Be careful not to underestimate your opponent!
This advice went both ways on The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 8 as Wujing sought The Troll Farmer to help steal a cyber weapon.
While downplaying something might give one peace of mind, they should be careful not to minimize the problem so much that it appears nonexistant. Raymond chose that as his option. The consequences might be fatal.
The Troll Farmer’s return was disappointing in a single way.
The mission he was enlisted for was quite interesting since it further gave Wujing an upper hand, which was exciting. The bigger they are, the harder they fall. No one makes them fall harder than Raymond.
Social media is scary and cyber warfare is even scarier. At any given moment, people are working behind the scenes to find solutions to nonexistent problems, thus creating a problem.
The government claimed they had developed HexRoot for protection against potential cyber threats posed by the country’s enemies. However, in doing so, they created a larger weapon that could be used against them.
But the next World War… it’s gonna be a cyber war. And this nation needs to do what it takes to defend itself against the global conflict to come. That was the whole idea behind HexRoot.
Congressman
There was no evidence that anyone was planning a cyber war. It was the case of human imagination going wild. People tend to see problems where there are none. We love seeing what we want to see.
The whole HexRoot issue appeared to be a wild, insane take for anyone because you can never win in innovation. What if you create HexRoot and someone else creates HeptRoot? It’s a losing game, like playing with nuclear weapons.
What was most disappointing about The Troll Farmer was how he switched sides quickly. All the sympathies we had reserved for him went out the door because how would you fold that easily? It would be a bigger flex to let them break at least one finger.
It didn’t need the genius to figure out what HexRoot was for. Still keeping on with Wujing’s plan, he needs as much evidence as possible to incriminate Raymond. Nothing would do that better than that immunity agreement.
HexRoot could take control of all the computers in The Post Office, giving Wujing access to everything. It was quite a scary thought for Ressler because it would expose all the dirty little tricks they had used over the years.
They’d be lucky if the team were disbanded. That’s some serious jail time.
That realization was a wake-up call. Proving that they had been working with Redington wouldn’t do much damage to the team. But information about the nature and the extent of that cooperation being public information would put them directly in the line of fire.
With all our case files and questionable tactics.
Ressler
It suddenly became personal for them. Nothing motivates Ressler more than fear of legal repercussions.
The gospel, according to Wujing, seemed to be finally taking root, and rebellion was rising from Raymond’s side of the camp.
Raymond’s demeanor can be relaxing or menacing, depending on who you meet during a particular moment. He told an utterly wild story that shook Phillip despite being nothing but a spooky tale.
While it was supposedly effective in that instance, it made one wonder how long it would continue to be effective. Will it work when a group does the same thing?
One could sense some persuasion in the threat, but what if the threat doesn’t take? Will persuasion be all that is left for him?
I have a soft spot in my heart for the sort of development you do. But make no mistake,
you can’t do it the way you do it… without me. I expect full payment by tomorrow morning. And if something like this ever happens again, it won’t end with a polite conversation.Raymond
Meanwhile, a lot was happening in Siya’s life.
Herbie had taken a liking to her since the first day they met. And in all honestly, she had taken a liking to him too. It didn’t come as a surprise when he kept hounding her.
If you have watched The Blacklist for this long, you know nothing is as it appears.
Emotional blinders hide what’s right in front of you. And when it comes to Herbie, Raymond has some blinders. This is just a theory, but what if Herbie wasn’t as he presents?
What if behind that stressed-out dad is someone else slowly slithering into the task force? What if he had ulterior motives?
While he might genuinely like Siya, it might also be an opportunity to embed himself into the task force.
Siya was still looking for answers about her mother, and subtly, she interrogated Dembe. And unknowingly, Dembe told her what she wanted to hear.
Dembe: But your mother was very guarded. She kept a lot of things to herself.
Siya: You mean, what, like secrets?
Dembe: Raymond would know better than I do. He did his own vetting when Diane Fowler put your mother on the task force all those years ago. I don’t know the details, but I always got the impression that he knew something about everyone’s past.
Her intuitions tell her that Raymond had something to do with her mother’s death, and they might have had a relationship before Meera joined the task force.
The biggest development was the big reveal about Raymond having a plan in motion.
That was expected since there was no way Raymond would sit around waiting for someone to ruin his life, as Wujing has been collecting former blacklisters of his own. So has Raymond. He lost Robert but has The Four Guns to replace him.
He made a point of keeping The Freelance and giving up Veer, so something was cooking.
Distrust has always existed between both sides, but it has gotten worse. They hide what they are working on and usually work towards the same goal but using different methods.
A team works because trust is fostered. It takes a lot of time to build but a little to break.
What did you think of the episode? Did Chang flip a little too quickly? Is Herbie after something else? What is Siya looking for?
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As always, you can watch The Blacklist online via TV Fanatic any time.
Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on Twitter.