Ilyas Surkov

"Ilyas Surkov"

Season 5, Episode 5

Episode Information

Air date

October 25, 2017

Directed by

Kurt Kuenne

Written by

Brandon Margolis
Brandon Sonnier

Episode Chronology

Previous	Next
“The Endling”	“The Travel Agency”

“Ilyas Surkov” is the fifth episode of Season 5 of The Blacklist and the ninety-fourth episode overall.

Synopsis[]

Press Release[]

When Red provides exclusive intel on an international terrorist, it puts Liz and the Task Force on a collision course with a rival unit from the CIA. Meanwhile, Red and Hawkins lay the groundwork for their new business venture, and Tom goes undercover in search of information.

Number on The Blacklist[]

54

Unanswered Questions[]

This episode was a reference to the military-industrial complex. Cooper stated that Cox was staging the false flag attacks to maintain his budget increases.
The reference to the “white whale” is similiar to what Red said in “Pilot”.
Elizabeth Keen
1. The fact that Keen blames Red for Nik Korpal’s death shows that she fears becoming a clone of Red.
2. Why did Keen need the prompting from Red?
Raymond Reddington
1. Why did Red not inform the task force of Surkov's death earlier?
  1. A: There was no need at the time. If he's dead, then he's not a Blacklist target.
Leon Cox
1. How was Cox able to evade CIA oversight?
  1. A: Cox is able to evade CIA regulations and oversight committees.
2. Will Cox be held accountable for his actions?
  1. A: As Cox said, “time will tell”. Other people, such as Cynthia Panabaker, have avoided accountability.
3. Why did Cox not use the compromised undersea communications cable to send false information to the Chinese government?
  1. A: Cox may had decided to shut down the liability.
4. Cox’s justification for his actions was similiar to the justifications Donald Ressler used when confronting Julian Gale.
Harold Cooper
1. Cooper's actions with Cox have certainly resulted in another enemy in the government. Cooper's earlier statements about the FBI director's insistence on results means that Cooper cannot risk creating too many enemies among the government.
Aram Mojtabai
1. Why does Aram not know how to drive?
  1. A: He'e been using a bike ever since the show's beginning. Like New York, some residents deliberately choose not to drive because of the terrible traffic and/or they rely on mass transit.
Tom Keen
1. The fact that Tom defended Red indicates that Tom needs to keep Red close so Tom can know some of Red’s actions.
Brian Osterman
1. What will happen to Brian Osterman and his team?
  1. A: They'll most likely be imprisoned for their unsanctioned actions and working for Cox, even if it was unknowingly.
2. Why did Osterman fail to shred the “Cyclone” file?
  1. A: Most likely in a rush to shred everything, they failed to shred a file.