"The Judge" is the fifteenth episode of the first season of the American

crime drama Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

The Blacklist ''The Blacklist'' is an American crime thriller television series that premiered on NBC on September 23, 2013. The show follows Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader), a former U.S. Navy officer turned high-profile criminal who voluntarily sur ...

''. The episode premiered in the United States on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

on March 3, 2014.

Plot

When a former Assistant U.S. Attorney is found bedraggled and walking the street after being missing for 12 years, Red suspects he was a victim of "The Judge", a mysterious person that runs an underground operation dispensing "eye for an eye" justice on officials who have wrongly convicted people. Red gets Elizabeth going on that case, then tackles his own agenda in finding out why a woman named Lucy Brooks has been following him. Lucy, as it turns out, is Jolene, the woman seducing Tom at a teacher conference in Orlando. As Elizabeth works the case of The Judge (revealed to be a woman named Ruth Kipling, played by

Dianne Wiest Dianne Evelyn Wiest (; born March 28, 1948) is an American actress. She has won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress for 1986’s ''Hannah and Her Sisters'' and 1994’s ''Bullets over Broadway'' (both of which were directed by Woody ...

), a man named Alan Ray Rifkin is about to be executed for treason, and it is discovered that Cooper is the Federal agent who put him away. Cooper becomes The Judge's next target and is nearly electrocuted, until Red arrives with proof that Rifkin really did commit the crimes for which he was executed. Cooper is released, The Judge is apprehended, and later sent to prison. When Cooper suggests Red brought him this case to gain leverage on him, Red replies that "a war is coming", and he may need Cooper's help. Back in Orlando, Tom declines "Jolene's" offer of an affair, proclaiming his love for Elizabeth. Jolene/Lucy then gets Tom to admit that Elizabeth isn't just his wife – she's also his target.

Reception

Ratings

"The Judge" premiered on NBC on March 3, 2014 in the 10–11 p.m. time slot. The episode garnered a 99/10

Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rati ...

with 11.01 million viewers, making it the highest rated show in its time slot and the ninth most watched television show of the week.

Reviews

Jason Evans of ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' gave a positive review of the episode: "WOW! It ended with a bang!! Tom is some kind of secret agent. Tom Bond is an appropriate name for him. Someone has assigned him to be in love with Liz. This is a major bombshell for the show!!". JoJo Marshall of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' also gave a positive review of the episode: "A war is coming on ''The Blacklist'' and it could not be more exciting. Shoo. Things are getting heated. People are starting to show their hands at this poker game".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Judge 2014 American television episodes The Blacklist (season 1) episodes