There were some really interesting dichotomys going on in this episode. In a lot of ways, it was a great show-off episode for story-telling, but I, being a cranky one, still had some complaints. 

The Strengths
This episode shows exactly what Walt would have become if he had been a good capitalist, ditching the flashy methventures for his true gift of turning people into soup. 

No, but really, there is no way they accidentally cast and dressed a guy who brought about a certain eau de Breaking Bad to the whole episode. I could be disgusted by the blatant ripoff, but I won't lie, it worked for me. I found him more terrifying by the association. As if I needed any help after they called him "The Stewmaker." Yeeech. 

Still, that was just a whole lot of wrinkly moobs. Like dried apricots that had been poorly vacuum sealed into a ziploc bag of flesh. Double Yeeech.

The high point of the episode for me was Spader's terrifying monologue as he slowly approaches The Stewmaker. It was as if the writers had heard my concerns about his lack of depth and responded post-haste. I love having that kind of relationship with a show--when I start to get antsy for something more, only to find out they were working toward it all along. That payoff, even more than the well-paced action, is what encourages me about this show.

The Trouble Areas
They're hitting kind of a strange note with the tension between Keen and her husband. I think the tells are downright terrifying, and I'm dying to know more, but I feel like they could play a little more with the inner conflict Elizabeth must be going through. Instead, it's just kinda strange that she's living with a guy that obviously has some crazy dark stuff going on. 

I don't want to be watching scenes of her homelife with a cocked head and an overall "huh" reaction. Is she certain he isn't evil, and striving to track down proof of that? Or is she playing the game, her marriage turned into a nightmare until she has enough intel to trap him? I don't know. And apparently, neither does she. But not in an interesting, conflicted way.

There was some unevenness with the writing in the climatic scene: Elizabeth yells at Spader that The Stewmaker "couldn't help it," with "it" being his drive to turn all of us into primordial ooze. But literally moments later, she calls Spader a monster. Am I the only one left at a bit of a loss over this obviously ability to see the complexity of human nature, and then the abrupt transition to absolutes? Again, that's just poor writing that they should have caught when they shot the scene.

I leave with one final note--what the weird tender hug with Robot Alpha Male Agent? Is that a thing? Are they trying to make that a thing? It eludes me.

First off, that was a fantastically grotesque opening sequence. I love feeling squeamish in the first three minutes of an episode, it gets me into such a great mood. For some reason everything I'm typing right now is looking really sarcastic, but I'm actually not kidding--bring on the shudders, I'm ready for some action!

And The Blacklist is certainly delivering a lot of it, to my delight. It's got down to a science all the different ways to bring on the real-life-able creepies--my favorite is the shots where people are actively in Agent Keen's house, setting up surveillance, and are able to avoid detection by staying right in the tail end of the character's eye sight. Sure, it leaves me huddled in the corner of my apartment for the rest of the day, but it's masterfully done all the same. The pièce de résistance for this series so far is Keen's husband--I feel so unsafe in every scene he's in, it's spectacular. He's so goofy-glassed and harmless, but the piling evidence against him gets me all jumpy. I can't wait to have his full villain revealed in some magnificently evil way. I hope they don't wimp out and make him a pawn who married her for the job but fell for her afterwards. That would be more predictable and therefore less interesting.

Now, for a couple of sticking points that don't ruin the show for me, but could use some improvement:

Spader. First off, I could really do without Jamesy boy ever referencing the "G spot" again. Ever. Yeeech. No, I'm not that freaked out by sex, I'm freaked out by Spader knowing anything about sex. It's a visceral thing. But speaking of visceral--Spader so far is almost too bloodless of a character. I've reference before his superb acting skills, and those go untarnished. However, the writing of his character could use some tweaks. His character is grounded in an unflappable calm in the face of inhumanity, with the idea that he is the master chessman who remains unperturbed because he is already five moves ahead. All of this is great, but if they let it stagnate there without adding some dimension to the why behind his Spader-ness, the show will not achieve true greatness. In the end, I'm going to need to care about Spader, rather than just think about him. I'm cool with the caring being completely against my moral code, but it still needs to happen, and for that to get going we'll need the writing of him to be a little more loose.

Housing. I know a little bit about DC prices. And that's an awful nice place for a low-ranking FBI agent and a school teacher to be living in. I'm just sayin--Mulder didn't even get a bedroom. Think more realistically, guys. 

The Angry Impotent Alpha Male. Aka Agent Ressler. This is a writing trope that drives me nuts. The tech guys need to hack into something unhackable, they're typing their curiously strong fingers as lightning speed, telling the agent in charge that they need 90 seconds to complete the download. The agent's response? Bellowing "We don't have 90 seconds!!" . . . Helpful, boss. I get that they're trying to evoke urgency and demonstrate that so-and-so is an actiony, get-to-it kind of guy, but in the end he's just being an ass and ignoramus to the technicians who work for him. Write better, guys. Write better.

Well, first off, as the second show this season to use The Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" in the cold open, allow me to say: good work. Keep the good music coming.

Agent Keen continues to ignore my loud internet ravings to change her perma-pink lipstick, which I am trying not to take personally. And while she has not assuaged my fears concerning her ability to carry the role of the protagonist, she has continued in her mediocrity, and therefore I have no glaring errors to point out. Congratulations, Megan Boone, you've succeeded so far in not-sucking. But, I challenge you to aspire to rise about the likes of Cameron Diaz, and become actually likable in the future. Fingers crossed. But for heavens sake, don't get any more wooden, or I'm going to draw unflattering parallels with . . . other leading TV ladies (*cough* Fringe *cough*).

Despite that rather petty paragraph, this second episode was great fun. It's looking like The Blacklist is going to be more of a people-pleaser than a boat-rocker, but maybe (fingers crossed) I'm getting lured into a false sense of security right before the writers blow my mind. This episode definitely got an enormous boost from their villain of the week, Isabella Rossellini, who can be simultaneously alluring, sympathetic, and batshit terrifying. Also, seeing her in this role only emphasized the eau de Alias wafting through most of the scenes.

Speaking of Alias, it's looking like James Spader's character is going to take on a very Sloane-esque angle, where he is miraculously able to keep an incredible amount of autonomy and access for himself with only token resistance from the government. Apparently, lawyers just sit around and feebly protest that we really don't let lifelong criminals gallivant about in this way (I did, however, dig that the U.S. Attorney was an older, kinda crusty character of a woman, it was a delightful change from the norm). I'm choosing to ignore the realities that directly contradict that conceit, and continue to ride out this bit of fun.

But in direct contradiction to the aforementioned fun: please don't ever make me watch James Spader kiss anyone, ever ever again. Spader doesn't kiss, because to kiss he would have to be a sexual being, which I am really not ready to accept into my world view. Spader's gift is that he conveys an enormous amount of intelligence, which is what makes him a great choice for this conniving, master-manipulator role, and why he was the world's second-best Daniel Jackson. But no more kissing.

Other than the fact that "The Freelancer" was the shiftiest-looking waiter ever, and therefore undermines his credibility as an undetectable assassain, I would call episode two be very solid work. Now, as long as they don't jump the gun and tell us everything about the husband too fast, I'm going to have a great time watching. Remember the lessons of your forefathers (aka J.J.): less is more, as long as you know what the island is beforehand.