Philomena

"Philomena"
Season 4, Episode 18
Episode Information
Air date	April 27, 2017
Directed by	Michael Watkins
Written by	Peter Noah
Episode Chronology
Previous	“Requiem”
Next	“Dr. Bogdan Krilov”

“Philomena” is the eighteenth episode of Season 4 of The Blacklist and the eighty-second episode overall.

Press Release

The Task Force chases an artful bounty hunter employed to target Red's closest associates. Meanwhile, Ressler faces a moral dilemma when he takes on a new assignment with a former colleague.

Number on The Blacklist

• 61

Unanswered Questions

1. Elizabeth Keen
   1. How did Keen trace Nemec to Vienna?
      1. A: Philomena told Keen.
      2. Q: Philomena told Keen it was Italy.
   2. How did Keen “turn” Philomena?
2. Philomena
   1. How many of Philomena’s clients will be arrested?
   2. Philomena's connection to Nemec seemed to be based on emotions.
   3. Philomena is the patron saint of infants, babies, and youth.
3. Donald Ressler
   1. Why did Ressler not alter the fingerprint?
   2. Ressler’s comparison of himself to Julian Gale can prove to be a problem in the future. Ressler and Gale are/were obsessed with capturing Red.
4. Aram Mojtabai
   1. Did Aram alter the fingerprint?
      1. A: No. This is a foreshadow of Red's authentic identity.
   2. Why did Aram nominate Samar for the Katai Fellowship?
5. Samar Navabi
   1. How did Samar know that Nemec had visited Keen?
      1. A: It's possible she followed Nemec to Keen's house.
   2. What was the lie Samar referred to?
6. Harold Cooper
   1. How will Cooper react to the discovery of Diane Fowler’s body? He told Meera Malik that the disappearance must be solved.
   2. Why did Cooper insist that Keen accompany Red?
      1. A: So that he would not go rogue in his own investigation and not report to the Bureau.
7. Kathryn Nemec
   1. Why did Nemec miss the fingerprint on the record cleaning brush?
      1. A: Depends on where exactly it was on. She probably gave it a quick scrub but missed a corner.
   2. Why did Nemec not find the tape recorder in the Pine Needle Motor Court?
      1. A: Her purpose was to find one of the corpses, in-and-out. Being spied on through the air vents probably didn't cross her mind.
   3. Why was Nemec in Italy?
      1. That was where her aircraft landed.
   4. Why is Nemec going to Vienna?
      1. To recruit Bogdan Ivanovich Krilov.
   5. Where is Nemec getting the money for her revenge?
      1. A: She stole from Reddington's accounts using his name to fund her operations.
8. Cynthia Panabaker
   1. Panabaker's threat about the FBI abandoning the task force could easily backfire. If indicted, the task force has evidence that the FBI approved of and/or ignored their actions.
      1. A: Because they are a black ops division, that evidence wouldn't matter since the FBI would disavow them and can consider them a rogue group, making any evidence worthless.
      2. Q: The accusation alone would create a public relations disaster.
   2. Panabaker is at risk of turning into a clone of Reven Wright. Her political position will undermine her loyalty to the task force.
9. Julian Gale
   1. Why did Gale blame himself for the 86 bodies that Nemec gave to the FBI?
      1. A: Because Gale tried to turn a lot of them to informants, and thus blames himself because he believes his interference cause Reddington to kill them.
   2. Why did the FBI keep Fowler’s furniture?
      1. A: It was evidence.

Slanders on the FBI

1. How did the FBI miss the fingerprint on the record cleaning brush?
   1. A: The scene was about a shooting. Looking at the record player for any reason would not have crossed their minds over how she was shot, the direction, the gun, etc.
2. Why was the investigation at the ice rink not shut down?
   1. A: The immunity deal with Red is limited knowledge. Ending the investigation would have ensured an investigation into why the FBI wanted it silenced.

Cast

Main star

• James Spader as Raymond Reddington
• Megan Boone as Elizabeth Keen
• Diego Klattenhoff as Donald Ressler
• Amir Arison as Aram Mojtabai
• Mozhan Marnò as Samar Navabi
• Hisham Tawfiq as Dembe Zuma
• Harry Lennix as Harold Cooper

Guest star

• Susan Blommaert as Kathryn Nemec
• Enrique Murciano as Julian Gale
• Susan Misner as Philomena
• Deirdre Lovejoy as Cynthia Panabaker
• Fisher Stevens as Marvin Gerard
• Frederick Weller as Joe Peracchio
• Clea Lewis as Alexa Gerard

Co-star

• Bazzel Baz as Baz
• Bruce Sabath as Congressman Edelstein
• Ziv Zaifman as Aaron Edelstein
• John Adams as Carl
• Meg Heus as Waitress
• Andrew Frace as Uniform
• Brian Corrigan as Clerk
• Tom Flynn as James Middleton
• Louis Tucci as Driver
• Daniel George Danielson as Manager
• Christopher L. Graves as FBI Agent

Gallery

 

External Links

• NBC.com
• NBC.com