The Artax Network

"The Artax Network"

Season 3, Episode 20

Episode Information

Air date

April 28, 2016

Directed by

Don Thorin, Jr.

Written by

Dawn DeNoon

Guest Stars

Deirdre Lovejoy as Cynthia Panabaker
Tawny Cypress as Nez Rowan
Susan Blommaert as Kathryn Nemec

Episode Chronology

Previous	Next
“Cape May”	“Susan Hargrave”

“The Artax Network” is the twentieth episode of Season 3 of The Blacklist and the sixty-fourth episode overall.

Synopsis[]

Right after Elizabeth’s death, Tom Keen is in the hospital room and changing Agnes’ diaper. Samar stops by to help him get the baby ready and they head to the church. They are heading to Liz’s funeral, everyone sits in the pews somber as Harold Cooper takes the stage and gives a powerful eulogy. The casket is in the center of the church.

After the funeral, Samar and Aram ride with Ressler to the cemetery. Ressler is not happy when Aram sparks up some weed and passes it to Samar. Samar can’t believe that Red didn’t bother showing up at the funeral. Ressler says that Red had no business being there because it is his fault that Liz is dead. At the cemetery, Aram reads an excerpt from Shakespeare and sobs while he talks about how much Liz loved Beyonce and foot massages. After Liz is laid to rest, Tom Keen hangs behind to have a final moment with his wife.

Meanwhile, Red heads to a cabin in the woods in the middle of nowhere He knocks on the door and a grumpy old man answers, he is not thrilled to see Red. Red gets choked up and tells him that he lost his granddaughter. Red sits down with him and has dinner. He explains that they lost Liz during childbirth, and he is now a great grandfather.

After the funeral, Harold and his team get to work, they vow to find out who attacked Liz at her wedding and caused her to go in to premature labor. Their only clue is the Artax Network that they found in the basement of one of Solomon’s guys’ houses. Aram works his magic on what info they can get off the network. Aram can’t figure out who was tracking Keen through the network, but he was able to learn that whoever was watching Keen is also watching a financial consultant named Benjamin Stadler.

At the cabin in the woods, Red tells the old man that he wants to stick around for a while, he enjoys the quiet. He is heading to the store so Red gives him money to pick him up some whiskey. While he is gone, Red starts going through boxes in the garage full of childrens’ toys and drawings.

Tom is going stir crazy at the hospital with Agnes, he calls Harold Cooper and wants to come in on and work on the case to help them find the men that were after Liz. Harold tells Tom that he needs to stay with his daughter, they have everything under control.

Ressler and Samar don’t have everything under control tough. They head to Stadler’s hotel to pick him up, however when they arrive, a woman is trying to kidnap Stadler. Samar gets her butt kicked by the woman, and then Ressler gets side swiped by the mystery woman’s SUV. They are definitely off their game since Liz’s death.

The man returns from the store and is not happy to find Red in the garage and going through his stuff. Red starts rambling about the glitter, and how magical it is. Liz’s Grandpa Dom snaps at Red and tells him to stop torturing him, those boxes are all that he has left from his daughter (Liz’s mother). Dom shouts at Red that as far as he is concerned, he killed his entire family because of poor decisions that he made.

Ressler and Samar head back to the FBI, badly beaten up, Samar is furious, they rush to tell Harold that Rowan attacked them, and she was the one trying to kidnap Stadler. Harold is baffled, they had Rowan “dead to rights” for robbing the nuclear bomb facility. He says he is going to do some digging and find out how she was released.

Meanwhile, Ressler and Samar sit down with Stadler to question him and try to figure out why Rowan was kidnapping him. Its obvious Rowan and Solomon are working for the same person, but they still need to figure out who hired them. Stadler insists that he doesn’t know Liz and has never laid eyes on her except for when she was on the news.

Harold pays Cynthia a visit, she won’t tell him why they set Rowan free, instead she gives Cooper a lecture about looking the other way because it’s “over his head”. Cynthia hints at a secret organization and tells Cooper to stay out of it. If Harold wants to help the FBI, then he needs to bring in Raymond Reddington and make sure they don’t lose him without Liz on the team anymore. Harold is fed up, he calls Tom at the hospital and tells him to come to work, they need his help.

Aram shows up at Liz’s grandfather’s house, somehow he tracked him down. Aram explains that he can’t work without Liz, and he needs Red to come back. He reminds Red that he owes him, he saved Liz’s life and Red said he was indebted to Aram, he needs him back at work. Red said that he doesn’t have it in him, sheds a few tears and slams the door in a shocked Aram’s face.

Back at the FBI, Samar, Ressler, and Aram are frustrated, none of their leads are panning out, they are back to square 1 and no where closer to tracking down Liz’s attacker.

Red still hasn’t left Liz’s grandfather’s house, the man rants that he gave him the bad news, he can leave now. Red confesses that he doesn’t want to leave because he doesn’t know how much longer he will be able to live with the pain of Liz’s death. Grandpa Dom grumbles that he isn’t any better off than Red. But, he heard Aram begging Red to come back, he has honest people that need him and want him.

Aram has gotten his mojo back, he realizes that the network they found in the basement is run by the Artax Network, abandoned satellites in space. There are roughly 71 of them, Aram manages to log in to 1 of the satellites and he is successful, he is able to get an address for the network’s headquarters. Ressler and Navabi rush to the address, 2 men inside the room full of computers see the FBI coming on the surveillance cameras and they start destroying everything. By the time Ressler and Navabi arrive at the computer room, there is an explosion, and all of the evidence is destroyed.

Tom is tailing Cynthia, trying to get information on how Rowan was set free and Liz’s killers. He hides in a bush and takes photos of her meeting outside in the dark with a mystery woman, she is the same mystery woman that was spotted in photos with Stadler.

Tonight’s episode ends with Tom back at the hotel with Agnes, he is thrilled that he has finally mastered the art of swaddling. After tucking Agnes in to bed, he heads to the FBI office and gives him photos of Cynthia meeting at the airport with the woman that Stalder met at the hotel. Tom tells Harold that he doesn’t think Liz’s Mom is dead, and the mystery woman in the photos is her mother, Katarina Rostova.

Aram is sitting at home eating take-out and crying, there is a knock at his door in the middle of the night. It’s Red. He tells Aram to “strap on his bike helmet”, it is time for them to go back to work.

Press Release[]

After an unexpected loss devastates the FBI task force, they must track down their assailants; a mysterious group whose agents operate using a worldwide satellite network. Meanwhile, Reddington is forced to confront a ghost from his past -- one who knows many of Red's secrets.

Number on The Blacklist[]

41

Unanswered Questions[]

Task force
1. The task force is in a legal “gray/grey” area. They need the FBI’s resources, but they know that they cannot trust their superiors. That leaves restricted options for political maneuvering in the event Cooper needs to rally support.
2. Why did Ressler and the others show surprise at Red not being present? He is on the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
  1. A: That hasn't stopped Red appearing at public events.
  2. A: Red was the reason for the task force's very creation.
Raymond Reddington
1. What motivated Red to return?
  1. A: Probably to avenge Liz's death and destroy the Artax network.
2. What happened to Red, Katarina Rostova, and Dom?
  1. A: Red went into the black market, Rostova is rumored to be dead or alive, and Dom retreated to the wilderness. Dom stated that Red is to blame for everything.
  2. Q: What happened that would force the characters to take such actions? Taking the above options implies a worst-case scenario where everything went wrong.
    1. A: Both Red and Rostova had very dangerous connections (criminal empires, KGB). In order to protect Liz, Rostova needed to dissociate herself from her daughter. Dom was stricken with grief after his daughter's (Rostova's) death.
3. What did Red drink that he found to have a bad taste?
  1. A: Buttermilk.
4. Why did Red’s guards accept Samar Navabi’s badge? They know that law enforcement can be corrupted.
  1. A: Samar works for Reddington and the Task Force.
  2. Q: Then why did she need to show her badge?
  3. A: Procedure.
Artax Network
1. Between the Cabal and the Artax Network, who can be trusted in the federal government?
  1. A: As of now, the people directly involved with the task force are really the only ones that can be trusted.
2. Was Cynthia Panabaker responsible for the release of Nez Rowan?
3. How did the mercenaries at the “Eagle’s Nest” escape? There was no mention of an arrest.
  1. A: Hidden escape route.
4. Did Aram salvage anything from the “Eagle’s Nest”?
5. What is the extent of the Artax Network? They took control of a satellite network, have access to military equipment, have high-ranking allies in the government, and killed numerous Cabal agents in “Mr. Solomon” without caring about a counterattack.
  1. A: The Artax Network is not an organization. It is a network of satellites that the mystery organization was using.
  2. Q: The Artax Network was listed in the title as the blacklister. Similiar to the Monarch Douglas Bank.
  3. A: The Artax Network is a tool, not a person or organization.
  4. Q: The name could be used for both.
Donald Ressler
1. Ressler’s anger is continuing the theme of his emotions being a future liability to his career.
Harold Cooper
1. Why did Cooper suspect that Cynthia Panabaker was responsible for Rowan’s escape?
2. Cooper’s meeting with Cynthia Panabaker shows that he has lost interest in his career and wants to destroy the black market factions regardless of the cost.
  1. A: More specifically, he is extremely upset with Elizbeth's death.
Tom Keen
1. How did Tom know where to find Cynthia Panabaker?
  1. A: Cooper gave Tom the coordinates to an airstrip because he suspected Panabaker was actually helping Rowan and Solomon.
Benjamin Stalder
1. Why did Stalder state that Elizabeth Keen was a fugitive? Somebody in his position should be better informed of current events.
  1. A: By feigning ignorance, he can maintain innocence in the situation.
2. Why was Nez Rowan after Stalder?
Dembe Zuma
1. Why was Dembe not at Liz's funeral? We know he wasn't with Red at Cape May or at the cabin, so where was he?
  1. A: He was at the funeral. He can be seen carrying the coffin right beside Donald Ressler.
  2. Q: That wasn't Dembe, when it zooms in between Navabi and Ressler, you can see that it's a random character.