The Major

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"The Major"

Season 2, Episode 15

Episode Information

Air date

March 12, 2015

Episode Chronology

Previous	Next
“[[T. Earl King VI ]]”	“[[Tom Keen ]]”

"The Major" is the fifteenth episode of Season 2 of The Blacklist and the thirty seventh episode overall. It aired on March 12, 2015 on NBC.

Synopsis

In 1994, a young boy is seen running away and he get in a car that drives off. The Major tells the boy, Jacob that he knows who he is and has been watching him. He recruits him and we then see Tom Keen reflecting on that moment.

Agent Keen is questioned in court as a murder suspect. She goes to the judge's chamber to convince him that this is matter of national security.

Meanwhile, Reddington finds The Major in giving up Tom Keen that could keep Agent Keen out of prison.

Press Release

When Agent Keen is questioned in court as a suspect in the murder of the DC Harbormaster, her unusual relationship with Red and their task force falls under scrutiny. Meanwhile, Red enlists Cooper and Ressler to locate "The Major", a dangerous former associate who is key in keeping Liz out of prison.

Number on The Blacklist

75

Unanswered Questions

Why did the writers use a flashback episode so soon?
1. A: It somewhat fit the story. Liz was being asked what the taskforce did, so she had to give examples.
Elizabeth Keen
1. Why did Keen tell the truth about Red and lie about Tom?
2. Keen’s reactions showed the influence Red has had on her. She still believes in justice, but realizes the need for compromise, and objects to being interrogated by a person who appears self-righteous. She was outraged when Richard Denner questioned her loyalty.
Major
1. How does the Major recruit his agents? The file on Tom looked like a police record.
  1. A: He looked through personal files of potential agents from police reports.
2. Why did the Major double-cross Red when Milos Kirchoff offered more money? What about Red seeking revenge and/or his reputation in the black market?
Tom Keen
1. What is Tom’s assignment in Germany?
2. Why did Kohl roll down the window? He should have suspected an ambush.
Richard Denner
1. Richard Denner’s reaction to Keen’s story is simliar to “The X-Files” episode “José Chung’s From Outer Space”.
2. Why did Richard Denner semi-threaten Cooper? He should know that there are limits to what the United States government will tolerate when it concerns national security. His siding with Wilcox was because of the violations committed in the name of the War on Terror. However, those violations should also have taught him that there is a limit to what the government will admit. Also, threatening Cooper could lead to a lack of assistance from the FBI.
3. Why did Richard Denner refuse to believe Keen. Did he suspect she was employing the big lie technique?
  1. A: Denner heard earlier testimony from Wilcox who alleged that Samuel Aleko testified to him that he was a witness to Keen holding Tom hostage and how her ex-husband killed Harbormaster Eugene Ames back in "The Kenyon Family". It was possible that he knew Keen was lying about Tom's death and that Denner believes she knew where he went.
Martin Wilcox
1. How did Wilcox gain access to Keen’s handgun? It is FBI property.
  1. A: When she entered the courthouse she had to check her gun. Wilcox got it from the gun check. Wilcox needed further evidence to put Keen in the scene of the crime, since he found a stray bullet in the boat. It explains why he needed the gun in order to run a gun check.
  2. Q: Wilcox would need a reason to examine Keen's handgun.
  3. A: Eugene Ames had Liz's card, which showed that she had met him, and he told his wife that the meeting occured on the boat where the bullet was found, gving probable cause to examine her weapon.
2. Why did Wilcox interrupt Reven Wright and Richard Denner? He should know that such behavior damages his argument.
3. Why is Wilcox so determined? Has he suffered previous defeats due the accused escaping because of their leverage over others? Has United States Assistant Attorney Brad Marking suffered similar defeats?
  1. A: Wilcox knew Keen was telling her side of the story, but is lying about Tom's death, given the earlier testimony from Aleko. Despite setbacks, he is determined to bring her to court for her to face charges in the murder of Harbormaster Eugene Ames.
What has Raymond Reddington not told Keen? Dembe and Red agreed that the information is vital.
1. A: It had something to do with Tom's secrets and Red's reluctance to tell Elizabeth about him.
Why did Harold Cooper tell Keen he would not commit perjury? He lied to Richard Denner when asked about Keen’s story. He has committed other felonies, such as in “T. Earl King VI“.
1. A: Unknown, but there is another felony he committed that may have something to do with the Kuwait Incident mentioned in "Gina Zanetakos" and in "The Judge".
Will Reven Wright find a way to take revenge on Richard Denner? She said “You’ve made a mistake, Richard”.
Where was Aram Mojtabai? Why was he absent?
Why were Ressler and the other kidnappers not wearing masks when they kidnapped Mahmoud?
1. A: They chose an area where there were no people nearby. Red told Cooper he had blackmail information on Mahmoud. Mahmoud would stay silent and deny the kidnapping.
How did Kathryn Nemec miss the bullet when cleaning up the boat in "The Decembrist"? She is supposed to be very thorough.

Slanders on the FBI

Trivia

Goof: During the scene where Red has one of the Major's agents meet with him there is an editing mistake. Dembe forces the Major to sit and says hands, the Major complies and puts his hands on the table. If you look closely at the next shot, the Major's hands are on his lap. When the shot moves back to the Major, his hands are back on the table.
Goof: Besides most of the German being almost gibberish, the German car plates use a format that does not exist (DD17 36F9).
The German car plate starting DD means that it is a Dresden based vehicle. The first 1-3 letters of a German car plate indicate where the car is registered. Large cities have 1 letter - B for Berlin, F for Frankfurt. Smaller cities have 2 letters and towns have 3 letters - Rud for Rudesheim.