'The Blacklist' Season 7 Episode 14 Review: Can Red be trusted knowing his manipulative love for control?
Spoilers for Season 7 Episode 14 'Twamie Ullalaq'
Raymond Red Reddington (James Spader) loves all the finer things in life, probably what helps him crack the case on the newest episode of 'The Blacklist' Season 7. But just as much as he loves those finer things in life, what he loves, even more, is exercising control over the group of his FBI agents who just can't seem to function without involving the former crook-turned-art connoisseur in solving their cases every week. We get it, the whole takes one to know one theory comes of brilliant use for the FBI but tonight's episode raises the concern surrounding where to draw the line.
Are the FBI too dependent on Red even regarding matters of their personal lives? Episode 14 'Twamie Ullalaq' asks exactly that as we see Aram seek out Red's help to find out how exactly did Elodie's husband died and ended up arresting Elodie based on the results Red found. But how far is Red to be trusted knowing how much he likes using people as little pawns he can control? It is these questions that we are haunted by after the episode is over.
At its surface, 'Twamie Ullalaq' is eponymously titled about this week's blacklist and the mysterious disappearances he causes in the Alaska Triangle. It starts Red and Dembe driving through the Alaskan countryside when Red spots the containers he had been looking for; only catch is that they are underwater in the lake. The next time we see him address the case, he is preparing a celebratory dinner and Spader blends his snark with conviction, channeling all of that through Red as the man explains to the rest of the FBI team the reason behind his joyous gesture. He talks about precious cargo that was stolen and submerged in the Alaskan lakes and asks agent Elizabeth Keene to help him find out who did it.
The next time the case comes up, Liz and Donald Ressler follow Agent Park's lead and end up meeting a shipping manager who tries shooting them after casually claiming accidents happens. The shock factor in the entire scene is priceless as one finds themselves clutching their heart worried for Liz and Ressler, considering how suddenly and out of the blue it happens. But nothing matches how Red uses his menacing charm to weasel information out of people who are using the same ingredients from Red's containers in a perfume, selling them in Milan, Italy. Breaking perfume bottles and getting information out is no big deal for Red, but even with all the leads he manages to come up, this time, things get personal for the FBI when the blacklist ends up abducting Park on her quest to solve the case.
That's the second time worry really soars in tonight's episode as Park is tied up to one of the containers, along with another hostage, who turns out to be the man who killed Park's mother. One would think after managing to free themselves, Park and the hostage would execute a steady escape plan, but the hostage, Colt, has other plans. He threatens to harm Park should she hand him over to the police, but luckily, the FBI arrives right in time to save the two. But the writers give us a beloved shootout scene that we love to watch on the screen so much. In all of his discrepancies, as Colt continuously keeps twisting and turning his stance on Parks, what really comes as a shock, in the end, is that Red had orchestrated the whole thing with Colt. A man who threatened to harm one of the agents, regardless of how he might have saved her life in the end, isn't necessarily the best pawn for a game, raising the question about how far can one trust Red with their personal lives?
This isn't the only meddling Red does in tonight's episode though; when it comes to Aram and his girlfriend Elodie, the FBI agent thinks his new lady love had something to do with her affluent, older husband's death and seeks out Red's help of all people to figure out exactly what happened to the husband, Charles. All because of a prenup, Elodie didn't tell Aram about, the latter tries his hardest to connect some dots about funds and expenses Elodie and her husband had indulged in to arrive at the conclusion that Elodie killed her husband. Of course, the first person he had expressed his suspicions to was Red, who had asked him to get a blood sample from the now-dead husband, and soon as the sample arrives Aram goes to see Elodie and arrests her. Now the question is, did Elodie really kill her husband, or was this another of Red's elaborate plans to keep his agents' attention fixed where he can control them? As much as we love Red, there's no denying he'd definitely do that.
But even as we reel under the suspicion surrounding Red, something feels left off midway in this episode when it comes to Ressler and his backstory. Right at the moment where we thought we were finally going to get a peek into his past, as a brother comes into the picture, the episode just cuts it off without any conclusion or reveal, depriving us of it all over again. Here's hoping it arrives soon.
'The Blacklist' season 7 airs on Fridays at 8 pm on NBC.