The Apothecary

"The Apothecary"
Season 4, Episode 15
Episode Information
Air date	23 February, 2017
Directed by	Michael Caracciolo
Written by	Brian Studler (Story) Marisa Tam (Teleplay)
Episode Chronology
Previous	“[[The Architect ]]”
Next	“[[Dembe Zuma ]]”

"The Apothecary" is the fifteenth episode of Season 4 of The Blacklist and the eighty-first episode overall.

Press Release

After being dosed with a deadly poison, Red must retrace his steps to uncover who of his closest confidants has betrayed him. Meanwhile, Liz and the Task Force desperately search for the designer of the toxin in a race against time to save Red.

Number on The Blacklist

• 59

Unanswered Questions

1. Elizabeth Keen
   1. How did Keen know that the wine bottle Red sent her was not poisoned?
      1. A: The FBI lab tested the wine bottle.
   2. Why did not Red believe Keen when she mentioned that the wine bottle was tested and cleared of the poison?
      1. A: All his clues pointed to the wine bottle. The other possibility hinted at a much greater betrayal.
2. Raymond Reddington
   1. How did Red decide on which car to steal?
      1. A: It was the car that Dembe used to transport Red to the Code 77 team. The location was provided by the Code 77 doctor Haverkamp.
   2. Why did Red believe that Dembe would never betray him? His speech was about the dangers of betrayal.
      1. A: Unlike Kathryn Nemec, Niko Demakis, and Vargas, Red always believed that Dembe would be loyal and was like a son to him.
   3. Why did Marvin Gerard avoid the dinner meeting? Refusing a request from Red is dangerous.
      1. A: He and his fiancee Becky were on their way to a retreat to a South Pacific island. ("Marvin Gerard")
   4. Was the dinner held in a secret restaurant?
      1. Red brought all the financial power players of his organization to one place. It is natural to keep the meeting a secret.
   5. What happened in the Malay Peninsula?
      1. A: Red had been imprisoned for 47 days and Marvin Gerard freed him using bribes.
   6. Why were the other 11 guests unable to break down the door?
      1. A: It was secured shut by the coat rack.
      2. Q: The coat rack could have been broken by repeated ramming.
      3. A: Either was the door too heavy or they were worried about possible punishment for leaving.
   7. Why did Red lock the 11 dinner guests in the kitchen?
      1. A: It seems that the poison caused some erratic behavior. He might have been worried about other possible traitors in his organization.
   8. Why did Red not know who was missing from the 11 dinner guests?
      1. A: His memory was affected by the poison and the triggered medical condition.
   9. Who was the missing guest?
      1. A: Marvin Gerard was the missing guest.
3. Asa Hightower
   1. Why did Asa’s poison cause memory loss?
   2. Why did Asa create antidotes for his poisons?
   3. Will Asa be spared the death penalty? He agreed to testify in exchange for life imprisonment.
      1. A: Probably in exchange for surrendering the antidotes for his victims including Red.
   4. Why did Asa kidnap his wife?
      1. A: His wife had planned to divorce him and leave, thus Asa kidnapped her to ensure that she remained in the marriage.
   5. Will the wife abort the child?
   6. How many of Asa's clients will be arrested?
4. Dembe Zuma
   1. For Dembe to falsely accuse Marvin Gerard shows that Dembe does not care about harming the innocent. This is a complete reversal from his position concerning Geoff Perl.
      1. A: Red does not execute people without extracting the information needed. If Dembe poisoned Red he would expect Marvin to be interrogated first. The same goes for Kathryn Nemec, should she be the attacker.
   2. Why would Dembe use a convoluted method of getting revenge? He could have followed Red’s example and shot Red.
      1. A: He was angry with Red for what he did to Nemec and wanted revenge. Knowing if he attempted to seek his revenge by shooting Red, he would have been able to dodge the bullet and kill Dembe. To ensure his revenge was successful, Dembe hired Asa Hightower to procure the poison to spike the scotch that Red would drink.
      2. Q: Red does not possess supernatural abilities. A bullet from Dembe would be sure and quick.
      3. A: If Dembe is the attacker he either does not want Red dead or is trying to destroy Red completely before killing him.
   3. Why did Dembe drive Red to the Code 77 medical site?
      1. A: If Dembe poisoned Red there must be more to the plan, otherwise he could just shoot him. Code 77 is the best chance of Red surviving.
      2. A: If Dembe did not poison Red, he took care of him and then went to search for the attacker.
   4. Is Dembe the traitor?
      1. A: He might be taking revenge for Kate.
      2. A: Dembe was worried that Red is losing contact with reality. This might be a very direct way of showing him that.
      3. A: Dembe might be on the hunt for the real culprit, just as Red theorized.
      4. A: In "Dembe Zuma," he revealed to Aram that he left Red's side in order to hunt down the traitor in his organization. Aram was able to help provide a name for him, Kathryn Nemec.
5. Haverkamp
   1. Was this the first time Haverkamp was used for a Code 77 team?
6. Ilario Panetti
   1. Will Panetti be convicted?
   2. Who firebombed the competition and extorted Panetti?
7. Red broke 2 windows without triggering an alarm system. Why would the owners be lax about security?
8. Who does live in the house Red broke into?
   1. A. Marvin Gerard's girlfriend, Becky.

Slanders on the FBI

1. Why was there no SWAT team present when Hightower’s house was raided?

Cast

Main star

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

Guest star

• Fisher Stevens as Marvin Gerard
• Brian Stokes Mitchell as David Levine
• Afton Williamson as Lulu
• Jamie Harrold as Asa Hightower
• Clark Middleton as Glen Carter
• Daniel Eric Gold as Robert Dahle
• Robert Joy as Dr. Haverkamp
• Peter Rini as FBI Director Gerald Walker

Co-star

• Stacie Morgan Lewis as Ruby Hightower
• Thomas Philip O'Neill as Abe
• Sweta Keswani as Maura
• Bazzel Baz as Baz
• Mark Jacoby as John Tadsen
• Kathleen Mary Carthy as Dr. Lydia Ralston
• James Lurie as Arnold Blanton
• Stephen Rowe as Ilario Panetti
• Lynne Wintersteller as Diane Tadsen
• Andrea Morales as Brooklyn Martinez
• Sandor Juan as EMT
• Gabrielle Reid as Clerk
• Thad Turner as Thad

Gallery

External Links

• NBC.com
• NBC.com