To me James Spader is the bee’s knees. Meaning I think he is great. The man seems to take whatever role he assumes be it a lawyer, a boss who likes spanking or a former FBI agent gone rogue and make it his own. Bringing a level of veritas to whatever he does. This time his is ex-government agent Raymond “Red” Reddington. A former agent who years ago went dark and started selling state secrets to other countries making him one of the FBI’s most wanted, now he has suddenly turned himself in with the offer that he will help them catch the most dastardly of criminals and terrorists with his provisos being that he will select who they go after and will only speak to young agent and profiler Elizabeth Keen (played by Megan Boone). Strange as Agent Keen is inexperienced and seems to have no link to Red. Unable to resist the temptation the government agrees and strikes a secretive task force headed by Harold Cooper (played by Harry Lennix). Agent Keen soon realizes that working with Red is a double edged sword that throws even her personal life into a state of flux.
Episode 1: Pilot: Raymond “Red” Reddington, a fugitive on the FBI’s most wanted list, suddenly turns himself in with the offer that he will help them capture a long list of the most wanted criminals and terrorists. The only way he will do this is if he works exclusively with Agent Elizabeth Keen, a wet behind the ears profiler.
Episode 2: The Freelancer (No. 145): Red hints to Liz that her husband Tom (played by Ryan Eggold) is not who she thinks he is. In order to capture an assassin for hire, Red and Liz go undercover to protect an anti-human trafficking activist (played by Isabella Rossellini).
Episode 3: Wujing (No. 84): A Chinese spy who is targeting CIA agents is next on the list. Red and Liz go undercover once again to try and capture Wujing (played by Chin Han).
Episode 4: The Stewmaker (No. 161): The trial of a cartel boss begins and ends just as suddenly as the prime witness disappears. Red believes this is the work of The Stewmaker (played by Tom Noonan) and Liz and Agent Ressler (played by Diego Klattenhoff) begin the hunt.
Episode 5: The Courier (No. 85): Red, Liz and Ressler work to try and locate a kidnap victim but more importantly his abductor, The Courier (played by Robert Knepper). The Courier will be a tough nut to crack as he has a rare disorder that disallows him from feeling pain.
Episode 6: Gina Zanetakos (No. 152): Liz’s next case involves corporate terrorist Gina Zanetakos (played by Margarita Levieva), a woman who might have something to do with Tom. Zanetakos is plotting to detonate a radioactive bomb somewhere in the United States.
Episode 7: Frederick Barnes (No. 47): Red’s next tip to Liz involves a chemical weapons expert (played by Robert Sean Leonard) who seems to have lost his mind. The madman’s plan involves unleashing a rare and fatal disease on the Washington D.C. subway.
Episode 8: General Ludd (No. 109): In order to help stop an anonymous anti-capitalist terrorist Red wants a deal from Cooper. Some stuff from Liz’s past surfaces due to her father’s (played by William Sadler) bad health.
Episode 9: Anslo Garrick (No. 16) – Part 1: The FBI’s black site is under attack by a hit man with no conscience. He is actually there to capture Red.
Episode 10: Anslo Garrick (No. 16) – Part 2: Red is kidnapped and Liz’s search for him uncovers that there is a mole in the FBI. Tom is back under the microscope when it comes to Liz.
Episode 11: The Good Samaritan (No. 106): The search for the mole inside the FBI continues. Red looks into the attempt on his life.
Episode 12: The Alchemist (No. 101): Liz is after a scientist who has helped criminals escape punishment by creating then killing their genetic doubles. Red uses the help of whistle-blowers to try and smoke out the mole.
Episode 13: The Cyprus Agency (No. 64): Liz leads an investigation into an adoption agency. Red has a new suspect in his search for the mole.
Episode 14: Madeline Pratt (No. 73): The plan is for Liz to steal an ancient statue that is rumoured to contain some vital espionage data. Red butts heads with a businesswoman who was formerly his partner in crime (played by Jennifer Ehle).
Episode 15: The Judge (No. 57): The task force is after an individual (played by Dianne Wiest) who seems to want to seek justice for wrongful convictions. Red uncovers a link between Tom and the attack on the black site.
Episode 16: Mako Tanida (No. 83): Ressler seems to be one of the targets for a revenge killing spree. Jolene (played by Rachel Brosnahan) presses Tom for more information on Liz.
Episode 17: Ivan (No. 88): Washington is under attack by a teenage computer hacker posing as a cyber terrorist on the Blacklist. An investigation begins into the disappearance of Jolene and Tom’s secret is in danger.
Episode 18: Milton Bobbit (No. 135): Red goes after an assassin (played by Damian Young) who convinces terminally ill people to kill for him. Liz forces Red to help her investigate Tom.
Episode 19: The Pavlovich Brothers (No. 119-122): A scientist with important information about a Chinese germ warfare project is the target of the extraction team the Pavlovich Brothers. Liz is close to finding out the truth about Tom.
Episode 20: The Kingmaker (No. 42): Liz finds out the truth about her father’s death. Red and Liz are hunting The Kingmaker (played by Linus Roache) – a man behind the rise of many of the world’s most powerful politicians.
Episode 21: Berlin (No. 8): A blackmail scheme, a deadly virus and the death of Red are all linked. Someone is revealed to be pulling Tom’s strings.
Episode 22: Berlin: Conclusion: The FBI investigates the clues from the wreckage of a hijacked prison transport plane. Liz demands the truth about her father from Red.
Special Features: Character Dossiers: Aram Mojtabai, Meera Malik, Harold Cooper, Tom Keen, Elizabeth Keen, Raymond Reddington, Inception: Making the Pilot, The Insider: Behind the Scenes of Season 1
