‘The Blacklist’ Season 3, Episode 5 Recap: Liz Is Hunted By A Network Of Assassins

Liz is in big trouble. There is a bullet-making, religious vigilante who has a projectile with her name on it. Well, it doesn’t actually have her name on it, but it does have a verse from the Book of Psalms etched on the back, and it’s intended for her. Wendigo lives on the fringes and ironically decides who needs to be removed from society. He also doesn’t work for the Cabal. He is enough of a threat for Red to sneak up on Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff) to have a little conversation about teaming up to protect Liz Keen (Megan Boone) from the crazy person who is better than the FBI and Red (James Spader).

‘The Blacklist’ Season 3, Episode 5 Recap

When photos surface depicting Agent Keen laying dead on a concrete floor, the media has the story covered. But the FBI hasn’t flinched. They know Liz is still out there. Due to the prolonged nature of the pursuit for the two fugitives, Agent Hessler is put before a hearing to determine his competence in the matter. The panel criticizes the fact that he has not shared information with the CIA, and he insists that he would not do so on account of the fact that it may put Keen’s life in danger. Even though he is tracking her down as a law breaker, he upholds that she deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Meanwhile, Red is good enough to track down the gunsmith who makes Wendigo’s weapons. After a little intimidation, Red gets the information that he needs from the gunsmith. They show up to Wendigo’s house, but he’s too astute for them. He starts shooting through the door before they get a chance to knock. This turns into short pursuit that ends in Wendigo falling off a building – but not before warning Red that he can’t stop “them.”

Liz isn’t out of the woods yet. A bounty for her was posted on a site called “Dead Not Alive,” and soon she’ll have assassins swarming her to get their hands on a bitcoin reward. Someone by the name Arioch Cain posted the bounty, and only that person can take it down. This has the rest of Hessler’s team alarmed. There seems to be a residual bond between her and her former colleagues and they work frantically to get her taken off the site. Aram discovers that the only way Keen can be taken off the site, is if she is dead. So we are brought back to the opening scene where keen is shown dead. The FBI is the one faking her death to save her life.

Not only do they get Liz removed from the site, but they are able to track down the person who had her put there in the first place. In classic Red and Liz fashion, they show up at the residence of this person, and it turns out that Arioch Cain is a teenage girl. The girl believes that Keen was responsible for the bombing that killed her mother, and for which Keen is being pursued by the authorities. So she posted a bounty for her mother’s supposed killer.

The close bond between Keen and her friends in the FBI is present in this episode unlike any other this season. In previous episodes, we see a ruthless pursuit by Hessler and his team. They view her and Red as a direct threat to homeland security and never forget the fact that Liz’s mother was a Russian spy. Now we get to see what is really in their hearts as they step in to stop a third party vigilante from threatening her life. Hessler even defends her alleged innocence in his hearing, which cannot be to his benefit at all. The Blacklist is famous for dangling suspense and near satisfaction in its viewers faces. At least we get to see relationships develop in surprising ways, moving apart and back together.

The Blacklist airs Thursdays on NBC.

Pictured: James Spader as Red and Megan Boone as Elizabeth Keen.