‘The Blacklist’ season 2, episode 4 review: Did Liz Keen open the red door; who’s Jennifer?

Sometimes, we have a hard time remembering that “The Blacklist” is a network show. It really is that strong, and contains so many twists that we often feel our head spinning.

“Dr. Linus Creel” was a pretty great episode, despite a premise that at first felt like something we’ve seen a million times over. Linus was a therapist, determined to prove that his method of behavioral teaching was important for the future. He was almost in a way like a hypnotic Joe Carroll from “The Following,” except not so dangerous in his own right.

To take him down, Liz Keen went undercover as a patient, and as she spoke out about Tom and her complicated emotions there, Megan Boone gave a heck of a performance. She managed to get the material necessary, and the doctor was eventually taken down.

Now, the most important news when it comes to this episode came via the mouth of Naomi Hyland. Why didn’t Red want Liz to see her? As Naomi said, it was all a “manipulation” designed to make her feel special … but she told her that Red is not “who she thinks that he is.” Just as the information started to come out, Red turned up, telling Naomi that she and Frank would be heading out. That was his plan, and it only took a little bit of threatening for that to happen.

In just a few short seconds at the end, we saw why Reddington does sometimes get the ladies, and also that Naomi still knows at least something. She also tells Red that she doesn’t know where the mystery daughter Jennifer is … and it’s not Liz! The promo for next week seemed to make that very clear.

What is still a mystery, though, is that door. Something related to her past is behind it, and Jon Bokenkamp, being the cruel tease that he is, is making us wait. We really don’t mind, though, if the story is this strong. Grade: A-.

What was your take on this episode? Share in the comments below. (Photo via NBC.)