- Title: The Blacklist – Ruslan Denisov
- wiki: link
Despite Lizzie‘s (Megan Boone) distrust of Reddington (James Spader) in the aftermath of her experiences with Luther Braxton (Ron Perlman) the pair are thrown back together to deal with the latest number of The Blacklist (Faran Tahir) who has kidnapped an undercover CIA agent in Russia and is holding him for ransom. Meanwhile the investigation into the death of the harbormaster killed during Lizzie’s illegal confinement of Tom Keen (Ryan Eggold) takes another turn which may lead to the end of Lizzie’s career.
One of the things that makes “Ruslan Denisov,” both the episode and the character, work is Reddington’s surprise that there is far more to the man than even the great Raymond Reddington ever guessed. The true motives of the kidnapping and an overzealous CIA leader (James Naughton) back home threaten not only the mission but also the lives of the FBI agents in the field as Reddington, playing negotiator between the FBI and Denisov, finds an acceptable conclusion to the affair that ends with the dying countryside getting relief, an evil company being exposed, and Reddington making a healthy profit in the process (something which does not go unnoticed by Agent Keen).
