The Blacklist Dr. Adrian Shaw (No. 98): Conclusion Review
The Blacklist: Season 4, Episode 8: Dr. Adrian Shaw (No. 98): Conclusion sets out to conclude the show’s current story arc but leaves viewers with more questions than answers.
With so many curveballs having been thrown our way regarding Liz’s (Megan Boone) paternity, it was only a matter of time before the subject finally ran out of steam and the program would have to move on to other issues. And although we can’t be sure what exactly the producers were thinking when they made Thursday night’s episode, we can definitely tell that they are grappling with how to wrap this plotline up. After dropping and discrediting so many hints about the possibility of Red (James Spader) being Liz’s father, it seemed that the show finally settled on its story: Alexander Kirk (Ulrich Thomsen) is her father, and he needs her to save his life.
For a while, it appeared this was the real story, with the show extracting a great deal of traction from it. But instead of concluding this arc and laying the matter to rest, the writers decided to toss us yet another curveball: Kirk is not her father, Red is! At least, that’s what Red said under threat of torture by his longtime enemy, so for all we know he might have been telling Kirk what he wanted to hear. Not helping matters is the fact that the criminal mastermind whispers something into his tormentor’s ear: although the audience isn’t able to hear it, Kirk’s stunned reaction and sudden cessation of his interrogation suggests that Red might have confirmed Kirk’s connection to Liz. Lending further credence to this interpretation is the fact that Red declines to tell Liz that he is her father when the topic comes up. Or maybe, Liz’s real father is still out there somewhere, waiting to cause even more trouble for our protagonists. Who knows though, we’ll have to see when The Blacklist returns next year.
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