“Luther Braxton: Conclusion” is the tenth episode of Season 2 of The Blacklist and the thirty second episode overall. It originally aired on February 5, 2015 on NBC.
Synopsis[]
Raymond Reddington drags himself out of the wreckage and looks for a working communication device without success.
In the Post Office, Harold Cooper, Aram Mojtabai, and Kat Goodson assess the situation. The Factory is burning, and there's no visual or audio communication. Goodson has no authorization to send out the Coast Guard for Search and Rescue. Cooper threatens to make the call to send them in, but Goodson tells him the second he makes the call, he'll be removed from his position. She refuses to call in reinforcements without proof of life.
Raymond Reddington and Samar Navabi arrive in the control room. Reddington tells them Luther Todd Braxton took Elizabeth Keen. Together with Reddington they start to assemble together a functional communication device.
In a helicopter not far away, Liz is treated by a medic while Braxton watches. It lands in Juneau, Alaska, on top of a hospital landing pad. Braxton and his men go through the hospital, threatening the staff at gunpoint. Aram has been monitoring flights in proximity to The Factory, and reports that the Federal Aviation Administration picked up a medevac hospital entering Juneau airspace. The Federal Aviation Administration doesn't require flight manifests or flight plans from medevac helicopters. Cooper has the Juneau police informed and distributes Braxton's picture.
Braxton and his men steal an ambulance. The Juneau police was unable to stop him, but positively identified him. The Coast Guard gets an SOS signal from The Factory, which is proof of survivors. Cooper makes the call for Search & Rescue, with Goodson's assent.
Ressler is communicating with the Coast Guard over radio when Yusuf reappears. He's about to shoot them, but is shot in turn by Desmond, the guard from the earlier episode. A Coast Guard helicopter arrives.
In what looks like an empty swimming pool, Liz is being waterboarded. One of Braxton's men tells him that she might know where the Fulcrum is, but the memory is repressed. Braxton tells Liz the person who helped him repress a traumatic memory will help her remember hers.
In her kitchen, Dr. Orchard is picking up after her son when Braxton arrives. One of his men has her young son, Max. He takes her to where they're holding Liz, and orders her to remember what happened. She objects that it's not as easy as that, but he threatens her son. Reddington calls Braxton using a phone from The Factory. Braxton taunts Reddington about killing one of Red's men. Reddington warns Braxton that he's out of his depth with the people he's dealing with. Reddington tells Samar to look for any associates of Braxton with psychiatric training because he'll need help uncovering Liz's memory.
The Cabal meets with Peter Kotsiopulos, expressing concern about the Fulcrum situation. He assures them that everything is under control, they'll make the missile strike on The Factory public as the result of an inmate uprising of enemy combatants. He has a team working on regaining The Fulcrum.
Back at the Post Office, Cooper and Aram welcome back Ressler and Samar. Aram has identified the psychiatric connection to Braxton: Dr. Selma Orchard. She's an attending in neurology at Walter Reed, and was part of a team that discovered a gene called Tet1 that makes it possible to erase memories by covering bad memories with better ones. Braxton was at Walter Reed as part of the First Gulf War, part of a friendly fire incident with multiple casualties.
Dr. Orchard explains to Liz that she's going to try to recover the memories using a combination of drugs and hypnotherapy to put her into a lucid dream state.
Samar and Ressler go through Dr. Orchard's house. They conclude Braxton has her and her son.
Dr. Orchard has successfully put Liz back into her memories, where grown-up Liz finds herself hiding in a closet with a young girl. Her parents are arguing outside about something the father took, that the mother doesn't like. Also about custody of the girl, who seems to be named Masha. Masha has a live white rabbit. Liz comforts Masha.
Reddington arrives in a restaurant to a group of people who are waiting for him. He thanks them for coming and informs them that their past relationships with Braxton is over. Braxton will likely reach out to one of them for help. If he does, they're to call Reddington immediately. In exchange, they'll get to live.
Metro police called in a possible sighting of Braxton near Anacostia. Cooper orders a canvass of the area. As the team leaves, Cooper gets a call from his doctor calling him into the office to discuss his results.
Liz chases Masha into an area filled with Christmas trees when Masha pursues her runaway rabbit. Masha escapes Liz to run into an unseen man's arms. They end up back in the closet again. Masha desperately tries to stop Liz from going to the sounds of her parents fighting.
In the real world, Liz is seizing so Dr. Orchard gives her drugs to pull her out of it, arguing with Braxton that he won't get anything from her if she's dead.
One of the people Reddington spoke to tells him that he got a call from Braxton, but refuses to surrender the information until he gets paid, despite being told there's a hostage at stake.
Liz and Dr. Orchard talk about Max and memories.
Reddington completes a money transfer for the informant and gets the info on Braxton. Then he punches the informant in the face until he's unconscious.
Braxton puts Max on the phone with Dr. Orchard, then gives her an ultimatum, she has until 9 to get the info. Liz asks her to continue despite the risks, for her own benefit. She wants to know what happened.
Braxton meets with Kotsiopulos and raises the price for The Fulcrum another 10%. When he leaves, he's caught by Reddington and Dembe, who put him in a car.
Liz hears her parents arguing about The Fulcrum. Her father says it's the only thing keeping him alive.
Ressler and Samar arrive at a pharmacy, where Wilson Bishop, a third year resident, is working. He admits to having gotten Braxton some drugs, as well as delivering some medical equipment for him.
Reddington and Dembe enter the building where they're holding Liz and take out Braxton's men. He asks Dr. Orchard if she's okay.
Samar and Ressler leave the pharmacy. While Samar reports the address they got into Aram, Reddington calls Ressler. He tells Ressler about Max's kidnapping. His men have already liberated him, and he asks the FBI to pick him up.
Red asks Dr. Orchard if it's possible for Liz to remember without hurting her. Dr. Orchard says it's possible, with care.
Reddington tries to help Liz remember where the Fulcrum is, while Ressler tries to stop them. In her memory, Liz urges Masha to scream and escape. Liz sees other people in the fire, and remembers that Reddington was there that night.
A medic sees to Liz while Reddington watches. Liz accuses of being with the people who were searching for the Fulcrum that night. She remembers leaving her father in the fire, and there's no way he could have survived that, he must be dead. Reddington points out a 4 year old's memory is not always reliable. Liz rejects Reddington, telling him his pretense of caring for her is no longer necessary because there's no point, she doesn't know where the Fulcrum is. Ressler leads her away. Dr. Orchard is reunited with her son Max.
Kotsiopulos walks into his home while on the phone with someone, assuring them he's going to meet with Braxton soon. When he hangs up, he realizes Braxton is hanging on his wall. Reddington enters with Dembe. Kotsiopulos challenges Reddington's claim that he has the Fulcrum, and Reddington urges him to call his bluff.
Kat Goodson goes on the news to tell the press the attack on The Factory was timed to happen at the same time as the transfer of Reddington. At this point in time, Reddington's location is unknown.
Liz meets Dr. Orchard in a restaurant. Dr. Orchard tells her that she doesn't think she was the first person to go through Liz's memory. It's been tampered with before, so the people and events she remembered might not actually be what happened.
Going through her childhood belongings, Liz realizes her burned stuffed rabbit has a mended seam. She opens the seam and finds the Fulcrum.
Press Release[]
As chaos ensues at the Factory leaving the fate of Red and the task force unknown, FBI boss Cooper struggles to rescue his team from the detention facility. Meanwhile, it’s a race against time to stop Luther Braxton from attaining confidential information.
Number on The Blacklist[]
- 21
Unanswered Questions[]
- The Factory
- What will be the fallout of the destruction of the Factory?
- People will ask why the Factory was a black site.
- People will ask why the Factory was destroyed.
- Red's escape will damage the Department of Justice's credibility.
- What will happen to the prisoners who survived the air strike? Did Red arrange for their escape to repay them?
- Raymond Reddington
- How did Red break/interrogate Luther Braxton? The Factory failed to over a longer period of time.
- Who was bluffing who? Both Red and the Cabal seem equal in power.
- Will Red's manueverability be limited? His current appearance was broadcast globally on the news after the arrest in Hong Kong.
- What happened in Belgrade?
- Elizabeth Keen
- Why did Keen not find the Fulcrum earlier? She has handled the teddy bear multiple times.
- What will she do with the Fulcrum?
- A: It's unknown for the moment, but it could prove Red's validations that he had the Fulcrum the whole time and wasn't bluffing against Peter Kotsiopulos.
- A: In “Leonard Caul”, Keen confronted Peter Kotsiopulos and ordered him to call off the assassination attempt on Red's life by showing him the contents of the Fulcrum.
- Keen's reaction was similar when she learned that Red killed Sam Scott. She hated Red for 2 episodes and then the anger vanished.
- Cabal
- How old is the Cabal? The Fulcrum existed when Keen was 4 years old.
- Why did Peter Kotsiopulos admit the existence of the Factory?
- Why did Peter Kotsiopulos need to hire Braxton? He told Red that the Cabal had a superior power base. He could have searched the computer files without the need to access the Factory's node. In “Luther Braxton” he stated that a mirror search program was running. That meant he never intended to pay Braxton.
- Luther Todd Braxton
- Braxton did not seem to realize the power of the Cabal. He increased the price of the Fulcrum after the air strike. He should have realized that the Cabal was not going to pay him.
- Did any of Braxton's team survive the explosion?
- Who arranged for the medical helicopter?
- Why did Braxton shoot the doctor who questioned him? He should have arranged for forged documents to justify the landing.
- Harold Cooper
- What will be the consequences for Cooper since he ordered the Coast Guard to rescue the survivors? Kat Goodson semi-threatened that it would destroy his career.
- What is wrong with Cooper's health?
- How did anyone survive the air strike without serious injuries? Samar and Ressler were in a room that lost a wall.
- Why did the Islamic prisoner decide to shoot Donald Ressler and Samar? An air strike should be evidence that escape is more important.
- What is Aram Mojtabai's relationship with Samar Navabi?
- A: It's possible that Aram is in love with Samar.
Slanders on the FBI[]
Trivia[]
- Similarities between “Anslo Garrick”, “Anslo Garrick: Conclusion”, “Luther Braxton”, and “Luther Braxton: Conclusion”.
- An official of another agency overrides Harold Cooper and tells him that he must obey orders or his career will be ruined. However, the female official also is wary of her male superiors.
- Cooper must demand and/or force information from his superiors.
- Elizabeth Keen is captured by the Blacklister and used to provoke Red into action.
- Luther Todd Braxton and Anslo Garrick have names that contain nearly the same amount of numbers. 5/6 for the first name, 7 for the last name.
- Most of the supporting character law enforcement officials are killed during the raid.
- Raymond Reddington is arrested at the start of the first episode.
- Red and Keen must organize a desperate defense after the location is seized.
- Red and the Blacklister have a history of being enemies.
- Red is wounded.
- Red kills the Blacklister.
- Red’s warning to the law enforcement officials is ignored.
- The Blacklister despises Red.
- The Blacklister is an expert in raiding high security areas and has experience in several nation-states.
- The Blacklister negotiates a new price with the Cabal.
- The Blacklister refuses to negotiate with law enforcement.
- The Blacklister spent time in a Supermax prison and suffered injury.
- The Cabal is concerned with the possible release of the Fulcrum blackmail evidence. The Cabal debates the idea that Red is bluffing.
- The first episode ends with the main characters facing death. The second episode ends with Red proving that he can survive the Cabal.
- The target location is a top secret government location chosen for its power status.
- This episode seems inspired by “Face/Off” and “The Rock”.
- The air strike is ordered as a last resort option.
- The escape leads to a prison riot.
- The FBI agents are divided between those who know the truth and those who demand the truth. After learning the truth, they refuse to blindly follow orders.
- The main character, who is a criminal/in prison, is left alive because he knew the existence/location of a blackmail file. He reveals this to the partner who is a FBI agent that sides with the prisoner.
- The secret prison is located in an oil rig.
- The specially trained government unit is defeated and the criminals must be stopped by a semi-trained unit that lacks cohesion.
- The Supermax prison security.
- The torture and execution rooms.
- The use of a top secret blackmail file that involves several high ranking government officials.
Cast[]
Main star[]
- James Spader as Raymond Reddington
- Megan Boone as Elizabeth Keen
- Diego Klattenhoff as Donald Ressler
- Ryan Eggold as Tom Keen (credit only)
- Amir Arison as Aram Mojtabai
- Mozhan Marnò as Samar Navabi
- Harry Lennix as Harold Cooper
Guest star[]
- David Strathairn as Peter Kotsiopulos
- Gloria Reuben as Dr. Selma Orchard
- Janel Moloney as Kat Goodson
- Hisham Tawfiq as Dembe Zuma
- David Gautreaux as The Cryptobanker
- Valerie Pettiford as Charlene Cooper
- Scott A. Martin as Desmond
- Laith Nakli as Yousef
- Jade Wu as Chinese Cabal Member
- Ylfa Edelstein as Cabal Member #4
- Marc Menchaca as Pierce (credit only)
- Alok Tewari as Indian Cabal Member
- Amr El-Bayoumi as Cabal Member #2
- Ron Perlman as Luther Todd Braxton
Co-star[]
- Nathanael Small as Max
- Jillian Lebling as Young Liz
- Joe Diomede as Wilson Bishop
- Eric Gravez as Braxton's Man
- Douglas Gibson as Hewitt
- Mahira Kakkar as E.R. Doctor
- Miriam Hyman as Reporter #1
- Larissa Laurel as Zaftig Brunette
- Gary Lee Mahmoud as Reporter #2
Gallery[]
External Links[]
Season 2 Episodes |
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· Lord Baltimore · Monarch Douglas Bank · Dr. James Covington · Dr. Linus Creel · The Front · The Mombasa Cartel · The Scimitar · The Decembrist · Luther Braxton · Luther Braxton: Conclusion · Ruslan Denisov · The Kenyon Family · The Deer Hunter · T. Earl King VI · The Major · Tom Keen · The Longevity Initiative · Vanessa Cruz · Leonard Caul · Quon Zhang · Karakurt · Tom Connolly · |