Red Reddington was on a very clear mission to kick off The Blacklist Season 2 Episode 2:
No matter what it took, no matter who he had to go through, he would save his ex-wife, Naomi. The only problem?
Mary Louise-Parker’s new character was in the clutches of Berlin, a man known for removing body parts and sending them to his fedora-wearing nemesis.
So we begin things here with Red calling in his favorite cleaner, Mr. Kaplan, to do his thing after he took out a trio men in pursuit of Naomi.
Soon enough, Liz and Red’s cases cross when the Monarch Douglas National Bank in Warsaw, Poland is attacked by men who look as if they’re trying to avoid Ebola.
The issue at hand is that this bank is famous for laundering the cash of the criminal elite. However, on the flip side, if Monarch’s system is breached, the FBI will have access to the accounts of some of the world’s most notorious criminals.
While peeping the surveillance footage, Keen and Ressler note that an additional "robber" exits the building with frightened, feminine-looking eyes. When they find her, though, she’s quite upset about the authorities ruining her escape plan.
The agents learn of this woman’s unparalleled memory and are about to dive into the aforementioned account information… when Keen is attacked by another agent who has clearly gone rogue.
Ressler, meanwhile, is slow to react to this incident due to the prescription pills he’s been taking. They’ve negatively affected his reflexes.
On the run from the corrupt Polish police – and with their Beautiful Mind-type captive slowing them down with a gunshot wound – Red hooks his pals up with a boxcar getaway, but not before he swoops in and snatches Photographic Memory Girl, sending Ressler and Keen on a plane home.
In first class, at least. He’s not a monster.
Red then phones Berlin to set up a meeting, quickly (read: somehow) ending up Coney Island, New York from Warsaw, Poland to meet up with his arch rival.
They threaten each other in front of the famous Wonder Wheel, with Berlin dropping Liz’s name and Red threatening Berlin’s money now that he has the account intel.
The trade of Naomi for Berlin’s money is made, with Berlin now free to pretty much do anything he wants.
As far as Liz is concerned, any life Berlin takes going forward is on Red’s head. But can you blame the guy for wanting to get his ex-wife back? Should he really have sacrificed her to drain Berlin’s bank account?
Both good questions. Both setting up a moral quandary for the NBC drama. Go watch The Blacklist online if you need a refresher and sound off on Season 2 Episode 2 below.