In this episode of The Blacklist, Liz and Red are still on the run from the FBI as they struggle to clear her name. Red is also burdened with the fact that he can’t track down his personal man Denbe, although it’s clear he’s been kidnapped by some unseen group in hopes of tracking down Red’s current location. But now everything gets even more complicated when assassin takes aim at Liz.

It Begins With A Flashback

The first scene in this episode opens with Red in a large airplane hanger. His fixer is taking pictures of Liz, who is laying dead on the hanger floor. They send the photos to TV stations who are reporting that she’s been killed. It’s pretty obvious this is all a fake, but why? Then it’s time for the “12 hours earlier” disclaimer. First up, Tom has befriended Asher Sutton. Cooper tells Tom that Sutton has been paying someone $20,000 a month. Tom says Sutton will lead him to the Russian mob, but Cooper doesn’t understand how.

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As for Red, he shows up at Liz’s safe house and tells her that a mysterious contract killer is now after her. Windingo is the embodiment of vigilante justice and he only kills bad people he believes deserve to die. Red tells Liz a team is coming to move her. He then confronts Ressler at his AA meeting and tells him about Windingo.

It’s A Bad Day For Guest Actors

Windingo ambushes Liz as she leaves the safe house. She manages to escape, but her two guards are killed by the sniper. Ressler is busy testifying in front of the Presidential committee investigating Liz and Red. Under oath, Ressler reluctantly admits that he believes she is innocent. The CIA director then testifies and argues that Liz is secretly a Russian spy. He denies the existence of the Cabal and argues that rumors of a big conspiracy tied to the fulcrum are crazy.

It’s All About The Gun

While Windingo is a ghost, Aram realizes that the sniper uses a special gun and identifies the man who made it. Red and Liz get there first and force him to give up Windingo’s location. They track him but he dies while trying to get away. But not before he tells Red “they are coming and you can’t stop them.” Turns out that a website called deadnotalive.org has posted a $800,000 bounty on Liz. The site is crowdfunding the murder of “bad” people. And someone thinks that description fits Liz. (They site by the way is real, but it takes you to Sony’s Pictures – the people behind The Blacklist.)

Where’s Denbe?

Liz and Red go to what they think is a meet with the missing Denbe. The man who shows up is the same one who shot Denbe and left him for dead. He tells Red that Denbe is dead and Red decides they need to get to the private airport and escape. It’s a trap, but Red and Liz don’t realize it until they get there. Instead of Red’s pilot, they are surrounded by gunmen led by the Cabal’s creepy killer Solomon. He prepares to kill them, but just before he pulls the trigger, Denbe shows up and kills nearly everyone. Solomon escapes and Aram tells Red that the only way to stop the contract is for Liz to be killed.

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You Can’t Trust Anything You See On The Internet

Red fakes Liz’s death and once the funds are released, he has a hacker friend track down the person responsible for the contract. It turns out the person is a teenage girl whose mother died in the bombing that Liz is accused of setting. Liz manages to convince her to stop the contract and promises her they’ll find the real person responsible for her mother’s death.

Enter the Cabal

Ressler is told by the FBI director and the President’s intelligence chief that the president is insisting the FBI and CIA should share everything they know about Liz and Red. Ressler pushes back but he’s told that if he doesn’t agree, he’ll be replaced. Score one for the Cabal, given that the CIA head is one of the heads of the evil organization. The episode ends with Tom taking care of a problem for his new friend Asher. He’s being blackmailed by the Russian mob and Tom’s solution is to kill a Russian henchman. He wants the mobsters to come after him, even though it freaks out Asher. As we know from his marriage with Liz, Tom will do whatever he needs to do to get what he wants.

The Blacklist airs Thurdays at 8pm on NBC.

(Image courtesy of NBC)

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Contributing Writer, BuddyTV