The Blacklist recap: The truth is a hard pill to swallow
This week's Blacklist was filled with so many unexpected twists. From the Blacklisters' crimes to those done by the victims, to learning just how far Senator Panabaker (Deirdre Lovejoy) is willing to go for her family, it was a lot to unpack.
Not only was the twist with the Blacklister, but we also find out more about Andrew Kennison (Joe Carroll), the man Cooper (Harry Lennix) had placed into protective custody, and his connection with Liz's death. My mind is completely blown with how these stories are interconnected. But, before I say more, let's get to the nitty gritty details.
Eva Mason (No. 181)
The episode begins with a couple camping out in the middle of nowhere. They begin to talk about old scary stories of "the whispering woman" and suddenly hear a noise outside their tent. They open it to investigate the sound and are attacked by a scary, pale-faced woman.
We find out that the pale-faced, emaciated woman is Panabaker's missing daughter-in-law Sheila, who is now in a medically induced coma. Panabaker wants Red (James Spader) and the Task Force to find the person who did this to Sheila. Cooper tasks Park (Laura Sohn) and Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff) to ask Sheila's doctor about her medical state, and they find that not only was she malnourished, but had heart damage. The doctor also shows them Sheila has two names carved into her leg.
We then meet the Blacklisters. Binstock (Lea Delaria) is concerned Sheila will go to the police and that they have too many patients in their facilities to control. Eva Mason (Stephanie Kurtzuba) ignores her, and hands Binstock a file about their new victim, a little girl named Sarah.
Zach Dilgard/NBC James Spader as Raymond "Red" Reddington
We then see Sarah in a medical bed watching TV at home. She begins to have a seizure and is taken to the hospital. Outside of Sarah's house, Eva is watching them from afar. She tells Binstock that they'll make their move tonight.
The names on Sheila's body are of two other women who were also kidnapped: Crystal Flowers and Maria Holmes, mothers who had been featured on "Tiny Fighters," a fundraising organization for families whose children have serious health issues. Sheila had been featured with her daughter Charlotte, who has a serious heart condition (remember, Sheila is now in the hospital with heart damage. Coincidence?). Aram discovers Crystal, Maria and Sheila were all abducted within a week of being featured on "Tiny Fighters," and after checking on recently profiled mothers, finds Sarah's mother, Mary (Katie Finneran), on the list.
The Task Force heads to the hospital after being told Mary and Sarah were there. But Eva arrives first, and attempts to kidnap Mary with an anesthesia gun. After Sarah screams for help, Eva escapes without Mary before Ressler and Dembe (Hisham Tawfiq) can catch her. Mary and Sarah remain at the hospital with security.
Back at Eva's "hospital," one of the mothers is screaming in pain from the treatment Binstock provides. Eva reminds Binstock they are doing all of this for "Chelsea" and proceeds to tell the mother that she's willing to do anything for her son, so they're giving her the chance to do that.
Aram (Amir Arison) found nothing from the hospital footage or the prints from the anesthesia gun left behind, but finds that the gun can only be found on the black market. Red identifies the manufacturer and locates where the device had been sent. Ressler and Dembe find the "hospital" filled with the missing mothers with dolls next to their heads. Binstock attacks Ressler but is stopped by Dembe.
Zach Dilgard/NBC Amir Arison as Aram Mojtabai
Back at the Post Office, Cooper tells Panabaker that the mothers were given medical treatment that mimicked the symptoms of their sick children. Binstock refuses to talk, so Panabaker asks Red to use his... methods. As Teddy (Teddy Coluca) is torturing Binstock, Red and Panabaker talk about the lines they're willing to cross for the ones they love. Red tells her something really disturbing: if Panabaker is willing to go that far, think of what he is willing to do. Reader, I had chills.
Binstock eventually reveals that the kidnapped mothers — including Sheila — all have Munchausen syndrome by proxy, which means they have been intentionally making their children sick. Panabaker refuses to believe it, but notices some red flags she may have previously ignored. She then receives a text from her son that Sheila is awake.
Aram tells the Task Force that the nurses only tortured mothers who abused their children and were kept in the "hospital" to allow the kids to get better. Cooper wants to check in with the mothers on Binstock's list and to halt them from reuniting with their children until they figure out the truth. Ressler and Dembe leave for Mary and Sarah, who have escaped from the hospital. Mary's husband has no idea where his wife and daughter went, and is in disbelief of his wife's actions. Mary takes Sarah to their usual "spa day" hotel, assuring her everything will be okay.
Aram found detailed and extensive medical files of each family taken from the "hospital." Each case revealed that these mothers did purposely make their children sick. They also find out that Binstock was a home health nurse for a little girl named Chelsea Mason, whose mother made her sick. After Chelsea's death, her sister Eva received a lot of money from hospital settlements. Traumatized by the experience, Eva and Binstock went on to look for mothers who have Munchausen through the Tiny Fighters website to "protect the children."
We see that Eva has tracked Mary and Sarah to the hotel, with the Task Force close behind. At the hotel, as Mary goes to get ice, Eva visits Sarah, telling her the truth about her mother and her "illness." Mary returns, and Eva pulls a gun on her, telling her that Sarah needs to go to the hospital. Seeing a gun in her mother's purse, Sarah pulls it on Eva. Just then, Dembe and Ressler come in with THEIR GUNS out. Dembe tells Eva they know about Chelsea and that the mothers will be stopped. Sarah accidentally discharges the gun, shooting Eva in the shoulder.
Later, Panabaker calls Red to thank him. She took her granddaughter out for ice cream as Sheila was arrested for her crime.
Meanwhile, while all of this is happening – Ressler is suspicious of his team when he overhears them ask about his Narcotics Anonymous sponsor. Thinking the Task Force is throwing him an intervention, he goes off on them, saying he's doing everything he can to stay sober and has been attending all his meetings. But it wasn't an intervention. The team surprises him with a party to celebrate his two months of being sober. This was a really sweet moment. We are proud of you, Ressler.
Two Men and a Baby
Weecha (Diany Rodriguez) confirms with Red's tech guy Tadashi that the pill was designed to perform two functions: to provide GPS coordinates and monitor medication released in the body. But Liz had no drugs in her system. Red calls his medical expert, Herbie (Alex Brightman), who hasn't been heard from in days.
Red visits Herbie's home to find him struggling with a crying newborn daughter. She immediately calms down when Red holds her. He tells Herbie to enjoy these moments with his little girl, and it's obvious that he's thinking about Liz. As Red tends to Herbie's daughter, Herbie looks up what he can about the tracker. It's a capsule designed to administer and monitor medication: loaded with one dose of the patient's med, it wirelessly sends data to the doctor, including whether the medication was taken and where. Herbie had only heard of one medical clinic in Boston that was considering a pilot program for the device.
Red visits Dr. Janssen of the Boston medical clinic, who tells him they were considering doing a pilot program for the device until patient advocacy groups complained about privacy issues. He tells Red about the man who developed the capsule: his wife had psychiatric problems and refused to take medication. After she experienced a devastating episode, he developed the pill to monitor medication adherence so no one could relive that nightmare. The name of the developer is Andrew Kennison.
Mind. Blown.
I love it when The Blacklist connects it all together somehow. Cooper's life is in the balance to protect Andrew — and now Red is looking for this person. It's going to be chaotic… and I love it. I cannot wait for next week's episode.
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