#betweensleepandawake | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

certainlybyitslast · 3 years ago

Text

Episode 9.07 “Between Sleep and Awake”

“You know that place between sleep and awake, that place where you still remember dreaming? That’s where I’ll always love you, Peter Pan.” – Tinkerbell from Hook

Donald Ressler’s grief over the loss of Liz, even two years on, was palpable in this episode that followed Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff) from the moment of Liz’s murder to the two-year anniversary of her death. It will be tough to beat this as the best episode of the season for Ressler/Keenler fans.

Diego Klattenhoff was given the reins once more for a stand-alone episode (the first being season seven’s “Brothers”) and he delivered. Raw, heart wrenching, and true to character - he gave us the emotional release we all needed after Liz’s death. His choking back tears even more sad and true. None of it felt contrived or forced. Poor Ressler. Well done, Diego.

This episode takes us on a journey to see how deep a hole Ressler fell down after her death. Note to viewer: (mostly) present day = beard shaved off. Flash backs (mostly) = full beard, scruffy hair. It was hard to keep track at times.

Immediately after Liz’s murder, Ressler goes after Reddington. He commandeers/steals a car, pursues him dangerously, and in no condition to drive (warns Cooper on the phone), gets in an awful car accident. If this guy has nine lives, he’s spent most of them. Now we know his pain killer addiction isn’t just Liz/gunshot related, but also car wreak induced. It’s validating to know that Ressler blamed Red without hesitation and wanted revenge.

On the anniversary of her death, we see that Cooper and Agnes plan to celebrate her life rather than mourn it, but Ressler is not yet in the same place. Still struggling with addiction, scruffy and hurting emotionally, he instead asks for the morning off. Weaving in and out of present day, to flashbacks of the last two years, was a lovely way to tell the story. While getting a clean shave, we learn that shortly after her death, Ressler, now recovered somewhat from his car accident, gets on a bus out of town. He has left his badge, gun, and life behind (his actions under FBI review, he’d have to fight for his job back, and he doesn’t have the fight in him). We come to find out that he moves every few weeks, staying in shady motels, working in garages fixing cars, making money until it runs out. Eventually, (as seen by the beard progression), he lands in Liberty Falls, PA. Clearly, this fictional town, likely right over the Maryland border, has an apropos name. He’s a full-blown addict now, snorting Oxy, getting beat up and robbed in bars; he’s at rock bottom with no one there to pull him out. Oh, how the Boy Scout has fallen.

It would have to be someone innocent, like a child, to pull him out of his anger and grief, and that is where we meet Theodore, the son of the hotel proprietor. They did a great job casting Dean Scott Vazquez as the little boy who befriends a reluctant Ressler. Earnest and adorable, this boy loves Peter Pan, and that fairytale magic was a great addition to the storyline. Ressler, ever the FBI agent at heart, protects the boy and his mother from an abusive husband, and ends up busting in and saving them. Some things never change. But Ressler moves on again.

We get a sweet scene in a florist shop, as a present-day Ressler goes to buy flowers. The florist believes it’s for a marriage proposal and cheerfully helps him (while we know it’s for her grave). How bittersweet was it that he knew exactly which flowers she liked? He knew her well. If only he had the chance to hand her those flowers while she was living.

The emotional heart of the episode was the gravesite confession. Despite a poorly placed commercial break, this was both heartbreaking and wonderful to watch. He pours his heart out over everything that’s happened, because he hasn’t had anyone else to talk to like that in two years. It goes to show how much they shared with each other as partners; his best friend is gone and now that he is sitting at her grave it all comes tumbling out. He even gives a nod to Tom’s adjacent grave, confessing he hated him, but still, Liz isn’t alone. He hopes that he and Liz can meet again, in that place between “sleep and awake,” and now my eyes are welling with tears again. Ressler ends up going to Cooper’s house despite his hesitation earlier. He smiles watching Agnes through the window, and while we assume he joins them, we don’t know. Either way, we get the sense he is starting to heal.

#theblacklist #9.07 #betweensleepandawake #keenler

85 notes · View notes