The Blacklist Review: The Kenyon Family (Season 2 Episode 12)

The best episodes of The Blacklist are ones that contain real, actual stakes in both the A and B (and sometimes C) stories. And while “The Kenyon Family” isn’t one of the most outstanding episodes this series has done recently, it’s an episode that provides real stakes for the characters and manages to provide a bit of sentiment and heart in the process.

This episode centers on a blacklister who is the head of a cult. And what’s actually quite refreshing about “The Kenyon Family” is that Red is relegated to the B-plot in the episode, allowing the task force – Ressler and Liz in particular – to really step up and take charge of this blacklister themselves. I think that James Spader is exceptional and that this show absolutely could not function without Raymond Reddington, but occasionally it is nice to see some of the other characters take on more active roles.

Justin Kenyon is the blacklister that Liz and the task force are after in this episode. He’s dangerous because not only is he the leader of a polygamist cult that abuses its members (the man is about to marry a child bride at the beginning of the episode), but the cult’s church and compound also serve essentially as a giant storage locker for terrorist’ and criminal organizations’ weaponry. Red informs Liz at the beginning of the episode that these organizations are starting to worry about the security of their weapons since the compound hasn’t been heard from in days. Liz tells him that the FBI has tried to prosecute Kenyon but his lawyers are numerous and very good and his books are clean. The task force does eventually get involved, however, when vans from the compound start to show up in the city with children and bombs inside.

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Meanwhile, Red and Glen (you remember him, right? That guy from the DMV? His nickname is “Jellybean”?) embark on an adventure to Russia during “The Kenyon Family” in order to locate the safe that Alan Fitch told Red about before he died. Red is hilariously reluctant to teaming up with Glen, whom he dislikes and distrusts, but Glen is the best in the business – if anyone can find that safe, it’s him.

Back at the FBI, Ressler and Liz investigate the Kenyon compound, only to find all of the members of his congregation slaughtered within the church. The only problem? All of the twenty-six children and Justin Kenyon himself are nowhere to be found, save for one little girl. As Ressler, Liz, and a state trooper prepare to move the girl from the compound to safety, the tires of their SUV are shot at and it crashes in the woods. Liz gets out to look for help and while she’s gone, Ressler and the little girl are kidnapped.

Because really, can we go an entire episode WITHOUT Ressler getting kidnapped or maimed in some way, shape or form?

Samar, meanwhile, tracks down another van with a bomb inside and approaches it after realizing that the detonator is being held by a small child. She rescues the little boy in a really touching scene and then discovers that he was attacked by “Watchers.” The boy’s mother explains to Samar – as a former member of the cult – that once Justin realized there were too many boys and not enough girls to take as child brides, he sent the boys into the woods to die. But… the boys didn’t die. In a very Lord of the Flies-esque manner, they evolved and survived, banding together to form their own society in which they hunted and lived. This part of the episode was so intriguing, really, because Justin’s own son David was exiled and turned into a Watcher.

It’s so interesting because the Watchers aren’t really evil – they’re perfect examples of what happens when luxury and commodity is stripped away from human beings. They resorted to their primal instincts. For David, it was about getting revenge on his father for what he did to him and to all of the boys (as evidenced by the really gross way – like SUPER gross – Justin Kenyon was killed by David). I thought it an interesting twist that the blacklister of this episode was an adult, but that the ultimate violence and vengeance done toward him was inflicted by a child.

Elsewhere in “The Kenyon Family,” Harold Cooper is trying to get into a clinical trial in order to save his life. When he doesn’t, he’s utterly distraught and confides in his friend Tom, who’s in the running to become the next Attorney General and wants Harold to be the Director of the FBI. At the end of the episode, Tom reveals that he managed to get Harold into the trial (which was so touching and really great acting from Harry Lenix). Yay, Cooper!

Red and Glen locate the safe. It only contains a piece of paper with an untraceable telephone number on it. At the end of the episode, Red calls the number and someone answers. But who? We’re not sure and neither is he, as he doesn’t recognize the voice. I’m glad that the mystery of the safe was solved so quickly and efficiently, but as we all know on The Blacklist: when one mystery is solved, another (or multiple mysteries) manages to surface!

Some notes:

• Someone very astutely pointed out on Tumblr that when Ressler enters the basement of the compound and his flashlight shines over the drugs on the shelf, he has a really terrified look on his face which is an excellent callback to his pill addiction earlier this season.

• I don’t give him enough credit for his comedy, but James Spader is actually really funny. The entire B-plot with Red’s exasperation over having to work with Glen was hilarious and had me cackling aloud in multiple parts (especially the scene at the DMV). Proof that this show never takes itself too seriously.
• “Lizzie, exactly WHEN have I been wrong?” Red finally vocalized what I’ve been thinking for two years.
• “Can I be honest with you?” “I doubt it.”
• I talked about it briefly above, but the scene between Samar and the child who had the bomb’s detonator in his hand was really good. Mozhan Marnò did an absolutely fabulous job portraying Samar as delicate, compassionate, and unafraid in that scene.
• “Your tone is insulting.”
• “There are no pills for dyslexia!”
• Ressler talking to the little child and calling her “sweetheart” and “sweetie” in the car was wonderful. He acts so tough and calloused most of the time, but Ressler is just a big teddy bear.
• There are few things in The Blacklist that I love more than the fact that the women often rescue the men just as much as they rescue the women. Ressler and Liz’s partnership has evolved so much over the course of the two seasons and I absolutely love episodes like this one where he is in trouble and she gets to rescue him, instead of the other way around. This show doesn’t shy away from strong women and that’s such an encouraging thing to see on television, especially procedurals. Speaking of, the scene at the compound where the Watchers bring out Ressler (mostly unharmed, thank goodness) and Liz figures out how to overtake them was perfect. I love seeing Liz wield a gun and save the day.
• “You’ve been many things lately, Lizzie, but happy isn’t one of them.”

What did you all think of “The Kenyon Family”? Did you find it creepy? If you didn’t, perhaps the promo for next week’s episode did the trick. Speaking of next week and the promo: are you excited by the return of Tom Keen? Let us know what you thought about it all in the comments!

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The Blacklist airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.