The Blacklist recap: Logistical matters
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There is a bizarre type of mirage that typically happens in polar seas. In the band of sky just above the horizon line, objects become radically distorted, concealing what is actually right in front of you. It's called the Fata Morgana.
This week's Blacklister is named the Morgana Logistics Corporation, but not a single member of the Task Force seems to understand the moniker of the company that smuggles untaxed, untraceable goods all over the globe.
I bet Amir would have. And I bet he would have then realized that there was yet another concealment in play.
I know I'm starting from the end, but that's only because this episode is a lot of fun to talk about once you realize that Red (James Spader) has sent the Task Force to shut down the massive criminal enterprise that he owns and operates because he was going to shut it down anyway.
Welcome to the Morgana Logistics Corporation Going Out of Business Celebration, please have a nibble and enjoy the New Orleans jazz.
But before we get to that party, let's start from the top and admire the way Raymond Reddington is the Fata Morgana of FBI Task Force #836.
Will Hart/NBC James Spader
The episode opens with Red sleeping when someone creeps towards his bed. But when the music turns from ominous to early Cinemax, you realize that the creeper is none other than Weecha (Diany Rodriguez). Whatever he wrote in that note to her last week must have been a doozy, because this is an international booty call. "You need a bodyguard," the bodyguard says. "I need a girlfriend," Red replies.
The next day, Red tells Cooper (Harry Lennix) he's exhausted because of an intruder (ha!) that he managed to get on top of (haha!). Cooper is alarmed enough to agree to loan him Dembe (Hisham Tawfiq) for a day or two since Chuck is nowhere to be found.
I don't want to say I told you so, but I definitely told you so. Chuck is useless.
I do want to point out how neatly and efficiently Red has pulled Dembe, the one agent who might recognize the Morgana Logistics Corp's shady dealings, out of the Task Force for this case.
Cooper brings up the ship that Red asked him to check out last week. He's found nothing wrong with the ship or the company that owns it until Red informs him that the company is completely fake. It's got paperwork, it's got certifications and documents and utilities and whatnot (I'm paraphrasing), but it's not real. It's a "phantom."
Essentially, Morgana creates thousands of fake companies all over the world and uses them for nefarious smuggling purposes. Red describes the entire operation to Cooper, and if you go back and rewatch this scene after finding out that Red owns Morgana… you will laugh out loud at the clear admiration he has in his voice.
No one ever accused Raymond Reddington of humility.
Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff) and Malik (Anya Banerjee) get sent to the port to pull the shipping containers that Red has flagged. Shocking no one, the intel pans out — instead of the listed electronic components, the containers are full of highly tariff-able French wines.
Expensive wine! And they still don't suspect Red!
Sony Pictures Television Anya Banerjee as Siya Malik, Diego Klattenhoff as Donald Ressle
Herbie (Alex Brightman)'s digging finds the accountant who did the taxes for the company, which leads to a working dinner the accountant had with a VP of the company, which leads to an address on a credit card, which leads to a raid on the offices, which leads to the arrest of the only guy there.
It's the VP who runs the office and has been receiving ominous messages from the big boss about "coming down" and "making changes." Needless to say, he's not planning to talk to the FBI.
Meanwhile, Dembe nags Red about the "intruder" and his security. Red makes him play Bananagrams for the information, and it turns out Dembe is an absolute Bananagrams assassin. Red admits it was Weecha.
You can tell Dembe is confused as to why he's really there, especially when the realtor from earlier in the season comes by and is now Red's party planner. "What are you celebrating?" he asks Red. "Beginnings and endings," Red cheerfully replies.
Cooper calls to get an I.D. on the arrested man (notice Red walks away from Dembe so he can speak freely). Later that day, Red calls back with a dozen aliases for the man. We'll call him by his most used alias, Mr. Kavanaugh (J.C. MacKenzie). The team uses his passport movements to pinpoint a location in Paris.
Cooper sends Ressler and Malik to Paris to watch the raid. See, that's the kind of reckless spending that gets you on the radar of Congressperson Nitpick, Coop.
Speaking of, let's catch up on what Arthur Hudson (Toby Leonard Moore) has been doing. After losing Dorf, he brings in an old FBI friend to dig around. That friend finds an intriguing clue: a record of a classified meeting with Cooper and three other assistant directors of the FBI.
It's unusual enough that Hudson is able to fake out an attendee of that meeting into believing he's starting a Congressional investigation. The agent is livid. "If you so much as whisper 'Zuma' on the Congressional record, the first call you get won't be from me, it'll be from the attorney general."
Whoops! That slip is enough. By the end of the episode, Hudson has figured out that Agent Dembe Zuma is connected to Raymond Reddington (via the same picture that caused all that trouble with the Freelancer!). Then he connects Cooper through Agnes's adoption, since Elizabeth once publicly went on the lam with Red. He gets Ressler on his radar, too, because Ressler was technically in charge of the manhunt for Red.
Will Hart/NBC Harry Lennix as Harold Cooper
Credit where it's due, he's figured out a lot. All roads lead to Red.
So let's get back to him. Cooper calls with great news: the Paris raid uncovered the headquarters for Morgana. The upside is that law enforcement is able to shut down the international operation. The downside is that Morgana employees must have been warned, because there's nary a person to arrest.
Except, of course, the one that they already caught. Kavanaugh's being held with an obscenely high bail, and Cooper smugly anticipates he'll be in jail until trial.
Red drops Dembe off at his home and admits that he asked to borrow the agent because he wanted to hang out with him. Dembe sighs, but says "I miss you too, Raymond" before leaving. It's very sweet until you remember that Red also wanted Dembe to be away from the Task Force so his plan could work, but what can one say? Red's loves are complex.
Red's next stop is at the courthouse to pick up Kavanaugh after he sent a lawyer to bail him out. Poor Cooper truly has no idea how hard he got played. I try to avoid text talk in these recaps, but… LOL.
Red and Kavanaugh arrive back at the bathhouse to find the party in full swing. It's Morgana executives from all over the globe, and Red has gathered them all to celebrate the sheer accomplishment of the scheme. He gives a lovely speech to his employees about the business they built and says, "it's hard to believe that it's over."
It's yet another piece of Red's empire that he's voluntarily dismantled. The question remains, why?
And considering there are only a few episodes left — to what end?
The Back-list:
Herbie loves a good restaurant, and Malik loves to tease. The way she said "fish dumpling" was an HR violation!
"I don't know what Weecha's intentions are, Dembe. The woman's hard to read. She wouldn't hurt me, but might hurt me? It's unclear." Red is truly smitten, isn't he?
I don't want to imply that Congressperson Hudson needs time at a quiet retreat upstate, but he's gotten to the point where he's using a corkboard with pictures. Red string is inevitable.
Red shouldn't use his cell phone while driving, and neither should any of us. I'm disappointed, Red.
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