The Blacklist:
The Complete Fifth Season review by Bobby Blakey
It’s rare that a show that starts so strong keeps the momentum going from season to season, but it seems The Blacklist has a stride that cannot be stopped. The fifth season looked to not only push things forward and promised more answers it also spawned a short lived spin-off series. Now you can get caught with the latest season with The Blacklist: The Complete Fifth Season.
​
The Blacklist follows FBI’s most wanted fugitive who suddenly surrenders himself at the FBI headquarters claiming to have a list of criminals and terrorists he believes the FBI cannot find because they did not know of their existence. The one catch is that he will only speak with a rookie FBI profiler whom he claims is very special and clearly has a sudden special interest in her. In season 5, feeling surprisingly unencumbered, Raymond “Red” Reddington is back and in the process of rebuilding his criminal empire. His lust for life is ever-present as he lays the foundation for this new enterprise - one that he'll design with Elizabeth Keen by his side. Liz finds herself torn between her role as an FBI agent and the temptation to act on her more criminal instincts. In a world where the search for Blacklisters has become a family trade, Red will undoubtedly reclaim his moniker as the "Concierge of Crime."
​
From the first moment in the series it kicked into high gear and you know you are in for a hell of a ride once again and has never let up. This is a role that Spader was born to play and with every season he brings a very subdued brilliantly devilish performance to the role making him one of the more memorable TV characters in some time. The rest of the cast continue to do a great job, but no matter how the show is laid out this is Spader’s show and would not work without him, but as the show has progressed they have continued to give the rest of the cast their own arcs making them all the more integral to the overall storylines. Like all the previous seasons there is a ton of action throughout, that are equal to a lot of the big budget movies out there taking this series to the next level. There continues to be a pull no punches attitude here that keeps you wondering how long some characters will make it through the show and in reality who is good and who isn’t.
​
​
As this new season moved forward it continued to mix things up with events that changed the directions and stances of almost every character in the series. Some were for the better and obviously some went horribly wrong, but all of it furthered the intrigue and took each of the characters in interesting new places. They constantly evolve everyone on this show and never fail to enter some new and exciting twists to the ongoing story all while maintain the case of the week to keep it feeling new all the time. This is one of those shows that is almost instantly addictive making those watching it from week to week eagerly awaiting the next episode, but here will have you not being able to turn it off with the exception to quickly change the disc. This season brought an ending that will change everything for next season in a way that continues to elevate it higher than it already is.
​
This collection not only features all 22 episodes of the fifth season, but also deleted scenes, a gag reel, commentary on some episodes, and a celebration of 100 episodes. Relive the action and intrigue of it all with The Blacklist: The Complete Fifth Season available now on Blu-ray and DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.