'The Blacklist' season 3 episode 9 spoilers: The briefcase mystery revealed; Liz gets hunted by the Cabal in "The Director"

Cast members (front L-R) Diego Klattenhoff, James Spader, Megan Boone and (rear L-R) Ryan Eggold and Harry Lennix participate in a panel for "The Blacklist" during the NBC sessions at the Television Critics Association summer press tour in Beverly Hills, California July 27, 2013. Reuters/Phil McCarten

“The Blacklist” Season 3 Episode 9 will air on Jan. 7, 2016 on NBC after the Christmas break. There are a lot of loose ends to fix, especially involving Liz’s arrest and Red trying to look for ways to protect her, even if the latter is supposed to be safe in the custody of the FBI.

Spoiler alert! This article contains "The Blacklist" season 3 episode 9 spoilers.

In Episode 8, titled “Kings of the Highway,” Red was captured by a group of highway robbers. That time, however, they were interested in more than the usual bounty that they took from unsuspecting travelers. Liz and Dembe met with the Kings and showed them the care package. The contents were not shown but it is reportedly valued at over $2 million. The group took the package and left. Afterwards, Ressler and the police arrived and arrested Liz, The Wall Street Journal notes.

Producer Jon Bokenkamp provided some details about the next episode, titled “The Director, Part 1.” The contents of the briefcase taken from Liz were not revealed in the previous episode, but it appears to be very important.

“What is in that case is key… As Red had said, the ‘care package,’ as we’re calling it, is critical to the mission of freeing Liz. The care package is now in the hands of not our task force, but the FBI, who captured Liz.” Bokenkamp tells Entertainment Weekly.

He added that the main protagonists currently lost one of their key ingredients in the recipe and it’s going to be mean a lot of trouble getting it back. Cartermatt writes that fans are not sure whether the care package will have a quick resolution in the second half of the season. Viewers expect that the briefcase will be a vital piece of the plot as it unravels in 2016.

The synopsis for “The Director, Part 1” stated that the episode is actually three seasons in the making. Previews showed that Liz will be put inside Red’s glass box at the Post Office in the next episode. Red will have to find a way to get to her before the Cabal in Episode 9.

“Blacklist: The Director, Part 1” airs on Jan. 7, 2016 on NBC.

Watch the trailer for “The Director, Part 1” here.