Marvin Gerard

"Marvin Gerard"

Season 3, Episode 2

Episode Information

Air date

October 8, 2015

Directed by

Andrew McCarthy

Written by

J. R. Orci (Story)
Lukas Reiter (Story)
Daniel Knauf (Teleplay)
Brandon Sonnier (Teleplay)
Brandon Margolis (Teleplay)

Episode Chronology

Previous	Next
“The Troll Farmer”	“Eli Matchett”

“Marvin Gerard” is the second episode of Season 3 of The Blacklist and the forty sixth episode overall. It aired on October 8, 2015 on NBC.

Synopsis[]

Press Release[]

THE FBI CORNERS LIZ AND RED - Ressler is hot on the trail for Liz after she escapes to the Russian embassy for safety. There is no one left for her to trust but Red, who enlists a lawyer named Marvin Gerard to get them out of a sticky hostage situation. Meanwhile, the FBI tries to force Cooper out of the task force.

Number on The Blacklist[]

80

Unanswered Questions[]

Elizabeth Keen
1. Why did Keen declare herself an agent of the Federal Security Service (FSB) instead of the Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR RF)?
2. While the escape was successful, the method adds more evidence of Keen’s “guilt”. She participated in a hostage situation and assaulted the man who resisted. Her decision to rely on the Russian government adds to her status as a spy. At the diner Gerard blamed her for the situation. That means her criminal reputation has spread.
3. Where did Keen learn how to speak Russian and/or with a Russian accent?
  1. A: She is shown speaking fluent Russian as a child in “Requiem”, meaning Russian was likely her mother tongue language and English was learned as a second language.
4. Why was Keen shaken by the fear in the everybody’s eyes?
  1. Q: She certainly has seen that fear in the eyes of some criminals.
  2. Q: How was the fear from the customers different from the fear in a person being arrested? That person would be afraid of the arresting officer.
  3. Q: Liz has already seen and known fear in her FBI career, how was the fear in the diner different?
  4. A: They witnessed Liz nearly killed Clay for abusing Carly again by assaulting him and were more fearful for their lives.
  5. A: This time they were afraid of her.
5. Why was Keen so fearful and emotional? She was calm in situations where she had to go undercover and could not rely on a FBI rescue.
  1. A: As this is the first time Liz has started her life as a criminal, she is not used to it and is very fearful.
6. Keen’s pummeling of the husband seemed to be partially motivated by her experiences in “The Good Samaritan” and “The Deer Hunter”.
Raymond Reddington
1. How did Red and Keen reach the cargo ship?
2. How is there no toilet in the cargo container?
  1. A: A toilet requires plumbing and such holes would be very suspicious to any inspecting it from the outside. Red is a man of sophistication, so it's very likely that a compost toilet would be out of the question too.
3. What was the Fulcrum section Red was shocked by? Red stated that it was a long shot.
  1. A: It seemed like a weakness in the Cabal.
4. What did Red discover about the Cabal that forced him to turn rogue?
  1. A: Red was never with the Cabal. He was in an alliance with them and they tolerated his actions because they suspected he had the Fulcrum. However, once they realized he didn't, they turned on him, one key player after another. As to his discovery, Red and Marvin suspected they found a weakness to the Cabal's current plans.
5. Why did Red need Marvin Gerard for the Fulcrum analysis?
  1. A: Red told Liz that Marvin was the best at finding loopholes. In this case, in the Cabal's plans.
6. Will Red use Marvin Gerard in the future?
  1. A: Red employed him to form a plan against the Cabal.
7. What is the history between Red and Gerard?
  1. A: Red was a client of Gerard's.
8. Why did Red need to use such a complex method of escape?
  1. A: He needed to get Gerard out of prison and to a safe place.
9. Was the reference to the Crimea a reference to Putin?
10. Why did the reporter say “You” to Red?
11. Why did Red interfere with Carly at the diner? Was it because of the argument?
  1. A: It was more likely due to Clayton's abuse to Carly that Red had to intervene and warn him to treat her better.
12. Who is Clayton?
  1. A: An abusive boyfriend that was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Marvin Gerard
1. In addition to aiding Red, will Gerard continue aiding his other clients? Red can use those black market connections to his advantage.
  1. A: Now that Marvin is free, he is most likely going to continue his practice. Who his clients are will remain unknown.
2. Is Gerard at risk of being extradited? If somebody recognizes him at his new location, the United States government can demand his return.
  1. A: Tahiti is one of the countries with an extradition policy, so he is at risk. However, since he is going to one of Red's safehouses, the odds of him being recognized would be very low.
3. How did Gerard continue his career as a shadow counsel while in prison?
  1. A: He most likely wrote letters or other forms of correspondence to help with the legal loopholes without actually being present. It's also possible he was summoned like he was with Red.
4. Why did Becky Weinberg agree to leave with Gerard? What about her career?
  1. A: Becky is clearly in love with Gerard, so it's possible she knows about his shady dealings but doesn't care. If she was willing to go to Tahiti with him, she clearly doesn't care about her current career either.
5. Why did Gerard wear a wire? He told Ressler that he was going to tell Red.
  1. A: Ressler had to try. It's still protocol and Ressler is a by-the-book agent.
Cabal / Russian embassy
1. Why did the Cabal have to rely on their agent in the Federal Tariff Service (FTS)? They certainly have other high-ranking agents in the Russian government.
  1. A: They most likely had to do it away from American prying eyes. If something had happened to her in the embassy, it would have raised suspicions, but if she disappeared after taking the plane, no one would suspect a thing and would believe she just got away.
2. How many employees at the Russian embassy work for the Cabal?
  1. A: At least 2.
3. What is the status of Karakurt?
  1. A: Active.
4. Why does the Cabal want to restart the Cold War?
  1. A: It is a significant part of the Cabal's plans for 2017, which Alan Fitch warned Red back in “The Decembrist”.
5. Why did the guard in Keen’s car not sit in the front seat?
  1. A: He was under orders to keep an eye on her until they got to the airport.
6. What will be the aftermath of the standoff at the Russian embassy? The Russians can protest that Ressler attacked their convoy. The Americans can protest that the Russians aided a wanted fugitive.
  1. A: According to Matias, that was what he was hoping for. Since Matias made sure that the survivor died, it can look like Ressler went rogue to attack the convoy, furthering the tensions and animosity between Russia and America.
The task force is on shaky ground.
1. Aram was openly giving Keen the benefit of the doubt.
  1. A: Aram is an all-around nice guy and is allowed his opinion. If he obstructed with it, then he would be under scrutiny, but he still followed orders, hoping for the best.
2. Cooper has been re-assigned to a dead-end position. He was seen searching for the Karakurt file. That means he is looking for a way to undermine the Cabal.
3. Ressler could cross a political line and is removed from the field. He wanted to storm the embassy and threatened to shoot the Russian driver.
4. Reven could be portrayed as responsible for the disaster at the Russian embassy and forced to resign.
5. Samar decides to ally with Red to avoid exposure of the fact he sent her as a double agent.
6. The Cabal uses Keen’s actions to destroy the credibility of the remaining members. It could force Reven to include a Cabal loyalist on the task force.
Donald Ressler
1. Ressler’s behavior is becoming increasingly reckless. Reven Wright might decide to remove him from command for that reason.
2. Ressler's previous obsession with Red cost him the engagement to Audrey Bidwell. This new obsession could cost him his career.
  1. A: This is not an obsession this time. He feels guilty for letting Liz go at all and feels responsible wanting to make things right and bring Liz in himself.
3. Why did Ressler not know that the Russian Embassy was considered foreign territory?
  1. A: Ressler's judgement is clouded due to the guilt of letting Liz go as well as her turning to Reddington and not him.
  2. A: Ressler's obsession is undermining his judgement.
4. What did Ressler mean when he told Samar that the “war has already started”?
  1. A: Tensions between Russia and America are rising thanks to the death of the senator and now that Liz went to the Russian embassy after killing Connolly, the people suspect she did it under Russian orders. Russia is also aggravated at these false charges.
5. Ressler's offer to resign would have placed him in the position of relying on vigilante actions.
6. Ressler’s actions at the diner resemble Keen’s actions in “The Alchemist”.
7. Why did Ressler look at the photo of Gerard at the end?
  1. A: He was trying to figure out what Red wanted with him.
Samar Navabi
1. Is Red using Samar as a double agent?
2. Why did Samar refer to herself as a special agent?
  1. A: As she is part of a black ops task force as well as an agent of Mossad, she is not a regular agent and can be considered a special agent in either case.
Reven Wright
1. Ressler's actions, Keen's actions, and Red's escape gives the Cabal leverage over Reven. They can accuse her of being responsible for a public relations disaster and diplomatic disaster that has humiliated the FBI.
2. Why did Reven not remove Ressler from command? Without the Russian witness, there is no evidence of Cabal involvement.
  1. A: Reven made it clear that she trusts Ressler. Especially due to the Cabal manipulating events, causing her to mistrust those not in the task force.
Harold Cooper
1. Cooper’s resignation is similar to Sheridan’s in “Rising Star” and several storylines in “Ghost in the Shell”. In exchange for resigning, there is no trial and/or criminal prosecution.
2. What will Cooper do now that he has resigned?
  1. A: Go to his desk job.
3. Why did Cooper access the file on Karakurt?
  1. A: He intends to help Red and Liz in any way he can.
Tom Keen
1. Why has Tom returned?
  1. A: He wishes to assist Liz and knows that she and Red are in a tight situation due to the Cabal's involvement.
How will the FBI find the underground room at the diner?
1. A: Ressler gave the order to have them look around the diner since they couldn't have just vanished. It will probably take some time, but they will eventually discover the underground room.
Why were there no media crews or reporters at the embassy or the diner?
Why did Matias Solomon not wear gloves or protect his face when he went to kill the survivor of the car crash?
1. A: Similiar to when Red killed Sam Scott, he knows how to evade security systems.