Lord Baltimore (The Blacklist)

"Lord Baltimore" is the first episode of the second season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on September 22, 2014.

"Lord Baltimore"
The Blacklist episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 1
Directed byMichael Watkins
Written byJon Bokenkamp
John Eisendrath
Production code201
Original air dateSeptember 22, 2014
Guest appearance(s)

Plot

While continuing his battle with Berlin, Red receives intelligence from a Cameroonian warlord that a person named "Lord Baltimore", an information broker, hired a bounty hunter to kill him. Meanwhile, Liz goes through the process of annulling her marriage with Tom, and is unknowingly under surveillance by an unknown party. During the investigation into Lord Baltimore, the task force questions Rowan Mills (Krysten Ritter), a supposed victim. Further investigation into Mills reveals she is actually Rowan's twin sister, Nora Mills, a covert operative who suffers from an engineered dissociative identity disorder, and is also the actual Lord Baltimore. Red learns during his brief captivity by a Mossad agent, Samar Navabi (Mozhan Marnò), that Baltimore's intended target is his ex-wife, Naomi Hyland (special guest star Mary-Louise Parker). Liz attempts to evacuate Naomi, but her team is ambushed by a kidnapping group led by Mills. While Liz successfully captures Mills, Red attempts to rescue Naomi at a designated apartment only to find a locket instead. Red later receives a package with a cell phone provided by Berlin, who taunts him that Naomi will be sent to Red "piece by piece", proving this when Red finds a finger in the package. Harold Cooper returns to his role as the Task Force's acting director after a visit from Reddington.

Reception

Ratings

"Lord Baltimore" premiered on NBC on September 22, 2014 in the 10–11 p.m. time slot.[1] The episode garnered a 3.4/10 Nielsen rating with 12.34 million viewers, making it the highest-rated show in its timeslot[2] and the fourteenth most-watched show of the week.[3]

Reviews

Jim McMahon of IGN gave the episode a 7.8/10, stating: "'Lord Baltimore' is a pretty good balancing act, giving us a villain of the week while dealing with the fallout of last season's finale."[4] He went on to praise the opening scene of the episode, writing: "The highlight of the episode was the opening sequence in Africa, which provided a fitting reintroduction to Red and, almost as an afterthought, got the ball rolling on the plot."[4]

Ross Bonaime of Paste gave the episode a 7.0/10.[5] He wrote: "The first season of The Blacklist had a multitude of problems, and 'Lord Baltimore' still showcases many of them. But it does seem like the writers are trying to fix the problems that really made the show so uneventful and unfulfilling. It’s not a gigantic shift for The Blacklist, but hey, it feels like a move in the right direction."[5]

References
  1. "Episode Title: (#201) "LORD BALTIMORE"". The Futon Critic. 2014-09-22. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
  2. Kondology, Amanda (2014-09-23). "Monday Final Ratings: 'Forever', 'Dancing With the Stars' & 'The Big Bang Theory' Adjusted Up; 'Scorpion' & 'America's Next Top Model' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Tribune Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on 2014-09-26. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
  3. Bibel, Sara (2014-09-30). "TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25: 'Sunday Night Football' Tops Week 1 With Adults 18-49 & With Total Viewers". TV by the Numbers. Tribune Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on 2014-10-09. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
  4. McMahon, Jim (2014-09-23). "The Blacklist: "Lord Baltimore" Review". IGN. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
  5. Bonaime, Ross (2014-09-23). "The Blacklist Review: "Lord Baltimore"". Paste. Paste Media Group. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
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