So “The Lindquist Concern” has come and gone, and you guessed it, we still don’t have any answers. Once again, Agnes wasn’t rescued, but again, they’re getting closer and closer. Also, the DNA test that we all thought might finally bring to rest the issue of who Liz’s father is did nothing of the kind. The test said that Kirk is Liz’s father, but Red continues to say that he is not. So who do you trust? Red, or the DNA test? I’m inclined to trust Red, but Liz definitely isn’t, as she said quite clearly:
“Everything you’ve said to me since the very beginning has been a lie.”
Ok, honestly not EVERYTHING could have been a lie. Yes, Red still hasn’t told her who her father really is or what happened to him if, if he really does know that it isn’t Kirk, but to say he lied about everything is definitely an over exaggeration. Every time this issue is brought up, I always ask, why doesn’t Red just tell her who her father really is and what happened to him? If he had just been honest with her from the start they could have avoided so many conflicts.
As I predicted last week, Red’s unwavering decision to work on his own finally caught up with him. Liz called Red and Dembe to warn them that their set up to meet Kirk was a trap, and Red was stubborn enough to hang up the phone and hand it back to Dembe without listening to Liz. I get that he’s upset, and I understand why, but he really should have taken that phone call. Liz would never lie to him about something that serious, and Red knows that, but he chose to let his emotions get the better of his reason. As a consequence of this, members of his team were killed and some were seriously injured. Hopefully, the fallout from this situation will cause him to make sure he listens to all warnings from people he knows he can trust in the future.
As a side note for a little bit of humor, Ressler had another encounter with a garden gnome. You all remember this scene from last season when he had that fight with Tom and absolutely wrecked the Cooper’s garden gnome?
In “The Lindquist Concern” tonight, there was another gnome outside the house of one of the victims of the Blacklister that Ressler and Samar were sent to help.
Could this have a deeper meaning for Ressler? Almost definitely not, but it’s a funny thought. Some fans are calling it Gnome Gate 2, and I hope this is a continuing trend, because it would be absolutely hilarious.
On a serious note, one of my favorite scenes from the episode came when Red and Dembe were waiting for Kirk’s call to his doctor (whom they had captured) in the church. Dembe expressed his guilt for standing by while Red shot Mr. Kaplan.
Dembe: “It won’t come.”
Red: “What?”
Dembe: “Forgiveness for Kate, for what I did.”
Red: “You did nothing.”
Dembe: “Exactly.”
This was an incredibly powerful scene, because it showed that Dembe, who loves and trusts Red more than anyone else, knows that what Red did to Mr. Kaplan was wrong. Dembe doesn’t usually have very much dialogue, but when he does it comes out in deeply emotional scenes like this.
Later, Liz asked Red what Dembe was praying for and Red told her:
“Salvation, that will never come.”
With this line, it seems that even Red realizes what he did was wrong. If he thought that his actions were just he would have told Dembe that there was no need for salvation for either of them. Finally, Red is showing signs of struggling with what he did to Mr. Kaplan when before, he didn’t seem to have any remorse. There was no update on Kaplan’s awful situation in this episode, but I’m hoping Red’s guilt will force him to go and help her when she needs it.
My other favorite scene from the episode came at the very end when Ressler confronted Laurel Hitchin, one of the top leaders in the FBI hierarchy who is part of the Kabal that tried to kill Liz.
Hitchin: “Apparently you’ve forgotten. “She” is your boss’s, boss’s, boss’s, boss.”
Ressler: “Well, my boss’s, boss’s, boss’s, boss is a killer. See, I know you murdered Reverend Wright, and one day I’m gonna prove it.”
Ressler hasn’t forgotten what she did, and one day he’s going to find a way to bring her down and give the team some peace of mind once they are out from under her control. People don’t give Ressler a lot of credit, but he is always looking for ways to protect his family, no matter what the cost to himself.
Now, looking ahead to next week, I’m going to say it one more time, it looks like the hunt for Agnes is finally coming to a conclusion. I’ve said that for the past three episodes, but Kirk dangling Agnes over the edge of a building with Liz watching down below seems like a pretty final conclusion. Hopefully we get to see how Mr. Kaplan’s situation plays out as well.
Here’s the trailer so you can see for yourself.
The Blacklist airs Thursdays at 10/9c on NBC.