Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Blacklist: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Friends Are the Most Dangerous Enemy

Spoiler alert: This review assumes familiarity with the three prior seasons of The Blacklist (reviewed here, here and here). If you haven't seen all of them, proceed at your own risk.

The Blacklist began its fourth season on unsteady footing, as the show's creative team struggled to gather up the narrative strands left dangling by the whirlwind of revelations that concluded Season Three. With the death of Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone) revealed to be an elaborate hoax engineered by Keen and her husband, Tom (Ryan Eggold), and designed to separate their lives and their newborn daughter from criminal mastermind Raymond Reddington (James Spader), how could the series return to its original format? Could Keen's friends and colleagues on the FBI Task Force welcome her back to the fold after she had forced them to endure such a wrenching farewell? Would Reddington ever again trust Liz? What revenge would he take on his long-time cleaner and trusted confidante, "Mr. Kaplan" (Susan Blommaert), for helping the Keens execute their deception? Is the Russian oligarch (Ulrich Thomsen) who kidnapped Liz and her baby in the Season Three finale really her father as he claims? And what does he want from his putative daughter (and infant granddaughter)?

The writers' task was complicated by the demands of the series' short-lived spinoff, The Blacklist: Redemption, which required them to create a pretext for Tom Keen to disappear from the original show for much of the season. The result was a wobbly start, as the weekly search for criminal "Blacklisters" alternated uneasily with the resolution of leftover subplots. By the season's second half, however, The Blacklist had regained its balance and returned to top form, with Red once again defending his empire from sustained attack—only this time the enemy was even more formidable than Season One's Berlin. The ensuing war led the series deep into Red's and Elizabeth's murky history, and Season Four turned out to be the year when many of The Blacklist's most stubborn mysteries were finally resolved. As in Season Three, a pivotal episode (Episode 17, "Requiem") departs from the usual format by having a title other than the name of a weekly Blacklister. It's a journey into the past filled with stunning revelations in one of the series' finest and most memorable hours to date (and, ironically, most of the principal cast doesn't even appear).

Season Four accumulates its own subplots as it proceeds, including new layers of barely repressed attraction between Task Force members Aram (Aram) and Samar (Mozhan Marnò), which are complicated by a new romance for Aram, and the reappearance of Donald Ressler's (Diego Klattenhoff) eccentric former partner Gale (Enrique Murciano), with whom Ressler spent years tracking Reddington and who is now asking uncomfortable questions about the Task Force. Still hovering in the background is the cheerfully sinister National Security Advisor, Laurel Hitchin (Christine Lahti), who is secretly a member of the criminal organization known as the Cabal and whose uneasy truce with Red could end at any minute.

1. Esteban: After Liz is abducted by a man claiming to be her father, Red sets out to find her at any cost. Meanwhile, the Task Force grapples with the shocking news that Liz is still alive.


2. Mato: Red enlists Tom and the Task Force to help track a notorious bounty hunter who may know Alexander Kirk's next move. Meanwhile, Liz struggles to decide if Kirk is trustworthy.


3. Miles McGrath: Red goes in search of a criminal venture capitalist who holds the key to finding Liz's daughter.


4. Gaia: Red sends the Task Force after an eco-terrorist who's creating industrial accidents in order to expose looming environmental dangers.


5. The Linquist Concern: As Liz trails Red to Geneva in search of Kirk, the Task Force goes after a shady organization that is killing promising inventors to keep their new technologies off the market.


6. The Thrushes: When Alexander Kirk contracts with a mysterious group that specializes in hacking the world's most secure computer systems, Red and Liz see an opportunity to make a move on Kirk's organization.


7. Dr. Adrian Shaw: Red directs the Task Force to track down an individual who provides new identities to criminals on the run. Meanwhile, as Alexander Kirk's condition worsens, Liz seeks guidance from Cooper on a crucial decision.


8. Dr. Adrian Shaw: Conclusion: Kirk's escape from the hospital leads Red to offer a cure for his fatal blood disease in exchange for Liz's freedom.


9. Lipet's Seafood Company: As Red works behind the scenes to reinstate Liz, the FBI's investigation into the theft of a classified missile guidance systems uncovers a surprising suspect.


10. The Forecaster: A nine-year-old girl's premonitions provide eerie clues to a series of deadly events.


11. The Harem: Red sends Liz undercover to stop a gang of female thieves from stealing a list identifying people in the Witness Protection program.


12. Natalie Luca: The search for Red's missing cash exposes a plan to make a woman who's immune to a deadly disease into a powerful weapon.


13. Isabella Stone: Red enlists the Task Force to stop a clever assassin who's been hired to draw him into the open.


14. The Architect: Red's pursuit of the source who's paying Isabella Stone to attack him leads the FBI to investigate a Blacklister's plan to co-opt an underground hacking network.


15. The Apothecary: Red's attempt to expose a traitor within his inner circle is upended when he falls ill from a mysterious poison.


16. Dembe Zuma: After weeks of hunting for Dembe, Red and the Task Force finally get a lead on his whereabouts. Meanwhile, Dembe takes a calculated risk as Red closes in.


17. Requiem: Memories of the past reveal how Red ended up on a collision course with the latest enemy determined to destroy his criminal empire.


18. Philomena: The Task Force chases an artful bounty hunter employed to target the associates closest to Red. Meanwhile, Ressler faces a moral dilemma when he takes on a new assignment with a former colleague.


19. Dr. Bogdan Krilov: Red's enemy enlists the aid of a Blacklister who's skilled at manipulating memories—including Liz's.


20. The Debt Collector: As a sociopathic vigilante pursues Liz, Red prepares for a final showdown with his adversary.


21. Mr. Kaplan: As Red uses a series of accomplices to close in on his enemy, the Task Force comes under investigation for providing him immunity to further their pursuit of Blacklisters.


22. Mr. Kaplan: Conclusion: As Red enlists a powerful fixer to undermine the government's case against the Task Force, both Cooper and Red's latest adversary separately set out to expose the truth about his role in Liz's life.

The Blacklist: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The five 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-rays over which Sony has spread The Blacklist's twenty-two Season Four episodes continues the studio's first-rate presentation of the show's digital photography (captured with the Sony CineAlta F-55, according to IMDb). The stylish cinematography has once again been rendered with impeccable black levels and a richly varied palette that extends from sterile meeting rooms to grimy street scenes—and everything in between, including a sepia tone (and desaturation) that washes over some of the extended flashbacks. Fine detail is equally good in both dim and brightly lit scenes. As in the series' previous Blu-ray sets, there are no artifacts or anomalies in sight, which is no doubt at least partly attributable to Sony's generous allocation of digital real estate and the discs' healthy average bitrate (for digitally originated material) of around 22 Mbps.

The Blacklist: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Blacklist's sound engineers continue to set a high standard for immersive mixes, with a 5.1 soundtrack (encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA) that supplies the series' far-flung locales with distinctive sonic signatures, some subtly environmental and others loud and boisterous. Broad dynamic range gives punch to weapons fire and explosions, while dialogue remains consistently clear and properly localized. Discrete rear-channel effects occur frequently. Dave Porter (Better Call Saul) continues his scoring duties, but the show's soundtrack also makes heavy use of thematically appropriate songs from an array of artists, e.g., "I Will Survive" (in multiple versions) and Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walking", both of which are heard to ironic effect in the crucial episode "Requiem".

The Blacklist: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentaries: The most technical of these commentaries is "The Thrushes", which deals primarily with the show's post-production. Others deal with issues of plot, scripting and casting.


• 5. "The Lindquist Concern": With Series Creator Jon Bokenkamp and Director Kurt Kuenne (disc 1).
• 6. "The Thrushes": With Co-Producer Zee Hatley and Editor Emily E. Greene (disc 2).
• 17. "Requiem": With Jon Bokenkamp and Writer Daniel Cerone (disc 4).



• Deleted and Extended Scenes: The scenes have titles, but no other information is provided.
• Disc 1
• 1. Esteban (1:13)
• My Brother Stole These For You
• 3. Miles McGrath (1:25)
• All That Matters Is Agnes
• We're Not Victims
• 4. Gaia (1:16)
• Silence
• How Was Your Day?
• Disc 2
• 6. The Thrushes (0:57)
• Red's Idea
• 8. Dr. Adrian Shaw: Conclusion (0:30)
• I'm Not His Daughter
• 9. Lipet's Seafood Company (1:04)
• I Tried to Call Your Phone
• Disc 3
• 11. The Harem (5:05)
• Neighborhood Park
• 12. Natalie Luca (1:05)
• I Need to Do This
• Disc 4
• 16. Dembe Zuma (2:30)
• Why Are We Here?
• The Woman Is Toxic
• I Need the Nearest Hospital
• Those Were Your Words
• 17. Requiem (3:38)
• Obey Your Mother
• When Is Momma Coming?
• She Wants to Go by Elizabeth Now
• Nothing Worse Than Spoiled Meat
• 18. Philomena (2:28)
• I'm Sorry, Joe
• Disc 5
• 20. The Debt Collector (0:28)
• Pray Keen Is Still Alive
• 21. Mr. Kaplan (3:01)
• I Took Housing as Payment
• You Have to Tell the Truth
• Trouble at Home?
• 22. Mr. Kaplan: Conclusion (4:03)
• He Won't Betray Us
• It All Has to Go



• A Darker Shade of Red (disc 5) (1080p; 1.78:1; 7:32): Cast and the creative team discuss Red's arc in Season Four.



• Mr. Kaplan: End of an Era (disc 5) (1080p; 1.78:1; 10:21): With extensive participation from Susan Blommaert, this featurette examines the creation and evolution of Red's trusted aide and the breakdown of their relationship.



• Gag Reel (disc 5) (1080p; 1.78:1; 3:43): A short collection of flukes and flubs.



• A Lighter Shade of Red (disc 5) (1080p; 1.78:1; 2:46): A collection of Red's more light-hearted moments, many of which relate to food and drink.

The Blacklist: The Complete Fourth Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

As The Blacklist enter its fifth season, the series' creative team have written themselves the opportunity for a fresh start of sorts, as Reddington faces the daunting prospect of rebuilding the criminal organization that has been so effectively dismantled by the end of Season Four. No doubt, the wily "concierge of crime" will find ways to exploit the FBI Task Force in service of his efforts, but what of Elizabeth Keen? What will her relationship be with Red going forward, after the revelations of Season Four? How will Liz reconcile her responsibilities as a new mother with the hazards of continuing to serve as Red's conduit to the FBI? If the season finale is any indication, there are still more bodies buried in their collective past for Liz to discover. Still, having finally divulged so many of the answers that the series' creators managed to withhold for four seasons, they have their work cut out to maintain The Blacklist's distinctively twisty ambiance. In the meantime, Season Four is recommended for its strong second half, and the Blu-rays are highly recommended for their technical polish.