The hiring of Tom Keen. The contradictions.
From what they’ve shown, I believe Tom Keen had three separate employers. With the two they’ve shown, they’ve still handed us contradictions.
Red and Berlin.
Red hired Tom in 2009, Tom and Liz met July of 2010, Red fired/Berlin hired Tom in 2011, Tom and Liz married November of 2011. Tom said he worked for Red for two years. That puts Red hiring Tom in 2009. So Tom was hired at least 7 months before he actually met Liz in 2010.
Red’s hire of Tom Keen.
2x19-
Red: When I hired Tom Keen, it was at a time of profound transition in your life. You’d already left behind the relative safety and innocence of youth. Sam’s care as a father had served you well, but you’d outgrown him. And I knew that eventually my life would jeopardize yours. So, in an admittedly presumptuous and ultimately futile effort to keep you safe, I hired Tom simply to be there as a friend of a friend to look after you from an arm’s length.
5x8-
Major: The assignment’s deep cover. No timeline, no price tag. This may seem like a cake walk, but it’s the kind of assignment that makes me nervous. Our contractor has deep pockets. Demands the best, insists on anonymity. Tom: She’s cute. Major: That’s one more thing he insists on. Your job’s to be the friend of a friend, get to know this Milhoan, not to get involved with her. Just be a friend of a friend. You get that?
Tom: You hired me to spy on Liz. Red: I hired you to protect her.
Be a friend of a friend. I imagine friends protect friends, not spy on them.
Red’s fire/Berlin’s hire of Tom Keen.
2x19-
Red: When I learned that your relationship had become intimate, I fired him. I should’ve removed him, but you were already in love with him. And Tom, he shifted his allegiance to Berlin. In part - to protect himself from me, but also because it allowed for an inextricable intimacy and commitment to you. And so - you were married. And I couldn’t stay away any longer. A confluence of peril had entered your life, and I wanted to be within reach, to have influence. I turned myself in to the FBI to point you toward a truth that inevitably you would have to discover for yourself.
Tom aligned himself with Berlin prior to their wedding. He aligned himself with Berlin specifically so he and Liz could get married. That’s according to Red’s stated belief. This belief continues for both Red and Major in season two.
2x15-
Major: Look, I told you what happened with Tom Keen. This is not my fault. Red: You vouched for him personally, Bill. I hired him on your recommendation. The merchandise was defective. Major: No. Keen was perfect - test scores, aptitude. There was no indication he would become emotionally involved. Red: But he did.
The Contradictions.
Major didn’t allow Tom to turn, nor did he get paid by Berlin for Tom to turn.
2x15-
Major: If I gave you his location, I’d have to betray a client. Red: That shouldn’t be hard, Bill. You betrayed me. You sold me an asset and then allowed him to turn when Berlin offered you twice as much. You’re in debt to me. Recognize this rather fortuitous opportunity for you to begin to make things even. Where can I find Tom Keen?
In fact, Major went off on Tom when he found out about their relationship.
5x8-
Major: The contractor is livid. You weren’t supposed to get involved with the mark. Tom: Her name is Elizabeth. Major: I don’t care if she’s Queen Elizabeth and screwing her made you king. Get out. He will kill you if you don’t.
Tom’s romantic involvement with Liz began at some point after Red hired him, but also before Red fired/Berlin hired him. That means he was not hired by either Red or Berlin to get romantically involved with Liz.
Who hired Tom to get involved with Liz?
Someone did.
1x15-
Tom: I can’t. That’s why I came here, to tell you that I can’t do this because I love my wife. Jolene: Wrong answer! Elizabeth Keen is not your wife, she’s your target! Tom: She’s my what? Jolene: I think you know, Tom. Tom: What is this? Did they send you? Really? To what? Test me? I told you that I was in love with her because that is exactly what I am supposed to be. That - is my job.
Here, Tom admits that his job is to be “in love” with Liz. Jolene refers to Liz as Tom’s “target.”
1x16-
Tom: You’re not my handler. I don’t work for you. Jolene: Berlin is having doubts. Tom: Yeah? Well, Berlin doesn’t have a damn clue. Do you have any idea how many candidates there were? They chose me. I’ve done everything they asked. I married the woman, for God’s sake. I’ve made her think my entire world revolves around her. And now - it’s been two years, and I’ve heard nothing.
Here, Tom admits doing everything they asked, that includes marrying Liz.
1x19-
Tom: It was the shoes. That’s when I knew. It was those brown leather shoes. It was our third or maybe fourth date. You’d come over to my place on Halstead, and we ordered, uh - takeout and rented a movie that we never finished because we ended up - And you had to get up early for work. And by the time I got up, you were gone. I remember standing in the closet, half-dressed, reaching for my shoes when I saw that you had drawn this little heart In the dust on my shoe. You remember that? It was the sweetest thing. And ever since that moment, I just felt - sorry for you. Because I knew - I knew that I had you. Part of me didn’t want it to work. But it did.
In Tom’s shoe story, he admits that it was his job to basically seduce her, that he didn’t want it to work, but it did. He knew he had her after their third or fourth date because she drew a heart in the dust on his shoe, and he basically felt sorry for her, but that was his job.
3x7-
Tom: So, here’s the deal. Agent Keen and I were uh, married, as like, a job - you know? But you ever take one of those jobs just to pay the rent, and you find out that you’re - you’re good at it? Karakurt: You cannot excel at anything you do not love. Tom: Well, yeah. I mean, where were you when I was married? I didn’t figure that out till it was over.
Here, Tom admits to marrying Liz as part of a job, that he didn’t realize he was in love with her until it was over. This puts him realizing he was in love with her sometime after episode 1x19.
3x13-
Gina: That’s why you want in on this? For her? Your phony wife? Tom: We’re not married. Gina: The mark you dumped me for? Here, Gina refers to Liz as Tom’s phony wife and his mark. Phony wife because marrying Liz was part of his job.
Who was Tom's handler for Berlin?
Here's where things get really chaotic. Not just the employers, but the handlers too. We have two women who knew that Liz was Tom's mark: Gina and Jolene. Red and Major both appearing to believe Tom fell in love with Liz, neither of them commissioning him to so much as get romantically involved with her. Yet he was hired to do so, and even married her because they wanted him to.
We have Tom referring to Major as his handler.
2x18-
Tom: These Germans want me dead. My handler too. So, please, I need your help. I need the passports.
Unless they lied in Tom's flashback in 5x8, Major didn't "allow" or "get offered twice as much" for Tom to work for Berlin.
We have Tom telling Jolene she’s not his handler.
1x16-
Tom: You’re not my handler. I don’t work for you.
But we know that Jolene worked for Berlin.
1x16-
Jolene: Berlin is having doubts.
Jolene: We sent word four months ago.
Jolene: Berlin wants information.
The finer details.
Tom told "Craig Keen" that he's the one accountable to Berlin.
1x18-
Tom: Easy for you to say. I’m the one who is accountable to Berlin. I’m coming to your hotel now.
Tom referred to Constantin while questioning the Russian with Katarina's photograph.
2x20-
Tom: Did the same thing last month. It’s probably why you don’t recognize me. Constantin. Berlin, man, he’s tough. I had to get away for a while, go to Germany, figure a few things out.
Here, he basically connected “Constantin” and “Berlin” in one sentence. A name Alexander Kirk hadn’t used for over 20 years.
Tom knew where Berlin parked his money.
2x2-
Red: It’s funny. When I was standing there wondering if you had decided to let me die, a thought struck me. How did you know that Berlin had his money in that bank? At first, I thought it was the girl, that she told you. But the accounts would be coded, moved through shell corporations. Layers of protection. And then I realized, “No. Somebody has a secret Santa. A source.” Bravo, Lizzy. When you’re ready to share, I’d love to hear.
Tom also knew about Berlin's arms dealer.
2x7-
Tom: Sevan. Sevan Volkov. He runs arms for Berlin. He’d be able to set a meeting.
Red: I know you were expecting Volkov, but as luck would have it, he sold you out to Agent Keen.
Tom didn’t know of Alexander Kirk.
3x22-
Red: Alexander Kirk. Tom: I don’t know who that is. Red: The man who ordered the attack on your wedding.
But he believed Alexander Kirk to be Liz’s father.
4x4-
Liz: I don’t think he’ll hurt her. Tom: Of course he will. She’s his last chance of survival. Liz: If he hurts her, he loses me. Tom: Yeah, and lives.
And he believed this before getting his hands on the fabricated DNA report.
He was "out" with Red.
2x19-
Tom: I’m telling you this because I don’t want you to be confused about my part in any of this. You, Liz. All of it. I’m out. I’m done.
He was "out" with Major.
2x18-
Tom: These Germans want me dead. My handler, too. So, please, I need your help. I need the passports.
Yet he asked Gina for help getting "out."
3x16-
Tom: So… I could end this right now. I could go find the Major, and I could end him too. Or… we can just agree to just walk away. I don’t come after you, and you don’t come after me or my family. Gina: I should have said yes that night in Budapest. Tom: No, Gina. Listen to me. I’m asking you to help me walk away. Please. Someday, maybe someone will do the same thing for you. Gina: I’ll try.
Gina speaking as if she were an employer of sorts.
3x17-
Major: You were my finest accomplishment. And my biggest disappointment. Gina: Mine too. Gina: Those last few weeks, when I thought you were dead… I actually missed you. But I meant what I said. You’re my greatest disappointment.
And we have this bit of dialogue from Red to Tom.
5x8-
Red: I’ll say this for you - you’ve always believed that you were acting in her best interest. Selling me out to Berlin, faking her death - you always thought you were helping her.