TV Review: THE BLACKLIST: Season 4, Episode 13: Isabella Stone (No. 34) [NBC]

The Blacklist Isabella Stone (No. 34) Review

The Blacklist: Season 4, Episode 13: Isabella Stone (No. 34) is a suspense-driven caper that is bolstered by impressive performances from guest stars as well as regulars.

Most Blacklist episodes are only as good as their antagonists are, and last night’s episode was no exception. Isabella Stone, the criminal alias of high-society widow Judith Pruitt (Melora Hardin), has a simple reason for why she does what she does: she wants to avenge the dishonor and killing of her innocent husband by murdering the guilty who walk freely among us. It’s a straightforward motivation, but Hardin does a commendable job of conveying the character’s deep suffering without undermining her cold exterior.

This is especially the case when she is about to have one of her targets, a physically-disabled charity owner (Edward Baker-Duly) who ran weapons for Raymond Reddington (James Spader), pushed, wheelchair and all, into a swimming pool. As she prepares to push him, she says that it would be a shame for someone to be blamed for an act they didn’t commit. Stone says it in her cool, clinical manner, but the context and her body language effectively communicate her motive.

Also turning in memorable performances are fellow guest Anthony Skordi and series mainstay Diego Klattenhoff. Skordi gets in a considerable amount of screentime as Stratos, Red’s doomed shipping partner who is framed by Stone for the murder of his house and subsequently killed after the Concierge of Crime tries to rescue him, while Klattenhoff’s Agent Ressler quietly but visibly wrestles with the realization that Red is using the FBI to carry out his agenda, not the other way around. It’s too early to tell where this will go, but if it leads to increased tension between the members of the task force, it can only be good for The Blacklist.

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