Distributor: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Episodes: 22
Duration: 40 min (per episode)
The Blacklist: Season 5 (DVD) – Series Review
The ending of the last season was rather spectacular as Reddington lost everything he owned. His whole imperium is gone, associates turning their back on him as Mr Kaplan sucked him empty. Even more, his biggest secret was almost revealed to Elizabeth but this was prevented … for now. In the last episode, a mysterious suitcase is delivered to Tom, which initiates the next biggest escapade from both Reddington and Elizabeth.
Being the criminal as he is, Red Reddington (James Spader) wants to rebuild his empire while trying to find out what happened to his secret. To do so, his base of operations had to be moved to a rather cheap hotel instead of the luxury he used to have. The taskforce is going on full force and agent Navabi (Mozhan Marnò) and Mojtabai (Amir Arison) are finally dating, while Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff) is in trouble thanks to his small problem with Hitchin. With Reddington being broke, both the FBI and the criminals need each other to get some bad guys behind bars (or below the ground) while Reddington gets the chance to get some new funds and business.
In the meanwhile, Elizabeth (Megan Boone) has to get to used to the idea of being the daughter of one of the biggest criminals. She tries to keep her head with her job, but the excitement from working with Reddington does get to her. She starts to doubt her own integrity and her actions, especially when some unforeseen and terrible events take place. Tom (Ryan Eggold) on the other hand wants to find out what’s up with the suitcase, which leads to rather dangerous situations. In the end, things are bound to go wrong, right?
The flow of the series is like previous seasons. There is a ‘main’ plot that takes about the whole season to develop while there are some smaller problems here and there. Of course, the blacklist itself also has to continue so there are episodes where this is the biggest part. Sometimes it feels like the story itself takes too long as it is spread over 22 episodes, and especially because a big event happens almost in the middle of the series. It leaves you a bit in a slump, not sure what else is going to happen. Getting to the end of this season, you might have the feeling you already know what is going to happen, which never is a good feeling.
After five seasons, it’s only natural that the actors are getting used to each other. James Spader and Megan Boone are the perfect combination and their interactions really feel genuine and refreshing. Especially Reddington, with his witty remarks and sarcastic wording makes the series rather interesting. Of course, the personal issues of every team member is a welcome addition as well, although some ‘sidetracks’ are done rather soon or on the other hand taking too long. This season has some painful events and a lot of the characters, especially Elizabeth, undergo quite a change. Acting wise, this definitely is of quite a high level.
The DVD has a few extras for you to enjoy. First of all, there are a bunch of deleted scenes that were added to give you some extra info. Want to laugh? Be sure to check the gag reel or for some more info, go to the designated extras.
Conclusion
With this last season, it feels like the story of both Reddington and Elizabeth is far from over. It might feel a bit over the top sometimes, especially closer to the end but it’s still a nice action series to watch with the regular cliffhanger now and then. The actors are performing well and are improving over every season and this one seems to be focusing a lot on character development.
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