The Blacklist recap: Something blue

Before we get to the (kinda sad!) Blacklister of the week and the (definitely sad!) developments with Malik's family origins, let's first gossip about a much more fun topic: Raymond Reddington's love life.

It helps that James Spader could have chemistry with an inanimate object, because there's been a lot of love in 10 seasons of The Blacklist. When Red takes a lover — and yes, I assume Red would use the phrase "takes a lover" — it's another way for us to see how much the elusive criminal values connection and indulges in romance.

That said, I almost fell over when we saw Red with an armful of Weecha Xiu (Diany Rodriguez). The sister of Red's former confidant, healer, and lover Mierce Xiu? The only bodyguard who ever came close to Dembe (Hisham Tawfiq)?

Yes, that was a subtweet about Chuck.

Will Hart/NBC James Spader on 'The Blacklist'

The last time we saw Weecha, she was unconscious in one of Red's warehouse hospital tents after almost dying protecting her boss. Mierce was done with Red's obsession about Liz's death, and he took both sisters home to Cuba.

So, did I perk up when Red's latest nefarious business dealings took him to the island to meet with crime boss Adolfo Santoro (Caesar Samayoa)? Yes. Did I expect to see Weecha? No. Did I expect to see them share a long, passionate kiss?! Reader, I did not.

And when their conversation revealed that Red only got involved with Santoro to see Weecha and tell her how much he missed her, well, that hit all the romance-loving buttons.

Okay, okay, we can get back to the rest of the episode now. Which featured another return, this time Charlene Cooper (Valarie Pettiford): When her husband expresses frustration about the lack of Blacklisters from Red, she suggests the Task Force take on the case of a missing husband.

Charlene volunteers with newlywed and immigrant Duni (Sandra Okuboyejo), who came home to find her apartment ransacked and husband Okello Okoro (David J. Cork) gone. Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff) thinks the case is small potatoes, and Herbie (Alex Brightman) is just confused, asking "Who's Charlene?" but Cooper insists. If the Task Force is at risk of being shut down by Congress, they might as well go down helping people.

Duni tells the agents how she met Okello online and fell in love, moving to the U.S. to be with him. Dembe lets her know that Okello's bank account was emptied the day he went missing, and Duni reveals that the kidnappers must have known about the $75,000 dowry that had just been deposited by her parents.

Alas, we quickly learn that there is no kidnapper. Okello, whose real name is Kel, is an ex-con who works for a dowry scam. He was recruited by Jemma Parikh (Anjali Bhimani), the office manager for the parole office.

We see her juggling multiple chats at once, impersonating American men wooing young immigrants around the world to lure them and their dowries to the U.S. But when Ressler and Dembe visit the parole office, Parikh figures out the feds are on to her scheme and it's time to get out of Dodge — after finishing the scam of one last bride.

Yes, this Blacklister broke the cardinal rule of criminality: one last job. It'll get you every time!

Herbie tracks financials to arrest the scam grooms and set up a sting to arrest Parikh. In interrogation, we find out this all started with her sad story: She immigrated from India to marry a man who stole her dowry and ran away, making her a "nowhere bride."

She justifies her actions as an act against the dehumanizing and patriarchal dowry process, but Dembe isn't having it. She's a thief who hurts people the way she was hurt.

The fact that the case ends up being the takedown of an international fraud conspiracy is the just the icing on the Task Force cake.

Will Hart/NBC Hisham Tawfiq and Sandra Okuboyejo on 'The Blacklist'

While the team takes care of business, Malik is dealing with family issues.

After last week's garage sale, Red gave her the name Kathleen Sutton as a clue to her mother's mysterious past. When Malik finally visits Sutton (Janet Zarish), she finds out that Mom was partnered with Nigel and reported to Regina Saint (Rosie Benton).

Regina is delighted to meet Meera Malik's daughter and tells her about Nigel's death. She reveals that an inquiry made it clear that Meera wasn't responsible, but we know that isn't true — she let him get ambushed. Saint also mentions another case Nigel and Meera worked in Kolkata, and Malik takes note.

On Red's plane coming back from their Cuba/London jaunt, Malik tells Red what she learned and demands whatever information he's holding back.

So he finally tells her: Meera and Nigel were working against sex traffickers in India when Meera found an abandoned baby in the middle of a gunfight. "She picked up that baby and ran," Red tells her. "She ran all the way to London and never let go."

Red tells her about Meera's choice in Nigel's death, predictably sympathetic to another very protective parent. He lets Malik know that Meera would be very proud of her, and the episode ends on the agent breaking down into sobs.

I warned you from the beginning! It was very sad!

The Back-list:

• Dembe and Ressler are grossed out that Herbie pulled a print from the underside of a toilet seat, but that's called getting👏the👏job👏done👏.

• What are we calling Weecha and Red? Reecha? Redcha? Weed? It's Weed, isn't it? Team Weed!

• Congressman Arthur Hudson (Toby Leonard Moore) wasn't physically on screen this week, but the threat he represents looms large as we head into the final stretch of episodes.

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