Liz and Red are still on the run this week and now they’re in Iowa. The episode begins on an Iowa farm owned by Verdiant Industries. Gunmen attack the farm and grab some info from the farm’s computer. It turns out the men are local farmers whose farms have been ruined by Verdiant. The farmers discuss releasing the info to the world, but one man tells them “Sorry, I have other plans.” He then pulls out a gun and shoots them all.
It’s All About The Kabul
Liz Keen and Reddington arrive in Iowa and Red explains it’s because Verdiant is a front for the Kabul. Not only does the company launder money for the Kabul, if they’re able to obtain the stolen files, they can use them to force the organization to clear Liz. Tom Keen also wants to clear Liz. He visits Ressler offering to help clear her name. Russell’s answer is to tell Tom that if he sees him again, he’ll break Tom’s arms.
Follow That Crate
Aram lets Ressler and Navabi know about the Verdiant attack. He thinks there’s a Reddington connection because Verdiant’s CTO, Susan Hanover, is on The Blacklist, plus, her name was also listed in the Fulcrum. Aram also tells them that he’s tracked the crate Red and Liz used to escape federal custody.
Red is concerned that he can’t find Denbe and he calls Glen to help track him down. Red explains to Liz that they’re searching for a troubled scientist named Eli Matchett. What Red doesn’t know is that Matchett is the man who killed the farmers who robbed Verdiant.
Cue The Chase Around Iowa
Kessler and his FBI team chase Liz and Red around Iowa while they search for Matchett. Liz and Red discover the dead farmers as well as an abandoned lab where Matchett was creating a virus. The FBI then discover that the lab had sent a sample to Aram. He realizes that Matchett has created a virus that would destroy most of the world’s food supply. They track him down and are able to stop the madman just in time.
Yay! The World Can Continue To Eat!
Red confronts Susan Hanover and tells her that the FBI knows everything. That she was working with Matchett and the plan was for him to create the virus, which Verdiant could then fix. He also tells her he that knows about her position with the Kabul. He asks her to deliver a message to the organization’s director. He won’t stop until they clear Liz’s name. Speaking of Liz, she faxes the Verdiant files to Arum, allowing the FBI to shut down the company.
The episode ends in a Chinese restaurant. It’s the place where Tom and Liz used to meet and Tom is hoping she’ll contact him. Cooper shows up instead and he asks Tom if he would do anything to help Liz. When Tom tells him yes, Cooper gives him a file with the name “Karakurt” on it.
The Blacklist airs Thursdays at 8pm on NBC.
(Image courtesy of NBC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
