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Berlin’s Black List, delivered by Tom
Meera’s last interrogation
Ressler takes matters into his own hands.
Oh, now you want to talk Alan.
Why in the Sam Hill are you bothering me?
I’m ready to begin shooting if I don’t get answers
Ambassodor kindly give the manifest
Lizzy, I was just leaving…
This episode opens with the wreckage of the propeller plane that was shot down at the end of the prior episode. Burning debris is strewn everywhere, as the survivors of the crash flee the scene. It has gone down near the East River in lower Manhattan. The FBI apprehends several men and interviews them. They all tell them same story about Berlin, how he cut off someone’s hand. A man drops into an emergency room with a bloody stump where his left hand used to be. The FBI believes this man to be a victim of Berlin’s attack. He is hospitalized.
At the U.S. Black Site Facility, New York C. Raymond Reddington (“Red”) is brought in by armed guards to a cage-like prison cell in the middle of the room. Agent Martin accosts Red, telling him he is going away without a trial. He asks Red if Agent Elizabeth Keen (“Liz”) was worth it. Red responds by asking the man if he uses Brill Cream and that his father used Brill Cream. As the agent walks out, Red says “yes” referring to Liz, “she’s worth it”.
At the FBI Command Center, Director Harold Cooper (“Cooper”) and Liz discuss Reddington. Cooper says Reddington can wait as they try to analyze the contents and passengers of the crashed plane. There is no manifest available, so other details remain a mystery. The FAA indicates that the plane originated out of Bogota and flew below 3,000 feet in radar dead zones to avoid detection.
Two suspects are apprehended after attempting a carjacking in Manhattan. One is Chechen mobster, the other a Colombian drug operative. None of the captured men know anything about a man called Berlin. They claim that they were kidnapped and placed on the plane. A guy in a hoody, who has handcuffed to another man, seemed to be in charge. He gave commands to the pilot. There were Serbians, Russians and Colombians on the plane. The Russians “love their tattoos” and they had visible artwork.
An armed heavy wearing a wife beater t-shirt watches television news reports regarding plane crash in a dingy apartment. Tom Keen knocks and the man lets him in. Tom asks what happened and says they shut down the island of Manhattan. The man asks Tom for the “the list” in a thick Russian accent. Tom hands him a sheet of white paper with the following names (all members of the FBI Task Force). It includes: Elizabeth Keen (at the top), Harold Cooper, Donald Ressler, Meera Malik and Aram Mojtabai. These agents are now targets of Berlin’s operation.
Agent Keen argues with Martin, who rejects her plan to meet with Red in order gain his help in this matter. Reddington seems to be at the core Berlin’s plans. A visitor is announced, however, and Alan Fitch arrives to meet with Red. He is concerned over the developments of Berlin, as nobody has the situation under control. Fitch is “in the intelligence business” but cannot figure this one out. Red points out that if Alan had agreed to work with him earlier, they might not be in this position. Alan agrees that having Red “disappear into a black hole doesn’t serve either of our interests”. He agrees to work with Red and to allow him to get out of prison, in a staged escape. Alan says he is not sure if Red will survive this time, as he and the task force ‘are now targets”. Alan wishes him good luck as he exits. Agent Martin is the one who helps Red stage the escape, although reluctantly. Red successfully renders Martin unconscious and escapes the transfer van. Red uses a pay phone to call Liz to tell her that the task force is in danger. Unfortunately, Ressler and Meera are in a nightclub to apprehend suspects. Meera has her throat slit by a tall bearded man and dies instantly. Agent Keen and the others arrive too late.
Liz meets with Red. Liz informs Red that is was Tom who provided the names of the agents on the task force to the murderer. Liz asks why her father Sam was in Tom’s materials. Red says it’s all just pieces of information that won’t make sense until all of them are in front of her. Red reiterates that Sam was her father, that’s why he was mentioned and for no other reason.
Agent Ressler interrogates one of the captured suspects. The man says he is a Russian fugitive who was captured and placed on the plane in Venezuela. Reddington is dispatched to the Russian Ambassador to get the plane’s manifest. Reddington sits at the Ambassador’s long dinner table, holding his small terrier. Reddington, wearing a napkin as a bib, eats a peach and offers the Ambassador one. Dembe grabs his phone. Red asks him about the plane but the Ambassador refuses to assist Red. Red eats a peach slice with a pocket knife, explaining that freestone peaches are better than clingstone because the pit separates from the flesh of the peach more easily. Red demands the manifest from the plane. Red tells him he won’t harm the dog, before tossing his knife into the Ambassador’s leg.
Reddington gets the manifest and provides it to Agent Keen. There are 3 guards, 2 were killed in the crash, including one in ICU. There were 10 prisoners 3 in custody, 4 dead and 3 at large. The agents go to the hospital to talk to the guard, in order get information about the three men at large, one of which they assume is Berlin. The guard tells the story of Berlin. He was a Colonel who tried to help his daughter escape from Russian prison, after she had fallen in love with a dissident. When the Kremlin discovered this, he was imprisoned in Siberia with his enemies. He prayed for his daughter’s safety; eventually he was sent the gold watch he had given her. Then he started receiving her body parts, beginning with her ear. He used some of the bones to make a knife and escape. He then hunted for the man responsible for his daughter’s death. He tells them that the man you are looking for was never on the manifest.
Cooper and Martin meet in secret, off the record, on a park bench. Martin tells Cooper that the task force can continue and that they should keep working with Reddington. Martin tells Cooper, who is understandably confused, that “people” want the program to continue. He refuses to say more. Perhaps it’s Alan Fitch and his globalist associates. Cooper returns to his car and looks to his left, noticing his driver has been murdered. Before he can react, a man in the back seat strangles Cooper with a wire. Cooper tries to place hand between the wire and his neck. Cooper’s gun discharges several times in the car. The man whom Tom Keen gave the list, sits on a bench nearby and crosses Cooper’s name off the list.
The prisoners indicate that the man in charge was wearing a hoody. Agent Ressler interrogates the bearded man who murdered Meera, who is now in custody. He demands answers and begins strangling the man. Red has the true name of the man they call Berlin, Milos Pavelkinksi, a Russian national. Berlin now operates an organized crime syndicate. He provides the details to Alan Fitch, who then asks what Red did to put Berlin in such a bad mood. Red has no answer. Red asks Fitch (is he NSA?) to find Berlin and that he will do the rest.
Liz and Red meet in a car. Cooper is still alive but they are unsure if he will make it through the night. Red retells the story of the night her father Sam took her in. A man asked Sam to watch over her because he was in danger. Sam said that her father had died that night in a fire, which is Liz’s last memory of her father. Sam kept the truth of her biological father from Liz, and Red killed him in order to protect her from it. Red tells her that knowing his identity would put her in grave danger. Red says it was the toughest thing he has ever done and he only did it to protect her from learning the name of her real father. Red says he died in the fire and won’t tell her who it is now.
Fitch calls Red with the location of the man they believe is Berlin. Red goes to the address provided and shoots several guards on the street in broad daylight. He enters an apartment begins interrogating the man.
Ressler works the phone, indicating that there is an 11th passenger that wasn’t on the manifest. Liz comforts agent cooper and gives him the young girl’s bracelet (from episode 1) that Cooper had given her earlier in this episode.
Red continues to interrogate the man. The man says he searched for years and finally found his weakness. The man spits in Red’s face. Red shoots his hands and the man screams in pain. Red says, “a shot in the hand is an absolute bitch”. Red demands a story from the man he thinks is Berlin but he only provides vague responses, mumbles something about Beirut in 2010. Red replies, the “Campalango Incident”.
Tom enters the car and kidnaps Liz. He arrives at the apartment and tells Red to drop his gun. Red refuses. They have a Mexican standoff, with Red pointing his gun at Tom and Tom with a gun to Liz’s head. Liz tells Red to not drop his gun. She remains calm. Red kills the seated man and approaches Tom. Liz grapples with Tom and the gun goes off, injuring Tom. Red wants to finish him off but Liz wants to handle it alone. Tom whispers something to her before passing out.
The agents continue to interrogate the passengers. Aram indicates the charred remains of the other body were handcuffed to the other person. In a nod to the “Usual Suspects”, they realize that Berlin cut off his own hand and the man in the hospital is actually Berlin; the agents arrive too late and he has escaped from the hospital. Liz tells Red that the man he killed was not actually Berlin. Red tells Liz he will leave if she wants or she can face the issue with her father. He believes she wants him to leave and he begins packing. Liz returns to her empty apartment and looks at pictures of her father as Pearl Jam’s “Just Breathe” plays. Agents return to the apartment where the man was killed to inspect the crime scene and Tom’s body is gone. The other man’s body remains where Red shot him. Berlin shaves off his beard and looks at his gold watch, containing an old picture of his daughter.
Liz returns to work with Red, just as he’s ready to leave the estate where’s he’s been housesitting. She tells Red that Tom told her that her father is alive. Red denies this and says he’s dead. A clean shaven Berlin walks the streets of New York, opens his watch and looks the picture of a young girl. Red pulls up a photo of a young girl with “79” written on it; she was one of the victims of the “Stew Maker episode earlier in the season. It looks like the picture that Berlin carries with him. Red takes his shirt off, revealing extensive burns and scarring. The episode ends.
Not many answers given in this episode, just more of the same lingering questions about the identity of Liz’s biological father and why Reddington wants to keep it from her. Berlin’s purpose for attacking Reddington is also unclear. So what are we left with?
At the end of the episode Reddington reveals horrible scarring all over his back. This scarring is consistent with a fire; this could indicate that Red was present at the fire which Liz remembers as the last time she saw her father. Red insists that her biological father is dead, but he may be saying this to protect her. Earlier in the season it was implied that Reddington is her biological father. Knowledge that Red had a daughter would prove to be useful to his enemies, and would make her an obvious target. That would explain Tom Keen’s interest in monitoring her for Berlin. I would ascribe a 75% likelihood that Red is her father.
But who is that poor girl who was one the Stew Maker’s victims? Was she the one that got away or was she another victim that was disintegrated by the madman? Why does Berlin carry the same picture?
Berlin is not Lizzy’s father, I am fairly certain of this fact. His presence and search for a missing daughter however does confuse things greatly. My belief that he believes that Red is somehow responsible for the death of his daughter and he wants to pay Red back in kind by kidnapping Liz and blackmailing Red. Killing her outright would have the opposite effect, so they need her alive.
We also know that Reddington has used the FBI to protect himself and his criminal operations. Although he has provided ample leads in the form of the Black List in exchange, Red seems to be getting the better end of the deal. Liz must now with Reddington assistance, put together the pieces of the Black List and find out who is behind the grand conspiracy. I would imagine the Berlin is only piece of the puzzle.
Agent Cooper will likely recover and be back in action next season. Meera, however will not. Although I liked her character and the actress, her role seemed unnecessary and was the easiest to kill off. She was also possibly the mole that Red uncovered earlier in the season. I wonder if there is any correlation with her death and her function as the mole.
One theory floating around on reddit is that Red was married to Berlin’s daughter. This would explain why both men carry the same picture. This would also explain Red’s attachment to that photo. Liz realized many of the Black List entrants are connected, so it’s not surprising that a psyhcotic killer like the Stew Maker could be involved in Berlin’s daughter’s murder.
She wasn’t on his hit list, remember Tom and her fighting two episodes ago he said to her “I wasn’t sent to hurt you”, she was his target but not hurt, but to get close to Red. Berlin thinks Red killed his daughter whom he dated and Liz with. But the alliance (Alan Alda group of men) killed Berlin’s daughter and hired the Stewmaker to kill her. Instead of dissolving her he chopped her up and sent her in pieces to Berlin. Red didn’t kill her but Berlin doesn’t realize that just yet.”
And don’t forget Alan Fitch and his team of oligarchs. They may also have meddled in Berlin’s affairs, leaving Red holding the bag and becoming Berlin’s target. There are lots of loose ends to be untangled.
So the season ended with many cliffhangers that will leave these questions lingering all summer long. It was a great first season of the Black List and let’s hope that Jon Bokencamp and crew will deliver an equally strong effort next year.
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The Blacklist Season 1, Episiode 22, "Berlin: Conclusion" - recap and analysis Recap This episode opens with the wreckage of the propeller plane that was shot down at the end of the prior episode.
