features: 
  • Commentaries: Series creator Jon Bokenkamp joins producer Brandon Margolis and writer Kat Goodson to discuss two of Season Three's pivotal episodes. Their discussion provides useful insight into the complexity of the group effort required to create successful series TV.
    • 9. "The Director": With Jon Bokenkamp, Brandon Margolis and Kat Goodson (disc 2).
    • 19. "Cape May": With Jon Bokenkamp, Brandon Margolis and Kat Goodson (disc 4).
  • Deleted and Extended Scenes: The scenes have titles, but no other information is provided.
    • Disc 1
      • 1. The Troll Farmer (3:30)
        • Patience
        • Stick Shift
        • You Let Her Go
      • 5. Arloch Cain (2:37)
        • The Bounty
        • Broken Glass
    • Disc 2
      • 6. Sir Crispin Crandall (0:37)
        • Lawyer
      • 8. Kings of the Highway (1:40)
        • Protecting Karakurt
      • 9. The Director (0:30)
        • Into the Cell
    • Disc 3
      • 12. The Vehm (1:02)
        • Budget Cuts
      • 13. Alistair Pit (1:18)
        • Anger
      • 14. Lady Ambrosia (4:36)
        • Death Certificate
        • Watching Ethan
        • Access to Ethan
        • No Hard Feelings
        • Speech
        • Duct Tape
        • Finding the Children
        • Happy Reunions
    • Disc 4
      • 16. The Caretaker
        • Gathering Information (3:30)
      • 17. Mr. Solomon (0:41)
        • Mara
      • 18. Mr. Solomon: Conclusion
        • Masha's Dead (0:22)
      • 19. Cape May (15:07)
        • On the Beach
        • By the Fire
        • Away from the Window
        • Breaker Box
        • Axe
        • Have You Ever Killed Anyone?
        • Finding the Keys
        • Through the Kitchen
        • Just Me
    • Disc 5
      • 20. The Artax Network (0:25)
        • Private Security
      • 22. Alexander Kirk (3:53)
        • Rooftop
        • Red & Tom
        • Getting to Kirk
      • 23. Alexander Kirk: Conclusion (1:08)
        • The Switch
  • Capturing the Stunts: Script to Screen (disc 4) (1080p; 1.78:1; 11:10): Bokenkamp and an assortment of cast and crew discuss how stunt sequences are developed from script ideas, with emphasis on episodes 9 ("The Director") and 17 ("Mr. Solomon"). An additional deleted scene from episode 9 is included, featuring a fight between Tom Keen and FBI Agent Donald Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff).
  • All About Aram (disc 4) (1080p; 1.78:1; 10:49): A portrait of The Blacklist's resident tech expert and chief expounder of exposition.
  • From the Shadows: The Villains of Season 3 (disc 5) (1080p; 1.78:1; 14:21): The highlight of this overview of Reddington's latest crop of adversaries is James Spader's participation. The featurette concludes by replaying the provocative moment in episode 17 when a car window rolls down and Mr. Solomon (Edi Gathegi) addresses the unseen occupant: "And who might you be?"
  • Outside the Box: Making The Blacklist Comic Book (disc 5) (1080p; 1.78:1; 8:42): Staff writer Nicole Phillips talks about creating the Titan Comics series that parallels and "teases" the series, with contributions from producers and cast.
  • Red's Gems: Favorite Lines from Season 3 (disc 5) (1080p; 1.78:1; 7:05): As selected by members of the creative team.
Subtitles:  English SDH, English, French
Video:  Widescreen 1.78:1 Color
Screen Resolution: 1080p
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Audio:  ENGLISH: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
Time:  15:39
DVD:  # Discs: 5 -- # Shows: 1
ASIN:  B01CT4CBNS
UPC:  043396476288
Coding:  [V4.5-A4.5] MPEG-4 AVC
D-Box:  No
Other:  Producers: Jon Bokenkamp; Writers: Jon Bokenkamp; Directors: Joe Carnahan; running time of 939 minutes; Packaging: Slipcover in original pressing.

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