Trama

Now aware that Tom is not whom he pretends to be, Liz uses a case to distract the team as she investigates her husband's true intentions.

"The Blacklist" - "Milton Bobbitt" - March 31, 2014

A woman runs to catch a cab to get to LaGuardia. The cab begins driving crazily, swerving and weaving and driving in the wrong lanes. The driver apologizes to her, kisses a picture on his dashboard, and then crashes in a fireball against a truck.

A man appraises a picture of the woman, puts it in a shredder, and makes a call saying he'd like to make a wire transfer. He then tends to large patch of mushrooms he is growing in his crazy house. They hang from bags in the ceiling. he then takes his pulse, takes off his shirt-- revealing many scars on his body-- makes a mushroom smoothie and sits in a chair, plucks off his nose--revealing a serious disfigurement-- turns on a UV light, puts on goggles and sips his smoothie. He is Milton Bobbitt, number 135 on the list.

Tom makes pancakes for Liz, gluten free, and then proposes--literally-- that they renew their wedding vows. She says yes. He hugs her and he says how much he loves her. Twice. He leaves and she goes about destroying the kitchen and then rifling through their house looking for clues.

She then convenes with Red in a storage space to get to the bottom of the Tom situation. She will not take Red's business that he knows nothing. He says he doesn't know much more than she does. He says several years ago that someone began meddling in his business and to protect himself he inventoried his vulnerabilities including her. He's been monitoring Tom since he entered Liz's life. He discovered Tom bought several passports from a trusted forger about a year ago. He doesn't know the endgame of the people Tom works for but they both know he inserted himself into her life because of Red. She wants to know why and he says it doesn't matter. She freaks out and knocks some stuff off a table and says it's all that matters since this is her life. Red says the only thing that matters is the immediate threat, her husband and finding out who he is and who he works for. He gives her the surveillance tapes from the men who were watching Liz and Tom. She tells him about Tom wanting to renew her vows. He says he's unraveling and is trying to keep her close. He says this is an opportunity for her to get close to the people he's working for and he'll have to act normal in front of everyone, her colleagues and all.

He says she'll need a case and presents her with the file on the taxi crash in Brooklyn. He says it was no accident but a murder, the work of the Undertaker. He convinces ordinary people to kill on his behalf, usually murder suicides like the cab driver and the woman. We see the Undertaker chatting with a woman in the car. The woman approaches a man at a gas station, determines the man is her target, pours gas on him, and asks for forgiveness saying she has a brother and then drops a match, igniting them both.

Liz brings the cases to the Post Office and explains about the Undertaker and these assassinations by suicide, how he convinces regular people to become killers that can never be traced back to the person who put out the hit.

Liz and Ressler go to see the wife of the cab driver. The wife notes the driver recently came into an inheritance and had a brain tumor. The woman in the gas station had terminal cervical cancer. They both had mental illness and now both of their families are being taken care financially.

The undertaker goes to see an elderly man in what appears to be a nursing home. The man lost his health insurance because of his heart condition. The Undertaker says he offers something better than life insurance: his wife and daughter would be taken care of if he did what this guy was asking. The Undertaker shows him a figure on a piece of paper and the elderly man says "keep talking."

Liz surprises Tom with a surprise vow renewal, having invited all of their friends including his "brother" and best man Craig. He is indeed surprised saying they only just talked about it yesterday. Liz says they've put too many things on hold for her job so she wanted to get this done. They all share some champagne and she bags Craig's glass for fingerprint/DNA purposes.

Tom and "Craig" argue in the bathroom. He says Liz called this morning and was asking about her parents and their accident in Tucson. Craig thinks she is smart and is on to Tom. Tom says he "knows" Liz. Craig hopes his BS is exceptional since in less than five minutes he has to fall in love all over again.

They redo their vows, he says when he's with her he knows he doesn't have to pretend and that's a gift that he thanks God for everyday. Liz says at first she thought it was odd when he asked to renew their vows and she said she realized how much they've been through in such a short time and she realizes this is the beginning of something amazing, a new chapter and she wanted to stand in front of him and all of their friends to tell him how excited she is about what's coming next and she thinks it's going to be one hell of a ride. Craig, who is presiding, pronounces them husband and wife again. They kiss.

Liz watches the surveillance video of her and Tom in her storage space HQ hanging pictures on an evidence white board including pics of Tom and Jolene. She goes back to the video and sees Tom doing something odd on the tape, pulling a key out of a living room lamp stand. She goes to the lamp and retrieves the key. She also gives Dembe the champagne flute to run tests. He appreciates her paint color: Chicago Skyline.

Back at the Post Office Aram finds a common thread between the everyday assassins. They're both receiving funds from a bank in the Caymans and sees that they've been doing it for years all over the world. They get a bead on the elderly black man, Danny, that the Undertaker just approached. It turns out he has congestive heart failure, the Undertaker wanted him to shoot a politician in Boston. Liz and Ressler show up before he does it though and manage to talk him down before he shoots the guy with Liz asking him: "is this really how you want to die?"

Red goes to a Bosnian professor in San Salvador to help him track down Craig Keen, Tom's "brother," whose alias is quite good. The professor doesn't want to help him with a "touch DNA" process. Apparently, Red was involved in the demise of this guy's girlfriend/wife and convinces him to help him after agreeing to let him stay with this woman in a villa that Red owns.

Liz checks in with Red about where they are in the case. Red tells her to figure out how the Undertaker knows these people are dying. He says he's discovered Craig's real name and it's time for the three of them to have a chat. Liz tracks him down, pummels him, and knocks him down and draws her gun on him and asks if they can talk.

She handcuffs him to the sink and keeps banging him head against the sink and says she knows his real name and wants to know who he is and who he works for. He says she has no idea who she's dealing with. She says she never liked him. She gets called away and has Dembe and Red take her place. She tells them that Craig isn't cooperating. Red tells Dembe to get the hacksaw so they can take him out in pieces. He then laughs and says he's just kidding.

Ressler returns after talking to Danny. With clues from him they realize all of the assassins had canceled life insurance policies by the same company. Liz begs off the hunt saying it's Tom, Ressler tells her to take all the time she needs.

Red takes Craig to a museum and babbles on about art and puppet shows. Craig says he will die before he gives them anything. Dembe walks by, wheeling Craig's mother by them in the museum in a wheelchair. Red starts babbling about the awesome Bob Ross. Craig says they better not hurt her. Red says it's time to go back to the hotel.

Meera and Ressler go to the insurance company. The Undertaker overhears them talking to them. The guy they'e talking to says they need to talk to Milton, the creepy guy who oversees dead policies, aka the Undertaker. He jets. Ressler and Meera break into his crazy mushroom pleasure dome. He's not there but they find a file on the next victim.

The next victim is the doctor who worked on the mangled Milton. Milton is taking this job himself and he pulls a gun on the guy.

Liz returns to the hotel where Dembe and Red are watching a movie and Craig is again chained to the sink. He says he gets phone calls and he does what the people on the phone tell him to do. He says he knows no names including Tom's. He says he does have a brother in Chicago and talks about a woman named Nicky but they don't sit around and chat sharing life stories. He says there's a reason there are no people in his life because none of it is real. The phone rings and he says it's likely Tom with whom he was supposed to meet with.

Back at the Post Office, Cooper wonders where Keen is. Meera says personal time. Ressler returns and points out that the last three murders were a different MO than the Undertaker usually does: the last three were related to him personally and his diabetes diagnosis. He was part of a clinical trial and the last three -- the taxi, the gas station, this doctor-- were all people were related to that.

Craig takes Tom's call. He tries to stall him and says he has to be patient. Craig says that's easy for Tom to say since he's the one who has to deal with Berlin. Red asks what Berlin is. When he won't talk he tells Dembe to wipe down the room because they're taking the conversation elsewhere. Craig doesn't like this and hops up, handcuffs on and jumps out the window, plunging to his death. The Undertaker meanwhile has brought the doctor to a cemetery. He monologues about death and all the stuff he's done to stave off death both modern and alternative. He says he's come to accept that he's going to die and he unveils a bomb strapped to his chest. He says he's not angry at all and he wants to thank the doctor for this incredible journey he's been on and who would've thought anything good would've come from what this doctor did to him. He then pulls off his nose.

Back at the Post Office they deduce Milton must be doing the last job himself and he's likely at the cemetery.

Back there Milton is now monologuing about what he's done for the families of his assassins. Just then Meera and Ressler and Liz arrive. Ressler comes close enough to be in the blast zone. Everyone yells at him to stop. Ressler arrests the doctor, for all of the terrible things he did in his clinical trial and tampering and other nefarious stuff. The doctor is aghast and asks about Milton. Ressler notes that Milton doesn't seem like he wants to get arrested today. He pulls the doctor away and then Milton blows himself to literal pieces.

Liz goes back to work in her storage space. Hanging the key from the lamp on the evidence wall.

Red goes to meet with Cooper and look at some files, Bobbitt's client list. Cooper asks if he found what he was looking for. Red simply says goodnight.

In the storage space Liz continues to look at surveillance tape of Tom doing stuff in the house. She tells Red she can't look at him much less touch him anymore. Red tells her she needs to stay the course. She says she doesn't think she can. They put a charred piece of paper on the wall that says "Berlin." Red doesn't know what it means.

At home Liz puts the key back under the lamp. Tom comes home. Liz says she wanted to invite Craig to dinner before he left and she called and he didn't call back. Tom said Craig left without saying goodbye. She wonders if they could be less alike. He puts a hand on her shoulder and says "we're newylweds." She takes off her jacket and looks at him sexily. She is staying the course.