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T. Earl King VI” is the fourteenth episode of Season 2 of The Blacklist and the thirty sixth episode overall. It aired on March 5, 2015 on NBC.

Synopsis[]

We open 2 years in the past at someplace called Jekyll Island. A man (T. Earl King VI) in a wheelchair rolls into a room to meet his two sons (Tyler and Francis King) and a Mr. Valmont. The clock strikes midnight as Mr. Valmont rattles off some account numbers. Tyler’s account has more money and Mr. King tells them to get on with it as Francis picks up a pistol puts it to his head and pulls the trigger to find that it’s empty. A fun little game of Russian Roulette.

Back in the present, Tom is meeting with a man named Bud asking for an undercover op. The man tells him he is wasting his talent, but if he really wants a job there may be one, then asks how Tom’s German is. Red and Dembe come to visit Liz at her motel room. Red tells her that Madeline Pratt has been abducted and he wants to rescue her. She asks why since Madeline tried to kill them, Red says because his life is more interesting with her in it and because the people who kidnapped her are a notorious crime family (the Kings) who have been hosting black market auctions since the days of the British Empire to supplement their income. He says that it would be perfect for the FBI to take down the family and solve a lot of crimes using the ledgers they keep of each auction.

Liz takes the case to the Post Office and presents the case to the team. Aram uses a picture Red gave Liz of Madeline’s abduction to identify one of the kidnappers, Silvio Haratz, a Brazilian. Unfortunately his file is classified, so Cooper has to go ask Tom Connolly for help to get access without throwing up any red flags. Connolly tells Harold that they can’t bring him in because they don’t have enough to stick yet, then he asks Cooper to tip off a CEO at a med-tech company that is about to indicted. Cooper doesn’t want to, but Connolly asks about the trial that he got Harold into as a reminder that he is owed a favor.

Liz calls Red to tell him that Haratz is at a safe house called the Palace. He tells her to not go and that he will handle it, she tells him he can’t tell her what to do. Dembe and Red show up to find that it’s a setup by Francis King and Madeline to abduct Reddington. Dembe is stunned and Red is taken to have his picture taken and entered into the family ledger. The team finds out and scrambles to find out where the auction is being held so they can go there to save Reddington. They focus on the attendees of the event and connect Alexi Koskov, a Russian oligarch who acquires stolen art to a Van Gogh that will be at the auction. Alexi can’t get into the country, but his new acquisitions emissary, Josephine Sullivan can. They bring her in to the Post Office and find out how to access the auction. Liz proposes that she go undercover as Josephine Sullivan, Cooper doesn’t like it, but gives her the go ahead.

Tom calls Liz to tell her he has a new assignment. He asks how she’s doing and she says she’s in a lot of trouble and is about to go undercover too. He gives her a couple tips including to sneeze if she’s asked a question she doesn’t know the answer to, then tells her goodbye and hangs up.

Liz shows up at the hotel and gives the password to the concierge. In the elevator a man asks for her phone purse and jewelry then takes her down to the garage where she gets into a car and is told to drink a glass of liquid which knocks her out. Ressler and Samar were at the hotel trying to follow her, but don’t get to the basement until after she’s gone.

Tom walks into a bathroom with a bag of cash and a picture of his new target. He gives himself a buzzcut and then is seen smoking a cigarette while getting several tattoos. The scene cuts to Red getting a close shave and talking to Earl King about an encounter they had in Bolivia. Apparently Red had tried to get him to leave, but he didn’t and paid the price at the hands of some soldier. He also says that he did learn something from Red, to listen to the market and that Red is a very valuable commodity right now. Red tries to find out again how they deal with the inheritance. Liz wakes up in a bedroom to see Earl King coming in and giving her a choice of some jewelry.

The Kings open the auction and Liz starts browsing. She looks at the Van Gogh and little Vicent Peretti and is accosted by Tyler King who tells her he understands she is there on behalf of Mr. Koskov and asks her where she went to college. She tells him Columbia, then Princeton. He tells her he went to Princeton to and asks her a question she doesn’t know the answer to, causing her to use Tom’s sneeze tip. She comes upon Reddington and they chat a bit with Francis. He wonders if she would bid on him, but she says she heard he’s far more trouble then he’s worth. Yaabari then walks up and tells Red they still tell stories of him burning down their compound and that he will see him after the auction.

Meanwhile, Ressler and Samar are unsuccessfully trying to get the location of the auction and Harold tips of the CEO of the indictment. Then Aram comes in and tells her that Josephine Sullivan managed to call her lawyer while being transferred, despite Cooper’s order and now Liz’s cover may be blown.

Back at the auction Liz enters into a bidding war with Yaabari for Red. Earl King is told that she is an imposter and to bring her to him. Red joins the bidding on himself as Liz notices them coming for her and leaves. Tyler angrily orders security to take Red off of the auction, as Yaabari had the last highest bid at 18,000,000 dollars. Cooper enters the interrogation room with the hotel employee and intimidates the man into telling them where the auction is being held.

Liz sneaks into the contraband holding area, knocks out a guard and frees the Peretti boy. She tries to save Reddington, but doesn’t know the code. He tells her to leave quickly as the guards come, so she grabs a gun and heads off. Liz tells Vincent Peretti to run through the doors as she goes back to save Red. Yaabari comes to get Red and tells him that there is a 40,000,000 dollar bounty on his head. Red says a lot can happen between here and Johannesburg, but Yaabari clarifies that the bounty is just on his head, nothing else.

The Kings are meeting to go over the accounts and Tyler is saying how unfair it is because Liz drove up the price. The Peretti boy escapes and is found by the police. Yaabari takes Red into a room and is preparing to shoot him when Liz shows up and kills him instead. Tyler is still mad that it’s unfair, but Francis says it’s no different then a previous time. He wants Earl to call it off, but he just say “get on with it”. Red and Liz show up before Tyler shoot himself. Tyler puts the gun down, Red picks it up and shoots Earl finding that there was a bullet in the chamber. He leaves Liz to cover them as the FBI raids the place saving everyone and confiscating all the contraband. Tyler and Francis are arrested.

In his office, Cooper tells Reven Wright about the case and the ledger. She is glad at least something went right and tells Harold that she was in charge of the case against the CEO he tipped off and that he fled before they could carry it out. Red tells Liz to never do that again and she doesn’t understand because the case was a major victory. She realizes that he doesn’t want to be helped because he doesn’t feel deserving or worthy of help. He thanks her.

Tom walks into a bar in Dresden, Germany and bumps into a big man. He insults him and then beats him up. Two guys grab him and he turns to face the man whose picture he has. He tells the man his name is Christoff Mannheim and then they get a beer together.

Press Release[]

REDDINGTON FALLS INTO HOSTILE TERRITORY WHEN HE ENCOUNTERS A DANGEROUS FAMILY - A former paramour involves Reddington in a deadly game with a wealthy, powerful family dynasty whose ill-begotten fortune was amassed from an underground auction of human and material contraband. Meanwhile, Tom takes on a new mission.

Number on The Blacklist[]

  • 94

Unanswered Questions[]

  1. Does anyone in the Department of Justice still care about justice?
    1. Red has control of the task force.
      1. A: Red does not have full control of the task force, but he is the reason they exist at all. In the end, they are putting away high-value criminals, even if Reddington profits from it in some way.
    2. All members of the task force have committed and/or aided a felony.
    3. The Cabal has members in the command structure.
    4. Diane Fowler worked with/for Fitch.
    5. Reven Wright has obstructed the task force by imposing political restrictions.
      1. A: While her methods may seem heavy handed, high handed, and amoral/immoral, she genuinely cares about justice, just in a way that doesn't damage the reputation of the FBI or CIA which is why she considers the political ramifications.
    6. Thomas Connolly has used his position to break the law.
  2. King family
    1. The Russian roulette inheritance tactic is similar to the “Friday the 13th: The Series” episode “Tattoo”.
    2. Why did the King family use old and/or obsolete techniques? There was the straight razor, the instant camera, the instant film, and the handwritten cursive penmanship of the ledger.
      1. A: The straight razor is to get the closest possible shave. This is commonplace for auctions to make the item looking to be sold as appealing as possible. The instant camera and ledger are to keep the operation as hidden as possible. If the images and ledger was kept on a server the documents could be accessed by a skilled hacker (e.g. Ivan). The curvsive penmanship is possibly tradition or a method of keeping in line with the rest of the ledger where the first entry would be the neater cursive rather than other writing styles.
    3. Why did the King family maintain the auction for over 200 years? Was it the money or family tradition?
      1. A: According to both sons, it's both. Each wants to carry on the legacy and they are rivals over the family fortune. As explained by Red, the Kings are very greedy and let money cloud their judgement, especially Earl.
    4. What did the King family do when Russian roulette was not viable?
      1. A: Possibly used the drinking version, but with poison instead of vodka.
    5. What did the King family do when the children obtained equal levels of profit from an auction?
    6. Why was T. Earl King IV allowed to live after suffering such injuries? That level of failure showed that T. Earl King IV was capable of making self-destructive investments which would threaten the King family.
      1. A: Earl is the head of the King dynasty and his auction has remained successful for 200 years. Anyone who would question would most likely be killed for trying to stand against him.
    7. What does the “T.” stand for?
    8. What will be the fallout from the arrests? The FBI arrested the criminals, recovered the ledger, and seized the evidence.
    9. The King sons can tell the prosecutor and/or FBI that Keen and Red know each other.
      1. A: It's not relevant to the defense, and the FBI would see to it that it was either declared inadmissible and struck from the record.
    10. Why did the Harleston Read Hotel elevator attendant ask for Keen’s jewelry?
      1. A: In case it was bugged or could be used as a weapon, perhaps.
    11. Was Keen stripped and searched while unconscious? When she awoke she was in her lingerie.
      1. A: To insure that her clothes weren't bugged and she had no weapons on her.
    12. Why was a motorcycle part of the auction?
      1. A: It was a vintage military motorcycle, valuable to collectors.
    13. What was the deal in Bolivia? For the military to get involved implies that it was a direct threat to the government.
    14. What happened in Bolivia? Why did T. Earl King VI refuse to abandon the investment? Red abandoned his investment.
      1. A: Probably because at that time he was not the family patriarch, but was vying to win the inheritance game, just as his sons are now. If he'd abandoned the investment, he'd risk losing, and the King legacy doesn't go to the loser. Nor, as we have seen, life itself.
  3. Vincent Peretti
    1. Since the FBI captured Vincent Peretti, they can use him to ensure that the father turns state's evidence.
    2. Why was Vincent Peretti not in protective custody?
      1. A: He probably was, but considering the King's reach, they most likely were still able to kidnap him regardless. After all, they were able to kidnap Red who was off the radar and chased by the FBI for 20 years.
  4. Elizabeth Keen
    1. Keen is now an accessory to 2 murders. She did not protest or attempt to stop Red from killing T. Earl King VI. She did not mention the murder in the car after the raid.
    2. Why did Keen fail to research the history of Alexi Koskov’s contact, Josephine Sullivan? She should have prepared for a worst case scenario and failed the question about the Ivy League.
      1. A: The question was obviously a colloquial one that only students would be able to answer, about a student nickname for a form of transportation. It wouldn't make sense to ask a question that could be determined via formal research, since he is trying to confirm she really went to Princeton. It's obvious that Keen did research Josephine since she managed to name both her schools.
    3. Why has Keen not changed her phone number?
    4. Why is Keen still living at the motel?
      1. A: Pride
    5. Is Keen attempting to break and/or equalize her dependency on Red?
      1. A: She is holding a grudge against Red believing he only wants her around because she has the Fulcrum.
  5. Raymond Reddington
    1. How large is Red's syndicate? The auctioneer stated it was one of the largest in the black market.
    2. What is Red’s value to the black market?
    3. Red's Blacklist targets are alternating between the competition and people he despises for moral reasons.
      1. A: That's been the deal since the pilot. The task force is fully aware that Reddington is somehow connected one way or another to his Blacklist, but because they are extremely dangerous and a danger to society and human life, they look past it in order to capture or neutralize them.
    4. Did Red sense that Keen was nearby or was it his last words?
    5. Did the King's remove Red's tracker chip?
      1. A: Seeing as they never brought up how he was “caught” the last time, it's unlikely they considered it and just took him as-is.
  6. Donald Ressler and Samar Navabi
    1. Why did Ressler and Samar search for Keen at the hotel? It would have alerted the King employee.
    2. Will Ressler and Samar confront Cooper over his order to leave him alone with the King hotel employee?
  7. Harold Cooper
    1. Cooper’s threat to kill the hotel employee is similar to the “Space: Above and Beyond” episodes “Never No More, Part 1” and “The Angriest Angel, Part 2”.
    2. Is the clinical trial working? Cooper said the tumor would kill him in weeks.
      1. A: First, he was probably bluffing. Second, it's too soon to determine whether the clinical trial is working.
    3. Why did Cooper need Connolly’s help in getting access to the file of Silvio Haratz?
      1. A: Because it was flagged, and would set off alerts if they accessed it directly, as Aram pointed out.
    4. Why did Reven Wright mention the CEO med-tech company fraud to Cooper? Does she suspect him?
      1. A: Probably not, it was on her mind because it had been a bad day for her.
    5. Why was Cooper dismayed when he learned that the med-tech CEO had fled? Giving the information was illegal and Cooper threatened to kill the hotel employee.
      1. A: Because Cooper helped a criminal escape justice and he is ashamed at himself since his primary purpose is to catch criminals. He also didn't know it would affect Reven directly.
    6. Why did Cooper tell Connolly the information about the indictment? Was is to repay the debt or protect the task force from retaliation?
      1. A: Cooper and Connolly are old friends and Connolly is now Cooper's boss as the new attorney general. It's most likely he felt he could trust Connolly with that information.
  8. Thomas Connolly
    1. Why did Connolly need Cooper’s help? Why was he unable to learn the time of the indictment?
      1. A: He didn't need Cooper's help, he did it so that he would have blackmail material on Cooper.
    2. Connolly’s request was also a threat, he used his influence for Cooper and the med-tech CEO facing the fraud indictment.
  9. Madeline Pratt
    1. Why did Pratt want revenge for “Madeline Pratt”? In that episode her revenge was stealing the painting. She knew that Red’s buyer would certainly torture and/or kill him.
    2. Why was Pratt certain that Red would attempt to rescue her?
      1. A: She probably expected he would figure out the Kings had gotten her and he would want to go after them.
  10. Yaabari
    1. Why was Yaabari angry over the losses he suffered in “Lord Baltimore”? He should know the risks of being a warlord.
      1. A: He lost “face” in front of his group, and the only way to regain his lost status would be by killing the person who humiliated him.
    2. Was Red’s “moving up in the world” statement accurate? Had Yaabari achieved more prominence and/or social status in the black market?
      1. A: The fact that he was at the auction was “moving up in the world”.
    3. What did Red do to Yaabari’s employer that he offered a 40,000,000 dollar bounty?
  11. Tom Keen
    1. Does Tom love Liz? He called and gave her the undercover advice.
      1. A: Possible.
    2. Why was Tom desperate for a new assignment?
      1. A: He has been an undercover agent for a long time and it's the only life he knows. It's more than likely he wanted to get some semblance of familiarity so he can go back to how he was.
    3. What is Tom’s new assignment in Germany? The tattoos read “Deutschland für die Deutschen” (“Germany for the Germans”) and there were Schutzstaffel (SS) bolts.
      1. A: He has to infiltrate a white supreme power / neo-Nazi organization, or at least the neo-Nazi bar where he gets into the fight and meets his target.
    4. Are the tattoos removable? They need to be for an assignment where tattoos are not required.
      1. A: He will either have to cover them up with makeup or get them laser removed or tattooed over somehow. But another question is how he can make fresh tattoos not look obviously new. They take a while to settle in and not look new. Unless he can come up with a reasonable cover that he recently “converted” to Nazism.
      2. A: Given how young Tom looks, it's not unreasonable to think he was a new convert. Also some people don't care how old or new your tattoos look, just what they represent. Seeing as they clearly were of Neo-Nazi representation, I doubt any of them cared they were fresh.
  12. What does K&R mean?
    1. A: Kidnap and ransom insurance
  13. What happened to Dembe?
    1. A: He was found unconscious by the FBI.

Slanders on the FBI[]

  1. Why did the Department of Corrections (D.O.C.) disobey Cooper’s no-contact order?
    1. A: Hanlon's razor: The law and its variants state: “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity”.
  2. Why did the FBI not make a silent approach to the King mansion? The criminals there would have heard the sirens and escaped.

Cast[]

Main star[]

Guest star[]

  • Jennifer Ehle as Madeline Pratt
  • Hisham Tawfiq as Dembe Zuma
  • Reed Birney as Thomas Connolly
  • Adriane Lenox as Reven Wright
  • Sahr Ngaujah as General Yaabari
  • Erik Jensen as Francis King
  • Alex Manette as Tyler King
  • David Patrick Kelly as Heinrich Gerst
  • Matthew Miniero as Vincent Peretti
  • T. Ryder Smith as Rene Valmont
  • Michael Abbott, Jr. as The Auctioneer
  • Steve Routman as Handler
  • Lance Henriksen as Major
  • Jeffrey DeMunn as Earl King

Co-star[]

  • Emily Nicole Hansen as Josephine Sullivan
  • Michael Patrick Lane as Concierge
  • Michael C. Brennan as Head Guard
  • Jeremy Parise as Guard #1
  • Aleksander Mici as Beast
  • Briana Pozner as Girl in Bar
  • Ami Sheth as Attendant
  • Dominic Marcus as Quiet Man
  • Eliud Kauffman as Santos

Gallery[]

External Links[]


Season 2 Episodes
 · 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  ·
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