'The Blacklist' Season 7 Episode 16 Review: Liz's morbid cold case is no match for the threats to Red's life
Spoilers for Season 7 Episode 16 'Nyle Hatcher'
On the most recent episode of 'The Blacklist', Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader) goes through more than what he has the entire season.
From suspected Syrian Jihadists to a vague appearance by a former frenemy and, in the end, possible dangers to his safety through poisoning — we are very, very concerned about Red. However, his concern still lies in living up to his promises and making sure he and Elizabeth "Liz" Keene (Megan Boone) are on the same side.
Red's tryst with danger and destiny begins when he decides to take on a case involving Dembe's friend who thinks he is in danger. We first meet him in a mosque where he is informed about the FBI's visit claiming some of their members were communicating with Syrian Jihadists.
Red seeks out Liz's help in Dembe's matters, and she, in turn, puts Cooper on it. Eventually, it turns out two members of the mosque were smuggling shipping containers in and out of Syria, but while what was shipped or to who remains a mystery, Dembe vouches for the mosque.
It is only after Dembe's Imam gets abducted that it is proven he is, in fact, right. The containers were shipping refugees seeking asylum out of Syria to the US and the noble cause is awarded by an elaborate feat Red orchestrates.
Yet at the end of all this, despite desperately seeking Liz's support, Red only lands in deeper danger. When forensics pick up on a single fingerprint from the Imam's office and Dembe comes to find Red to tell him who it belongs to, he finds Red sprawled out on the floor, completely unconscious, with his pulse dropping.
The reason? Well, a certain Katarina Rostova has decided to make a comeback. Earlier in the episode we see Katarina reach out to the Imam with some questions, and the next thing we know, the Imam has been abducted.
So Liz was right all along — Katarina is very much alive and out to seek some vengeance from Red. Everything about James Spader playing the character is what makes the whole thing so special, even though the writing for the episode is relatively less laden with Red's quirks and signature humor.
This episode focuses on his pain and compassion for the underprivileged and condemned, and even with Liz not exactly being on the same page as he is can't dampen that.
Speaking of the same page, Red snidely confronting Liz about getting a PI to tail Ily is probably one of the very few moments in the episode. Red and Liz meet up at a park bench to discuss her cold case reopened, where a mysterious mortician is going around collecting dead people's sperm in a freezer.
This man — the titular Nyle Hatcher is into the business of targeting sex workers, by manipulating them to get pregnant by their filthy rich clientele. He tempts them with getting out of this life by claiming for paternity and child support — a commission from which goes towards Hatcher, after which he, of course, kills them.
The concept of it all is pretty genius, reminding us once again why in a sea of procedurals with victims being left out in pig sites to be eaten up to the bone, it is this Boneyard Killer that manages to hold our intrigue the most.
Hatcher's MO includes drugging sex workers and burying them alive — hoping they would die in their sleep. It happened eight years ago when Liz was still in the pre-task force team, and once again in the present time, made clear by the bodies of women being hidden in existing graves of other people.
It's a loss that Red doesn't get to focus on this case more as his quips and snarks aimed at this disturbing crime are sorely missed. But the lack of Red's genius insights is made up by how twisted and morning Hatcher's motives get, as he reveals he did everything to cure his loneliness.
He thought money was the solution, but it was the kids he bred using those sex workers. So he had adoption papers forged for each one of them after murdering their mothers. With him going to jail now, the children are expected to return to their biological families.
But it's like a cold aftertaste of mouthwash, following a delectable meal. Let's add to that Ressler's brother ambushing him to discuss a field with all its buried secrets being dug up, and the predicament Red has landed in, and voila — even with cases closed, it's not exactly a happy ending, is it?
'The Blacklist' Season 7 airs on Fridays at 8 pm on NBC