Finally, there was a case resembling one from the Blacklist, and it was good.
Raymond continued his amends tour with Siya in tow on The Blacklist Season 10, Episode 14. Elsewhere, the team worked on a peculiar case involving brides and disappearing husbands.
The Congressman Hudson threat took a backseat at this hour, giving other storylines a chance to develop. That was a good decision because Hudson has been all bite and no bark. It was starting to get boring.
It became clear that Raymond was on an unburdening mission on The Blacklist Season 10, Episode 13, when he sold all his valuable items at a throwaway price. The next logical step was finding people in his life who meant something, and he had amends to make with them.
There were not many left, so the list was pretty thin.
When we found him in New York on The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 1, he was not shadowed by Weecha, which begged the question of her whereabouts.
I had assumed it was just one more mystery to add to the ball of secrets that is Raymond, but at least we got an update.
Going through a cartel leader to get to her showed Raymond’s dedication to his cause. Raymond from the past would have never interfered with another man’s corrupt business and would have even wanted a piece of it.
Crossing a cartel leader would not be a great way to move in the criminal world, especially in a place like Cuba.
Raymond and Weecha’s relationship had been hinted at as romantic but never wholly confirmed until now.
Weecha: You are saying Santoro’s caught your attention, but I know you don’t care about him or his business. That’s not why you’re here, is it?
Raymond: I missed you.
Weecha: I missed you too. But I gotta get back to work.
But the passion they shared in that short time in the diner revealed it was deeper than anyone had thought.
It was for that reason that Weecha might have left. While Dembe would watch Raymond do something stupid, hoping he would be unharmed at the end, more was at risk for Weecha if things went south.
Raymond has a knack for being the most obedient and still the most disobedient to his protectors, and Weecha must have gotten tired of having to beg him not to do something stupid.
So, she left and found another job where her interests would be purely business.
Raymond went down there to show her he was a changed man and would want her back, but she didn’t bite. Maybe she’s completely moved on from that chapter of her life, or she’s waiting to make a clean break at the earliest opportunity and join him.
We will have to wait and see how The Blacklist Season 10 plays out.
Siya was in tow, fulfilling her duty of keeping tabs on Raymond just so that the Task Force could feel like they had some control of the situation.
She had been very hard on herself about not being in debt with Raymond, but he had the answers she most desired.
Even without knowing it, she slid down that slippery slope she had so much avoided.
He was working with her just as he’d been used to working people, even unknowingly. He would give her just a little information to get her excited, feeling like she was making some headway, but ultimately, he had all the answers.
It’s better to leave some things alone, and Raymond had warned Siya about digging into Meera’s past.
While she didn’t discover anything damning about Meera as we’d thought she would, it was still upsetting. She had thought the worst of her when she’d discovered about the adoption, but the truth was much more nuanced.
Kolkata, in 1997, Meera was a young intelligent officer working an operation in one of the deepest darkest holes humanity has to offer. Guns, drugs, and sexual slavery. One night she met the head of a trafficking ring in Beau Bazaar. A red-light district that is said to employ almost 12,00 prostitutes. While Meera was trying to work the asset, she notices a crying baby alone in the corner. At that moment, members of a rival gang came in and the place turned into a free for all. That’s when chaos ensued. Meera suddenly scooped up that baby girl and ran. She ran all the way to London and never let go.
Raymond
Meera had saved Siya from certain death. She had invited hardship into her life because of it and ultimately did an unthinkable thing to ensure her safety. Was that anything Siya could blame her for?
For wanting to protect Siya? If anything, Siya should feel grateful.
If you watch The Blacklist online, you probably wonder if the Task Force has forgotten what their job was because they had gotten used to being spoon-fed cases by Raymond.
It took Charlene and her infinite wisdom to show Harold that they had a duty to regular people apart from their exalted Blacklist.
So, the goal of your team is to help yourselves. And all this time I thought it was to help people in trouble. My mistake.
Charlene
The dowry con was very similar to what the Blacklist would offer, making for an entertaining hour.
I have never understood the goal of dowries, especially in cultures where women have to pay the dowry.
The tradition is rooted in misogyny, disguised as something helpful.
Proponents would say it was to make sure someone’s daughter doesn’t suffer in a new homestead. The truth was that it was an incentive for men to take daughters of their father’s hands.
The dowry con had been going on long before a fictional immigrant pursued her American dream by running a con.
Many girls would end up being married off to men who wanted their dowry more than they did them, and for the rest of their lives, the girls would lead unhappy and unfulfilled lives as wives. It was made worse because there was no limit to the number of women a man could marry.
So, in a way, the con had always been there.
“The Nowhere Bride” was an interesting episode, but it feels like we are still stagnated in the general story.
Extra thoughts
- Dembe and Ressler have become such a great duo. They rarely argue anymore and are in tune with each other. It was almost funny to realize.
- Put good out into the world, and good bounces back to you. If Duni had not volunteered at the soup kitchen, she would have never met Charlene, and one of the best teams would not have solved her case.
- My heart ached for the women who had been conned. A con is usually effective because it invokes strong feelings of shame over how gullible one was. It takes a lot of perspective to realize it was not your fault. It could have happened to anyone. You were just unlucky.
How could I have been so naïve. I really thought we were in love. You should have read the messages he left me. He spoke straight to my heart.
Duni
What did you think?
Will Siya finally rest after knowing the truth?
Let us know in the comments section.
New episodes have moved to Thursdays beginning June 1, when there will be two episodes.
Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on Twitter.
