General Ludd (The Blacklist)

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"General Ludd"
The Blacklist episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 8
Directed by Stephen Surjik
Written byAmanda Kate Shuman
Production code108
Original air dateNovember 11, 2013 (2013-11-11)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
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"Frederick Barnes"
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"Anslo Garrick"
The Blacklist season 1
List of episodes

"General Ludd" is the eighth episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist . The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on November 11, 2013.

Contents

Plot

Elizabeth uncovers an elaborate plot to destroy the country's financial system when a new name on the blacklist, General Ludd (Justin Kirk), is revealed by Reddington. Reddington demands access to the FBI database ViCAP in return for his help. Meanwhile, Tom informs Lizzy that her adoptive father, Sam, is dying from cancer in the hospital. All airplanes are grounded because of General Ludd's plan for terrorism, so Lizzy is unable to fly home to be with her father, Sam (guest star William Sadler). Meanwhile, Reddington visits Sam in the hospital, and the two reminisce as old friends. Sam expresses that he has 6 weeks to live. He wishes he only had 6 hours to live, as he does not wish to die a slow death. Reddington tells Sam that he did a fantastic job raising Lizzy as his own, and that he will protect her just as he did. Sam tells Reddington that he wants Lizzy to know "the truth" before he dies. Reddington objects, stating that she must never know. He then kills Sam to end his suffering, and also to keep "the truth" hidden. General Ludd steals a hard drive containing the blueprints for newly minted U.S. currency. However, Reddington finds Ludd and steals the hard drive before the FBI arrive. Lizzy finds out that her father has died. Red uses his new access to ViCAP to look up the number the Chinese gave him in "Wujing"; it's the number of a file on a woman named Lucy Brooks. Red comforts Elizabeth as she mourns her father.

Reception

Ratings

"General Ludd" premiered on NBC on November 11, 2013 in the 10–11 p.m. time slot. [1] The episode garnered a 3.0/8 Nielsen rating with 10.69 million viewers, making it the highest rated show in its time slot [2] and the eleventh most watched television show of the week. [3]

Reviews

Jason Evans of The Wall Street Journal thought that "the side stories about the bad guys being caught each week are getting dull". In his comment: "We want to learn more about Tom and Liz and Red. But the show is giving that info out in very small doses". [4] He noted the show's "hints that Red is Liz’s father", but felt that idea was "too obvious". [4]

Phil Dyess-Nugent of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "C+". [5] He felt that the show was "so close to saying out loud that Red is Elizabeth’s father that any other explanation for his interest in her is likely to ring hollow". [5] He was confused about General Ludd's character, noting "that he gives Red a convenient whipping boy to whom he can deliver his own heartfelt defense of capitalism". [5]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Blacklist</i> American crime thriller television series (2013–2023)

The Blacklist is an American crime thriller television series created by Jon Bokenkamp and developed by John Eisendrath. It stars James Spader as Raymond Reddington, a former US Naval Intelligence officer turned one of the Most Wanted fugitives who cooperates with the FBI in hunting down threatening criminals on a special list of his called the "Blacklist". The series also stars Megan Boone, Diego Klattenhoff, Ryan Eggold, Amir Arison, Hisham Tawfiq, and Harry Lennix. The Blacklist was produced by Sony Pictures Television, Universal Television and Davis Entertainment. John Eisendrath, John Davis and John Fox served as executive producers for the entire run of the series; its creator Jon Bokenkamp also executive produced the series for the first eight seasons. Other executive producers include director Joe Carnahan and Spader.

<i>The Blacklist</i> season 1 Season of television series

The first season of the American crime thriller television series The Blacklist premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. The season was produced by Davis Entertainment, Universal Television, and Sony Pictures Television, and the executive producers are Jon Bokenkamp, John Davis, John Eisendrath, John Fox, and Joe Carnahan.

"The Decembrist" is the eighth episode of the second season of the television series The Blacklist, aired on NBC on November 10, 2014. The episode was directed by Michael Watkins, and written by Jon Bokenkamp and John Eisendrath. This episode serves as the season's fall finale; the show returned on February 1, 2015 after the 49th Super Bowl.

"Pilot" is the pilot episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on September 23, 2013. It was written by series creator Jon Bokenkamp and was directed by Joe Carnahan.

"The Freelancer" is the second episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on September 30, 2013.

"Wujing" is the third episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on October 7, 2013.

"The Stewmaker" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on October 14, 2013.

"Gina Zanetakos" is the sixth episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on October 28, 2013.

"Frederick Barnes" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on November 4, 2013.

"Anslo Garrick" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on November 25, 2013.

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"The Cyprus Agency" is the thirteenth episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on January 27, 2014.

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<i>The Blacklist</i> season 4 Season of television series

The fourth season of the American crime thriller television series The Blacklist premiered on NBC on September 22, 2016. The season was produced by Davis Entertainment, Universal Television and Sony Pictures Television, and the executive producers are Jon Bokenkamp, John Davis, John Eisendrath, John Fox, and Joe Carnahan. The season contained 22 episodes and concluded on May 18, 2017.

References

  1. "Episode Title: (#108) "GENERAL LUDD"". The Futon Critic. 2013-11-11. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  2. Bibel, Sara (2013-11-12). "Monday Final TV Ratings: 'Sleepy Hollow', 'Castle' & 'Mike & Molly' Adjusted Up". TV by the Numbers . Tribune Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on 2013-11-12. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  3. Kondology, Amanda (2013-11-19). "TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25: 'Sunday Night Football' Tops Week 8 With Adults 18-49 & With Total Viewers". TV by the Numbers . Tribune Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on 2013-11-22. Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  4. 1 2 Evans, Jason (2013-11-12). "'The Blacklist' Recap: Season 1, Episode 8, 'General Ludd'". The Wall Street Journal . Dow Jones & Company . Retrieved 2015-06-03.
  5. 1 2 3 Dyess-Nugent, Phil (2013-11-11). "The Blacklist: "General Ludd"". The A.V. Club . Onion, Inc . Retrieved 2015-06-03.