The Blacklist recap: Red is out for blood
I'm not going to lie, I sympathize with Marvin. This episode explained Marvin's motivation well and just how much he cared about Red. Heddie and Marvin — who both dedicated their lives to Red's business — felt overlooked by him. And while Liz meant the world to Red, it didn't make sense to have her lead his criminal empire. Marvin knew the ins and outs of the business. Sure, he doesn't have the stomach to kill, but who needs to kill when you have others to do it for you?
Of course, Marvin isn't the "hero" in the story, but neither is Red. Our main concern should be clearing Cooper's name. We can't bring Liz back from the dead, but at least we can save Cooper, who is taking care of Liz's daughter Agnes. I really need Red to see that Liz's legacy – Agnes – is more important than exacting revenge on her death.
Let's begin the recap.
Zach Dilgard/NBC James Spader as Raymond "Red" Reddington
Marvin Gerard (No. 80)
The episode begins three years in the past, with Marvin (Fisher Stevens) watching Red (James Spader) from afar the night Liz (Megan Boone) was shot. Marvin is in tears watching his friend go through the worst pain imaginable — which he caused. Throughout the episode, we see flashbacks of Marvin and Tyson LaCroix (Teagle F. Bougere) plotting to take Liz down so Marvin can become the boss of Red's empire. In one scene, the pair share a drink while Marvin complains about Red. Tyson tells Marvin about the GPS medical pill. Later, Marvin visits Elias VanDyke (Lukas Hassel) and offers Liz up as a way to get revenge on Red for killing VanDyke's mentor, Neville Townsend.
Flash-forward to two years after Liz's death, and Marvin is running things while Red is away. He receives word that Red is making his return to the business and is set on finding Liz's killer. Tyson advises Marvin to finally take Red out, but he refuses because of their friendship. Instead, they plot to disassemble the Task Force – Red's best tool – by blackmailing Cooper (Harry Lennix).
Cut to present day, and Weecha (Diany Rodriguez) is back in the hospital bed at the warehouse. Mierce (Karina Arroyave) is upset that their lives were put in danger because of Red. She blames him for all of this. As Mierce uses sage around Weecha, Red begs for them to stay. Still angry at him, Mierce places some sage ash on him, comparing him to the Mayan god of death and human sacrifice.
Will Hart /NBC James Spader as Raymond "Red" Reddington, Diany Rodriguez as Weecha Xiu, Karina Arroyave as Mierce Xiu
The Task Force has been ordered to find Marvin. Red wants to kill Marvin, but Cooper still needs him to clear his name. Cooper's main priority is taking care of Agnes, and he can't do that from jail. Although Red cares about Agnes, he explains that Marvin knows too much about his organization, which is under threat of collapse.
Dembe (Hisham Tawfiq) asks Cooper to help protect Red. As an FBI agent, Dembe refuses to allow Red to kill Marvin, but he wants to be sure Red isn't compromised, either. Dembe organizes a meeting with big players in Red's business to meet at a cabin Marvin doesn't know about. But unfortunately for them, Marvin has bugged Red's vehicle and knows where they'll be. He calls Henrick Fisker (Pawel Szajda), the head of assassin operatives, to take out Red. Fisker tells Marvin he has his men in place, and he can watch the attack from a video feed, but Marvin refuses to watch. He tells Fisker to make it quick and painless.
Will Hart /NBC Harry Lennix as Harold Cooper
Red meets with his business partners to go over the situation with Marvin. Red tells the group that he needs their commitment and loyalty – and proves what he'd do to the ones who aren't loyal by shooting one of the visitors who took a deal from Marvin.
As Red is strategizing a plan with his colleagues, they are ambushed by Fisker's men. The guards outside have been taken out — leaving Red and Dembe the only ones alive inside as the others were killed by snipers. With no cell service, Red uses a vintage CB radio to call for help from a local trucker to seek help from the FBI.
Miraculously, the Task Force receives the message from the trucker, and they send out a team to save Red and Dembe. After Red is shot in the arm, he and Dembe hide from the gunfight in the pantry. They later come out to find Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff) and a team clearing out the cabin. They find one operative, and figure out that the man works for Fisker.
Red knows a guy who works for Fisker. They track Fisker down and torture him into revealing where he's meeting Marvin. Dembe tells the Task Force where Fisker is, but refuses to reveal Marvin's whereabouts. He tells the gang to get the information from Fisker himself. They're able to find the location, but aren't sure they'd make it before Red.
As Marvin is on his way to meet with Fisker, he calls Red and taunts him for almost getting killed. Suddenly, there's Red, right in front of his former lawyer. Marvin confronts Red for choosing Liz over him to run the company. Red tells Marvin he was always meant to be a follower, never the leader. Ouch.
The Task Force tells the airport to go on high alert, causing everyone in the airport to go into panic mode. Marvin takes the opportunity to escape from Red. Realizing Marvin got away because of the Task Force, Red calls Cooper and terminates their working relationship. Ending his relationship with the Task Force isn't going to help Red in the long run. Dembe is still an FBI agent and Cooper is Agnes' guardian. I just hope Red finally realizes that killing Marvin isn't going to bring Liz back. It's going to hurt the Task Force by screwing Cooper over, and hurt his relationships with Dembe, Mierce, and Weecha. But we've seen Red and the Task Force at odds before, so who really knows what to expect next week.
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