TV Show Review

TV Review: THE BLACKLIST: Season 5, Episode 10: The Informant (No. 118) [NBC]

Diego Klattenhoff The Blacklist

The Blacklist The Informant (No. 118) Review

The Blacklist: Season 5, Episode 10: The Informant (No. 118). This The Blacklist The Informant (No. 118)  review finds the episode to be a gloriously dark entry that casts shadows on the characters’ souls.

The show starts off strong with a gripping, if somewhat misleading, stinger. The second part of that comment isn’t meant to detract from its effectiveness: it’s just that the club setting and vibe contrast starkly with the brooding tone of the program’s second half. Even the intro’s gruesome ending, with all the club patrons frothing at the mouth as they are poisoned by toxic fumes, doesn’t feel like it quite fits in with the more philosophical approach of the main plot.

Advertisement
 

Speaking of the main plot, it takes a while to get off the ground but it holds one’s attention once it does. Agent Ressler’s (Diego Klattenhoff) evolution from a bland by-the-book G-man to one of the most interesting things about the show continues unabated, with him being tempted by the darkness within himself perhaps more than ever. When Henry Prescott (James Carpinello) reminds Ressler of the fact that he can’t arrest him without going to jail himself, he tells him that he could kill him instead and he will if he ever approaches him again. Compared to Ressler’s hallucinogen-induced killing of Laurel Hitchin, threats are small potatoes, but the difference here is that Ressler is fully cognizant of his words and actions.

The clandestine relationship between Ressler and Prescott goes much deeper than not-so-veiled threats however, with it being easy to draw parallels between the FBI man’s predicament and that of Raskolnikov in Crime and Punishment. Like Dostoevsky’s protagonist, Ressler has managed to literally get away with murder but not to evade the guilt that comes with committing such an act. Doubling down on these parallels, the episode ends with Ressler turning in a confession to Cooper (Harry Lennix) detailing his involvement with Prescott, acknowledging and welcoming the fact that it could land him in prison. This of course is similar to Raskolnikov’s confession at the end of Crime, resulting in his imprisonment but redemption as well.

Ressler isn’t the only one to continue down the dark path that the show appears to be treading this season. Liz (Megan Boone) is still on her hunt for Tom’s (Ryan Eggold) killers, and she resorts to some truly nasty methods in her search. Well, maybe nothing as nasty as what we saw in Ruin, but definitely nastier than much else Liz has done so far in The Blacklist.

Leave your thoughts on this The Blacklist The Informant (No. 118) review and this episode of The Blacklist in the comments section. Readers seeking more The Blacklist can visit our The Blacklist Page and our The Blacklist Facebook Page. Readers seeking more TV show reviews can visit our TV Show Review Page, our TV Show Review Twitter Page, our TV Show Review Facebook Page, and our TV Show Review Google+ Page. Want up-to-the-minute notification? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Twitter, Tumblr, Google+, and Facebook.

FilmBook's Newsletter

Subscribe to FilmBook’s Daily Newsletter for the latest news!

Thank you for subscribing.

Something went wrong.

Reggie Peralta

**** We hired Reggie, fulfilled our obligations to him, and he quit in the middle of covering two TV series w/ no notice and no explanation. He then ignored our emails asking him to complete his coverage (we had no one else to cover those TV shows). He didn't care. We regret hiring him and we regret putting our trust in him. **** An aspiring writer, longtime film junkie, and former UCLARadio.com disc jockey (where I graduated with a BA in Political Science), I've made the jump from penning book reviews and current events editorials for HonorSociety.org to writing movie and TV news and reviews. When I'm not working towards my certificate in Radio and Television/Video Production at Fullerton College, I enjoy reading (horror, science fiction, and historical/political nonfiction are particular favorites), participating in my school's TV and theatre clubs, attending movie screenings, plays, concerts, and other events, and trying to come up with pithy things to say on social media. Believe it or not, there are occasions where I find time to write for my own leisure.
Back to top button
Share via
Send this to a friend