And The Sky Came Falling Down (Blacklist episode 8)

(RECAP AND REVIEW)

THE BLACKLIST

EPISODE 8 "GENERAL LUDD (No. 109)"

NETWORK: NBC 

ORIGINAL AIR DATE: NOVEMBER 11TH 2013

SPECIAL GUESTS: 

SYNOPSIS: A plot to destroy the U.S. financial system is uncovered by Liz. Meanwhile, Tom helps Liz when a family member becomes ill.

             

RECAP AND REVIEW: WARNING *SPOILERS AHEAD*

The Most important part of this episode isn’t so much the bad guys they take down but rather the story that happens in the background. On this episode of The Blacklist Lizzie looses the only father that she has ever known. But let’s rewind and start from beginning. A father and son are playing football in a park when pieces of a plane start falling from up above. The father thinks fast, picks up his kids and begins to run but unfortunately they don’t make it as the plane falls out of the sky and lands directly on top of them.

We then see a man in a mask on tv, referring to the plane crash, calling himself General Ludd and essentially just acting extremely creepy. (So we are going to guess that this is the bad guy this week!)

 Lizzie and Tom start the morning out a little hot in heavy in the shower. The scene would be really kinda sweet if the man from the van wasn’t watching the whole thing. As she is heading out, Lizzie gets a call from her father who says that he’s in the hospital. This of course makes her worry and want to go and see him, but he tells her to stay put and that he’s fine, joking and laughing to make her feel at ease. She buys it and just asks for some updates. (Now we all know that this man is probably close to dead right?) The nurse warns him not to downplay this to his daughter and to tell her the truth, he just blows her off. 

Harold goes to Reddington for help on this case, but Reddington isn’t really interested unless he can get something out of it. Harold caves of course because he really needs to close this case and he trades time on a secure database for Reddington’s help on the plane case. (Does Harold really think that he’s running this show?) Reddington explains that the cargo plane that blew up was the result of a terrorist group called General Ludd that his against capitalism (occupy Wall Street anyone?) and that things were going to get better not worse. Reddington can identify the leader of the group, which gives the FBI a place to work from. Ressler is at the crash site, talking to the cops and looking for witnesses, but there aren’t any to be had. They do find out how the bomb was made, and they get their first lead.

Then we see a man and an Asian woman looking extremely nervous, making what looks like a bomb, that looks like a laptop (yea I would be nervous too!). Ressler heads back to the blacksite with footage of the police suspect, and it turns out that the police’s suspect and Reddington’s suspect is the same person. (did anyone actually doubt Reddington’s information?) The guy they are looking for then walks into the room with the guy and the Asian woman, and picks up the laptop telling the pair that it has been an honor. Lizzie goes to retrieve Reddington, and finds him with Mary in the suburbs with a housewife printing up fake money. Liz just walks in and Reddington quickly covers for her sudden appearance and asks what she wants. She needs information of who General Ludd would have turned to, to change his face. Reddington wants to talk about her father instead, he urges Lizzie to go be with her father since the Cancer is back and her father doesn’t have a lot of time. (How does Reddington know/ know about Lizzie’s father?) Lizzie of course doesn’t believe him and says that her father is fine. (No, he is not Lizzie)

 

She begins to get agitated, so Reddington simply gives her the information that she wants. They are looking for a surgeon named Dr. Malts. Reddington and Lizzie go talk to Dr. Malts, but he has two requests, that this needs to be done fast because he has other places to be and that Dr. Malts is an asset he wants to protect. (Reddington you know Lizzie doesn’t take direction well) Reddington walks in greets the doctor, and then politely asks for the new name of the suspect that they are looking for. The shady doctor, isn’t exactly willing to give up his information, his business requires discretion. Less than two minutes into the discussion, Lizzie informs the good doctor that she is with the FBI and that Reddington is an informant and they want the information now or they she is going to have the FBI shut down his practice. (Really Lizzie, it takes you less than two minutes to flash the FBI card, and break one of Reddington’s rules… Why should he keep helping if you keep acting like an idiot?) Dr. Maltz tells him that the suspects new name is Bradley Holland. Reddington is pissed about how easily Dr. Maltz gives up this information (be happy Lizzie, this is one of the reasons you don’t get an ass chewing on this one) Reddington walks out, promising to find another Dr. for his clients.

Lizzie sans Reddington heads to the blacksite and tells them of about Bradley Holland. The tech guy, rushes in and says that he has found Bradley Holland. Dressed as an uniformed pilot, he goes to the lady at the gate introduces himself and has her secure him a seat on the upcoming plane. She finds him a seat, and he goes to the waiting area to sit and wait for the plane, he pulls out “the laptop” and starts working. Holland goes back to the lady at the gate and asks her to take his laptop on board the plane, because he has to go grab his flight log where he “forgot” it a couple of gates away. The woman of course agrees. And Bradley walks away a little smug. (Oh jeez.. there is going to be another plane fall out the sky! Never take packages from strangers, even if they are semi-cute)

The FBI are heading to the airport, trying to change the threat protocol to Red and ground all planes in the at that airport and to divert others. But it doesn’t seem like they are going to make it. Lizzie is in the car, riding to Reagan airport (where this is all going down) when she gets a call from Tom, who is talking and packing at the same time. He urges her to get on a plane and head to Nebraska to see her father. He apparently got a call from Lizzie’s aunt who said that her fathers cancer has spread to his liver. She’s working and can’t leave right that minute, so Tom heads to Nebraska then and books Lizzie on a plane that leaves in the morning. (He’s actually a really sweet husband here)

 They arrive on the tarmac at the airport and they try to start clearing the area, and get a bomb squad there but like we predicted its too late. Minutes after they arrive on site, a plane blows up a couple of yards away from them. (BOOM! Too little too late, yea I know that sounds harsh but whatever) It then cuts to Reddington sitting in Sam, Lizzie’s dad’s room, he’s smiling and they seem to know each other. (and now to the good stuff, what is going on here?) Back at the blacksite, Lizzie tries to leave, she tells Harold that she’s having a family emergency and she needs to go see her father, but Harold won’t let her go, mostly because the second BOMB triggered 9/11 protocols, there is no planes taking off right then. (should have left when he first called… hindsight is 20/20)

Reddington is talking to Sam about old times and they seem been close at least at some point in their lives; bothers or a friend who was like a brother. Reddington talks about how he finally met Lizzie and how she is stronger than she thinks she is. Reddington talks Sam that he gave Lizzie a gift, by taking her in and treating her like his own. (it is clear that they both know who Lizzie’s birth parents were) Sam admits to Reddington that he’s been giving six weeks to live, but he rather it have been 6 hours, he has no wish to die a slow death. (foreshadowing anyone). Before he dies, Sam wants to tell lizzie the truth, he thinks she deserves it, Reddington says that just can’t happen.

Back at the blacksite the tech guy has found Bradley Holland again, and Lizzie and Ressler heads out to grab him, they don’t actually find him but they do find his hideout and a description of all his aliases. Hollands big plan is a huge heist. He’s going to rip off half a billion dollars from the government that is being moved by truck. (how much do you get paid to drive a truck full of money around everyday? I’m just wondering) Lizzie and Ressler have the location of the truck and they head off to intercept it.

While in the car Lizzie gets a call from her dad, no thoroughly worried she calls her dad out about keeping his illness from her. He apologizes and admits that the cancer came back three months ago, and that he didn’t tell her because he was protecting her. Lizzie assures him that everything is going to be fine, and that he will beat it again (I think even she knows this isn’t the case… denial denial) But Sam goes along with the rouse saying of course he will. As they hang up, Reddington assures Sam that he will always be her father, he promises to love and protect Lizzie the same way Sam has. He then grabs a pillow and suffocates Sam with it, and cries as he does. (I wonder if Sam asked to die this way so his suffering wasn’t prolonged or did Reddington do it to shut him up?... so many questions not enough answers) After Sam has passed Reddington kisses his forehead and strokes his hair, then leaves. (I feel like Reddington and Sam are brothers….and that they either had a sister who is Lizzie’s mom or something like that… but I am not convinced Reddington is Lizzie father.)

Tom arrives shortly after Reddington leaves, and learns from a nurse that Sam has died. Outside the hospital near the coffee cart Reddington sits with Tom, and they have a weird discussion about him being there to see his father in law and how his gonna break that news to his wife. (creepy… they obv. Haven’t met face to face but I got the impression that Tom knew who he was)

Ressler and Liz are tightening the distance between themselves and Bradley. They cut Bradley off using the cops on one side of the street and themselves on the other. Bradley isn’t worried; he backs into an alley and starts a firefight with the police and FBI. On the other side of the alley are protesters, he gets out the truck opens the back and shoots the money into the crowd. He then dons a mask and disappears into the protesters. (I have to admit this was a great get away plan, but how did he know where he would get caught?) 

The FBI realize that the blueprint of the image in which all 100 dollar bill are fashioned is in the safe they realize they have a bigger problem on their hands. Since the blueprint is still their they think that General Ludd was unsuccessful.

Lizzie doesn’t think that it was all about the money, she thinks there must have been something else. Ressler then finds the safe hidden within the truck that has some type of software that he needed. Realizing that even during 9/11 protocols private planes can fly Lizzie calls Reddington to confirm that it is possible, and to ask where he would go if he was escaping by plane. 

Reddington says he’ll think about it, and instead intercepts General Ludd at the plane he was going to escape on. (Hey… Reddington should make money on this deal too). Reddington robs General Ludd, of the blueprint after he realizes that he had simply switched the blueprints in the truck, giving the government a fake and getting the real one for himself. (that’s kinda ingenious rob someone and replace the object your taking so they don’t know they’ve been robbed… neat trick)
Reddington then calls in the plane’s tail number to the FBI and they come and arrest General Ludd. After the arrest Ressler urges Lizzie to head to Nebraska to be with her father, but she gets a call most likely from Tom giving her the bad news.

The show cuts to Sam’s funeral and we see all kinds of friends and family grieving. Lizzie embraces everyone their and then leaves with Tom at her side. 

With General Ludd captured Harold allows Reddington to get on ViCAP, an FBI database. (He traded helping Harold with General Ludd for access to this database) he finds what he is looking for and a young woman appears on the screen. (I think this is his daughter btw and that’s all we get). 

 Lizzie tracks down Reddington later, and tells him that she knows that he has the original blueprints for the money. He neither confirms nor denies this. Instead he asks about the funeral and how she’s holding up. At first Lizzie is standoff ish until Reddington tells he the best way to honor her father’s memory to talk about him and tell stories about him, so she does. (aww this was a nice moment for these two… it’s been a minute since they were this at ease with one another)

REVIEW: One of my biggest issues this week was the speed in which we met Lizzie’s father and then saw him die. There was very little emotional connection, and it could have been this great heartfelt moment but it came across like ummmm ok. We could have seen phone calls to like once an episode, or just hear her mention him, but no he appears and then disappears out of thin air. The scenes between Reddington and Sam and even Reddington and Tom, were probably more interesting than the entire case combined. In this episode in particular, the case of the week seemed to drag down the more interesting storyline that was unfolding in the background. One of the best parts of this episode was watching Lizzie lower her barriers against Reddington at the end because her attitude was beginning to wear a little thin. There were some massive plot holes, about how the bad guys got away with everything before he got captured but in its entirety the episode was good.

 

  

SCENE STEALER AWARD GOES TO:

Reddington and Sam talking about how Sam took Lizzie in and treated her like his own (Reddington’s description on Lizzie was so sweet)

The coffee scene between Reddington and Tom - 1st runner up (it felt like two spies feeling each other out) 

THE LINE THAT MADE US PAUSE AND REWIND OUR DVR’S: 

“I’m not a consultant, I have no interest in cases that I have no interest in” - Reddington

RATING?

B (It was good)

DID YOU CATCH THE BLACKLIST? WILL YOU BE WATCHING NEXT WEEK?