“The Courier” is just that. He’s a criminal middleman, perfect for anything from sales of state secrets to delivering ransoms for kidnappings. Oh, I’m sorry, does this sound dull? He’s also rigorously “honest” (well, as honest as anyone in this line of work can be) and he’ll kill BOTH parties if one tries to double-cross the other. Still not enough? He’s got a neurological condition that prevents him from feeling physical pain. (sigh) You’re still not convinced? Look…the guy cuts pouches in his body where he hides everything from lockpicks to evidence. Jesus, you’re a tough crowd. So, this Courier gentleman has locked a seemingly unassuming young man in a refrigerator (buried, of course) with a day or so worth of air…and a $20 million ransom hanging over everybody’s head. It doesn’t take long for Red and friends to catch up to him, but that doesn’t solve the problem of where this kid is and why he’s been taken. So, we have a fairly traditional “beat the clock” scenario playing out…the only problem is (sorry NSA, Homeland Security, CIA, etc) that you can’t exactly use “enhanced interrogation techniques” on a guy who doesn’t feel pain. It’s all very complicated. Visually, this episode was a riot. The Courier (played by Prison Break‘s Robert Knepper) had all kinds of gory moments, whether it was popping a broken bone back into its wound, or pulling a knife out of a hidden pouch in his scars, or…well…you gotta see it. One terrific car chase and an action movie worthy shootout completed the picture. I’m not counting, but I’m willing to bet that this episode had more proper action than any episode since the pilot. And gosh, I just made it through an entire review without talking about James Spader carrying the show! That MUST be a sign of things picking up. I’m almost starting to give a damn about Agent Ressler, too. Could The Blacklist actually start (gasp) developing the characters we’re supposed to not feel bad about rooting for? So, anyone wondering whose passport that was in the box? Sound off! Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that’s your thing!
