Quantico and The Blacklist - First episodes review

Quantico - Pilot review

The prime reason for me to check out the first episode of Quantico was undoubtedly Priyanka Chopra. The media hype was naturally high and hence I forced myself to watch the show so as to not to be left out of the discussion.  Except knowing that the show belonged to my favourite genre of crime drama, I had no clue about the basic plot or Priyanka's character, Alex Parrish. I was mildly surprised when the show began with Alex . I realised she was definitely playing one of the important characters of the movie unaware that the show was actually about her character and her life.

FBI training for new recruits at Quantico, very many diverse characters and various tasks to be completed in order to find a place in FBI filled the first episode primarily.  Being the pilot episode, it might not be fair to expect too many gripping scenes, nevertheless the episode on the whole seemed too dull except for a few moments at the end. Characters like Yasmine and Simon are hopeful.

Another low moment was the back story of Alex's which reminded me a lot of Elizabeth Keen's past in The Blacklist.

Priyanka was good in this episode, yet I felt very strange to see her in an American show. Something wasn't fitting perfectly.

The writing of the Pilot, inspite of its laziness at many places, was still a good first episode. The interview scenes and the lines there were smart. With too many shows on the same genre, the writers have to come up with something different and more interesting to survive and retain its viewers.

The Blacklist - Season Three Episode One review

I remember the time in the first season of this show when I used to wait desperately for the next episode, wouldn't mind to use my mobile data to download the episode, and discuss the numerous theories possible with my fellow Blacklist fanatics. There were several minute clues left in every episode which had to be sown together continuously to view the final picture on our own. The show was more like a thriller game for me which I never got tired playing. But again, this was just the first season.

The second season tried to continue the good work left behind, but something had definitely changed. The episodes weren't as gripping as it used to be and I didn't feel the urgency to be regular in watching the show anymore. Somewhere the show became too much of a mess to understand clearly where the story was heading. The main plot of hunting the Blacklisters got intertwined with the interesting story of Red and Keen's relationship and it took a while to understand how all the episodes weren't actually independent but were connected all the way down. Finally the past was revealed. It was worth the wait, but somewhere it wasn't a blast, hence bursting my expectations.   

Coming to the third season, I was a little weary. What was actually left to tell in the show? What was the objective of this season? Keen, along with Red, has turned a fugitive now. They are in the run. (W)Resler is in charge. The first episode of third season, The Troll Farmer, was more like a connecting episode to season 2, reminding the viewers of what happened at the end of season 2. I still don't understand why The Troll Farmer was a Blacklister, especially at position 37. He didn't even pose a threat. Red and Keen aren't able to leave the city, and Red is using all his sources to find a way out. Aram still trusts Keen, Resler wants to focus just on his duty and Navabi looks confused as always. I wish Cooper gets back to the team. The team needs a strong leader and that's evident when there is none.

Dembe has got a story of his own this time which was a surprise.  I always liked Red-Dembe combination. Hope to see them together soon.

Nevertheless, the scenes of Red, as usual, were wonderful thanks to James Spader, though I did miss his hat. Red and Keen have got separated during their escape and this probably sets the story for the forthcoming episodes I hope. The start of the third season wasn't as interesting as I wished. I just hope the writing picks up and the story starts building up from the next episode.