The Blacklist
30 Day Challenge, Part 3
Season 1 GIFs and Thoughts

1/06/2014

Day #11: Who was your favorite Blacklist criminal and why?

Liz and The Stewmaker gif

Anslo Garrick was the most important to the story and revealing more of Red's character. But my favorite had to be The Stewmaker. The episode cemented my love for the show. He was so creepy and gave us our first glimpse into what drives Red. And that speech was as great a moment of television as when Gus Fring killed his own man in Breaking Bad's "Boxcutter." Not sure why I thought of that specific moment, since Fring (guess how many times I have typed his name as "Fringe") was silent and cold as ice while Red's words were filled with rage and pain. I think it was staring-into-your-soul quality of each character. Brilliant moments, both. Intriguing, stunning, and mesmerizing.

Day #12: Name your favorite supporting character.

Ressler's pulse in Anslo Garrick gif
You know what's frustrating? Taking the time to learn how to make cinemagraphs with GIMP, because the program I normally use, Photoscape, doesn't have layer masking. Yet, Photoscape makes much better quality GIFs. Then of course it has to be large or it doesn't show well, because the video wasn't all that great to begin with. Blerg!

Ressler. I don't understand people complaining about him being hard on Keen. She made rookie mistakes and he was right to call her on them, seeing as he was the one with experience in the field. But I didn't really have the opportunity to care for him since all the focus was on Liz and Red. That is until he was injured in "Anslo Garrick," an outstanding episode in a season full of excellence. And I was impressed and delighted to see Red being selfless and risking his own life to save Ressler.

Day #13: If you were able to meet one member of the cast, who would you choose?

James Spader USA Daytime Interview gif

That would have to be James Spader. While the whole cast is great, I would love to tell him how incredible he is, because he seems too nice and humble to recognize his ability to rip our hearts to shreds, then delicately stitch them back together, only to do it all over again with just a look, a tear, a shuddering breath. That's not a trick. The camera and the audience aren't doing most of the work. Of course, nothing intelligible would come out of my mouth. Maybe, just maybe, I would be able to say, "Hi. You're swell... Shit. What the fuck did I just say?" Yeah, that sounds more like me. Completely embarrassing. But the rest of it is embarrassing, too, so maybe I shouldn't open my mouth at all.

Day #14: Share a song that reminds you of the series.

There have been so many. I had to buy Radical Face's album "Ghost," because I think of The Blacklist every time Pandora plays me "Welcome Home," which is quite a lot. There were such emotional moments in "General Ludd" and the show in general. But I'm assuming this means one that hasn't been in the show. There have been a few I can't think of right now. ~Oh, wait! The first song that reminded me of the show was Bastille's "Overjoyed" because of the lyrics "Oh, I feel overjoyed when you listen to my words." I always picture Red and Liz talking.

Edit: And now as I'm looking through my notes, I see I wrote down songs when they reminded me of The Blacklist so I could make a playlist. Guess I have more than one. In no particular order...

Bastille ~ Weight of Living, Pt. I: "There's an albatross around your neck. All the things you've said and the things you've done, can you carry it with no regrets? Can you stand the person you've become?" // This made me think of Red. He certainly has regrets, and I don't know if he can really stand the person he's become. He pretends and wears that mask of a criminal so well, but he didn't ask for it...as far as I know.

Mumford & Sons ~ Hopeless Wanderer: "Left a clouded mind and a heavy heart. But I was sure we could see a new start." // Even when not every lyric lines up with a character or show, which they often do not since they weren't specifically made for it, I still find words that fit perfectly. "Clouded mind" reminds me of the knotted mind part of Red's speech in The Stewmaker, and "heavy heart" just reminds me of Red in general. Also, the title describes his never in one place too long lifestyle.

Ellie Goulding ~ Dead in the Water: "If I was not myself and you were someone else, I'd say so much to you. And I would tell the truth, 'cause I can hardly breathe." // Just wow. Those opening lines seem made for Red. He's so evasive when it comes to the truth about Liz.

Greg Laswell ~ Comes and Goes (in Waves): "This one's for the lonely, the one's that seek and find, only to be let down time after time." // Seeking and finding, being let down, being torn down - lyrics like this will always remind me of this terrific show.

Mumford & Sons ~ Hold on to What You Believe: "Hold on to what you believe in the light, when the darkness has robbed you of all your sight." // Red has held onto the memory of his former life through two decades of darkness. This song I've been listening to for quite a while has taken on a new meaning.

The Oh Hello's ~ Hello My Old Heart: "Every day I add another stone to the walls I've built around you to keep you safe." // And again I think of Red, but instead the walls are slowly coming down.

Lifehouse ~ Broken: "I'm falling apart, barely breathing. With a broken heart that's still beating." // Mandy Patinkin's final episode of Criminal Minds used this song brilliantly, and now it also brings to mind The Blacklist. I picture Red in the minutes and hours after whatever happened to him, and then the turning of the months into years.

The Cinema ~ The Wolf: "I played the wolf and left it to the sheep to figure out." // Very little correlation between this song and the show, but that phrase just keeps bringing me back to thinking of Red and Liz, though I am not yet a shipper. Need more definite relationship information before that will happen. I love the pair of them no matter what happens.

Day #15: Do you think Raymond Reddington can be trusted, why?

photo BlacklistChallengeDay15_zps21441312.png

I can't know what's going on in his head, but I know his heart, his weakness, his strength. They're all the same: Elizabeth, the child he lost, his friends. Even if he is a liar and a traitor and a murderer, he will risk his own life to protect others. I don't know what he's specifically after, and I don't know why Liz is key, but he cares about her. He can be dangerous, selfish, arrogant and cold, but it's what he became to survive. And who doesn't share these traits at some point or another? Who wouldn't be that in the right situation? I would trust him implicitly to be there for me if he were a friend, but I would never trust that he was telling the truth. It's just who he is.

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