The Stewmaker

"The Stewmaker"
Season 1, Episode 4
Episode Information
Air date	October 14, 2013
Directed by	Vince Misiano
Written by	Patrick Massett John Zinman
Guest Stars	Tom Noonan as Stanley R. Kornish Clifton Collins Jr. as Hector Lorca Hisham Tawfiq as Dembe Deborah S Craig as Luli Zeng
Episode Chronology
Previous	“[[Wujing ]]”
Next	“[[The Courier ]]”

"The Stewmaker" is the fourth episode of Season 1 of The Blacklist and the fourth episode overall. It first aired on October 14, 2013 on NBC.

Synopsis

A man books into a motel room with his dog, Once in the room he cleans it and himself, before covering the walls in plastic sheeting,

Meanwhile Elizabeth Keen goes to the FBI Evidence Storage Facility, where she finds a box with the case number from the ballistics report, labelled "Angel Station" with the date June 23 2013. Donald Ressler and Harold Cooper meet regarding the classified  homicide, and decide that Liz does not have enough information to mount an investigation. At the facility the guard discovers the Liz should not be there, but she slips away. In order to maintain tabs on her, Ressler decides to go to New York, where Liz is testifying in the case against Hector Lorca. As he tells Liz that he will be accompanying her, Meera Malik tells Liz that Dembe has called, Raymond Reddington wants a meeting.

Red tells Liz that Lorca has contacted him requesting a new identity for later that day. Liz tells Red that she is sure that Lorca will be convicted.

In court, just as the eye witness is about to identify Lorca a juror has a seizure and collapses. The trial is suspended and the witness is escorted away by US Marshals. The marshals prove to be fake, kill the witness, and make their escape before Liz and Ressler can stop them. The witness's body is taken to the motel room first seen at the start of the episode where the man puts the body in the bath and photographs it, then pours some chemicals over the body.

The FBI trace the van used to transport the witness to the motel room, but it has been cleaned of evidence apart from a single dog hair. Liz calls Red who is selling arms in Haiti and accuses him of complicity in the death of the witness. When Liz mentions "hundreds of victims" Red's interest is peaked. He tells Liz to check the bath plug hole, and when she tells him it smells of chemicals, he says she will need a plumber.

Upon his return Washington, Red tells the FBI about The Stewmaker, a body disposal expert who uses chemicals to destroy the evidence. The Stewmaker is responsible for concealing hundreds of murders and has a "trophy collection" of his victims. Red does not know who he is, and that he has looked for him. He suggests that the FBI pressure Lorca into revealing his identity or the contact information.

At home Liz is about to search "Angel Station" on the web when Tom approaches, she crosses out Angel station on her pad, leaving the date. Tom sees the date and assumes that Liz was about to look at the photographs taken on a romantic break they took on that date.

Liz and Meera interrogate Lorca, including threatening to link him to terrorism through his money laundering activities, but he reveals nothing. The decision is taken to hand him over to Homeland Security.

The transfer of Lorca to Homeland Security is ambushed, Lorca is freed and Liz is taken prisoner.

Liz's kidnap and Lorca's escape spur the FBI into action and Red is given permission to contact Lorca and provide him with a new identity. Ressler insists on accompanying Red to the meeting.

At the meeting, Red tells Lorca that Ressler is an FBI agent, but Ressler says that he is the person that provided Red with the new identity for Lorca. Red refuses to hand over the identity until Lorca reveals who the Stewmaker is, implying that this is Ressler's fee. Lorca does not have a name, but he has contact information.

Meera and Ressler trace the contact information to a Bill Conners, an alias for Stanley R. Kornish.

At the incident room the FBI start to trace Kornish, while Red leaves to pursue his own investigation based on a dog hair found in the motel room.

While the FBI storm Kornish's house and interrogate his wife Ellenore, Red calls animal control and persuades them to give him Kornish's dog tracking information.

Kornish takes Liz to his cabin, where he reveals that he has been contracted to kill her while making her suffer. He prepares a bath of chemicals to dispose of her body and is about to kill her when Red arrives. He knocks Kornish out, and releases Liz. Red then waxes philosophically for a while then throws Kornish into his own bath of chemicals just before the FBI arrive.

While the FBI are tending to Liz, Red finds an album of Kornish's victims from which he removes a picture.

As Liz is being loaded onto an ambulance she calls Red a monster, and how asks how he justifies himself. Red replies that it is by keeping her alive.

When Liz returns home Tom tells her that he has booked a 3 day break at the place they went to in June last year. When Liz checks the flyer she realizes that the hotel is called "The Angel Station Hotel".

Press Release

While continuing her investigation into the truth about Tom, Liz testifies against drug lord, Hector Lorca. Later another witness is abducted when he is forced to testify against the dangerous drug trafficker. Red’s interest is peaked and he informs the team that the witness may have been taken by "The Stewmaker" a man responsible for hundreds of missing and presumed dead people. Meanwhile, in an unlikely twist of events, Red and Ressler must work together for the first time.

Number on The Blacklist

• 161

Unanswered Questions

1. What was the Latin phrase Red said when he told the task force about the Stewmaker?
   1. A: Not sure, if it is even Latin: It sounds like "Memore Morte", which could actually be french ("Mémoires mortes") for "memento mori". But why would he pronounce it like it was Latin and not use the correct form?
   2. A: Red is showing off his superior education.
   3. A: The phrase is to derive the definition of "Memory of Death"; referring to the pictures that the Stewmaker takes of each victim.
2. Red's speech to Stanley R. Kornish seemed personal, combined with his removal of the photograph, it seems he killed the Stewmaker in revenge.
3. Who was the woman in the photograph removed from The Stewmaker's album by Red?
   1. A: She could possibly be Red's wife, that may have been murdered by Kornish.
4. The date on her picture was 12 '90. That's when Red disappeared. What's the connection?
5. Will the removal of the photograph from the album result in problems for Keen or Red when it is examined as evidence?
   1. A: Likely Liz, due to the FBI faulty background check revealed in "Madeline Pratt".
6. How many people will be arrested based on the evidence found in the cabin?
   1. A: We are unlikely to find out, since processing that evidence will be given to another team within the FBI.
   2. Q: Cooper could mention in the future that Red's help has resulted in cold cases being solved and/or other criminal operations being exposed.
7. Will Red's independent and rogue rescue operation damage his position with the FBI?
8. Will Kornish's death damage Red's position with the FBI? Donald Ressler seemed to accept Lorca's escape.
9. Red's speech to the Stewmaker could have been a description of his own past considering the theme of despair and redemption. Did Red surrender because he was tired of working in the black market and wanted protection from his enemies?
10. What happened to the Stewmaker? His behavior and body scarring implies a past tragedy. Red's farmer story implied that he knew something of the Stewmaker's past.
11. Does Lorca have a double agent in the FBI or Department of Justice? It would explain his ability to arrange the kidnapping and breakout.
12. What happened to Hector Lorca? Will he be killed after landing? Red's words were, "he is on my jet". That implies Red arranged his death.
    1. A: To maintain the cover story, Red would have him killed.
13. Who hired The Stewmaker to kill Agent Keen?
    1. Q: Lorca
14. Was Angel Station the location where the classified homicide took place?
    1. The unredacted report makes reference to "Angel Station Hotel security footage", so it was certainly involved.

Slanders on the FBI and DoJ

1. Why were the marshals protecting the witness unknown to the FBI?
2. The security in the courthouse and at the airport was broken easily.
3. Why did the FBI fail to investigate the dog hair connection?
   1. A: Red's call to the State Animal Control Center would have required a warrant.
4. Why was Meera Malik surprised to see Red at the cabin, surely he is still being tracked?
   1. A: After Red left to investigate the dog hair connection, nobody seemed to care. They were focused on finding Keen. 
5. Why is Red free?
   1. A: His deal was confirmed by Diane Fowler midway through "The Freelancer".

Gallery

FBI box for the classified homicide

The Picture Red removed

External Links

• NBC.com