The Cyprus Agency

"The Cyprus Agency"
Season 1, Episode 13
Episode Information
Air date	January 27, 2014
Directed by	Michael Watkins
Written by	Lukas Reiter
Episode Chronology
Previous	“The Alchemist”
Next	“Madeline Pratt”

“The Cyprus Agency” is the thirteenth episode of Season 1 of The Blacklist and the thirteenth episode overall. It first aired on January 27, 2014 on NBC.

Synopsis

A woman staggers down a New York street wearing a hospital gown and blanket. She approaches a police officer and asks about her baby. A man in a truck arrives and explains to the officer that the woman is his sister. When the officer turns his back the man shoots him and then turns to the woman and shoots her.

Elizabeth Keen and Tom Keen are at home watching a sonogram of the baby they are intending to adopt. They discuss their plans and check that they have purchased all the required accessories.

Liz meets Raymond Reddington and he tells her about the Cyprus Agency, an adoption agency that he thinks they should investigate. He gives her a file containing the details of a baby about to be adopted by David and Wendy Rowland. Liz meets the Rowlands and explains the situation to them, and they agree to allow the FBI to monitor their meeting with the agency lawyer, Theodore Caldwell. When Liz and Donald Ressler try to question Caldwell, he steps in front of a bus. Caldwell is baffled that the FBI does not know the truth.

Red walks through a deserted building where Teddy tells him that “she is telling the truth”. Red walks into a room where Meera Malik is seated. He says to Malik that she leaked the schematic for the Post Office used by Anslo Garrick, Malik counters that she was authorized to start a bidding process to improve the security on orders from Harold Cooper. She says that if Red lets her go, she will find out who issued the classified order for the schematics.

The FBI raid the Cyprus Agency, and its head Owen Mallory offers his full cooperation. When they take the files back to The Post Office, Liz says that they have brokered 27 adoptions of infants in the last 3 years, which is a very high figure considering the rarity of international infants available for adoption. Cooper orders full DNA checks on all the children.

When the DNA checks yield no results, Liz meets with Red. Red tells her to check the relatives of the children. He reminds her that she must break the “police” mentality that she was trained in at the FBI academy if she wants to understand the black market. He also advises Liz that if she has the slightest doubt about her husband, she can not go ahead with the adoption. Ressler reports that 5 women, mothers of 12 of the children are in the system because they are missing persons. While Ressler and Liz are briefing Cooper, Malik uses Cooper's ID to access the records and download the file ordering her to begin the tendering process for the security upgrade.

Aram Mojtabai reports that he has found a file on Caldwell's computer that looks like they are going to kidnap a student named Charlotte Patterson from Georgetown University. Liz and Ressler do not arrive in time  to prevent the kidnap, but manage to see the van used to take Charlotte.

The van driver and kidnapper (and shooter from the beginning) meets with Mallory, and hands Charlotte over. When Mallory learns that the FBI witnessed the kidnap he kills the driver.

A man playing with his dog in some woods finds the body of Kate Ellison (the woman shot at the beginning). The Medical Examiner tells Liz and Ressler that she had given birth multiple time while sedated with Hydroxipam. Aram calls and tells Liz that Mallory attended Harvard under the name Charles Lassiter Junior, the only son of Charles and Mary Lassiter.

Liz and Ressler interview the Lassiters and learn that Mallory was called Michael Shaw when they knew him and that they had adopted him when he was seven years old. The young Michael developed Severe Attachment Disorder and when he threatened to harm himself and the Lassiters they returned him to the foster care system.

Red meets Malik in a park at night and she gives him the copy of the directive for a mandatory security upgrade, and tells him that the person who ordered the upgrade signed page 6. Red turns to page 6, reads the name and them says to Malik that their business is done.

Red meets Liz outside the house of a drug dealer he knows, called Russell. Red insists that he needs Hydroxipam, despite Russell stating that Hydroxipam is too powerful and most drug users avoid using it. Russell is able to tell Liz that one of the doctors who wrote a prescription for Hydroxipam was a fertility doctor.

Liz and Ressler visit the Galatea clinic and ask to speak to Dr. Gideon Hadley. Nestor leaves the agents at the desk and then goes to speak to Hadley and Mallory. When Nestor stalls, the agents walk past, when Nestor draws a gun. Ressler arrests him. Dr Hadley shoots at Ressler, who returns fire killing him. Liz while searching the premises finds a room full of unconscious pregnant women. Mallory is hiding in the room and attacks her, managing to disarm her. Ressler shoots him in the arm before he can shoot Liz. At the scene Cooper tells Liz that all 22 women are healthy, and that they are the mothers of the 27 children.

While Liz is interrogating Mallory, he tells her that the Lassiters did not want a child and wanted an accessory to smile for their Christmas card. He also says that he is father of all the children whom he gives out to potential adopters. However, it's what Mallory said that hit home to Liz when she realizes the consequences of how the child she and Tom are planning to adopt will be raised as long as their marriage continues to suffer the emotional strain.

When she arrives home Liz tells Tom that she can't go through with the adoption as there is something not right with their relationship. When she challenges Tom to say that he has no doubts, he does not respond.

Red is waiting in a town house, for its owner. The parlor door opens and Diane Fowler walks in. She initially denies that she is the mole, then threatens Red with Alan Fitch. Red shoots her once in the stomach and explains that she is not “one of the good guys” and now knows that he knows who she works for, is useless to the bad guys. She offers to tell Red what happened to his family, to which Red responds; if she knows, then someone else does too, and shoots her dead.

Liz is at home alone, crying as she looks at the baby accessories. Tom is in the front of a car talking with Jolene.

Cooper tells Malik, who is looking at the pictures of the rescued women, that he hates working with Reddington because of Red's personality, but that none of what they have achieved would have been possible without him, and then tells Malik to go home.

Kathryn Nemec arrives at Fowler's house and when Red apologizes for the mess, she replies that she is used to clearing up after him, and Nemec starts to clean up the mess.

Press Release

BABY-SNATCHING FOR ILLEGAL ADOPTION HITS CLOSE TO HOME FOR LIZ – After a recent spate of abductions of babies from their mothers, Red informs Liz that the “Cyprus Agency” is the illegal adoption organization responsible. Coincidentally, Liz and Tom contemplate adoption of their own which fuels Liz to track down the organizations CEO, Owen Mallory.

Number on The Blacklist

• 64

Unanswered Questions

1. Was there a hidden meaning to the use of the words Galatea and Cyprus? Were they chosen for the history associated with the words?
   1. A: In Ovid's “Pygmalion”, the character Pygmalion is disgusted by the women who surround him in Cyprus. He carves an ivory statue of a woman, which he calls Galatea, and falls in love with it. Aphrodite ends up turning the statue into a real woman for him. Galatea is essentially too perfect, an idealized woman that couldn't exist in reality. Owen Mallory felt this was how the Lassiters felt about adoption, they wanted the perfect image of a child rather than a real one with flaws.
   2. A: The Cyprus Agency's use of a white dandelion, which scatters its seeds for them to grow independently, as its logo hints at how they provide children for its clients.
2. Who can be trusted in the FBI's command structure? Both Diane Fowler and Alan Fitch have/had high ranking positions. The internal investigation and framing of Aram Mojtabai will result in increased paranoia and decreased morale. Furthermore, trust in general seems to be vanishing. With the exception of Donald Ressler and Aram Mojtabai; the other characters have a hidden agenda.
   1. A: See “Gina Zanetakos”, “The Judge”, and “Mako Tanida”, Cooper is already compromised with a dark secret of his own, aside from his coercion of a confession from Rifkin, that he's trying to keep from being exposed, the Kuwait incident. The only person without dark secrets is Aram (apart from the theft of 5,000,000 dollars), as Ressler harbors some of his own. These include his involvement in the failed assassination attempt on Red's life mentioned in “Anslo Garrick” and the rogue operation for vengeance against Tanida for his involvement in Audrey Bidwell's death.
3. Cooper's opinion of Raymond Reddington's behavior resembles his actions towards Elizabeth Keen's non-regulation actions. Is Red manipulating Keen into acting like him so she will become his ally? In addition to copying his actions, Red is also training Keen to adopt a similiar criminal viewpoint. Red is mocking Liz for her “looks like a cop” behavior.
   1. A: It's possible there is a deeper connection between Red and Liz that no one knows about, which makes Cooper quite suspicious.
4. Why has Red not arranged for a replacement for Luli Zeng? There are other members on his approved list. Is he concerned about another betrayal (Newton Phillips), getting approval from Harold Cooper, and/or interference from Alan Fitch?
   1. A: As Red has not fully re-joined the task force, he has access to all his own personnel, presumably including a financial expert.
5. Why did Russell Quinn compare Hydroxipam to the Betamax and the BlackBerry? The BlackBerry is still in production. There is a difference between a decline in BlackBerry sales and the fate of the Betamax, which is obsolete.
   1. A: Hydroxipam is still in production, it is just not as popular as it once was, like the BlackBerry. Betamax is still used today in some parts of the film and TV industry. Most studios, in the days of tape, would record on Betamax, as the definition was better than VHS. These tapes are still around and if you see news footage from over 15 years ago on TV, that will have been transcribed from a Betamax master tape.
   2. Q: Millions of people use the BlackBerry, Russell Quinn stated that only “3 pharmacies within 1200 miles” had Hydroxipam for sale.
   3. A: If a specific drug is wanted, most pharmacies can order it within a few days. Blackberry is trying to revert its business model back to the corporate world, and therefore Russell and his friends would not be interested in owning or being seen with one.
6. Why did Elizabeth Keen need help in finding the Hydroxipam suppliers? She could have gotten a warrant to question the suppliers and sellers. Was it because she believed that Mallory was using a black market drug supplier?
   1. A: It's possible Mallory was using black market drug suppliers and only Red knew who it was, which is why Liz needed his help to find Hydroxipam.
   2. A: In order to subpoena their records, she would need to show that they sold Hydroxipam, something that only their records would show. Catch-22.
   3. Q: There are public financial records that have some information. Such as the “Wall Street Journal” reporting that corporation X sold product Y over the last 4 months. Most corporations want the public to know what products they sell.
   4. A: Information regarding where prescription medication is kept is restricted.
7. How will Diane Fowler's death be covered up? Her disappearance will not bother Fitch, but Harold Cooper will start an investigation.
   1. A: An investigation would be done by Fowler's own personnel, or the internal investigation section, not by an active crime fighting unit.
   2. Q: Cooper will demand an answer to her disappearance, when the internal investigation fails to find anything, he will start his own. Kathryn Nemec will make certain that Fowler's body is never found.
   3. A: Not necessarily, her body may be found at the scene of a catastrophic car crash, with a burnt and mutilated torso, only identifiable by DNA.
   4. Q: Cooper will suspect something is wrong when Fowler's body is found. The attack on the Post Office and the internal investigation have cast doubt on the entire task force and the people who know of the immunity deal.
   5. A: Why should he, Nemec has been doing this for years. There is also the possibility that Fitch will intervene to ensure that no investigation takes place, or that it records an accident. Remember that Cooper believed the report that stated Newton Phillips was the mole and he acted alone.
8. Why did Fowler refuse to cooperate in “The Good Samaritan”? Was it for public appearance or was Fowler attempting to gain leverage over Fitch?
   1. A: It was Fowler's attempt to gain leverage on Fitch, as she is aware that they know the true extent of what happened to Red's family.
   2. A: There were others present at the meeting. It was necessary for both Fitch and Fowler to maintain their detachment.
9. Did Elizabeth Keen and Donald Ressler have a warrant when they searched the Galatea Fertility Clinic?
   1. A: Probably not, but impeding a Federal Investigation would give probable cause for a search.
   2. A: Drawing a gun on a pair of FBI agents, definitely gives them the right to search.
   3. Q: Nestor went for the handgun after Ressler and Keen said they would search the building. He would not have drawn the gun if they had left. While drawing a gun is an extreme reaction, he could claim that they were trespassing.
   4. A: Drawing a gun on a Federal Agent is a felony, regardless of where they are.
10. Why did Red not use a flashlight/torch when reading the file Meera found? It was at night.
    1. A: Because the street lighting was adequate, and using a flashlight/torch would draw attention to the meeting.
    2. Q: So does a meeting at night between 2 people on a dark street.
    3. A: The meeting takes place in a park, presumably allowing for them to see if there were any watchers. Both Red and Meera are trained in the management of secret meetings.
11. Will Red use Meera's actions as a blackmail weapon? It would be consistent with his previous actions.
    1. A: Definitely. Red knows Meera has strong connections which would aid him in finding his adversary.
12. Kate Ellison
    1. Why was Kate able to walk so well despite suffering from muscular atrophy?
       1. A: Adrenaline is a remarkable substance.
    2. Why was Kate worried about her child after she escaped? She had been kidnapped and raped.
    3. How did Kate Ellison escape, she was under heavy sedation?
       1. A: Faulty batch of drugs, or the needle slipped out of her arm.
       2. Q: That is unlikely considering the security measures that Owen Mallory and company used to maintain secrecy.
       3. A: When Liz and Ressler were at the Galatea Fertility Clinic they only encountered 2 people apart from Mallory, Dr. Gideon Hadley and Nestor. Security was maintained by secrecy.
13. Why did Mallory kill Perry? Perry was acting under what he believed were valid orders to kidnap a replacement.
    1. A: Perry was not acting under orders when he kidnapped Charlotte, he had been told to stand down. Since his kidnap of Charlotte was witnessed by the FBI, Mallory thought that the FBI would trace him and that he would talk, therefore, to maintain security he had to die.
    2. Q: Perry said that Caldwell, the lawyer, told him to find a replacement.
    3. A: The lawyer was dead, and with Perry dead there was no link to Mallory.
14. Why was Charlotte spared since Mallory knew that the FBI would focus on her in their manhunt?
    1. A: There was no link between the Galatea clinic and Mallory. The FBI only investigated the clinic because of the information from Russell.
15. Why did Perry conduct 2 murders in public? Removing the bodies on the street meant that a bystander could easily have seen him.
16. Was Caldwell attempting to commit suicide when he walked into the traffic?
17. Why did Caldwell seem to show guilt before being hit by the bus? He knew the truth and still worked for Owen.
18. Why did the bus ram into Caldwell? The other cars avoided him.
19. How did Russell Quinn obtain his information?
20. Will Owen Mallory's other kidnapping victims recover?
21. Why did Perry not hide Kate Ellison's body in a better location?
22. What happened to the police officer's body?
23. What happened to Raymond Reddington's family? Was Alan Fitch involved?
24. Is the Keen marriage headed towards divorce? Is Lucy Brooks's mission to break up the marriage and use Tom Keen as a pawn?
    1. A: Lucy/Jolene is possibly after Elizabeth for unknown reasons and might use Tom as a means to attack her.
    2. A: Red's adversary or Fitch could be using her, to get to Tom, to get to Liz, to attack Red.
25. If Red is easily able to call Nemec to help him clean up bodies, why did not he ask her to hide the bodies when he cleaned out his organization?
    1. A: He wanted those bodies found, as a message to Fitch and anyone else planning to attack him. The discovery of Diane Fowler's body could provoke a uncontrollable reaction from Cooper. Fitch will understand the reason for her disappearance and Cooper will not make an accusation until he has evidence.

Slanders on the FBI

1. Why were only Keen and Ressler sent to the University, without alerting Campus and local police?
2. How was Meera Malik able to download a classified file, have these people never heard of Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, and Julian Assange?
3. Why was Cooper not alerted to the fact that his ID was used to access a classified file? In “Mission: Impossible” and “Casino Royale” the users are informed when someone accesses the files.
   1. A: Meera knows how to avoid the log tracking programs.
4. Why wasn't the FBI aware of the fact that all the adopted children had the same birth father? All of them gave DNA samples for testing.
   1. A: The FBI never compared the samples to one another, They only searched for hits in the databases they have access to. Presumably Mallory was not in there, so they would not be alerted to it, and there was no reason to believe that they all had the same father.

Cast

Main star

• James Spader as Raymond Reddington
• Megan Boone as Elizabeth Keen
• Diego Klattenhoff as Donald Ressler
• Ryan Eggold as Tom Keen
• Parminder Nagra as Meera Malik
• Harry Lennix as Harold Cooper

Guest star

• Campbell Scott as Owen Mallory
• Hisham Tawfiq as Dembe Zuma
• Amir Arison as Aram Mojtabai
• Rachel Brosnahan as Lucy Brooks
• Wass Stevens as Perry
• James Murtaugh as Charles Lassiter
• Ezra Knight as Dr. Gideon Hadley
• Matthew Rauch as Ted Caldwell
• Susan Blommaert as Mr. Kaplan
• Beth Dixon as Jill Lassiter
• Joseph Adams as Medical Examiner
• Kati Rediger as Kate Ellison
• Jane Alexander as Diane Fowler

Co-star

• Bjorn DuPaty as Nestor
• Edward Baker-Duly as David Roland
• Heidi Armbruster as Wendy Roland
• Teddy Coluca as Brimley
• Elizabeth Loyacano as Caldwell's Assistant
• Matt Golden as Dog Owner
• Raushanah Simmons as Wealthy Woman
• Elizabeth Inghram as Nicole Baldwin
• Kate Franz as Charlotte Patterson
• David Gelles as Russell Quinn
• Anne Richardson as Dominic's Mom
• Jennifer Kim as FBI Tech
• Steve Sanpietro as NYC Traffic Cop
• Allan Gilbert as Lecture Professor

Gallery

Owen Mallory

Nestor

Dr. Gideon Hadley

Videos

The Blacklist 1x13 Promo "The Cyprus Agency" (HD)

External Links

• NBC.com
• NBC.com