The Blacklist has always been a series that hinges on the relationship between Raymond Reddington and Elizabeth Keen. In fact, the series works best when these two characters conflict with one another and even better when they work together. That is one element of “Ruslan Denisov” that works particularly well: Red is trying to maintain his relationship with Liz, while the woman wants nothing to do with Red, personally or professionally.

Recall that in “Luther Braxton: Conclusion,” Liz realized that Red has always been a part of her life and that he – in her mind – has used his relationship with her as one giant con in order to get what he wants (the Fulcrum).

But that’s about all that works in “Ruslan Denisov,” an episode that feels a bit like a letdown from the complex, engaging conclusion of last week.

In this episode, the theme is negotiation. While Ressler and Liz believe that they can work together in order to rescue an American CIA agent in Uzbekistan, Red appears – much to the surprise of Ressler and Liz — but really? Did they not think he would randomly show up wherever they are on whatever case they’re working? And he informs them that he’s helping with the case.

Liz wants to know Red’s endgame in all of this, but he refuses to reveal it until the end of the episode. That’s kind of the theme of Red and Liz’s relationship, when you really think about it: he’s constantly trying to grow closer to her, work together with her, and become a larger part of her life, while she’s constantly trying to figure out WHY.

Last week, Liz seemingly determined that Red was only close to her because she had something he needed and that their relationship was based entirely on a lie. She spends the vast majority of this episode prickly at him (so much so that Ressler comments on it twice), while he spends it proving that he’s not going anywhere.

“Ruslan Denisov” has another strength besides the Red/Liz story: it focuses on a Blacklister whose motivations are not entirely evil. In fact, Ruslan Denisov is actually a pretty compelling character, probably the most interesting villain that the series has focused on recently.

He’s seeking political and social justice for wrongs that have been done to his people – chemicals, specifically, that are in the water and are poisoning those who use it to drink and wash. These chemicals are leaking from an oil pipeline that was established by a giant corporation who cares naught about what their product is doing to the lives of others. In fact, the oil company insists that the water is perfectly safe. It’s a lie, and Denisov knows it. He wants to negotiate the life of the hostage for the lives of his people.

Oh, and did we mention that Red is the one who is negotiating for Denisov?

Denisov is a really interesting Blacklister, because yes, he’s a criminal and he drops a few bodies. He kidnaps and threatens. But at the end of the episode, Red looks at him and tells him that he could be more than that. He could be the kind of example that his country needs – do actual good in the world like he did with the oil negotiation… minus the kidnapping – if he truly wanted to.

That’s what I really enjoyed about “Ruslan Denisov”: the political and social agenda nature of the case. We see so many episodes on The Blacklist featuring cold-hearted and calculated villains. It was nice to see a character who wanted to genuinely do good for his people but who went about it in a rather illegal and immoral manner.

Red and Liz are forced to communicate throughout the episode – you know, the very thing she did NOT want to do with him? – until both the oil company and Ruslan Denisov manage to reach an agreement. Of course, Red has a personal interest in this case (with the old oil company out of the way, a new company takes control – one that Red does business with). This surprises Liz, but really shouldn’t as Red does in this episode what she accuses him of doing all the time: looking out for himself, seeing what he can gain from a relationship or a deal.

Liz is full of trust issues, with good reason. There’s also one more issue that has surfaced in Liz’s life. Remember the DC harbor master that Tom killed earlier this season? Well, his wife filed a missing persons report and she knows something is amiss. The woman brandishes Liz’s business card, which she gave to the man, and tells the detective working the case that something must have happened to her husband.

Oh, and the great big burly bodyguard that used to guard Tom? He gets hauled in for questioning by the detective and cracks like an egg: he tells the man where the harbor master’s body is found and Liz… well, Liz seems like she’s going to be in a lot of hot water as she tries to keep her secrets from unraveling completely.

While “Ruslan Denisov” wasn’t the most interesting or compelling episode of The Blacklist, it did provide for some fresh tension between Red and Liz as well as set up the most important and consequence-heavy Liz storyline thus far.

Other things worth mentioning:

“I think I left my… soup… in the microwave.” Aram is probably the best character on this show right now. Also, I forgot to mention it above, but he’s trying to help Liz determine what exactly the device inside of the bunny was.

The Ressler/Liz elevator trope ends a bit differently than most tropes do (with, you know, them getting kidnapped). Speaking of Ressler and Liz, they spend a lot of time together in “Ruslan Denisov” working their case, which I appreciated. They have such a great rapport now when they’re working and always protect each other. But what I’ve found more interesting and telling is the fact that Liz inherently now trusts Ressler. He knew all about Tom, and he’s the one Liz confesses everything about the DC harbor master to. It’s nice to see how much these two have grown since the pilot when they pretty much loathed each other. And it’s also nice to see that Ressler doesn’t judge Liz for what happened. He genuinely just expresses concern for her and tries to calm her down a bit.

Favorite Quotes:

“I know a wonderful little hole in the wall. It’s actually IN a hole in the wall.”

“In the world, there are no sides. Only players.”

“It’s the confession, not the priest, which gives us absolution.”

“What’s this?” “The smoking gun. Ooh! That sounded dramatic!”

Photos from “Ruslan Denisov”

[wppa type=”slideonlyf” album=”2″ align=”center”]Any comment[/wppa]

What did you all think of “Ruslan Denisov”? Were you as compelled by the political and social agenda-centric case? What do you think is going to happen when all of Liz’s secrets finally come out? And if you saw the preview for next week’s episode… why can’t Ressler go ONE episode without getting kidnapped?

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