The Blacklist season 4 episode 18 review: Mr. Kaplan strikes again
The evidence we’re talking about here comes courtesy of the FBI Task Force doing something that they really haven’t done that much of over time: Make some sort of legitimate case against Reddington using evidence. Ressler found himself in collaboration with a former colleague of his in Gale, and they may have actual found some evidence that they could use against him. This story certainly felt like a throwback in some ways, with these guys doing what was long ago a big purpose of the show.
Ultimately, what Gale realized though was that the print that he and Ressler found could not be identified as Reddington’s, and it’s starting to look more and more like Gale is going to be a problem. Ressler is in a position with Red now that is FAR more complicated, and Gale doesn’t recognize that. He wants the guy behind bars no matter what it requires, including getting to Liz Keen.
Now, let’s move forward to the big story with the latest machination of Kate. The Blacklister this week was Philomena, a master thief who had a unique ability to infiltrate lives and slowly destroy them. Basically, her entire purpose in this episode was put Reddington’s longtime attorney Marvin Gerard in a place where he would be in serious danger. Philomena infiltrated the life of Gerard’s sister and put her in a position where she could get to him. That was successful, and then she took Gerard to continue the operation.
Where does Mr. Kaplan factor into everything?
Well, she was responsible for hiring Philomena, and bringing in Gerard. She also tried to convince Liz Keen about her personal history, and that she was the person that needed to be trusted. This put Liz as a whole in a difficult spot — she didn’t want Mr. Kaplan to die, but she did want her behind bars.
When she got a hold of Gerard, Kate determined what she wanted to do with him. Basically, she’s cutting off another (metaphorical) limb here. Gerard lived, but he was also arrested.
Overall
We would say that “Philomena” was another super-strong episode of the show, and one that delivered twists and turns aplenty. One other note here is that Samar finally received her fellowship, but she denied it because of Aram’s recognition. She feels like he only got it because of him trying to recommend her as an apology.
This episode showed once again that Mr. Kaplan is smarter than almost everyone, but also one other thing: The walls are really starting to close in on Reddington in all directions.
(Photo: NBC.)