The Blacklist – The Capricorn Killer (No.19)

By: Robert Warren

Riding in the air is a helicopter that starts coming down smoothly slowing to prepare for a landing among the woods were Federal Bureau of Investigations wait with many police choppers for an investigation. In Huntingdon, Pennsylvania, Sargent Chris Phalen (Rob Richardson) from State Police introduces himself to Agent Brandon Graves (Erik LaRay Harvey) who he spoke to on the phone. Apparently, shortly after 6 p.m. there was a younger couple staying at the lodge who decided to go for a hike off trails and Bradford Police Department got called after 7 p.m. finding a body with a sword stuck through it. Graves makes a call to get an agent from the D.C. area, Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone).

The episode begins as church bells ring, the armed services salute and a body being brought in the casket wrapped in a flag being carried by some of the service members and Ian Garvey (Jonny Coyne). Keen sits in the car watching as the casket is put into a car. Keen is ticked that Garvey went to the funeral and was a pallbearer. She goes to Harold Cooper`s (Harry Lennix) office and starts talking to him about it.

Cooper lets Keen know that a witness came forward that claims to have saw Garvey kill Singleton. (The detective that was going to help Keen find Tom`s killer until he was killed by Garvey.) Transitioning, the witness starts describing Garvey by his glasses. Keen does not feel so assured by Cooper having a witness come forward because she had saw who killed Tom, but it didn`t work out so well for her as he is still running around out there. Cooper reported the case to the marshal’s office.

Raymond ‘Red’ Reddington (James Spader) assures Keen that this man should help when the time is right. Cooper does not want Keen very involved however since this is dealing with Tom`s killer she can’t be both witness and investigator. Cooper informs her of a case that she needs to work on as she was specifically requested as the investigator for the case. The case is over someone called the Capricorn Killer. While Reddington and Cooper work on Garvey, Cooper needs Keen to learn about Capricorn.

Going back, Capricorn`s first victim who was a college professor in Tacoma who had faced strangulation from the killer. Keen believes it to be some cult affiliation. Going further Keen explains how six months after that is happened again in Memphis, Charlotte, Idaho Falls. All of these victims had a hand-forget sword down their throat and having the sign of the goat. Seven victims in four years located in remote environments.

Keen explains everything to Donald Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff), Samar Navabi (Mozhan Marnò) and Aram Mojtabai (Amir Arison) as they are heading to the scene of the crime where the helicopter landed at the beginning of the episode. Ressler and Navabi follow Keen through the woods to go to take a look as Keen takes the time to examine the body. She suggests each of the swords from the past victims be gathered so there can be a comparison.

Going to talk to her therapist, Dr. Sharon Fulton (Martha Plimpton), Keen starts explaining how she felt alive when looking at the body. Fulton suggests it be because of her work that she does profiling and that Keen may have connected more with that. Keen starts explaining how with cases that go unsolved are what she fixates on because of how unfair it is that people get away with murder. Keen explains her obsession to get justice.

Cooper starts talking about witnesses coming forward that may help identify Singleton’s killer and that the man Garvey is with works for the Baltimore Police Department, but he wants him put in protected custody and brought in for questioning. Mojtabai is shocked that Cooper may know who Tom`s killer is and that it might be a cop – Ian Garvey. Going further, Cooper explains how it was Garvey that was pursuing a duffle bag with a secret that Reddington was keeping for Keen – getting the bag and somehow killing Tom in the process. Mojtabai is shocked that all of that is coming from the cop.

Very quickly in a new scene a man ends up being held at gun point to make a video. Turning on the camera, the man starts recording the video. Moving into a different scene, Gabinelli (James Ciccone) demands the music be turned down as he walks in to find Reddington in his apartment, fedora on and gun in hand. Reddington starts with a talk on the Nash Syndicate and his frustration on being betrayed with Gabrinelli. Going into his demands, Reddington tells Gabinelli to betray Garvey.  Reddington talks about how he is a humble killer.

Mojtabai goes to talk to Garvey about one of the witnesses that he needs to take in. Garvey isn’t so easily just going to hand the witness over without an intensive talk of course. After asking for a bit of professional courtesy, Garvey just wants some time before they take him as the matter is a bit personal. Trying to be very insistent on that, Mojtabai does not fall for the bait and pushes so that he can get the witness as he was ordered by Cooper to do so.

Moving on, Mrs. Seivers (Megan Byrne) starts talking to Ressler about her husband to see if she might know why he would be so far away from of his home when he was found dead. She isn’t too sure as of why. Graves, Ressler and Keen all take a shot at trying to get some information, but as you might suspect it is Keen that gets the most out of her. Getting personal, they start learning about the victim who had a sword making spot in his garage.

Keen sees a lock on a door, Ressler kicks it in and they see shrines matching each of the victims. Cooper starts looking for more information as in a separate scene the Capricorn killer starts recording video of a man directed to Gerald. The man hooked up in the Capricorn killers room has an amputated arm and is about to be cut up further. Ressler and Navabi come in but the killer takes off. Ressler chases the killer but the murderer escapes. Ressler takes a second to catch his breath then goes back by Navabi. Navabi informs Ressler that the victim did not make it. He`s dead.

Mojtabai starts investigating one of the witnesses looking for the man that killed Singleton to see what the results are. The man takes a finger and slowly moves it to Garvey. Keen watching through the see thru mirror starts panting upset and hugs Cooper as she has a hard time seeing this result. Garvey is in an apartment room shooting Reddington it is a body double as Reddington bursts in with Dembe (Hisham Tawfiq). Reddington is talking to Garvey as Dembe makes sure to keep a gun pointed at Garvey. Reddington removes his fedora from the person that played his body double while continuing to talk to Garvey.

Knowing about the bones, Garvey wants to know more from Reddington, but he will not say more. Reddington thinks Garvey knows enough and after Garvey’s men were killed by Reddington upon entering this apartment Garvey stands where they all lie dead. Reddington suggests he leave before cops arrive, but as Garvey is part of the police department he puts away the gun and says Reddington ought to go as Garvey has a crime scene to investigate.

In the next scene, Keen is looking over numbers to evidence from the targets of the Capricorn Killer. Keen starts talking more to Dr. Fulton about how she is feeling she is getting from investigating into this killer. Keen is finding the cases exhilarating, sickened by the cases but taken away by some of these cases. Keen wants to get the medical records of some of these victims.

Dr. Fulton knows that Keen can`t get medical records of the victims because the information is kept secret so she calls Reddington to see if he can. Sure enough without hesitation Reddington assures Keen that he can get the records. Keen starts talking to Reddington about one of the witnesses that ID`d Garvey as the killer and is under protective custody. Reddington wants everything to be behind Keen and with watery eyes Keen assures Reddington that this may be the first time that she might actually be able to start putting this behind her.

Keen goes back to Dr. Fulton with words on the medical files bringing in information about the agents that were able to go back into the bureau after the evaluation. As the therapist, Fulton is the main person that Keen needs to pass through in order to get reinstated to the bureau so Keen is determined to have Dr. Fulton hear her case. Keen leaves from her therapist so she has time to try to find the Capricorn Killer. Keen being on the phone with the bureau thinks she found the guy, Anthony Elliot Hollis, (Esau Pritchett.)

Mojtabai is in the car with the key witness against Garvey, Tony Mejia (Octavio Gómez Berríos), when the car starts having quick car problems and they have no idea what is happening. Quickly a couple of vans rush over putting explosive magnets to part of the sides of the cars making parts explode. Men come, grab the key witness and take off. The witnesses fidget spinner falls on the ground, Mojtabai picks it up and the men are gone. Where is the witness now? No idea.

The Capricorn Killer is walking with Keen and he tries to force her to go where he asks. Getting her alone in a cabin Dr. Fulton walks out with something she wants to share. Keen is utterly confused by this. Dr. Fulton starts explaining how she kills serial killers and wants Keen on her side. Dr. Fulton wants her to kill a man that was a part of an old case of hers that killed a kid with a pillow and in return will give her reinstatement to the FBI. Keen dies not want to. Quickly Ressler and Navabi arrive as Dr. Fulton rushes to the woods unseen. Keen catches up with her ready to report what happened but alas decides to let Dr. Fulton escape.

At FBI headquarters, Mojtabai approaches Keen with the sad news that the witness they had against Garvey is gone. This really makes Keen saddened as she knows the helplessness this leaves her to. Mojtabai tries to reassure he will find that witness but Keen knows that he won`t. Keen knows that by this point if he was taken by Garvey that he is dead within the first five minutes.

After all of the sadness, Cooper walks with Dr. Fulton and lets Keen know of her decision—Keen is reinstated back to the bureau after all of this. Dr. Fulton feels that she is a good agent. Keen lets Fulton know that along with Reddington, Fulton is someone Keen hopes who she can turn to. Fulton lets her know counseling is not mandatory anymore but it is still available voluntarily if Keen ever wants it.

In the next scene, Reddington is talking to Garvey about finding the bones. He isn`t planning to kill Garvey but once he finds the bones he is. Keen calls Reddington really upset about losing the witness and how they were so close to finding Garvey but he escaped. Keen wants Reddington to promise to not let any secret get in the way of finding Garvey or letting him escape. Reddington promises, hangs up and then watches Garvey leave the vicinity as the episode comes to a close.