The Blacklist ‘The Stewmaker’ Recap: Episode 01.04

The Breakdown

A man and his dog check into a hotel room and begins taking a shower and wrapping the entire room in plastic. Lizzy goes to the FBI evidence room to find information on Tom’s gun, she finds a box labeled Angel station with a case number. Lizzy is due in court in 3 hours and Red tells her that something is going to happen because the drug dealer (Lorca) that is on trial has been asking him for fake ID, credit cards and a way to start his criminal enterprise in another country.

At the court the witness testifies that his son was killed and he knows who did it. Suddenly a jury member has a heart attack. The courthouse is cleared and the jury member is taken to what seems to be a safe room. The faux officers in it point to a dead police officer on the ground and the witness is stuck in the neck with a pen shaped object. Lizzy calls Red in Haiti and asks about the case he claims he doesn’t really care about a 2 bit drug dealer and tells Lizzy to go home. At home Lizzy is trying to find info on the Angel station matter and Tom talks to her about a job interview he had on June 23 the same day as the Angel station matter. Lizzy gets called to a crime scene at the hotel. Forensics finds no evidence. Red calls her and tells her to look in the tub were Lizzy smells chemicals and Red is suddenly interested in the case.

Red meets with the FBI and tells them that the stewmaker is a man specialising in chemicals and has gotten rid of hundreds of people. Red doesn’t know what he looks like but Red can help them find the stewmaker while he is in town. While in holding the FBI is trying to get Lorca to help them find the stewmaker. If not they will turn him over to homeland security for other charges, Lorca says he’ll take his chance with homeland. At the transport location Lizzy tells Loca that once he goes with homeland she can’t help him. Suddenly an RPG is shot at the helicopter Lorca is going to be transported in. A shootout ensues with Lorca’s men and the FBI and Lizzy is captured. While the FBI is watching the footage of the explosion and kidnapping Red says the he wants to find Lizzy alone. Ressler wants to go in with Red, Red allows it but says the if something happens it’s not on him.

Red and Ressler meet with Lorca and Lorca intends to kill Ressler because Red says that he is a FBI agent. Ressler is acting as the person that produced Lorca’s new identity. Red wants to know where Lizzy is in exchange for Lorca’s new documents and getting him out of the country, after some hesitation Lorca agrees. The FBI finds out that the stewmaker is Stanly Cornish. A dentist in Maryland. Red finds the evidence bag with a dog hair in it, Red takes the bag and leaves. Somewhere in the woods the stewmaker takes Lizzy to a cabin. Lizzy is telling the stewmaker who she is so that the stewmaker know she’s a person with a life.

Red calls animal control in Maryland to activate the tracking device on Cornish’s dog in order to find Lizzy. Lizzy is talking to Cornish about his personal life while he jabs her in the shoulder with a needle and give her a sedative that will calls paralysis. The FBI is at the Cornish home trying to find out where Cornish is. The FBI finds out that Cornish has a cabin and intends to go there. While distracting Cornish, Lizzy undoes her hands which are tied. She breaks free and punches Cornish, runs outside the cabin into the woods and hides. Cornish’s dog finds her and he drags her back to his cabin. While there Lizzy tells Cornish that he’s isn’t so carefully. In the process Red punches Cornish, tells Lizzy that the effects of the drugs will wear off. Then Red says to Cornish “can we get started”.

Red tells a story about a farmer and decides to push Cornish into a vat of chemicals. The FBI finally makes it to the cabin where Lizzy is. In the cabin Red finds a book of photos of people who Cornish murdered. He flips a few pages and takes out a photo. While in an ambulance Lizzy calls Red and monster and asks how can he live with himself. He says to her by saving her life. Red hands Lizzy the book in order to give the victims families a littler closure. Back at home, Tom tells Lizzy they should get a way and has booked a weekend at the place in Boston that they were before. The hotel happened to be named the Angle station.

 

The Analysis

I really thought with Lizzie being in danger Red would give a hint of information on his connection to her. I honestly thought that this may have been the best Blacklist episode to date. It seemed short in my opinion but maybe thats what makes a good episode the feeling of wanting more. Even more pressing than the Red and Lizzy connection, I keep wanting to know “who is tom”. Is he a person that was placed in Lizzie’s life intentionally or is it just happenstance that two possible agents are together. Also will we come to a episode in the Blacklist where Tom has to come clean to Lizzie in the heat of battle in order to save her life or his own.