In which Milton Bobbit is really called the “Undertaker” with a secret mission and a fake nose. Both are mere distractions from the increasingly tense plot of spy vs. spy.
***SPOILERS BELOW***
Fake nose you say? Yes, the most “ewww” worthy scene on the show to date that accomplished little other than shock value. To be fair it did make the Undertaker extra creepy. Milton was using people dying from terminal illnesses as hitmen, and apparently it had been working for him for years. It all unravels when Reddington puts the FBI on his trail. Ressler got to shine in two moments during the case. He told Lizzy to take personal time and take care of her marriage with Tom (he had no idea how she planned to do that!). Ressler has been extra sensitive to relationships since his girlfriend died, so it was nice to see the writers remembered. Next, he diffused a hostage situation with the Undertaker by arresting the hostage. Nicely done. Ressler is in danger of becoming a fully realized character on this show.
The more intriguing aspects of the episode were centered on Tom and his spyness. That’s right, I said Tom. Well, actually the thing that finally made this whole Tom storyline exciting was that both Red and Lizzy focused their full attention on it. When it was a side plot that only Tom was participating in, the story beats were rather mediocre. Now, Tom wants to renew his vows as a ploy to assure that Lizzy is fully committed to him and as a test. Tom has been probing to confirm to himself that Lizzy doesn’t know his secret. With his fake brother, Craig Keen (Peter Scanavino) in town for the vows, they disagree about whether Lizzy is on to them. FauxCraig finds out the hard way when he is captured by Lizzy for some fun torture time. He brags that Lizzy is in over her head just as there is a knock at the door. Lizzy grins like “daddy’s here to get you now” as she lets Red in on the interrogation. Bad times ahead for FauxCraig.
FauxCraig calls Tom for them, and the name “Berlin” comes out of the conversation. This has peaked Red’s interest, but FauxCraig is so frightened of it, he throws himself out the window rather than give up the information. Huh, that was a bit unexpected. Now with that lead gone Red and Lizzy re-assemble at the batcave with a whiteboard of Tom’s doom. Red insists that Lizzy has to maintain her cover with Tom so they can discover what/who “Berlin” is, but that leads to creepy Tom honeymoon sex. Every time it seems clear that Red is Lizzy’s father he will do something that puts that in doubt. Not sure a father would ask his daughter to have spy-sex, but then most fathers aren’t Raymond Reddington.
Where is this all going to lead? Will they finally confirm or deny the relationship between Lizzy and Red? Especially, since Tom married her because of Red. If you’ve been paying attention then you know that Red knows more than he is letting on. Can’t wait.
