Are The Blacklist Writers Sexist?

by L.J. Sellers, author of provocative mysteries & thrillers

I’ve been watching The Blacklist because I’m a James Spader fan from way back. The show has a variety of plot-hole problems, which I mostly ignore because it's fast and engaging. But recently an episode irritated me so much, it made really dislike the character. But it’s not her fault, of course.

I’m talking about the episode in which the FBI’s secret location is attacked by a group of machine-gun wielding thugs who want to capture or kill Reddington. In one scene Agent Keen encounters an evildoer who has just murdered several agents—and she has seen the bodies. She demands that he drop his weapon, then punches him in the face. He conveniently falls down and she walks away. Without cuffing him or taking his weapon or anything. WTF?

First, it wasn’t rational human behavior. The bastard would have killed her in a heartbeat, so the only move to ensure survival is to shoot him dead. No conversation necessary. It also went against law enforcement training. They train for shooter/siege scenarios, and once they’ve determined the person in front of them isn’t an innocent bystander, which takes only a second, they shoot. Their job is to protect human beings—citizens or other law enforcement personnel—from imminent danger, and they are trained to shoot to kill in those circumstances. I've volunteered to practice with law enforcement groups in those scenarios, so I've seen the training. They even handcuff dead suspects.

I know Keen killed one of the invaders earlier, but she also waited and gave him too many chances, including standing way too damn close. Law enforcement training also teaches cops and agents to keep twenty feet back from an armed suspect until their weapon is on the ground and kicked away. (Which doesn't make for good video, I know.) Not only was the whole scene stupid and unreal, Agent Keen has been reprimanded for that kind of bullshit before.

 But she’s just a character, an actress doing her job. I blame the writers. More important, I think it’s sexist. Would they write that kind of crap for a male agent? I don’t think so. Male protagonists are allowed to shoot the bad guys. Sometimes, we see a male lead knock people out, take their weapons, and secure them somehow. But that’s usually in a milder one-on-one scenario. In the case of an assault on an FBI building with multiple shooters, with several agents already murdered, I don’t believe writers would have forced a male agent to act so weak and stupid.

I’m not going to give up on the show—because  I still love James Spader—but I am going to write the producers and let them know what I think. For the record, the female FBI agents in my stories would have shot the man dead, as would have I. What do you think? Was it sexist and stupid? Or just lazy and stupid?