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FoCC Reactor: The Blacklist uses animation to finish its seventh season finale

By DRWHO42

The seventh season of NBC’s The Blacklist, which stars James Spader, Megan Boone, Diego Klattenhoff, Amir Arison, Hisham Tawfiq and Harry Lennix, has not lost any steam, with stories featuring interesting criminals that are pursued for acting unlawfully. So far, this season’s taskforce investigations incorporated a murder plot perpetrated by an artificial intelligence, as well as showcasing art forgery, mysterious disappearances in the Alaskan Triangle, and a ruthless serial killer who buries his victims alive.

The series also has character-driven storylines which allowed viewers to see different sides of the characters we have come to know over course of the series. Most of the first part of the season focused on the reemergence of Elizabeth Keene’s (Megan Boone) long-lost mother Katerina Rostova, who happens to be a former spy. Other characters on the taskforce were given stand-alone stories too, which included Harold Cooper’s (Harry Lennox) mission to rescue a person from his past, who was presumed dead and had resurfaced as a POW. Also had a childhood secret plot that haunted Donald Ressler; it led him to confront his past. These two particular character journeys provided viewers of the series a better understanding of how their past helped shape their moral compass.

The Blacklist has a serious tone at times, however, the character of Raymond Reddington (played by James Spader) lightens things up with the games of cat and mouse he engages in to get what he wants no matter who they are including the FBI taskforce he works with. After all, Raymond Redington is an enigma and he is a complex character who is a criminal himself.

Do note that this seventh season is a landmark season with the airing of the 150th episode airing this Friday, May 8th, and the series was recently renewed for a eighth season.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a massive disrupter globally, and in the realm of movie and television, production on almost everything has come to a virtual standstill. The series finale for the series itself, which airs May 15th, was partially filmed when production was halted; however, the creative team behind the series came up with a unique approach to complete the episode by using animation to complete the un-filmed scenes. In order to complete the episode, cast members recorded dialogue from their homes for the animated scenes, while editors and animators completed their work remotely. The animation will look more like a graphic novel which matches the tone of the series perfectly.

In the finale episode titled “The Kazanjian Brothers,” the taskforce investigates an accountant who works for lucrative criminals, in order to find the violent and thuggish brothers hired for his protection. At the same time, Elizabeth must make a momentous decision.

The seventh season finale of The Blacklist will air on May 15th at 8p.m. ET/PT. You can also catch up on the series via the NBC app and previous seasons on Netflix.

Mario Wario

Scott is a Spidey/Funko/video game fanatic, yet going to a pop culture convention is always his goal. Yes, he is also a fan of Mario and Wario. You can follow him on Twitter @ScottyTheWise.

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