The BlackList Review: The Winter Premiere Sees Ressler Finally Bringing Liz In

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The Team – Ressler, Navabi and Aram – continued to effectively protect Liz even though their personal relations lie in tatters. A quick game of musical chairs saw Aram taking on Ressler’s role, taking charge of deterring the director, Ressler playing outlaw with Tom, and Navabi playing a pseudo-Liz in one of Reddington’s schemes.

Finally we see Tom and Ressler in the same room for more than a moment. These polar-opposite ends of the spectrum of people trying to keep Liz safe refrain from machismo and threats long enough to share some moments of honesty in the calm-before-the-storm of bullets. Ressler explains his by the book nature to Tom via the story of his father and Tom extends an olive branch by reassuring him that taking Solomon alive is the right course of action.

Each got a glimpse of the stresses of the other’s roles. Aram got to see how hard it is to be Ressler, trying to defend Liz while in the spotlight, unable to be sneaky and hide under someone else’s authority. Ressler got to see, although he should have twigged by now really, that when you are constantly being hunted by killers sometimes you have to go rogue and venture into the morally grey. Navabi started the season believing Liz had been framed but criticised the decisions she had made on the run, claiming she always had a choice, yet found herself handing over currency minting plates to a foreign government in aid of taking down the Cabal.

With Navabi, Aram, Ressler and Tom all getting some fresh perspective on the choices others have had to make, perhaps there will be less self-sabotage and more cohesion as they finally take the offensive against the Cabal. Although maybe not too much cohesion — as Tom, Liz, and Ressler are drawing closer and closer to dreaded love triangle territory and Navabi, Aram and Ressler have already been there.

The Blacklist continues Thursdays on NBC.