DJariya

Episode 13 of 22

hdnmickey

It was great to Monk again on TV. But what was with that dog that couldn't get his tongue back in his mouth. It was very distracting.

It seems they are not shying away from having cases where it's just the FBI helping in Red's personal agenda. They at least used to portray these cases as having something to do with keeping others safe or fighting crime.

Deftones

Shaloub was fun in that role. The case, meh.

PhantomStranger

The case was dumb but Shaloub was having fun with his role.

Jay G.

My wife said that dog likely had dental issues, preventing it from pulling its tongue completely in.
http://www.canidae.com/blog/2010/07/...-syndrome.html

Red has always had a hidden agenda for every case, even if it isn't shown at first. All season 1 cases were retroactively revealed to be concerning Berlin, while all the cases since Berlin have been about the Cabal. Also, in this case the FBI had a chance to take down two drug gangs, which is why the DEA was also involved.

That said, I think this is the first time where the case was actually just about something personal to Red, and not to an overall "bigger picture" plan he had. I was expecting Red to want Alistair's client list for some reason, but from what the episode showed, he apparently just wanted revenge for the battered woman he loves. However, I guess a later episode could reveal that he also took the client list.

Draven

I loved how casually Red shot both the husband and Shaloub's character. It's great when he just straight-up murders a dude.

Jay G.

Red does not mess around. At best, he's going to let you know why he's killing you right before he does.

hdnmickey

Agreed, that's part of it, but also that there was also no other interest for the FBI.

Jay G.

Why wouldn't the FBI be interested in helping take down two mob families, and a facilitator of other mobs & gangs?

hdnmickey

If not for Red's involvement I don't think it even makes their radar. Would have looked like a mob related shooting at wedding that the local police would handle.

Jay G.

That defines nearly every case; one of the basic premises for the blacklist Red has is that it's a list of criminals that often the FBI and other law enforcement agencies aren't even aware of.

Red's a CI. He brings them actionable intel, and they act upon it. That's how the show works. This case isn't unique in that regard, nor in it taking them outside their normal "radar."

hdnmickey

Been a while since I watched the S1 and S2 episodes, but it seems that in many cases the FBI was well aware of the crimes, or specific criminal, but needed Red's help to put the pieces together. I guess this is one of those agree to disagree situations.

Jay G.

S1E1 "Pilot"
S1E2 "The Freelancer"
S1E5 "The Courier"
S1E12 "The Alchemist"
These are just the ones I found where the dialogue more readily identifies that the FBI was not previously aware of the individual. I haven't checked all the season 1 episodes though.

There are some cases where the FBI is aware of a name or codename, but doesn't know what the person looks like, etc, while others they're completely unaware such a criminal even exists.

Again, this episode isn't unique in how the show has been structured.