‘The Blacklist’ Review/Recap Episode 11: Red Kills to Take Revenge for Luli’s Death in ‘The Good Samaritan Killer’
"The Blacklist" is back, with new episodes, after a short hiatus. The last episode ended on a note of Red walking away from Liz and the FBI for a short while. Episode 11 is "The Good Samaritan Killer." Killer should have been in plural, as there were two killers in the episode, both driven with the same motive -- revenge. From their vantage point, they were killing bad people.
At an amusement, a man called Hank meets a mother. He introduces himself as a kid's father and offers a drink. The two sip their drinks and talk about kids being like puppies, with laundry to do. Later, in the parking, Hank informs the unconscious mother that she has been drugged. It is a torture scene, next. Hank does not kill the lady but is puts her through third degree torture in a hospital's operation room. Once he finishes-off, he calls-up 911 to get help for the dying mother.
Hank is "The Good Samaritan Killer," as he calls-up 911 after the torture session is over, giving his victim a chance to live. This murderer is not on Red's blacklist, but is one of Liz's earliest cases. One of his victims died in the arms of Liz and there was nothing she could do to stop.
Where is Red? Red is busy, taking revenge for the death of Luli. He is killing people after putting them through a grilling session, questioning them about the attack on the post office. The episode reveals that the apple man is not associated with Red, as Red is looking for him, too, and kills one of apple man's associates.
Cooper's headed FBI unit is under investigation because of Anslo Garrick's attack. Everyone is suspected to be a mole and is interrogated. Agent Meera is the first one to get a clean-chit. She informs Cooper that Liz received a call from Red. Liz did not inform Cooper, as she is busy cracking the 'Good Samaritan' case after getting a valuable tip from Red.
Red had called-up Liz, asking about the 'Good Samaritan' case and the progress on it. It looks like he is keeping a close watch on Liz. Liz tells him that serial killers escalate, but this one does not and she is unable to see the pattern, as victims and methods vary. Red had said that he knows about torture and there is not one size that it fits all and the custom marks on the victims tells more about the victims and less about the killer.
Red's help puts Liz on the right track, as she finds the connection between the victims. All the victims had abused by someone in their family. The recent victim, the mother, had abused her son. The son had been admitted to the hospital on a number of occasions, with injuries. The same kind of injuries was inflicted on the mother, as well. Agent Ressler is working with Liz on the case, and he now walks with the help of a cane.
The 'Good Samaritan' was abused by his mother, and he is now taking revenge on other abusers. His mother is now wheel-chair bound and looks like a tortured apparition. He brings her to watch his latest victim -- a man who is a wife abuser. Liz finds out the identity of the 'Good Samaritan'. He is a nurse who works at in the ER of different hospitals. Liz finds information on his latest patient, which leads Liz to the wife of the abusive husband and then to Church where the abusive husband had gone for a group counselling session. He had met the 'Good Samaritan' there.
Liz is on time to stop the 'Good Samaritan' from torturing his latest victim to death. When he attacks his mother, Liz shoots him down. She later visits the abusive husband in the hospital and warns him against abusing his wife; otherwise, she will be giving him the same treatment that the 'Good Samaritan' intended to give him.
Red meets a person called Henry and calls him "the bank" that financed the operation against him. He demands to know the details of the money laundry and who helped him. Meera gets some data on Aram, the tech guy, and becomes a prime suspect but is nowhere to be found. Aram is with Red who asks him to wire a huge amount within a few seconds, otherwise he is dead. Aram is able to accomplish that and Red tells him that he cannot be a mole, as he is too smart to leave behind a trail that directly points at him.
Red enters Henry's house and befriends his wife. At the dinner table, he shoots at Henry's leg to make him cough out the much needed name to complete Red's revenge. It is Newton Philips, one of Red's henchmen. Aram arrives at FBI office, with proof of his innocence and the name of Newton Philips, the one who leaked the information. Cooper has no clue about Newton.
Red sprinkles the ashes of Luli in the Ocean. Newton joins and he tells Red that his family was threatened and he wants his death to look like an accident. Red covers Newton's face, with a plastic bag and chokes him to death.
Diane, the FBI director, is getting questioned by three government officials. Diane tells them that things are in control and the assassination attempt failed, and the asset survived. She does not give the name of the asset while telling them that the person responsible for the breach of security has been eliminated. She does not give the name of the mole, either. One of the persons questioning her is the mystery man who had ordered the kidnapping of Red. The character played by Alan Alda.
A man waits in Liz's house and Liz thinks that it is her husband. Tom had wished for a quiet life with Liz, and is out of town for a job interview. It is Red and Liz wants to know if he is back. Yes, Red is back to catch the blacklisters.
"The Blacklist" came back with a lacklustre episode, as the "The Good Samaritan Killer" did not provide an interesting story-line. The episode revolved around personal revenge saga. The Good Samaritan storyline ran parallel to Red's revenge killings, and there was no link between what Red was doing and what his FBI partner, Liz, was solving. Red and Liz working together to catch a blacklist name is one of the key highlights of "The Blacklist," and one did not get to see that in this episode. The only interesting bit in the episode was the appearance of the mystery man portrayed by Alda.
Red went on his killing spree, without anyone reporting the crime and the dead bodies. It is a highly implausible scenario. We wonder if Henry's wife called up police after Red had killed her husband, and if yes, why Red's sketch is not on the look out notice board.