The Blacklist Recap: ‘Berlin’ [Episode 21]

The ‘Berlin’ episode begins with an armored car guard coughing up blood with cheeks so puffy it looks like he grew another pair.  His breathing is labored, vision blurred and simply put, the man is sick as a dog.  The guard finally collapses on the floor of a bank, the victim of a deadly virus.  This week’s black list target is really a person known as Berlin but the team must first find the mad scientist who is unleashing black market viruses on unsuspecting citizens.

Liz goes to her colleagues to tell them about Tom her trifling husband and the FBI, being who they are, places her under their suspicious microscopic lenses as well.  She later tells Harold she wants a transfer.  Liz is so done with Tom and Red.  While Liz is talking to Harold Red greets her with a friendly “hello” but she keeps on talking as if he is nowhere near the room.  Poor Harold, who is caught in the middle of all of this, watches the two of them like a frenzied tennis match.

Forced to work with Red on last time, Liz goes with him to visit Dr. Sanders, a brilliant but institutionalized scientist who may be able to help them.  Well, scratch that.  Lizzie deems Dr. Sanders is too loony-tunes to help anybody when he goes on a tangent about space characters.  This makes her even angrier with Red, who she now believes tricked her into going on this little adventure as a chance to be alone and bond again.  Liz makes plans to travel alone on a commercial airline instead of Red’s private jet.  Red is obviously crushed by Lizzie’s cold shoulder treatment.

Liz is wrong about the mentally challenged doctor.  Donald informs her of Dr. Sander’s legitimacy and she has to go to Red with her tail halfway between her legs.  Dr. Sanders, by the way, thinks he runs the institution he’s been admitted to and that his nurse is an employee he’s fired but keeps coming back.

When Liz and Red arrive at the institution, a nurse’s badge triggers something in Liz’s mind and her hunch leads the FBI to the guilty culprit, another madman who is obviously working for Berlin.  This genius is blackmailing folks who have a connection to the airport.  There is an elaborate scheme in bringing Berlin to the county.  He blackmails these poor folks in carrying out duties at the airport necessary to the plan.  Their reward being an anecdote for their troubles

Naturally he won’t give any other important details like who is this Berlin, what are his exact plans, etc., etc.  He is looking quite confident too as he explains “that’s how blackmail works sweetheart.”   But of course Liz has a trick up her sleeve and lets him know the FBI found his stash, including the very anecdote he will need because (he looks down at his glass) his water has been spiked.  Liz blackmails the blackmailer because that’s how blackmail works sweetheart.  Pure genius!

Lizzie goes home and plays connect the dots.  She figures out that all of their blacklist cases were and are tied into each other somehow.  Red has been using the FBI to take down a small group of enemies in order to weaken the granddaddy of them all – Berlin.  Liz is reasonably sure Berlin is coming for Red today!

Berlin is indeed on his way, but he has been warned their mission has been compromised. A jet fires at the plane, but it keeps on going.  Liz rushes to the park to warn Red he needs to leave.  With her transferring, this means his deal is off.  There will be no more blacklist cases to work on and he goes to lockup.  But Red stalls and rests his laurels on a park bench.  He wants to hear more.  Does he want her to say she cares about him so his wounds can heal or does he is stalling so he can get some sort of prison protection?  Who can tell with this man?

Red surrenders.  The burning aircraft carrying the mysterious Berlin flies overhead as everyone stands frozen in shock.  Red announces, “It begins now.”

Don’t miss the season finale of ‘The Blacklist’ on next Monday at 10:00 PM on NBC.

 

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