Oh My God! They Killed Kenny [Insert Female Series Lead's Name] #SleepyHollowFinale #TheBlacklist #Review #Recap #NBC #FOX

Oh My God! They Killed Kenny [Insert Female Series Lead's Name] #SleepyHollowFinale #TheBlacklist #Review #Recap #NBC #FOX

All Blacklist pictures courtesy of NBC unless otherwise noted. 

I want to try making this as short as possible but you all should know how that goes by now. To begin, I don't know how much I'll mention about Sleepy Hollow as I wasn't that thrilled with the season (potential series) finale. I will, however, say that I thought the writers and creators made a very interesting and bold decision. In fact, that seems to be the trend as The Blacklist made the same decision less than a week later. And that decision? Kill off one of the leads.

It's interesting to me how the current in-thing to do on series this season is to either kill off one of the main leads or change the character so radically that they are barely recognizable (cough *Olivia Pope* cough). But I find it even more baffling that the victims have been all women so far. Now I am not usually one to point out sexism, but that, I do believe, screams of sexism.

All Sleepy Hollow pictures courtesy of FOX unless otherwise noted. 

Let's back up here and recap the two episodes. On Sleepy Hollow (#SleepyHollow) the "witnesses'" three season journey finally came to an end when, in an act of desperation, they managed to free themselves from that strange waylaid void that existed as the once prison for a banished god. But in escaping they came back with Pandora's box intact, which she'd later use against her god/ex-boyfriend. The problem? The box, for whatever reason, required the soul of one of the witnesses.

What?

Yeah. If it felt like a very strange throw-in to the series that's because it was. From what I've read, Nicole Beharie (the actress playing Abbie Mills) wanted to leave the show for whatever reason. Looking at the underside of the business let's remember how rare this is. Usually an actor likes to keep the steady paychecks rolling in, especially if they are the lead of their own show (I'm lookin' at you Grey's Anatomy. You know you should've died with Derek or, hell, even four seasons ago). Not only that but when they do decide to leave a show after being the lead it's usually after they've put quite a few years in; both casts of Friends and Seinfeld shrugged at another season until Seinfeld saw that final season paycheck and the Friends cast somehow negotiated what is still the biggest group contract for a show ever. Not to mention that this is a woman, an actress saying she's done with a network show, let alone a person of color. Literally, it is nearly unheard of, especially since the roles for black women are so few and far between. With that said, she was building an impressive resume before she got the show.

Talking to my Dead Ex-Captain/Sheriff 

But with all of that said I'd also be remiss if I didn't point out that Nicole Beharie has built up a very long list of rumors within the industry referring to a very nasty or not-very-good attitude. I wouldn't normally give much credence to such rumors, however, this personality seems to have been confirmed by Beharie in an interview where she mentioned growing up as somewhat of a bully due to her size. She was small but needed to make a point that she wouldn't be picked on, ending up becoming bad herself. I say that to say that maybe the producers wanted her gone for that reason. Remember, this is only speculation.

By now you realize that the box took Abbie's soul, dooming her to death in a twist that came out of left field. As I'm sure many viewers like me thought through the episode, this would be a huge plot for next season. Hell, Crane himself was dead, so was his wife as she was stuck in purgatory for a full season and a half. They killed "Harold" (the Asian guy) and killed Orlando "the Black captain guy" Jones twice... or was it thrice? I don't know. They love killin' Black people on this show. Needless to say, I don't think I'll be visiting Sleepy Hollow anytime soon. I suppose Abbie's just dead dead as opposed to dead but... It should also be noted here that since this is the lowest-rated show on the network, the show itself will probably be dead soon, too. Still, if it manages to come back it will have been a very bold choice for the narrative as it completely changes the show and puts a coffin nail in the "will they/won't they" of Abbie and Ichabod's relationship--a dynamic naturally inherent in this type of show.

While Abbie's death was unpredictable, it came on a dying show that few people watched so maybe the word bold is misplaced and overused in reference to it. However, The Blacklist's (#TheBlacklist) decision to kill off Elizabeth Keen defines the very word.

On Thursday's episode Keen (played by Megan Boone) gave birth to her hurried baby with Tom while on the run from the villain Mr. Solomon. Having escaped the church where she and Tom were supposed to wed, they got into a car chase through the city ending in Tom strategically crashing the car into the back of a truck. A distraction, it supplied a split second for them to escape. Though they made it to a Kangaroo Hospital setup by Red at the last minute where Keen delivered her baby, the crash not only caused secondary internal damage to Keen but only temporarily paused the chase. Mr. Solomon was sent to do one thing: retrieve Keen, and he'd succeed no matter what.

I'm Not As Good At My Job As My Sly Grin Suggests

Well, he failed. In fact, his plans led to the death of Keen. The injury caused by the crash shutdown Keen's internal organs (her lungs) causing the doctor to have to induce a medical coma until they could get to a real hospital. But on their way to the hospital the doctor and Red lost her. She never awoke from the coma and died in the middle of a roadside standoff between Red and Mr. Solomon during the absence of Tom who stayed behind to take care of their newborn baby. And that's all she wrote.

This twist came out of nowhere. The very premise of the show was partially built on the relationship between Keen and James Spader's Red. She's in the synopsis of the show. Not to mention his relationship with her subtracts a huge subplot/mystery of the show as we are left with the question of why he wanted her in the first place. We spent a full season believing he was lying about not being her father, another season thinking he may have killed her father and this season not knowing why he was around if he was never going to reveal his relation to her. Yes, they tried to distract with the plot about the Fulcrum and blah blah blah. That turned out to be a weak overarching plot for the season as it didn't explain why he'd stay around for her after her memories of the Fulcrum could not be recovered.

Lizzie, at this point even I don't know. 

Not only are we left with her death leaving a gaping hole in the show, but we also are left with a very unsatisfying feeling on how she left (if this is the last we see of her). The season seemed more to push her to the side in some instances within the last few episodes, which was probably due to Megan Boone's real life pregnancy. However stripping away her FBI status was something many viewers saw as fixable so long as the writers came up with something great. Now that she's gone, it's difficult to see how the show will maintain its thrust. With his sole reason for turning himself in and working with the FBI now gone, why would he continue?

Behind the scenes, for weeks we've heard talk of a spin-off show, which--pardon me, I meant completely pointless, unnecessary and superfluous spin-off--will be headed by a female lead and focus on Keen's widowed ex-hubby Tom and, presumably, the new baby. While the events of the episode centered around Mr. Solomon will certainly give the two of them real animosity (Solomon is set to be the main villain), it seems like they sold the cow instead of the milk. First off, while I know that Spader was the star and selling point of the show, I thought this show was still female-led with Keen. Are they aiming to have a woman in a Red-esque role? What is the point to spinning off this show in the first place? And was there any conversation about keeping Tom on this show instead of spinning it off? Granted, I don't know much about the show yet as the rumor leak continues, but it sounds like something similar to White Collar or ABC's The Catch, but I'm probably completely wrong on that.

Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly 

Back to Keen's death, it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone that the writers struggled to write in Megan's real-life pregnancy. What I wonder is if having her first child made her less inclined to spend hours and hours away from her newborn child. If that is the reason she left, then I can fully understand. But any other reason would seem very arbitrary. Plot-wise, it wouldn't make sense for her to have faked her death and not end up with Tom again if she truly was in love with him and wants to raise her child. This makes it all the more curious on why they'd make this narrative decision. We'll see if the show can recapture the sizzle it once had without her, but from here it looks to be very choppy waters ahead.

What do you think? Do you think Sleepy Hollow will return for another season? What about The Blacklist? Do you think that was a bold decision or a foolish one to get rid of Keen? Or is she really dead? If she isn't dead, who do you think faked her death and why (maybe she did it to get away from Red as opposed to Red doing it)? Let me know in the comments below (hint: click the no comments button if you see no comments).

Check out my new 5-star comedy novel, Yep, I'm Totally Stalking My Ex-Boyfriend. #AhStalking

If you’re looking for a scare, check the YA novel #AFuriousWind, the NA novel #DARKER, #BrandNewHome or  the bizarre horror #ThePowerOfTen. For those interested in something a little more dramatic and adult, check out #TheWriter. The full first season is out NOW exclusively on Amazon; season 2 coming this summer. If you like fast action/crime check out #ADangerousLow. The sequel A New Low will be out in a few months. Join us on Goodreads to talk about books and TV, and subscribe to and follow my blog with that Google+ button to the right.

Until next time, "Wait, so you're saying that you faked your death?"

'Yeah! I've done it. I've done it before and I'll do it again.'

"What the hell kinda craziness is that?"

'I try to fake my death at least once every two years. Need to see if the right people gon' show up to my funeral. Plus, it's the best way to get a free meal. I be up in that post-funeral reception.'

"Hell naw!"

P.S. Ok, that isn't technically a quote from anything yet. It's actually from another comedy I'm working on right now, but don't yet have a name for. I don't know if it'll stay in the finished manuscript but we'll see. I'll think of something better next time.

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Cornstalks, Bullets, And GMOs? Finally Something Close To My Heart #TheBlacklist #NBC

Cornstalks, Bullets, And GMOs? Finally Something Close To My Heart #TheBlacklist #NBC #DVRRewind

All pictures courtesy of NBC 

In a twisted episode quite near and dear to my heart in a way, last night's The Blacklist (#TheBlacklist) dealt with a villain named Eli Matchett. Not necessarily a Blacklister from Red's or the FBI's personal list, he is a homegrown terrorist who really only wants revenge on the big, evil GMO corporation. Hold on to your butts people, because this is going to be a crazy ride just in case you missed it or need a refresher.

After the daring and artfully done escape from a restaurant they sieged last week, Red and Elizabeth rode their freight container all the way to Iowa. Why Iowa instead of across the Atlantic Ocean like originally planned? Because Red is hellbent on clearing Liz's name. To do that, he must bring down the Cabal--those creepy behind the shadow controllers of everything. He wants to pin everything on the director and get Liz back on US soil safely where she no longer has to flee. Well, the best way to bring down a secretive, world-controlling organization is to bring down its funds and, as most secretive, world-controlling organizations, the Cabal has to launder their money because much of it is illegally gotten. For instance, the Illuminati's money is funneled through OPEC which funnels its money into the oil and cleans the money by selling it to the people all around the world so that every time you buy a tank of gas or turn on your natural gas-fueled power you're cleaning the money of an illegal group.

On The Hunt For The Missing Farmworker

Anyway, Red knows that a GMO corn-creating company called Verdiant is the global corporation laundering the Cabal's money. If they can bring that corporation to its knees, then they'll have the Cabal and leverage. And how do they do that? Easy, steal some corporate trade secrets. Enter Eli Matchett.

Eli is second or third or even fourth generation farmer who grew up, lived and worked on the same family farm for years until he had a legal scuffle with Verdiant. See, the corn seed Monsanto--oops, slip off the fingers, I meant Verdiant makes is too costly for the small-time farmers but in high demand. They produce faster and have genetic properties that help to fight off pests so they also produce a bigger crop. 

Unfortunately, they don't play nice with farmers and would rather drive them out of business and grow food on their own corporately structured mega-farms. Well, a while back Verdiant decided to grow some of this new GMO corn strain that hadn't yet been fully patented. Upwind from Eli's farm, when some of the strain cross-pollinated (I'm sure you farmers and gardeners are going crazy right now; yay, language I understand!) with his own strain, they sued him for patent infringement or some other legalese for supposedly stealing their GMO. What? Pure insanity!

Not only did he lose his crop from that, but he lost the farm trying to pay bills and such. The farm was bought by Verdiant and then turned into another one of those industrial mega farms. He wants that sweet Silver Queen revenge. So, he devises a plan to steal the trade secrets of the company to sell them? No, to find the GMOs weaknesses and modify the bugs that eat corn to know such a weakness. Release the bugs, kill the corn, create famine and a world food crisis in a matter of two months--yes, Verdiant's corn is grown across the globe.

Red just wants the info for the purposes described above, but knowing that an industrial farm was hit just earlier that day (how the hell does he know this? He was stuck in a shipping container with Keen the whole time) in Iowa he and Liz track this Eli man and his band of angry farmers through the fields of the great state. As it turns out, Ressler pieces together their D.C. escape and is hot on the trail of the missing cargo freight. He tracks it to Iowa where they discover that a farm had been hit earlier too and go to the house of the missing farm worker as everyone else that came in that day was dead. Converging on the same secret lab, Red and Keen make a harrowing escape as they try to get the needed data just before Ressler and the one woman arrives (damn, what is her name). They arrive to see the bugs and they know what Eli was doing.

Stopping at a diner for no particular reason other than food and to show Keen sinking farther into Breaking Bad territory as she shoots an undercover cop (she didn't know he was a cop) who identifies them, she freaks for a few minutes about the things she's done and how the man will surely die because there's probably no heart surgeons around to save him. That gets Red thinking about how this simple farmer got into contact with a bio-geneticist that would engineer a bug to attack the corn. The genius he is, he uploads some info about Verdiant back to those that still believe in him and Keen at the Blacklist HQ. He then goes to confront one of the Verdiant execs at her house. Turns out, Verdiant was steathily behind their own company's attack. They gave the farmer the geneticist to create the bugs. They already had a strain of corn even stronger and equipped against such infestations. They would get their biggest opponent killed or captured, and look like heroes when they released the corn strain as the world approached the precipice of catastrophe. Arrests all around for the Verdiant executives, surely interrupting the Cabal's money flow but not crippling it.

Tom Is Back For Yummy Asian Cuisine

And while Red and Keen remain on the run, there were a few side-stories that didn't render much: Dembe's (aka Mufasa) absence had finally been noticed by Red who called the little guy with glasses to find him. He's still being held in an abandoned factory somewhere. Keen's ex came back to chat with Ressler about finding Liz. Ressler says no and lets him leave but Harold Cooper goes to him with a proposition at the end of the episode. And that proposition is... stay tuned for next week's The Blacklist.

What did you think of season 3, episode 4? Did you want something more out of the Cooper/fake Keen meeting? Were you shocked that only now did Red realize his right hand man was gone? How did he know about the theft before he knew about that? And who was that other person they threw into the room with Dembe? Let me know in the comments below (hint: click the no comments button if you see no comments).

Check out my new comedy novel Yep, I'm Totally Stalking My Ex-Boyfriend. #AhStalking

If you’re looking for Halloween scares check #AFuriousWind, #DARKER, #BrandNewHome or  #ThePowerOfTen. For those interested in something a little more dramatic, check out #TheWriter. The full first season is OUT NOW exclusively on Amazon. Join us on Goodreads to talk about books and TV, and subscribe to and follow my blog with that Google+ button to the right side.

Until next time, “Even though we have won this battle, we have already lost the war."

P.S. Is that from a great literary work of fiction or nonfiction? Do you know? A mystery is a foot my dear reader. I'll come up with a better sign-off next time.

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Liz is on the run, Red is back from playing Ultron and the black guy is branching out! #TheBlacklist #NBC #PremiereWeek

Liz is on the run, Red is back from playing Ultron and the black guy is branching out! #TheBlacklist #NBC #PremiereWeek #DVRRewind

All pictures courtesy of NBC 

Boy was Thursday a crowded night for TV. If you weren’t watching something spectacular amongst the offerings, then you missed out on a hell of a lot of good programming. In the nine o’clock hour alone we had Scandal, The Blacklist (#TheBlacklist) and Sleepy Hollow, not to mention CBS’s Thursday night gridiron showdown between the Ravens and the Steelers. But if you don’t like football, don’t like a good romance, don’t like political drama, hate the paranormal and otherworldly and just plain old despise TV, chances are you might be dead. That’s OK. There’s a show called Walking Dead that I heard helps dead people rehabilitate their legs and basic motor functions. If you do like TV, then keep reading for my recap of The Blacklist.

When last we left off Elizabeth Keen had shot and killed one of the powerful white men who not only lied to her boss about him being deathly ill but concocted a plan that had her looking like a Russian spy because of who her mother was--a Russian spy. Forget the fact that she grew up in America her entire life and barely remembered her mother from her youth, according to him she had somehow been trained and placed within this secret division on purpose. This was further backed by the fact that Red asked to speak only with her when first turning himself in as he was fingered as an accomplice to her spying. For Red it didn’t much matter as he was already deemed a traitor long ago but for Elizabeth the accusation, coupled with the fact that she knew her ex-husband was alive and kept him prisoner on a boat where an innocent man died and underwent a trial because of it, threw her entire life out of order. Now, she had to go on the run. 

Picking up with her and Red in mid-flee, he used his long list of contacts to procure them a safe exit from the city. The plan: find a good hiding place, stay there for two or three weeks, visit a man that could safely get them out after such a duration and escape out of the country. That plan was ruined.

With old by-the-book Ressler getting the promotion from her partner to the temporary mobilized head of this secret task force, he went after her with gusto. Why he wanted to find her so bad is partially explored as he was also one of the people complicit in letting her escape hours prior. His so-so change of heart only came after she actually killed the evil Attorney General, a crime which doesn’t seem too bad since her old boss also let her escape (even telling her to run), her hacker coworker hates the manhunt put out on her and even her other Middle Eastern coworker (I swear I’m going to learn her name one day) isn’t thrilled about searching for her. Nevertheless, with Ressler at the helm they plan on finding her.

And find her they do. Venturing to a safe house of a man he thought he could trust, Red’s weeks of safety he planned to spend with Liz turned into minutes when the guy’s sister called the FBI on them. They ran to the Troll Farmer—the guy who is supposed to get them out—to have him create a social media buzz of tip-line sightings and location tweets all across the city. He even had a woman and man dress like Liz and Red and roam the city so traffic cams could take pictures of them in various places. The city harboring a Russian spy on the run, D.C. naturally goes into lock-down until her capture.

While Red makes it past the last checkpoint, Liz just misses it when Ressler solves their ruse and catches her transport vehicle. A traitor until the end, Red gives Ressler the name of the Troll Farmer as the guy says he doesn’t ever want to work for Red again after the difficult rush job. The name is gifted to Ressler as a sign of good faith to treat Liz with respect because both men know she’s not what people are saying she is. In a genius move, Liz adopts the accusatory story of her espionage against the US, runs to the Russian embassy and scales the fence to beg for diplomatic protection as a Russian spy.

Mufasa AKA Demba

Doing a good job at setting up two hot story arcs for the season, the second one involved African Black guy and long time Red collaborator Mufasa (not his actual character name but I like to call him that) dealing with a kidnapping of his granddaughter by another sinister evil black guy. The man returns the baby when Mufasa agrees to meet him but he says Mufasa has to breathe in a strange vapor before the mysterious group the evil guy works for gives the baby the antidote to the slow-acting poison they gave her. The big twist? The evil black guy belongs to the same organization that set Lizzy up and outranks the head of the FBI in this secret society. What mischief will he bring to the show? Only time will tell.

Mr. Solomon

For a show competing with Scandal for viewers, Blacklist gave us a strong initial showing for its season premiere and set up so many story strands that can change the entire outlook of the show that viewers have to be salivating to learn what happens next?

What do you think? Did you find the episode just as good as Scandal’s “Yes”? Are you excited to see what the heck will happen to Liz next? And where do you think that side-story with the black guy is going? Let me know what you think in the comments below.

As always, check out my books on Amazon (if you’re looking for Halloween scares check  #AFuriousWind,  #DARKER, #BrandNewHome or #ThePowerOfTen). For those interested in something a little more dramatic, check out #TheWriter. The final episode of season one of The Writer is OUT NOW. Ahh! That’s right, all 15 episodes are out now available exclusively on Amazon. Join us on Goodreads to talk about books and TV, and subscribe to and follow my blog with that Google+ button to the right side.

Until next time, “there are no strings on me. ”

P.S. OK, seriously I know probably half of you thought about Pinnochio first, which, seeing as how Ultron was completely obsessed with the character, I can see your reasoning. But was anyone else a little disappointed in how they used James Spader? He was so cheesy in that movie.

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