The Blacklist Declassified

Brief (Where we’re at):

Prior to Episode 8:21 ~ Nachalo: Liz, Red and Dembe are in Latvia, in the countryside outside Riga. Red brought Liz here to give her “the answers” she is looking for. They stand before a building that looks like a hardened military bunker, made of concrete, stone and steel, windowless. Then Red says something shocking. Not only does he confirm that he is in fact the operative N-13 who is in possession of the blackmail file, the “Sikorsky Archive,” but he says:

Red: Elizabeth, listen to me. Katarina Rostova was never framed or killed. The Sikorsky Archive was a seed. The beginning of what would become one of the most sophisticated intelligence networks in existence. A network meticulously crafted with her knowledge and blessing to serve one guiding purpose – To give me the power to keep you safe and your mother hidden. This place is part of the machine that that vision manifested, a machine that is and has been my life’s work for the past three decades.
Liz: So – What is this?
[⚡️The metal doors open⚡️]
Red: This is The Blacklist.

In Episode 8:2, a woman claiming to be Katarina Rostova (Blacklister #3), Liz’s mother, was shot and killed in a park by Red, a murder which Liz witnessed. The woman had insinuated herself into Liz’s life and tortured Liz’s grandfather, Dominic (Dom) Wilkinson, for information on Red. Ever since then, Liz has been on a mission to take revenge on Red, going so far as to partner with Neville Townsend, the man who had put a bounty on Katarina’s head, because he blamed her for being N-13 and for having released information from the Sikorsky Archive that resulted in the murder of Townsend’s family by the Russian Vory (mafia).

Liz’s revenge tour against Red landed her in the #1 position on Red’s Blacklist – after she tried to blow him up in his hospital room. Other crimes followed and secrets were revealed and she surrendered at last to Cooper who put her in the safest place available, the impenetrable high security containment unit known as the “red box.” Despite Cooper’s promises to help her, Cooper’s supervisor in the DOJ, Cynthia Panabaker, foresaw at best only a bleak future for Liz – in a supermax prison.

But Red had other plans for Liz’s future. He sent in a Chinook helicopter with a team of trained operatives who expertly blew a rectangular hole in the roof of the Post Office black site and airlifted the entire “red box” – with Liz in it – to a horse ranch in bucolic Loudoun County VA where Red was holding captive Townsend’s second-in-command, Godwin Page (Blacklister #141). One last plot against Red hatched between Liz and Godwin but was foiled (or maybe just postponed) when Red, Liz and Dembe flew in Red’s plane off out of reach of the tracking chip controlled by Liz that could lead Townsend to Red.

In the morning, still in flight, Liz opened the window next to her seat to discover that the shape of the scar on her wrist mysteriously resembles the shape of the Baltic Sea.

 
For S8 Episode 8:21 Nachalo 🎯 EW recap ¤ 🌅 Photo Gallery ¤ 🎹 Music Videos ¤ 📒 Script link: https://wp.me/pDKwi-bKi [ “you are here” ]

 
[ Editing Notes: 1. There were too many flashbacks to describe them all. I focused on the most important ones and those with dialogue in the OurBoard transcription. 2. Not all Russian language dialogue is translated in the screen caps and I don’t know Russian (sorry). 3. Descriptions based on my familiarity with scenes from earlier episodes are in parens () ]

 
Cooper: [ Voiceover ] Previously on “The Blacklist”:
⋘⋙
[ Neville Townsend is in his car which is being driven by Vandyke. Townsend is following the signal of a tracking chip which Liz has configured to allow him to track Red who is in his Mercedes with her ]
Townsend: We’re prepared to intercept the signal as soon as you turn it on. …
[ The signal stops moving when it’s about a half mile away. Then: ]
Townsend: They’re coming toward us. Fast. Like, impossibly fast.
[ Red’s plane roars over Townsend’s car ]
⋘⋙
[ Inside Red’s plane. The next morning, Dembe walks over to Red and Liz ]
Dembe: 20 minutes to Riga.
Liz: We’re going to Latvia? For what?
Red: For answers.
⋘⋙
[ A seaport in Riga, Latvia ]
Liz: What is this place?
Red: “Baltic’s Best Seafood Distributor.”
Liz: Why do I feel like that’s not at all what this is?
Red: Because that’s not at all what this is. It’s a front.
[ They travel in an Eastern European style SUV to a building resembling a bunker ]
Red: I brought you here because this is where it all started. The epicenter.
⋘⋙
[ Outside the tall metal double-door entrance to the building ]
Liz: You are N-13.
Red: Yes. … The Sikorsky Archive was a seed. The beginning of what would become one of the most sophisticated intelligence networks in existence. This place is part of a machine that is and has been my life’s work for the past three decades.
⋘⋙
[ The tall metal doors open. Red and Liz look inside ]
Red: This is The Blacklist.

 
[ Inside, people are working, mostly handling documents, copying, receiving faxes, moving files and boxes ]
Liz: This? This is where they come up with The Blacklist?
Red: It’s not that literal. But this is where intelligence from 17 outposts around the world is gathered, sorted, and analyzed.
Liz: Intel.
Red: Leaked documents. Intercepted communiques. Secrets from governments, corporations, people in positions of power.
Liz: You’re sourcing intelligence.
Red: I’m printing currency.
Liz: And the Sikorsky Archive – That’s how this all began. Thirteen packets of intel.
Red: Thirteen packets that were traded, leveraged, sometimes sold in an effort to acquire more. More information. More protection. More authority. The system is a living, breathing apparatus that powers many of the decisions I make.
Liz: And it’s all analogue.
Red: [ Chuckles ] Oh, no. We have gigantic computers elsewhere, but around here, they allow me to believe it’s completely analogue. Digital footprints make me jittery.
Liz: And what happens to this information?
Red: It’s sent to me. Wrapped, packed, and smuggled into New York Harbor.
[ Liz sees that even the boxes of papers are branded with the symbol that resembles both the Baltic Sea and the scar on her wrist. She pulls up her sleeve to compare ]
Red: Yes.
Liz: Okay. Thank you for the tour, but why am I here?
Red: I brought you here because, despite what you and Harold have come to believe, I am not a Russian asset. I’m a criminal. And Ivan Stepanov is not my Russian handler, he’s just an old friend. In fact, I definitely handle him more than he would ever be able to handle me. I’m Raymond Reddington. [ He gestures at the operation ] This is Raymond Reddington. And you need to see what one day will be yours. To learn how it works–
Liz: I’m not interested.
Red: –You’ll need to understand the infrastructure, how we cull data, meet the analysts who make this all possible.
Liz: The only thing I’m interested in is my mother. You said you didn’t kill her, but I saw you–
Red: You don’t know what you saw.

[ Flashback: ]
[ Liz remembers witnessing the murder in the park ]

Liz: I saw you shoot her. You murdered her.
Red: Elizabeth. [ Echoing ] Stop.
[ The whirring of business machines slows ] [ The room becomes blurry, people move more and more slowly until they are motionless ] [ A dreamlike state settles over Liz ]
Red: Forget about everything you think you know. Right now, there is only you and me – and the truth.
Katarina’s voice: [ Echoing ] –and the truth.
Liz: What did you say?
Red: The story you need to hear, it’s all connected. N-13. The Fulcrum. You. Me.
Katarina’s voice: Your mother.
Liz: What about my mother?
Red & Katarina: [ Voices intermingled ] To understand why– To understand why I came into your life– I came into your life you need to hear my story– you need to hear my story.
[ Out of the mistiness, Liz’s mother Katarina appears. She’s about age 35 ]
[ Subsequent scenes from the past are mainly in black-and-white ]
Katarina: The truth about who I was, who you are. The truth is, Masha, is that you were conceived as part of a lie. But it shouldn’t surprise you. I was born into a world of spies. Becoming one was my destiny. I grew up in a system that monitored subversion, snuffed out dissidence. My father was not only part of that system, he helped to build it.

[ Flashback: ]
[ 12 yo Katarina is reading. A group of men is talking at the dining room table ]
Katarina’s father Dom: [ Speaking Russian ]
[ Katarina gets up and goes to the table ]

Katarina: And because I was the son my father never had, he decided early on–

[ Flashback: ]
Dom: [ Speaking Russian ] [ He gives her directions ]
[ Dom gives 12yo Katarina a packet and a piece of candy and winks at her. She leaves ]

Katarina: –that I’d follow in those footsteps, which my mother disapproved of. My mother understood me. She knew I wanted to follow a different path, but my father was unyielding. He scripted my life. He observed and scrutinized it. Even before I could understand, I was helping the Fifth Directorate 🔘 [See article] carry out operations.

[ Flashbacks: ]
[ Katarina, now 17, performs a series of drops: two lunch bags left on benches for operatives, a notebook left on a table picked up by a waiter ]

Katarina: I helped move intelligence, monitor dissidents, identify those the state thought to be subversives. The work was literally in my DNA. My handler, the one chosen by my father, he understood me in ways others did not. In fact, he would eventually become one of the most important men in my life.
Liz: Ivan Stepanov.
Katarina: Yes. But truth be told, the assignments Ivan Stepanov gave me were all based on what my father wanted. Needed. Friends. Relationships. Men. Women. My father even hand-picked my husband, Constantin Rostov, in order to benefit from the advantages he provided. My father could care less that I was in a loveless marriage. He even chose the man with whom [I] was unfaithful to my husband.
Liz: My father.

[ Flashback: ]
[ Ivan Stepanov shows Katarina (Real) Raymond Reddington’s dossier ]
Ivan Stepanov: He’s an American. Stationed at the embassy in Moscow. The Directorate believes he could be – useful.

[ A young man steps forward ]
Real Raymond Reddington: Hello, sweetheart. You don’t remember me.
Liz: I do. [ Breathes sharply ] You’re my father. I remember your face.
Real RR: [ Smiles, chuckles ]

[ Flashback: ]
[ At a grocery store with the shelves almost bare ]
[ Real Raymond Reddington, Liz’s father, is about to grab a loaf of bread, but Katarina snatches it first ]
[ Conversing in Russian: ]
Real RR: Hey, wait–
Katarina: Sorry. Too late.
Real RR: You knew I was going to take that.
Katarina: You have cheese.
Real RR: What if I traded you the cheese for the bread.
Katarina: [ In English ] You’re American.

 
Real RR: I should’ve known better, but your mother, she was good. She told me about herself, that she was a production manager with the Bolshoi Ballet. That she was in a bad marriage. That her mother had moved to America after her parents divorced. She was trying to get by in a Russia that was falling apart. They were all lies.
Katarina: Not all of them. Most of them.
Liz: [ To Real RR ] And you had a family.
Real RR: Yeah. Yes. My wife, Carla, was at home. [ Breathes sharply ] We had a baby girl.
Liz: Jennifer.
Real RR: It was a mistake. I– I should have seen it. I started to see it. And that’s when it happened.
Liz: What happened?
[ Simultaneously: ]
Real RR & Katarina: You did.

[ Flashback: ]
[ Katarina sits in a car with Ivan Stepanov ]
Ivan: I suppose, in some ways, it’s an opportunity.
Katarina: [ Tearfully ] It’s not an opportunity, Ivan, it’s a baby. This is a problem. [ Breathes deeply ]
Ivan: Let me speak with your father again.
Katarina: There’s no point. He’s made up his mind. He says a child will keep Reddington invested. [ Sighs ] Oh, my God. What am I gonna tell Constantin?
Ivan: Tell him it’s his.
Katarina: [ Exhales sharply ]
Ivan: He’ll be happy.

Katarina: And so, I did what I do. I lied. I told my husband I was pregnant with his child. And I told my mark I was pregnant with his child.
Real RR: I was home on leave. Katarina was in the U.S. while supposedly traveling with the Bolshoi.

[ Flashback: ]
[ Real RR is chasing Katarina inside his house. (It’s the same house which, years later, Red would and blow up in an effort to expunge the memories of it) ]
Real RR: This is what I want.
Katarina: Raymond, you’re married.
Real RR: Then I’ll leave her.
Katarina: You have a child!
Real RR: And now I’ll have another.
Katarina: What are you talking about? This baby will destroy your family. And your career. I don’t want to be responsible for that.
Real RR: Katarina – She’s my daughter.

Real RR: And so, she took you from me. She let another man believe you were his daughter. What’s worse – I couldn’t even be there.
Liz: Be where?

[ Flashback: ]
[ Katarina is snuggling in bed with newborn Masha (Liz). Katarina’s husband Constantin Rostov get into the bed and puts his arm around Katarina ]
[ ✨♪ Lullaby music chiming ♪✨]

Katarina: That day, seeing you – I had never felt anything like it. I had spent my entire life lying and pretending and– But you – You were the first real thing in my life–

[ Flashback: ]
[ Newborn fussing ]

Katarina: –so I vowed that I would do whatever it would take to protect that–

[ Flashback: ]
Katarina: [ Whispering ] Masha.

Katarina: –to protect you.

[ Flashback: ]
[ ✨♪ Lullaby music chiming ♪✨]

 
[ Katarina and Real RR circle each other with Liz in the middle, spinning ]
Katarina: The next two years were a blur of lies. I was married to a man I didn’t love. I had a child with the man I was targeting as a spy. My husband believed the baby was his, and my lover had no idea he was a mark.
Real RR: We’d see each other when we could. Paris.
Katarina: Moscow.
Real RR: London.
Katarina: St. Petersburg.
Real RR: Berlin.
Katarina: By then, I had lost any sense of myself. I was living a lie. Everything about me was pretend.
Liz: And your wife, she never knew?
Real RR: There were some close calls.
Katarina: I even helped watch Jennifer one weekend while she was away. It was extremely uncomfortable, playing house.

[ Flashback: ]
[ Jennifer, 2 or 3 years old, is outside playing with Super Bubbles ]
Jennifer: Ooh! Oh!
[ Inside, Katarina carries baby Masha, about 1½ , on her hip ]

Katarina: It was becoming unbearable. But there was a relentless demand for more intel.
Real RR: It was a strange double life, which is probably why it took me so long to figure out that it wasn’t real.
Liz: But you did figure it out.

[ Flashback: ]
[ Real RR is shaving in the bathroom. Katarina is photographing pages of the papers in his briefcase ]
Real RR: I know the rest of the company is leaving tomorrow, but can’t you just tell them you’re gonna stay behind to see your mother?
Katarina: I would, but your wife gets home tomorrow.
Real RR: [ Chuckles ] Well, we can make that work. We’ve done it before. If you leave now, I won’t see you until I’m back in the embassy on the 15th.
[ He comes out of the bathroom ]
They kiss: Mm. Mm.
Katarina: I have to wake Masha. If I don’t, she’ll be up all night. Mm.
[ Footsteps depart ]
[ Real RR notices the lock on his briefcase is not clicked shut. He touches it ] [ Click echoes ]

 
[ The groaning, whirring sound that preceded her dream state is heard again. The people who had seemed frozen in time begin to move again, slowly ]
Red: [ Blurred, voice echoing ] Elizabeth – Stay with the story. Stay with the story.
[ Liz returns to the story ]
Liz: He knew she was lying to him.
Real RR: I knew, in that moment, that she was a plant, that our relationship was a lie. I knew I needed to report the incident to my superior, but I also wanted to protect myself. I wanted to go to them with evidence. So I kept seeing her. I assumed I would confirm she was a KGB spy, so you can imagine my surprise when I realized it was far worse than that.
Liz: [ To Katarina ] Everything about you is a lie.
Real RR: It went on for nearly two years. At first, I didn’t understand what I was seeing. She was spying for the KGB, but she was spying on the KGB. And the Americans. And others. I realized that Katarina was connected to something much larger, some kind of global network.
Liz: The Cabal.
Real RR: So I watched her. I let her steal from me so I could steal from her, and eventually, I was able to prove that she was connected to – I was able to prove the very existence of a secret global conspiracy.

[ Real Raymond Reddington sits in front of the “Fulcrum,” which includes a keyboard, projector and the “Interface Unit” which plugs into it. (The small Interface Unit contains an early, 1980s-1990s style, computer chip. The compromising data is likely stored on this chip.) An old-style key activates the Fulcrum. (Years later, Liz would find the Interface Unit sewn into her stuffed bunny and Red would retrieve the other components from the trunk of a presidential limo stored under the pulpit of the church of an extremist religious cult) ]

Real RR: I knew I was in over my head, that I had to get you to America, the only place where I could both expose the truth about your mother and keep you safe.
Katarina: And I knew I couldn’t let him do that, because he had proof.
Liz: The Fulcrum.

♪ Hey, jingle bells
Jingle bells
Jingle all the way– ♪

Liz: We were looking for a Christmas tree.

♪ Oh, what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh
Hey– ♪

Liz: You came and took me to the beach house.
Real RR: Yes. But your mother, her people came–
Katarina: He knew we would come for you.
Real RR: Not just you. The Fulcrum.
[ Jingle Bells music slows, groans, stops ]
Real RR: And that’s why she came with a team.

[ Masha/Young Liz is playing with her bunny, Hops. On the coffee table is a Christmas carousel with four lit candles. The heat from the candle flames propels a fan above which turns the carousel ]
Masha/Young Liz: Oh, you love Christmas–
[ Vehicle heard approaching ]
Masha/Young Liz: How do you like it, Hops? Good or not? [ Chuckles ]
[ Vehicle doors open ]
Real RR: Honey, I need you to come with me.
Masha/Young Liz: What’s wrong?
Real RR: Here. Come with me.
[ Vehicle doors closing ]
[ Real RR guides Masha/Young Liz with her bunny to a closet with a louvred door ]
Real RR: Stay in here, sweetheart. No matter what happens, I need you to stay in here and not come out until I come and get you. Understand?
Masha/Young Liz: Okay.
[ After he closes the closet door, Real RR gets a revolver out of a desk drawer ]
⋘⋙
[ Door closes ] [ Door opens ]
[ Katarina enters with several men, including Young Ilya ]
Katarina: Where is she?
Real RR: Don’t do this.
Katarina: Is she here?
[ Speaking Russian ]
Katarina: Listen, you’re in trouble.
Real RR: Because of you.
Katarina: Yes. They’ll kill you if you don’t give it back. Where’s my daughter?
[ Man speaks Russian ] [ Young Liz/Masha appears with Ilya ]
Katarina: Masha.
Real RR: Get away from her.
[ Young Ilya speaks Russian ]
Katarina: [ In English ] It’s okay, Masha. [ To Real RR ] Just tell me where it is.
Real RR: Masha, come here. It’s okay.
Katarina: Are you out of your mind? Do you know what will happen if they find out what you’ve done?
Real RR: Give me my daughter.
Katarina: Are you hearing me? You’re signing my death warrant.
Real RR: Katarina!
Katarina: If you won’t protect me, protect yourself. [ She pushes him ]
Real RR: What does that mean?
Katarina: You don’t think we have assurances?
Real RR: [ Grabbing her ] What have you done?!
Katarina: We’ve been gaining leverage against you since the beginning, Raymond. Hiding money in accounts under your name.
[ Real RR grabs Katarina and starts shaking her ]
Katarina: Paper trails, passports. Evidence that I didn’t steal from you, but that you gave to me.
Real RR: [ Shaking Katarina ] I didn’t give you anything!
Masha/Young Liz:: Stop! You’re hurting her! You’re hurting her!
[ The gun Real RR had in his pocket shakes loose and slides across the floor toward Masha ]
Katarina: If you move forward with what you think you know about me–
Young Ilya: Katarina!
Katarina: No one will believe you. You’ll be branded a traitor.
[ Young Ilya runs over to intervene. He and Real RR shove and push ] [ Grunting ]
Young Ilya: [ In Russian ] Get off her! I said get off!
[ Young Ilya tries to pull Real RR off Katarina. Young RR pushes Young Ilya. He lands on the couch, bumping the coffee table. The Christmas carousel with the four lit candles is knocked off the coffee table and the carpet catches 🔥 on fire 🔥 ]
Katarina: [ In Russian ] Masha! Be careful!
Real RR: Stop it, Katarina.
[ Shouts in Russian ]
[ Masha picks up the gun ]
Masha/Young Liz:: Let go! Let go!
[ Katarina sees Masha pointing the gun ]
Katarina: Masha!
[ Gunshot💥 ]
Real RR: Augh!
[ Real RR groans and doubles over; Katarina breaks his fall ]
Katarina: [ In English ] No, Raymond. Ilya! [ Speaks Russian ] Ilya! [ Speaks Russian ]
Young Ilya: [ Speaking Russian ]
[ Young Ilya picks up Liz/Masha and rushes her out of the room ]
Masha/Young Liz:: [ Screaming ]
[ The 🔥fire🔥 grows ]
Katarina: [ In English ] Raymond, look at me. Raymond, talk to me.
Real RR: [ Groaning ]
Katarina: The information you took, I know it’s here.
Real RR: [ Groans ]
Katarina: Please. I’m begging you. Raymond, where is it? Where is it?

 
[ The phantasm of Liz’s father speaks ]
Real RR: They got me to the car. Your mother thought she could save me.

[ Flashback: ]
[ Real RR and Katarina are in the back seat. Masha is in the front seat ]
Real RR: [ Screaming in pain ]
Katarina: Masha– [ In Russian: ] Turn around. It’s okay.
[ Men speaking Russian with Katarina: ]
Ilya: We can’t find it
Katarina: It’s in there. Go back in.
— There’s too much fire
Katarina: Go. Now. Go!
Real RR: [ Through his clenched teeth ] Shh, shh.

Katarina: The men who worked for me looked for the Fulcrum, but the fire had spread too fast.
[ 🔥 Masha’s drawings go up in flames; the plastic face of a baby doll melts 🔥 ]
Katarina: We’d given up. We were at the car, about to leave, and that’s when–
Liz: I went back inside.

[ Flashback: ]
[ Car door opens ] [ Masha runs back into the house ]
Katarina: Masha.

Liz: To look for my stuffed animal. The bunny.

[ Flashback: ]
[ Masha/Young Liz runs back to the closet and finds her bunny but the 💨smoke💨 is thick now. 🔥 Roaring flames surround her 🔥 ]
Masha: [ Coughs ]

Katarina: I came in after you, but we got turned around. The flames spread fast, the smoke –

[ Flashback: ]
[ 🔥 Masha looks around, holding her bunny. The men who came in to search for the Fulcrum struggle in the flames. One man falls to the floor; another tries to help him 🔥 ]

Liz: You were burned.
Katarina: We both were.

[ Flashback: ]
[ Liz watches the burn appear almost as if by magic on her wrist and hand ]

Katarina: The fighting, the gunshot, the death of your father– Those flames– I was desperate to erase that night from your memory.
Liz: Wait. Y-You had my memory erased?
Katarina: I only wanted to protect you.

[ Flashback: ]
[ Mr Kaplan is with Masha/Young Liz in a motel room, waiting to hear from Katarina. Masha is sleeping ]
[ Telephone rings ☎️ ] [ Breathes deeply ] [ Whispering ]
Mr Kaplan: Where are you?
Katarina: I don’t know. Pay phone.

Katarina: I couldn’t save your father. I couldn’t lose you, too.

[ Flashback continues: ]
Katarina: You have to leave Masha with someone unconnected, who I can trust.

Katarina: And I knew the only way to keep you safe was to give you up.
 

[ Flashback: ]
[ Cape May, late at night ]
[ An upside-down U.S. flag flaps in the wind. A rocker creaks. Wind chimes✨clinking✨]

[ Liz becomes confrontational ]
Liz: You abandoned me. Forget the rest. Forget the lies you told my father, your husband, your country. You abandoned me.
Katarina: I was trying to protect you, Masha. I had followed Raymond to America. The KGB– Started asking questions I couldn’t answer.

[ Flashback: ]
[ Cape May. It’s overcast and windy ]
[ Katarina folds her jacket and lays it on the sand. She looks out over the water. Waves pound ]

Katarina: I knew it was only a matter of time until they learned the truth – That I was a traitor, a double-agent working for a secret organization.
Liz: You hid from them.
Katarina: Not just them, the Cabal. They knew Reddington stole evidence of their existence.
Liz: The Fulcrum.
Katarina: They expected me to steal it back before the intel could be exposed, but– I couldn’t find the Fulcrum. The Cabal was afraid the KGB would find me. Two of the world’s most ruthless organizations wanted me dead.

[ Flashback: ]
[ Cape May ] [ Scenes flash by of Katarina fighting off waves of attackers. (Unlike in Red’s reverie of these occurrences at Cape May, Katarina fights the operatives alone) ]
Various scenes: [ Man grunting ] [ Grunts ] [⚡️Electricity crackling⚡️] [ Man screaming ]
[ A trained operative, Katarina defeats them all ]

Katarina: The irony is that– Part of me didn’t want to survive. Living meant facing what I had done.

[ Flashback: ]
[ Katarina kneels on the beach at Cape May, then gets up and walks toward the water ]

Katarina: Knowing that you were with someone who was a stranger to you – And the trauma of killing your father would always be part of who you were–

[ Flashback: ]
[ Masha shoots her father 💥 ]
[ Young Ilya carries Masha away ]
Masha: [ Screams ]

Katarina: And that the people hunting me wouldn’t hesitate to hunt you.
Liz: You wanted to take your own life. But you didn’t. Why? What changed your mind?
Katarina: You. I made a promise the day you were born – To protect you.

[ Flashback: ]
[ Katarina drags herself out of the cold water at Cape May (She is alone) ]

Katarina: I realized I couldn’t be part of your life, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t watch over you. I had to come up with a plan, to disappear, so I reached out to one of the only people I knew I could trust.
Liz: Ilya Koslov.
[ Ilya appears ]
Ilya: We grew up together. We were both chosen by the KGB. And when the Cabal came calling, the two of us chose to betray our country together.
Liz: You can stop. I bought this story before. Dom made it sound very convincing, but it’s not the truth.
Katarina: Dom lied to you about who became Reddington, but most of what he told you about Ilya was true.
Ilya: Including the part about framing Reddington as a traitor.
Katarina: No one knew he was dead. To the rest of the world, it seemed as if he had simply disappeared.
Ilya: A fact that we decided to use to our advantage.

[ Flashback: ]
Young Ilya: If the fugitive Raymond Reddington can disappear without a trace, then why wouldn’t it stand to reason that the money you framed him with could disappear, as well?
Katarina: Ilya, it’s not that simple.
Young Ilya: I think it is.

Ilya: I had an idea, one that would allow us to access the money that was used to frame Reddington, and it was a lot.

[ Flashback: ]
Katarina: $40 million.
Young Ilya: $40 million. That is more than we would ever need to stay two steps ahead of the– The KGB, the Cabal, the Americans.
Katarina: But Raymond would have to show up in person to access that money. And since he died in my arms, he won’t be able to.
Young Ilya: I don’t think you’re entirely grasping what I’m suggesting.
Katarina: What are you suggesting?
Young Ilya: Becoming Reddington.
 
[ Flashbacks: ]
Banker: Mr. Reddington, welcome back. What sort of withdrawal will we be assisting you with today?
Assorted bankers: [ Speaking German ] [ Speaking Swedish ] [ Speaking French ]
⋘⋙
[ Phone dialing✨ ]
Young Ilya: Yes. It worked.

Liz: No, it didn’t. Ilya wasn’t the one who walked into those banks. He’s not the one who became Reddington.
Ilya: I did go into those banks. I impersonated your father for a few days, long enough to withdraw the $40 million.
Katarina: Long enough for me to realize how valuable a new Reddington could be.
Liz: You’re lying.
Ilya: No, Dom was lying. He misled you into believing I became Reddington. He did that because he couldn’t accept the truth.
Liz: The truth is my mother hated Reddington. She feared him. She didn’t create him. If she had, she would have known Reddington’s true identity, but she didn’t. Or else she would have told me.
Ilya: But she didn’t tell you, did she?
[ The woman who Liz has believed to be her mother Katarina Rostova, the woman who became Agnes’s nanny, the woman with whom Liz collaborated to kidnap Dom, the woman who was shot and killed by Red, steps out of the shadows. Her real name is Tatiana Petrova ]
Tatiana Petrova: Because I didn’t know. And I didn’t know – Because I’m not your mother.

 
Liz: Who are you?
Tatiana Petrova: I was an operative.
Liz: What kind of operative would chose to impersonate someone who’s being hunted by the most lethal organizations and criminals in the world?
Tatiana: I never chose to be her. That choice was made for me. I was just an asset. It was my job – Until it became a death sentence handed down to me by your grandfather.
[ Liz’s grandfather Dominic (Dom) Wilkinson, the real Katarina’s father, appears ]
Dom: Your judgment means nothing to me. I know what I did and why I did it.
Ilya: You destroyed her life and family.
Dom: To save my child and grandchild. I made a calculated and brutal choice to value their lives over hers. And it worked.
Liz: What worked?
Dom: Nobody believed your mother was dead. The KGB were still looking, the Cabal, the Americans, Neville Townsend.
Katarina: By then, I had vanished. You were safe. I was hidden.
Dom: They were looking, and they would have found you, and I wasn’t willing to take that chance.
Ilya: So he called me to Belgrade.

[ Flashback: ]
[ In a cafe, Young Dom explains his plan to Young Ilya. “Young” Dom is 50-ish in this scene ]
Young Dom: Her enemies have pooled their resources and put a bounty on her head. They’re calling it the Townsend Directive.
Young Ilya: [ Sighs ] Dom, I– I can’t help you.
Young Dom: You made a promise. [ Pounds table ] To Katarina. You told her you would look after Masha if anything happened to her.
Young Ilya: Yes, but I cannot call off Townsend, and he will not stop looking.
Young Dom: Sure he will. He’ll stop looking, and so will the rest of them – If Katarina’s dead.
Young Ilya: You want me to kill your daughter?
Young Dom: I want you to hear my plan.

Liz: [ To Tatiania Petrova ] You were the plan.
Tatiana: Yes. Ilya called me. By then, we’d worked together on a number of assignments. We were friends. I trusted him.
Ilya: Her real name is Tatiana Petrova. To the outside world, Katarina was a phantom. Hardly anyone knew what she really looked like. So I did what Dom ordered.
Tatiana: Ilya called me to Belgrade. It was a simple assignment. Drive into the city, deliver a package to Dominic at Vukov station.

[ Flashback: ]
[ Young Dom and Young Ilya sit in a car parked overlooking the inn where Tatiana is staying with her husband ]
Young Dom: She has to die. It’s the only way to protect Masha.

Ilya: Dom had leaked that his daughter was staying at a local inn. Released a photo. We knew the KGB and others were watching, and if they saw the explosion, if they saw her die–
Dom: Then the world would stop looking, and my daughter would be safe.

[ Flashback: ]
Tatiana and her husband: [ Heated discussion in Russian ]

Tatiana: But I didn’t die.

[ Flashback: ]
Tatiana and her husband: [ Heated discussion in Russian ]

Tatiana: My husband did.

[ Flashback: ]
[ 💥🔥‼️ Car Explodes ‼️🔥💥 ]

Ilya: We didn’t know he’d be there.
Tatiana: The world believed I was Katarina Rostova – My identity, my real name, became one of my aliases.
Liz: And the real Katarina Rostova – Stayed hidden.
Ilya: Years later, when Reddington finally found out what Dom had done to this innocent woman, he was horrified. He was guilt-ridden.
Dom: He was right to feel guilty. It was his fault that a plan was needed in the first place.
Tatiana: Reddington was my knight in shining armor. He tracked me down. Financed my life in hiding for years. He protected me, and I was grateful, until I found out that he was also hiding your mother, or knew where she was. So I came for him.

[ Flashback: ]
[ On the Paris Street where Red tracked down Tatiana to warn her that the recently revived Townsend Directive was once again “in play,” Red and Tatiana are engaged in a passionate kiss — until she takes out a syringe of Ketamine and jabs him in the gut ]
Red: [ Grunts ]
[ Red collapses. A car pulls up and he’s loaded into it and driven away ]

Tatiana: I had to hide because the world thought I was your mother. But if I could find her – If I could prove to the world that I wasn’t Katarina Rostova, I could have my life back. And he was the only one who could give me that.

[ Flashback: ]
[ Katarina has Red splayed against a metal grille for questioning. The blood is being drained from his body as she questions him ]

Tatiana: [ To Liz ] But it was you – Your questions, your belief that Katarina might be out there, that woke me up, brought me back to life. I wanted a second chance. To stop running. If Reddington had the truth, if he knew where she was, I had to get close. And nobody was closer to him than you. So I used you – Used your love for your mother to help me discover where she was.
Liz: That’s why he killed you. Because Dom told you how to find my mother.
[ Liz tries to approach the phantasm of Katarina ] [ Footsteps ]
Liz: Where are you? Why won’t you find me? I know you have to hide, but not from me.
Katarina: I’ve made so many mistakes. [ Sniffles ] But abandoning you wasn’t one of them. I would never do that.
Liz: [ Tearfully ] But you’re not here.
Katarina: No. [ Sniffles ] Long before your grandfather tricked Tatiana – Almost from the moment I knew I couldn’t be with you, I – Created someone who could be.
Liz: You created someone?
Katarina: Raymond Reddington.

 
Liz: You know his real identity.
Katarina: I do. I always have.
Liz: Tell me.
Katarina: I will. But before I tell you the who, you need to know the why.
Liz: No “before.” I’ve waited long enough.
Katarina: I’d given you to Sam Milhoan thinking that would be enough, that you’d be safe. But I quickly realized that wasn’t true. The people hunting for me were also hunting for you as a way to get to me. I couldn’t look out for you, not while hiding. And Sam couldn’t do it alone.
Liz: So you re-animated your mark. Brought my father back from the dead.
Katarina: If he wasn’t dead, you’d never know you’d killed him.
Ilya: No one knew your father was dead. The KGB, the FBI, CIA – The entire alphabet was looking for the man that they thought had betrayed his country and abandoned his family.
Katarina: Which meant they were chasing a man who never existed.
Ilya: But what if he did exist? What if Reddington was real?
Katarina: If he was, I could use his story and all that it provided to protect my daughter while watching over her from a distance. So I constructed him. Someone powerful and feared. Someone who traded in the very secrets that could help him monitor the danger around you.
Liz: What does that mean, “constructed”?

[ Flashback: ]
[ The bird’s-eye-view of the operating table on which Raymond Reddington was “created “ ]

Katarina: It meant turning to criminals.
Ilya: It meant creating a persona.
Katarina: It meant a complete transformation.
[ James Brown’s ♫ “It’s a Man’s World” plays ]
[ ⬇ Go to Full Lyrics ] or [ ♪ Tap square below to play ♪ ]

♪ This is a man’s world–

Katarina: The KGB, the CIA, the Cabal, they all believed that Reddington had changed his appearance, so a perfect double was never needed. What was needed was intelligence. The kind of information that Reddington was accused of stealing. Which meant turning to a friend.
[ Ivan Stepanov appears ]
Ivan Stepanov: I used her security clearance. Backdated the breach. When the KGB did finally learn classified intelligence was missing, she would be blamed, which didn’t matter, because she was already gone.

♪ Man made the train
To carry the heavy load
Man made the electric light
To take us out of the dark ♪

[ On a bus stop bench, Ivan Stepanov makes the drop of the 13 ‘packets’ of intel comprising the Sikorsky Archive to post-surgery “Created Reddington” ]

♪ Man made the boat
For the water
Like Noah made the ark ♪

[ Stepanov boards the bus. “Created Reddington” checks the bag’s contents (which appear to be thirteen 3.5” ‘floppy’ disk drives for ~1990 personal computers, 1.44MB each) ]

♪ This is a man’s
Man’s, man’s world
But it wouldn’t be
Nothing, nothing
Without a woman or a girl– ♪

Ivan: Thirteen packets of intelligence that could be used to blackmail and leverage anyone from the Russian Vory, to captains of industry, to heads of state.
Ilya: Greed and corruption trickle down and turn into crime on the way to the gutter.
Katarina: Deals were brokered for politicians, criminals.
Ivan: Intelligence was traded for intelligence.
Ilya: Soon, classified NOFORN docs were showing up in Maghreb. Islamabad. Beijing. What emerged was an intelligence network that was built for one reason – To keep you safe.
Liz: My safety. Which came at the expense of people I loved.

♪ This is a man’s world–
But it wouldn’t be ♪

[ Flashbacks: ] [ Scenes from the deaths of Sam, Mr Kaplan, Tom (all who wanted to find out and/or reveal to Liz the secret of Red’s identity) ]

♪ Nothing, nothing
Not one little thing
Without a woman or a girl ♪

 
Tatiana: And people you didn’t even know. For nearly 30 years, he funded my life in hiding, and I was grateful, until you started asking questions that suggested your mother was alive.
Dom: She came for me. Tortured me. Got me to tell her where your mother had gone, where she was living, her new identity.
Liz: And Reddington killed her so she couldn’t tell Townsend the truth.

[ Flashback: ]
[ Liz witnesses Red kill Tatiana ] [ 💥💥 ]

Ilya: Yes. ‘Cause he was afraid if they found out, they would become a threat to you, to your daughter.
Ivan: Which is exactly what Townsend became after I told him the truth.
[ Katarina steps toward Liz ]
Katarina: This story is all about you, Masha. Protecting you. And then protecting your daughter.
Liz: Okay. Now we have the why. Now I want the who. Who is he? Who became Reddington?
[ Muffled gunfire (( 💥💥💥)) in distance ]
Liz: And where have you gone? You’re my mother, but you let someone else watch over me, let me believe you were dead, but you’re living. Where?
[ The figures of Ilya, Tatiana, Ivan, Dom and her father recede are framed against light as Liz steps forward to confront Katarina ]
[ Iconic mages from the fire flash by ]
[ Urgent voices intrude upon the dreamlike atmosphere ]
Dembe: [ Muffled ] Raymond! Where are you?
Red: [ Muffled ] Elizabeth, we need to leave.
[ The phantasms begin to fade away ]
Liz: Wait! No! Answer me. Who became Reddington?
Red: Elizabeth, we have to go.
Liz: Who is he?!
Dembe: Townsend’s here!
[ Gunshots 💥💥💥💥 ]
[ Workers are shot and fall left and right ]
Red: We have to go.
Liz: No, I need more. Who took his identity? Who? There’s more!
Red: There’s no more if you’re dead.
[ Liz is shot 💥 through the back, the bullet exiting through her upper right midsection ]
Red’s voice echoing: (If you’re dead.) ((If you’re dead.))
[ Red catches Liz as she falls ]
[ Gunshot echoes ((💥)) ] [ 💥💥💥 💥💥💥 Rapid Gunfire 💥💥💥 💥💥💥 ]
Red: Dembe, we need to get to the Nest.
[ They retreat toward a hatch on the floor that looks like a submarine hatch. Dembe turns the pressure lock ]
Red: [ To Liz ] We’re almost there.
[ 💥💥💥 Gunfire continues 💥💥💥 ]
[ Dembe has opened the hatch, but one of Townsend’s men comes up behind him and points a semi-automatic rifle at his back ]
[ Red props Liz against the wall ]
Red: She needs a doctor.
[ Townsend walks up and points his gun at Liz ]
Neville Townsend: You know what she needs even more? A mortician.

 
Townsend: [ To Red ] It’s ironic. You devoted your life to protecting her, and in the end, she betrays you.
Red: [ To Liz, quietly ] Relax. That’s it. Keep breathing. Keep breathing.
Townsend: You wanted to use the– The tracking chip to find me? She made it possible for me to use it to find you.
Red: Elizabeth. Stay with me, okay? Keep breathing.
Townsend: By the way, where are we? A nest in Latvia. Even for you, this is a tad dramatic.
Red: Elizabeth, stay with me.
Townsend: She and I made a deal. She would lead me to you, and in exchange, I would let her live. Unfortunately for her–
Red: Elizabeth.
Townsend: –Deals are made to be broken.
[ Townsend’s cell phone rings✨, beeps🔅]
Townsend: Talk to me.
Vandyke: Radley says you’re on-site. Am I clear to send the extraction team?
Townsend: Clear as ice.
Vandyke: On its way, sir. And, sir – Congratulations.
Townsend: Hmph.
[ Cell phone beeps🔅]
Red: Killing her won’t bring your family back.
Townsend: I always wondered how you gathered such an enormous amount of intelligence all these years. This is quite the operation you’ve built.
[ Red stands and moves a step toward Townsend ]
Red: It’s yours if you help her.
[ Townsend’s men move closer but Townsend motions them back ]
Townsend: [ To his men ] Ah, no, no, no. It’s– It’s all right. [ To Red ] Of course, it’s nothing compared to your commitment. The decision to live as Raymond Reddington, to give up your life to live as someone else. I-I can’t imagine loving anyone enough to do that.
Red: I have other facilities. You can have all of it.
[ Liz sees a gun on the floor where Red had been ]
Townsend: I haven’t slept through the night in 25 years. Tonight, I’ll sleep like a baby.
Red: I’ll give you whatever you want.
Townsend: Whatever I want?
Red: If you help her, yes. Anything you want.
Townsend: All I want is for you to watch her die.
[ Liz throws herself at the pistol, rolls over and fires two 💥💥 shots. One hits Townsend in the leg ]
[ Dembe grabs the front of the barrel of the assault rifle of the merc behind him and redirects the gunfire ] [ 💥💥💥 💥💥💥 Gunfight 💥💥💥 💥💥💥 ]
[ Red and Liz make it to to hatch door ] [ Grunts ]
[ Reddington grunts ]
Dembe: Hurry, Raymond!
Townsend: [ Groaning ]
Dembe: Help her get down the hatch.
[ All grunting ]
Liz: Aah!
[ Hatch closes ]
[ Red helps Liz over to a cot ] [ Grunting ]
Red: Okay.
[ Liz groaning ]
Red: [ To Dembe ] There’s a first aid kit on the cabinet and a bottle of vodka in the freezer. [ To Liz ] We’ll get you properly sloshed before we go poking around in that wound.
[ Thump❗️on the hatch ]
Liz: Is there another way out?
Dembe: No. The hatch is the only way.
[ Thumping ‼️ on the hatch ]
Dembe: Here. Take a sip.
Liz; [ Gulps, groans ]
[ Thumping continues ‼️‼️ ]
Liz: [ Groans lightly ] [ Breathing sharply ]
[ Red sits down at a desk where there are some Cold War-era electronics ] [ Beeps🔅]
[ Metal creaks ] [ Feedback 🔊whining ] [ Clicking ✵✵✵✵ ]
[ Townsend is upright, hobbling on his good leg, using a chair for support. His extraction crew is wiring up the hatch ] [ Red talks to Townsend over an intercom system ]
Red: [ Sighs ] As a rule, I don’t live with regret. But what happened to your family was a horror. That should never have happened. When I first got the Sikorsky Archive, I was young and careless with some of the materials that would eventually put you and your family in harm’s way. I didn’t kill them, but even inadvertently, you’re right to believe that– I was ultimately responsible for their deaths.
Townsend: I appreciate that. A deathbed confession is always very moving, but it won’t commute your sentence.
Red: Oh, you had a bite at that apple. You won’t get another one. I have Elizabeth to thank for that. I guess my years of dedication had some impact after all. So much for irony.
Townsend: I’ve waited years for this. I can wait a few minutes to– To break through some flimsy hatch in the floor.
Red: I should tell you that, uh, the intelligence packets weren’t the only things I acquired from my Eastern friend. As I mentioned, I was young, and whatever the hell “vim” is, I was full of it. My appetite was voracious. And as the Soviet Union fell, I gorged myself. On information. Money. Weapons. Women. Men. Everyone wanted something, and I wanted everything. Including a nest in Latvia. I mean, why not? Riga’s a beautiful city, the Rundāle Palace puts Versailles to shame.
[ Townsend’s extraction crew continues working on the hatch ]
Red: The country is home to more than 7,000 breeding pairs of storks. And, well, it’s a nest. Built at the height of the Cold War. This facility is capable of withstanding a 20-megaton blast. Well, not the entire facility. Just the– What did you call it? The flimsy hatch in the floor.
Townsend: [ Alarmed ] Ah.
Red: Where the Ruskies would take cover in order to repel the ugly Americans. And here we are. You’re American. You’re ugly. And I’m about to repel you.
Townsend: [ To his crew ] How much longer?
Extraction specialist: A minute. Maybe less.
Townsend: Make it less.
[ A blue gas is seeping into the room behind Townsend ]
Red: You see, the thing about buying a Soviet Nest is that it comes fully loaded with herring, vodka, and chlorine trifluoride, which of all the chemical gasses is, of course, the most flammable.
[ A fan begins whirring ⚙️ ] [ A pipe descends from the ceiling ]
Townsend: [ Loudly ] What are you gonna do? Destroy all your intel? The source of your power?
Red: The source of my power is right here. She won’t be destroyed. Certainly not by the likes of you.
[ Red pushes a button ] [ Beeps 🔅 ]
Townsend: Oh F– 💥🔥💥‼️ Explosion ‼️💥🔥💥

 
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❌❌❌ 8:21 End of Nachalo

 
For S8 Episode 8:21 Nachalo 🎯 EW recap ¤ 🌅 Photo Gallery ¤ 🎹 Music Videos ¤ 📒 Script link: https://wp.me/pDKwi-bKi [ “you are here” ]

🔘 [Return]
 

🔴 Episode Songs

 
♫ ⋙ Check Tunefind for any additional music for this episode

♫ Jingle Bells in Minor Key (Piano)
Arranged and played by Toms Mucenieks
Original by James Pierpont

[ This is not the version in the episode, which I couldn’t find, but I loved this ]

🎹 Return to where this song occurs in script above
Lyrics: http://bit.ly/3gC8xqo
YouTube: https://youtu.be/Xc2HRnNnK8o

♫ It’s a Man’s World
By James Brown

[Chorus]
♪ This is a man’s world
This is a man’s world
But it wouldn’t be nothing
Nothing without a woman or a girl

[Verse 1]
♪ You see man made the cars
To take us over the road
Man made the train
To carry the heavy load
Man made the electric light
To take us out of the dark
Man made the boat for the water
Like Noah made the ark

[Chorus]
♪ This is a man’s, man’s, man’s world
But it wouldn’t be nothing
Nothing without a woman or a girl

[Verse 2]
♪ Man think about a little bit of baby girls
And a baby boys
Man makes them happy
‘Cause man makes them toys
And after man make everything everything he can
Even though the man makes money
To buy from other man

[Chorus]
♪ This is a man’s world
But it wouldn’t be nothing, nothing
Nothing without a woman or a girl

[Outro]
♪ Oh how, how man needs a woman
I sympathize with the man that don’t have a woman
He’s lost in the wilderness
He’s lost in bitterness
He’s lost in loneliness

🎹 Return to where this song occurs in script above
Lyrics: http://bit.ly/3gvMdzO
YouTube: https://youtu.be/7rq9OvaJyRc

🔴 General

 
⭕ Script 8:21 Nachalo https://wp.me/pDKwi-bKi Status: FINAL @NBCBlacklist #TheBlacklist My site: BlacklistDCd.com https://twitter.com/BlacklistDCd/status/1406344205270650882?s=20/photo/1

⭕ Easy-Search Scripts updated thru Episode 8:21 Nachalo https://wp.me/pDKwi-awu#nachalo #TheBlacklist @NBCBlacklist My site: BlacklistDCd.com https://twitter.com/BlacklistDCd/status/1406379415068610566?s=20/photo/1

🔴 Episode Photos

 
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