S02.E21: Karakurt

[formerlyfreedom]

Following intel from Red, the FBI find themselves one-step behind the most dangerous Russian Assassin, Karakurt, an enemy on U.S. soil. To avoid catastrophe, Liz and Ressler meet with Russian Counter-Intelligence who offer insight not only on Karakurt, but also on the identity of Liz’s mother. Cooper finds himself in a compromising position.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Following intel from Red, the FBI find themselves one-step behind the most dangerous Russian Assassin, Karakurt, an enemy on U.S. soil. To avoid catastrophe, Liz and Ressler meet with Russian Counter-Intelligence who offer insight not only on Karakurt, but also on the identity of Liz’s mother. Cooper finds himself in a compromising position.

 

I'd wager that Karakurt is Lizzie's daddy -- we know that both he and Lizzie's mom were KGB agents, and suddenly next episode a Russian assassin is on the Blacklist.  Curious question -- if Karakurt was on the way already, why didn't Red warn the FBI about him instead of Quon Zhang ?  Because the Quon Zhang case was just a waste of time, and should never have been on the Blacklist in the first place.

[paigow]

Liz: What does Karakurt look like?

Friendly Russian Spy: His left arm is mechanical, long stringy hair, looks like a 30 year old man but is actually over 90, uses alias Bucky Barnes...

[Danielg342]

Curious question -- if Karakurt was on the way already, why didn't Red warn the FBI about him instead of Quon Zhang ? Because the Quon Zhang case was just a waste of time, and should never have been on the Blacklist in the first place.

My guess is that he didn't know Karakurt was coming until Zhang said so. Flimsy but plausible.

[mertensia]

Kara in Turkish is black. Kurt is wolf.

[paigow]

Loyal Karakurt Minion: What does Karakurt look like?

Traitorous Minion: What?

LKM: Does he look like a bitch?

[ottoDbusdriver]

Loyal Karakurt Minion: What does Karakurt look like?

Traitorous Minion: What?
LKM: Does he look like a bitch?

 

LKM: Say 'what' again. Say 'what' again, I dare you, I double dare you traitorous minion, say what one more Goddamn time!

[Danielg342]

As I understad, “karakurt” is also the name for the Eastern European black widow spider...which means that Lizzie's mother might actually be the assassin.

[MostlyC]

Karakurt.

 

 

Gesundheit!

[SlackerInc]

So what happened with this show?  I watched the first ten episodes of the first season, and I still basically liked it, but as Emily Nussbaum noted, TV these days is triage, and it just didn't make the cut with everything else on my list.

 

But then I heard Dan Fienberg and Alan Sepinwall talking about how the ratings for the show had nosedived recently, and looking on Wikipedia I saw that it is indeed true.  This most recent episode was by far the least-watched yet--and correspondingly, this episode thread has very little discussion.  Maybe I'm too late, or in a sense maybe it's inherently impossible to ask the people who stopped watching what happened (the people reading this are presumably still onboard), but I'm very curious.  Any insight into what turned people off so quickly?

[Julia]

They've doubled, or maybe tripled, down on the character they've been least successful with, and people seem to be giving up. That said, pretty sure the reason there isn't more discussion about this episode is that it doesn't air until Thursday ;)

[ottoDbusdriver]

Any insight into what turned people off so quickly?

 

Moved to the Questions We Have topic, per @Stacey's request below.

Edited May 5, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[formerlyfreedom]

Let's go ahead and take the larger show discussion over to the Questions We Have topic, and leave this thread for the episode discussion, please.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Tom and Lizzie are sort of schmoopy and flirty again -- did they bang after meeting up in the rain. And Tom still hasn't got rid of that stupid SS tattoo.  I wonder if Tom asked about their dog.  And he wants her to call him Jacob.  Awwwwwww.

 

Would the CIA really publicize that one of their installations had been destroyed ?  And that explosion didn't look big enough to knock down an entire building, it barely knocked Lizzie on her ass and didn't even knock her out.

So, Connelly tells Cooper to divert his team away from the location supplied by the woman down the hall to Reddington, and once they get there Lizzie is knocked cold by a bad guy.  WTF ?

 

Is it Karakurt or Katakurt -- because it's been pronounced both ways by numerous people in this episode and its kind of annoying.  I'm not even sure the producers of this travesty know for sure how it's pronounced.

 

After determining that Karakurt had a former Russian bioweapons expert build a virus for one person, Lizzie figures out that Karakurt blew up the CIA Russian analysis branch because the funeral for all of them will be a this one church where dignitaries are going to show up.  That is biggest leap in logic in the history of big leaps.

 

How did the bioweapon designer get a sample of the senator's illegitimate son to taylor the virus to him ?

Why wouldn't the CIA have a closed under funeral at a private facility -- you know, away from protesters ? Who writes this shit ?

 

That was laughably bad watching Lizzie open car doors and mad-dashing it through a crowd of security to save the Senator -- only she was too late and Karakurt still managed to infect him (not sure how exactly).

 

Oh yeah, Tom leaves Lizzie a lovely voicemail message about how he wants to have dinner at a nice little restaurant.  Since he has time to kill until dinner, how about you get that SS tattoo removed ?

 

How did Lizzie get infected with this singular virus, and how did the Cabal know that Lizzie would save Sen. Hawkins ?  Eureka !!! The guy at Union Station that knocked Lizzie -- he was infected with the virus and transferred it to Lizzie when he hit her.  So why did Karakurt even bother to show up at the funeral let alone to try and shake the hand of the Senator ?

 

This is all so fucking ridiculous.

 

ETA:  The minute Red mentioned that Karakurt was the lead assassin for the SVR, I thought maybe this was going to be a crossover with 'Allegiance'. </snark>

Edited May 8, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[AimingforYoko]

Well, if they're going to rip off Salt, I hope they go all the way.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Well, if they're going to rip off Salt, I hope they go all the way.

 

If they do, it won't end well for Tom.

[Shanna]

Oh man, is Jacob toms real name? I think I forgot that. I love tom when he's being a badass, but dude, waiting sadly in a restaurant? Lizzie might be a little busy!

And I didn't even notice the ss tattoo this week although it has provided many weeks of amusement as he just wandered around.

Um...this episode. Eh.

Edited May 8, 2015 by Shanna

[shura]

How did Lizzie get infected with this singular virus, and how did the Cabal know that Lizzie would save Sen. Hawkins ?  Eureka !!! The guy at Union Station that knocked Lizzie -- he was infected with the virus and transferred it to Lizzie when he hit her.  So why did Karakurt even bother to show up at the funeral let alone to try and shake the hand of the Senator ?

 

Huh, that actually makes sense. I was wondering how they got the virus into Lizzie. That's not bad, really, setting her up like that. My guess is, Karakurt went to the funeral and tried to shake hands to make it all more convincing for Lizzie? Oh, and her going and opening car doors reminded me of the scene I experience every morning when I drop off my son at school. They have the same setup - we drive up, someone comes up and opens the door. 

[edhopper]

It's only good when Red is on screen.

[HappyDancex2]

I think we are supposed to assume karakurt was playing it all the way thru...he knew they would find out, he knew Lizzie would intercept the senator and sweep him away, thus infecting him. He was supposed to be captured and he knew his blood would be negative etc. etc. except she is supposed to be captured but got warned by Red.

I think she was infected at the train station when she got knocked out by the u identified mugger.

[thuganomics85]

So, the cabal's big plan is to set up Lizzie for this senator being poisoned?  That is underwhelming.  And disappointing.  Sure... I can totally buy that Lizzie was this great KGB spy, the entire time.  Well, on this show, the FBI will probably buy it hook, line, and sinker.

 

Tom?  Buddy, old pal?  Smitten doesn't not work for you.  You actually come off kind of pathetic, being all giddy over Lizzie, and even "awkwardly" asking her out on a date. Go back to being a bad ass, please.

 

Harold finally did the smartest thing he could do when it comes to Conelly: ask Red for help.  Really, on this show, everyone's first question should be what Red would do, because he can solve everything.  This question should even be considered for mundane tasks.  If you are trying to decide what to get for dinner, what brand of clothes to buy, what movie to see, what show to watch, etc.  Call Red up!  He has all the answers!

 

Besides that, ain't got much else to say, since I'm still all happy that Agent Carter got renewed.  Speaking of Marvel though, I did see Age of Ultron this Tuesday, so I kept wondering how this show would turn out if Red turned into a Ultron and created his own robotic army.

Edited May 8, 2015 by thuganomics85

[nutty1]

My first thought was that Tom infected Lizzie. But I guess the mugger makes sense. Unless that's what they want us to think.

[ottoDbusdriver]

I think we are supposed to assume karakurt was playing it all the way thru...he knew they would find out, he knew Lizzie would intercept the senator and sweep him away, thus infecting him. He was supposed to be captured and he knew his blood would be negative etc. etc. except she is supposed to be captured but got warned by Red.

I think she was infected at the train station when she got knocked out by the u identified mugger.

 

The assumptions .... correction, make that huge assumptions for this entire plan are that: A) a Russian assassin blows up a top secret CIA office in order blame Russia, B) that would then trigger a public funeral that several DC bigwigs would attend, C) that Red would put Aram on the trail of other test subjects who showed up at the hospital with similar symptoms or were dead, D) that Samar would interview the mother of the dead person and the mother would reveal that to a complete stranger her son was the illegitimate child of a tryst with a now powerful politico and Samar would be able to notify Lizzie in time, and E) Lizzie would be the one to grab Sen. Hawkins (it could just as easily been Resseler) and whisk him to safety and F) make skin to skin contact with him.

Edited May 8, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver

[buttersister]

Lizzie's an assassin! Lock her up! No visitors! No camera in her cell!

[nutty1]

My quote function doesn't seem to be working so I just copied what I wanted to reply to....

"That was laughably bad watching Lizzie open car doors and mad-dashing it through a crowd of security to save the Senator -- only she was too late and Karakurt still managed to infect him (not sure how exactly)."

Karakurt didn't infect the senator. Lizzie did.

[Dot Com]

Best part of the episode was Red's 'she let me name a lipstick once ... Fire in the Hole.' I burst out laughing.

[LittleIggy]

When I heard "Karakurt," I thought of "Kattegut" and "Vikings," a much better show. Blacklist has really lost me this season. I watch only for Spader.

Edited May 8, 2015 by LittleIggy

[dwmarch]

Has anyone ever made a chart or something that tracks the intricacies of this plot? I can't think of a specific point at which it gets too complicated but it seems to me like there were way too many spots in this very episode in which it all could have fallen apart if things didn't go exactly according to plan.

 

I think the most interesting thing in this episode was finding out that Reddington's friend from the DMV is actually one of his torture lackeys. Figures he'd be good at it since he already does it for a living.

[torqy]

I think the writers have spent too much time Netflixing old seasons of 24. Karakurt is in reality Ira Gaines. The poison by skin contact ploy was used by NakedMandy against President Palmer.

I think the most interesting thing in this episode was finding out that Reddington's friend from the DMV is actually one of his torture lackeys. Figures he'd be good at it since he already does it for a living.

I'm still musing over the bag of dry ice and the garden hose, but I don't think I really want to know...

[Julia]

I think it's adorable that they're trying to make Liz Keen trend on Twitter. 

 

Other than that, meh.

 

ETA: OMG, amused. Apparently, #runlizzierun is an existing hashtag for people running to lose weight. There are Blacklist tweets, but they're from something like twelve people. You go, interns.

Edited May 8, 2015 by Julia

[shura]

So, the cabal's big plan is to set up Lizzie for this senator being poisoned?  That is underwhelming.  And disappointing.

 

Au contraire! What could be more important than dispensing with Lizzie? She drags the whole show down. Even the characters on her own show see that. "World War III or Lizzie? It's unanimous - let's get rid of her."

[ottoDbusdriver]

I think the most interesting thing in this episode was finding out that Reddington's friend from the DMV is actually one of his torture lackeys. Figures he'd be good at it since he already does it for a living.

 

The guy from the DMV, Glen, was not the same guy with the oxygen tank torturing that man being held upside down from the ceiling in this episode.

[whitespace]

So the cabal lures them to the station where a Karakurt lookalike showes up and takles Liz (and infects her with the virus). And then they find out that some senator is the target of that bioweapon attack from the cabal and that they are perfectly alright with going through with it even though cooper told them that they knew who the target was? No one thinks that it smells funny? No one suspects that the agent assigned to protect the target could have been made the weapon?

 

And Keen messed up again ^^ I wonder if they do that on purpose?

[Julia]

and, maybe they explained this and I missed it, but Lizzie's been in meetings with multiple coworkers and spent a fair amount of time in close quarters with Ressler. Why are they alive, and if she tackled Karakurt, why is he not just alive but uninfected?

Edited May 8, 2015 by Julia

[whitespace]

and, maybe they explained this and I missed it, but Lizzie's been in meetings with multiple coworkers and spent a fair amount of time in close quarters with Ressler. Why are they alive, and if she tackled Karakurt, why is he not just alive but uninfected?

The Virus only infects a specific DNA (that's why the student (the senators son) died in the first few minutes). That's why Liz and all her team members are alive. I guess it wasn't Karakurt who was at this station but someone who was equally dressed (besides Red had his intel from the nice lady with the child that Karakurt was back at his appartment).

[Julia]

OK, that's not possible. The virus may only _kill_ someone with that specific DNA, but it would infect anyone she came in contact with. There's no way Karakurt wouldn't have had it in his blood. They all would.

Edited May 8, 2015 by Julia

[Primetimer]

What do you get the guy who has everything? A deadly virus tailor-made for him! Really. You shouldn't have.

Read the story

[shura]

OK, that's not possible. The virus may only _kill_ someone with that specific DNA, but it would infect anyone she came in contact with. There's no way Karakurt wouldn't have had it in his blood. They all would.

 

Of course it's not possible. The whole idea of a person-specific virus like that is bullshit. The differences in DNA among people are not large enough for a virus to kill one person and do absolutely nothing to all the rest. I'm pretty sure though that the writers have no idea of what a virus is or how any of this works. They actually had someone say "formula for the virus"! That's like saying "I've got a formula for a cat".

[Gregg247]

Twice during this episode, Liz was rattling on about her mother and Red had to "remind" her that they were in the middle of a massive terrorist attack, and her parentage discussion would have to wait for later.  Shouldn't she know that?  if not as a "top of her class" FBI profiler, then at least as an adult with a modicum of common sense?  She's definitely the worst part of this show.

 

I wish Tom would find a new girlfriend who he would introduce to Red and Dembe.  They'd also bond with her, and the 4 of them could set up their own crime-fighting team.

[Writing Wrongs]

Halfway through the episode I realized I had no idea what was going on.

 

Lizzie is so boring and expressionless. This role could've been really good in the hands of another actress.

[ottoDbusdriver]

Twice during this episode, Liz was rattling on about her mother and Red had to "remind" her that they were in the middle of a massive terrorist attack, and her parentage discussion would have to wait for later.  Shouldn't she know that?  if not as a "top of her class" FBI profiler, then at least as an adult with a modicum of common sense?  She's definitely the worst part of this show.

 

The part where Red was telling her about the imminent attack and Lizzie was doing the "I'm hearing what you're saying, but you're not listening to me" nonsense was a bit much.  And later in the lab while they were waiting for Ginger to complete her analysis of those lab books, Lizzie was almost girlish with her "I'm going to find out stuff about my mother even though you won't tell me" taunting of Red.  Who writes this crap ?

[Julia]

That's like saying "I've got a formula for a cat".

 

This made me chortle.

 

 

Halfway through the episode I realized I had no idea what was going on.

 

Lizzie is so boring and expressionless. This role could've been really good in the hands of another actress.

 

I've come to the conclusion that the actress (who appears to be almost unhealthily animated in interviews) thinks that intelligence and competence are really, really dull.

Edited May 8, 2015 by Julia

[Dowel Jones]

What was the time lag between the Senator's son's death and the proposed attack at the funeral?  Wouldn't he be more occupied with familial matters, having just lost his own son?

[Julia]

What was the time lag between the Senator's son's death and the proposed attack at the funeral?  Wouldn't he be more occupied with familial matters, having just lost his own son?

 

Judging by how quick she was to rat him out, it doesn't seem as if he and the mother were all that close. I doubt he was on her shortlist to call.

[saber5055]

Oh yeah, Tom leaves Lizzie a lovely voicemail message about how he wants to have dinner at a nice little restaurant.  Since he has time to kill until dinner, how about you get that SS tattoo removed ?

 

 

This made me LOL because I was thinking, "Hey, Tom, buy some Band-Aids for that neck thing."

 

So the ep ends with Lizzie being a Russian terrorist. Wow, could that be any more far-fetched? This show really lost me with that turn of events. She really is too dumb to have thought of that gigantic and contrived plot to kill one guy. What's wrong with an old sniper rifle, like Ressler said?

 

I'm sorry, but renaming Tom "Jacob" is too Lost for me.

[Julia]

So the ep ends with Lizzie being a Russian terrorist. Wow, could that be any more far-fetched? This show really lost me with that turn of events. She really is too dumb to have thought of that gigantic and contrived plot to kill one guy.

 

No, think about it. The plan requires her to publicly tackle a reporter in front of the international press and then hustle a Senator into a car where only she has access to him, and then once he's dead demand that her coworkers test someone she knew not to be infected after tipping them to the virus to begin with. This is exactly the plot Liz Keen, soviet spy, would come up with if she had to kill somebody.

[saber5055]

Julia, you just gave me a headache. My brain is just not that well-developed. I still vote sniper rifle. Lizzie could have hired any of Red's friends to do the job if she wanted to kill the senator.

 

And why do the Russians (or someone, or the Cabal or whomever) want the senator dead anyway? Maybe the real killer is the woman who had his son, now that the son was graduating college the $ would stop?

 

Hey, that's  not as contrived as some plots on this show.

[Julia]

Julia, you just gave me a headache. My brain is just not that well-developed. I still vote sniper rifle. Lizzie could have hired any of Red's friends to do the job if she wanted to kill the senator.

 

I'm just assuming she's every bit as awesome as a russian spy as she is as an american spy. ;)

[shura]

I thought the money was not so much for the son as for keeping quiet about her affair with the Senator? In which case it was stupid of that woman to volunteer all that information to Samar, because that pretty much guaranteed that the money would stop. Come to think of it, was that woman a plant, a part of the whole "let's frame Lizzie" scheme? She is the only reason Lizzie learned about the Senator in the first place, so she had to tell Samar to keep this plan on track. And she really didn't look all that grief-stricken for someone who'd just lost her son. Hmm...

[ottoDbusdriver]

I thought the money was not so much for the son as for keeping quiet about her affair with the Senator? In which case it was stupid of that woman to volunteer all that information to Samar, because that pretty much guaranteed that the money would stop. Come to think of it, was that woman a plant, a part of the whole "let's frame Lizzie" scheme? She is the only reason Lizzie learned about the Senator in the first place, so she had to tell Samar to keep this plan on track. And she really didn't look all that grief-stricken for someone who'd just lost her son. Hmm...

 

Per Aram's phone conversation with Red, the son had only died "a few days ago" and was being investigated by the CDC so in all likelihood the CDC probably hadn't even released the body yet for burial.  That woman, Mrs. Jennings, should have been a mess -- instead she was calm, cool and collected.  And Samar really should have picked up on that.  I'm inclined to think that she wasn't even the real mother, but someone planted by the Cabal.   

 

ETA: No one has mentioned the incredibly lame protest signs outside the church

• The End is Near
• Putin is a Pansy
• War = $ for 1%
• Putin Go Home
• Putin Sucks
• Ruskie Bullies
• Stop Putinism
• Blessed are the Peacemakers

 

Were those really appropriate for the funeral of CIA analysts where no Russian representatives would be attending ?  

 

Plus, I still don't think they would have had the funeral so soon as it would have taken days just to find all the bodies (or parts of bodies) in that blown up building and complete all the autopsies before sending them off to a funeral home for a couple of days while the actual families could mourn before being sent off en masse to a fancy church for a big public funeral.  What if one of the CIA analysts killed wasn't Christian ?

 

And I double-checked -- both Lizzie and Reddington called the assassin 'Katakurt' several times early on in the episode.  WTF ?

 

I wasn't sure what Lizzie was talking about when she dropped certain words like Orea and ampho bomb, because they never really explained what they meant.  

 

OREA = Office of Russian and European Analysis -- which Cooper mentioned early on in the episode, and it was on on-screen titel, but I never would have put that together as the pronunciation of the acroynm for it.

 

Ampho bomb = Ammonium phosphate bomb, or fertilizer bomb, but I've never heard it called an ampho bomb before.

Edited May 8, 2015 by ottoDbusdriver