Esteban

"Esteban"
Season 4, Episode 1
Episode Information
Air date	September 22, 2016
Directed by	Michael Watkins
Written by	Jon Bokenkamp & John Eisendrath
Episode Chronology
Previous	“[[Alexander Kirk: Conclusion ]]”
Next	“[[Mato ]]”

"Esteban" is the first episode of Season 4 of The Blacklist and the sixty eighth episode overall.

Press Release

After Liz is abducted by a man claiming to be her father, Red sets out to find her at any cost. Meanwhile, the Task Force grapples with the shocking news that Liz is still alive.

Number on The Blacklist

• 79

Unanswered Questions

1. Elizabeth Keen
   1. Why did Keen tell Red where to shoot? She faked her death to escape Red.
      1. A: It was a "The devil you know" scenario. Liz trusts Red more than Constantin Rostov. Plus, Red would free her and Rastov would keep her against her will.
2. Raymond Reddington
   1. Why did Red not know of Jhosep Balzan?
   2. How did Red escape the house Rostov was in?
   3. Why Kathryn Nemec still alive?
   4. Red’s “depressed suicide” mentality seems to have stabilized.
3. Manuel Orentez Esteban
   1. Why had Esteban become a liability to the United States and/or Cuba?
      1. A: The United States didn't want to be tied to illegal CIA tortures and imprisonments. Also, recently the relations between the United States and Cuba have improved. The relations would have been ruined if Esteban's activities were known.
      2. Q: Considering the history of Cuban-United States relations, both sides would have seen Esteban's activities as "standard operating procedure".
   2. Why is Esteban’s arrest an embarrassment to the United States and/or Cuba?
      1. A: The CIA didn't want him arrested because he could tell the Cubans everything. Cuba would be embarrassed because they didn't know what he was doing.
      2. Q: The Cuban military officer told his men that Esteban's prison never existed. Both nations will want Esteban's activities whitewashed for public relations. Any backlash will be limited to unofficial threats. Public exposure will damage the credibility of Cuba and the United States.
   3. How did Esteban fake his death?
   4. Why did Esteban fake his death?
   5. How did Esteban receive his scars and damage to his eyes?
   6. Was Esteban blind or did he have limited vision?
      1. A: He removed both of his fake eyes when talking to one of his prisoners.
   7. Why were Esteban’s victims released? They can tell their stories to others.
   8. Who was Esteban torturing? It concerned an escape plan.
   9. What did the clicking and echo location refer to?
      1. A: Esteban was blind. He used clicking to hear things around him.
   10. How did Esteban convince Jhosep Balzan to abandon Constantin Rostov?
4. Constantin Rostov
   1. Why is Rostov obsessed with Keen? She told him she hated him. His concern seems focused on his blood disease.
      1. A: Rostov says Keen is his daughter, and he believes he is rescuing her from Red.
   2. Why was Rostov willing to kill Tom? That would have enraged Keen.
   3. What is Rostov's proof that he is Liz's father and not Red?
5. Task force
   1. Why was the task force angry at Keen’s faked death? They knew the misery she had been through.
      1. A: They felt like she was also trying to escape the team.
   2. The task force’s position has become worse since Cynthia Panabaker was angry over Esteban’s arrest.
6. Rostov’s employees
   1. Why did they take the body of the police officer they killed? They left the police car.
   2. Why did they risk killing Keen after she escaped?
   3. How did they know where Red was on the road?
   4. Why did they ram? That risked killing everybody in the car.
7. Red’s victim
   1. Whose head did Red cut off?
      1. A: In "Alexander Kirk: Conclusion", Tom fought with a man attempting to take Agnes. During the struggle, Tom shot him. The shot caused him to go to an underworld doctor, but he died. Red then found out he was a corrupt cop.
   2. Who killed the man Red wanted to speak to?
   3. What was the significance of the word “rabbi”?
      1. A: It seemed like a joking way of asking who he worked for. Red, having some Jewish beliefs, saw rabbi as another word for leader.
   4. Why did the Cuban police continue to attack after the first officer died?
   5. Why did the police attack? Red offered them a bribe.
      1. A: By killing Red, they stayed loyal to their employers and they could keep Red's money.
      2. Q: Corrupt police are not known for loyalty to anybody.
      3. A: They probably just wanted all the money while doing none of the work.
8. Donald Ressler
   1. Ressler’s moral positions shifted easily. Eventually his double standards will destroy him.
9. Tom Keen
   1. What army was Tom referring to?

Cast

Main star

• James Spader as Raymond Reddington
• Megan Boone as Elizabeth Keen
• Diego Klattenhoff as Donald Ressler
• Ryan Eggold as Tom Keen
• Amir Arison as Aram Mojtabai
• Mozhan Marnò as Samar Navabi
• Hisham Tawfiq as Dembe Zuma
• Harry Lennix as Harold Cooper

Guest star

• Ulrich Thomsen as Constantin Rostov
• Paul Calderon as Manuel Orentez Esteban
• Susan Blommaert as Kathryn Nemec
• Deirdre Lovejoy as Cynthia Panabaker
• David Zayas as Manny Soto
• Raoul Trujillo as Mato

Co-star

• Joselin Reyes as Romina
• Ramon Fernandez as Jhosep Balzan
• Paulie Redding as Ivelisse
• Gino Vento as Angel
• Joaquín Maceo Rosa as PNR Officer
• Juan Luis Acevedo as Doctor
• Jorge Chapa as Cop #1
• Rob Giumarra as Cop #5
• Kevin Martinez Rivera as Guard
• Gary Cruz as Old Cuban Man
• Frank Rodriguez as Defense Minister
• Elwin Cuevas as Guard #2
• Fortuna Calvo-Roth as Maria Rosa
• Ivan Goris as Cuban Guard
• Fidel Vicioso as Silvio
• Tatiana E. Rivera as Granddaughter
• Raul A. Reyes as Cuban Pilot

Gallery

External Links

• Number
• NBC.com
• NBC.com
• NBC.com