Mr. Kaplan (No. 4): Conclusion

What is up with this guy. It's like I'm watching a young Robert De Niro but in a bad way. It is sooooo bad. The worst part of the whole show.

I don't think many people would disagree with me when I say this was the best season finale so far and one of the best season finales, ever. In the last several episodes the show has been coming full circle and finally some old questions are finally being answered. Of course, in usual Blacklist fashion, more questions are raised than answered. Still, this was an excellent finale, and one of the best episodes in the series so far.

How do you make the difference between a good movie and a good business in the form of a movie? Well, this is a good question to ask regarding the Blacklist. It is designed to make you come back. It always builds tension and ends with something to make you come back. This is why, most people gave up on the show. The first season was purely wonderful but then, it became just a never ending cycle of question and answer, extremely formulaic in nature, losing most of its magic.

Well, the season finale, this one, was different. It answered most questions. It tied most loose ends. Even if it created the set-up for a new season, the theme and hook is very well implied. It is the first time this movie has come full circle, where all chapters are finished in a long, long time. So while the other season finales felt anti-climatic, this felt strangely satisfying. In ten minutes, it solved 12 months of plot points even if it raised new ones.

Watch it. Even if you have gave up on the show long time ago, this can be considered a real ending. Yes, there is always going to be something new and they'll never live happily ever after. Don't even expect that. However, for some finality, it worked wonderfully well.

I just hope that they'll return eventually to the quality found in season 1. It was a season full of grey areas, philosophical aphorisms, amazing acting, spectacular monologues and set pieces scenes. Now … it feels generic as hell. I guess they've never expected to have a season 2 so they've gave it their best in season 1. However, once the show became successful, they've simply tried to milk it as much as possible. In any case, one of the best season finales yet.

The story arc with Mr Kaplan has been an emotional rollercoaster because it was easy to sympathize with her despite being the antagonist. It has felt bitter for these past few episodes, but it made them all the more powerful.

This finale gives us a lot of details about a variety of events that have been the topic of this season, as well as info we've been waiting for for multiple seasons already; answers we've wanted for so long. We lose characters, some of which I loved having around, some of which I 'loved to hate'. We get closure for other characters' story arcs.

But it also poses new questions and makes a transition into the next season with a new mystery to unravel. Definitely not out of steam yet.