Previously on The Blacklist, ‘The Major’

The Blacklister: Tom! The man we all know and love. Oh, that’s just me? Tom is still in Germany, wreaking havoc, breaking legs, working out; hello, nurse! His work with the drug-dealing, bigot gang seems to be going smoothly and he has not a care in the world.

Liz: The judge shows Liz the bullet found on the ship and gives her one last chance to tell the truth. When she doesn’t immediately confess, he dismisses her with the warning she’ll probably be going in front of the Grand Jury. She runs into Red and Ressler as they’re about to leave HQ to find Tom and tries to talk Red out of going. She tells Red Tom will go to prison for the rest of his life because of her. Yeah, and? This is the point where I realize she is definitely still in love with Tom. She has an account closed and the money from it transferred to an offshore account, because that doesn’t look hinky at all.

Teamwork: Red has Aram search for information about the bigot gang Tom is running with and Navabi asks the million dollar question: why are they doing all this? When Red explains Liz’s situation, Navabi says it’s extremely romantic. I can’t tell if she’s being sarcastic or if Aram needs to kill some folks to prove his love. Ressler scoffs at Tom being able to infiltrate the bigot gang and Red explains that Tom is a master of deep cover. Ressler hasn’t seen Tom shirtless, so he don’t know what’s up. Ressler demands to go with Red to find Tom, much to Red’s chagrin.

Cooper: Upset with having lied, Cooper confronts Liz and tells her he doesn’t recognize her anymore. In the middle of their argument, Cooper has a seizure and loses consciousness. At the hospital, the doctor tells Cooper’s wife that his “condition” could have been the cause of the seizure and she later tells Liz about the brain tumor. It turns out the seizure was a side effect of the experimental medication Cooper is taking and the mass has started to shrink. I guess it was too much to hope it was a misdiagnosis; they save that for awful characters. Yeah, I’m bitter.

Red: Using one of his innumerable contacts, Red finds out the identity of the arms dealer working with Tom. After striking a deal with the dealer, Red and his skeleton crew go to the bigot gang’s meet to convince Tom to come back to help Liz, and also make a little money on the side. You can’t fault Red’s entrepreneurial spirit. He tells Tom that Liz will go down for murder and more if he doesn’t come back and confess. Tom doesn’t get on board with the plan, so Red makes the bigot gang begin to doubt Tom. And a shootout ensues. Red, Dembe, and Ressler manage to take out the bigot gang while Tom escapes. Tom calls Red and tells him he won’t go back and Liz is on her own. Red is not happy about that at all.

Hear ye, hear ye: Back in court, the judge is about to issue his ruling, but the DAG requests a sidebar before his ruling because a representative for the AG would like to speak. The judge says tough shit, and as he is about to continue, the bailiff tells him someone has just arrived to confess. In saunters Tom, all puppy eyes and restrained anger. In the judge’s chambers, Tom confesses to killing the Harbormaster and admits he did it so Liz wouldn’t go to jail. He’s so sincere and those eyes and it hits me and the judge at the same time, he’s in love with her. Tom, don’t get high off your own supply! Or something like that. The judge accepts Tom’s murder confession, but says Liz will go before the Grand Jury for other charges. Tom says he’ll take full blame if Liz is left out it and Connolly, the almost AG, barges in and says it’s not necessary.

Shade for days: Connolly and the judge go toe to toe about this subpoena and the questioning of Liz and Cooper. Connolly tells the judge he had no right to ask questions because he’s not cleared to hear national security cases—he’s only a superior court judge. Connolly said it like he was pond scum, ran him through some more then smiled like the Cheshire cat. The judge, “You think you’re funny with that smug ass grin.” Connolly, “Pfft, you ain’t shit, you ain’t never gonna be shit, and you ain’t gonna do shit..Your Honor.” Bloop. I’ve never seen two old, white guys throw shade, and they did not disappoint. Connolly tells the judge to quash the subpoena or else then leaves the room laughing like a true asshole.

Here comes the judge: The judge starts with a nice little soliloquy about the justice system, as if he’s going to force the subpoena through, but Connolly enters the court and he quashes it instead. Detective Wilcox loses his shit in court. I agree that someone should pay for what happened to the Harbormaster, but Wilcox took all this too personally. Liz asks Connolly what will happen to Tom and he tells her he isn’t in custody.

Liz and Red moment: Liz admits she sold the apartment Red gave her to give the money to the Harbormaster’s daughter. Red tells her she could do that and watch the daughter, but it’s not about the daughter; it’s all about her, to salve her guilt. And it won’t work. It’s obvious Red is talking about himself and I got a little teary-eyed.

Red’s best line: “You open your mouth, Donald, and hay flies out. You look and feel and smell like a cop.”

• This episode was pretty good, with some great edge of your seat moments. I figured Tom would wait until the eleventh hour to save Liz, but I knew he would do it. These two are still in love and a part of me is hoping they’ll get back together. I think they need each other to even the other out.
• What’s the deal with this judge? He was asking so many questions over the last two episodes, that I figured he was after The Fulcrum or something. It’s just that he’s a do-gooder? Excuse me while I sit in doubt. So now that he and his stenographer know so much, they have to die, right?
• It took me three episodes to realize the boss of the German bigot gang is David Patrick Kelly! The Blacklist has great guest stars and I’m hoping he’s not dead so he can come back and cause some trouble for Red and the team.
• I have mixed feelings about Connolly. It’s clear he’s not to be trusted and he’s an asshole to be sure. But he has a Hollis Doyle quality that makes me like him. As long as he doesn’t cross the team, he’s cool.