🔴 Script 9:1 The Skinner

 

Brief (Where we’re at):

“After Elizabeth, there is nothing” – Red

Two years have passed …

 
For S9 Episode 9:1 The Skinner: 🎯 TVLine recap ¤ 🌅 Photo Gallery ¤ 🎹 Music Videos ¤ 📒 Script link: https://wp.me/pDKwi-cbA [ “you are here” ]

 

༺✦ ♤ ✦༻

 
Cooper: Previously on “The Blacklist”:
⋘⋙
Cooper: [ To Liz ] If you took over for Reddington, inherited the Blacklist–
⋘⋙
Red: One task, then it’s done.
Liz: What could possibly be left for me to do?
Red: To take my life.
⋘⋙
[ Outside Red’s restaurant, Liz points her gun at Red but can’t pull the trigger ]
Liz: I can’t do it.
Red: It’s all right.
[ Gunshot 💥 ] [ Liz is hit by a bullet from behind. It was shot by Vandyke, one of Neville Townsend’s loyal henchmen, in retaliation for Red killing Townsend ]
[ Red takes in what has happened, shoots 💥💥💥 Vandyke, and returns to Liz, but she dies ]
[ Dembe tugs at Red ]
Dembe: Raymond, we must. I’m sorry.
[ Red lays Liz down, her head on his hat, and they leave ]
[ Ressler arrives, kneeling and leaning over Liz as a pool of blood spreads ]
⋘⋙
Liz’s Voice: How does it end?
Red’s Voice: You’ll find out.

 
[ Two years later ]
[ A large shipping dock ] [ Ship 🔊horn blares ]
[ Two workers wearing hard hats are talking. One is Dembe Zuma. The other is named Ken Laver ]
Dembe: Her name is Elizabeth?
Ken Laver: Do you believe in love at first sight? I didn’t. Not until she walked into that restaurant.
Dembe: I knew an Elizabeth.
Ken: You know, I’ve only known her for two weeks, but when you know, you know, am I right?
Dembe: I never did, but I’m glad you do.
Ken: So, tell me about her. Your Elizabeth.
Dembe: She wasn’t my Elizabeth. She was my friend. She died two years ago.
Ken: I’m sorry.
Dembe: Hey.
[ A black SUV pulls up ] [ A Beefy Merc gets out ]
Dembe:The truck’s loaded up. Wire the payment, and you’re good to go.
Beefy Merc: Yeah, listen. Uh, about that–
[ Another man gets out. He goes by the name Clayton Beck ]
Dembe: [ To the Beefy Merc ] The agreement was you come alone.
Clayton Beck: Agreements change. [ Chuckles ] My associate’s a trusting fellow. He sees nothing but possibility in stealing a truckload of precious microchips, especially when one of the eagerly corrupt port employees asks a lot of questions. So I asked some of my own.
[ Two more men get out of the SUV ]
Clayton: He’s a cop.
[ All three security men aim their guns at Ken ] [ Guns cock ]
Clayton: [ To Dembe ] What should I do about that?
Dembe: Make sure he’s never found.
[ Gun cocks ] [ Clayton hands his gun to Dembe ]
Clayton: Kill him. Go on. Your partner’s a cop. Show me you’re not one, too.
[ Dembe shoots Ken in the chest ] [ Gunshot 💥 ] [ Ken falls ]
Beefy Merc: See? I told you. Nothing to worry about.
Clayton: Hmm.
[ He walks over to Ken Laver and looks at the bullet hole ]
Clayton: There’s no blood.
[ Clayton shoots Ken in the leg ] [ Gunshot 💥 ]
[ Ken screams ]
Clayton: Like I said, he’s very trusting.
[ Ken groaning ]
Clayton: [ To Dembe ] Up.
[ Dembe raises his arms ] [ Ken screaming ]
[ Clayton frisks Dembe. He finds identification in Dembe’s pocket ]
Clayton: Ah. Looky here. Special Agent Dembe Zuma. FBI.
[ Clayton walks over to Ken and points his gun ]
Ken: No, no!
[ Clayton shoots 💥 Ken in the forehead ]
Clayton: See what the FBI knows first, then kill him and get rid of the bodies. You, get the truck. Go.
[ Clayton Beck gets back in the black SUV and it leaves ]
Dembe: There’s a diamond ring in his pocket.
Beefy Merc: Oh, I’m through trusting you.
Dembe: It’s two carats at least.
[ The Beefy Merc finds the ring ]
Beefy Merc: Well, well. What do you know?
[ With the Beefy Merc distracted and the the truck loaded with microprocessors driving off, Dembe goes for the other man’s gun, gets it and shoots him💥]
Beefy Merc: No! No, no, no! [ Dembe shoots the Beefy Merc 💥💥 ]
[ Dembe runs after the truck, shooting through the windshield. It slams into some several terminals marked “Marine Fuel” and explodes 💥🔥‼️🔥💥 ]
[ Dembe does not escape the flames ]

 
[ Aram Mojtabai sits at a conference table. There is a large display screen showing a news broadcast ]

TV Host: A shootout at a Los Angeles port left one FBI agent dead and another wounded, raising fears about disruption in the supply of vital microchips. With us to discuss the incident is former FBI deputy director Harold Cooper. So, what happened and why?
Cooper: The “why” is simple. The world runs on microchips. Our phones, our cars, the planes we fly in. The concern is that America manufactures only 12% of the world’s semiconductors. The most advanced chips are manufactured in Taiwan. 🔘 [See Note] If our ability to import them is threatened, then so is our economy.
TV Host: You say the attempted theft poses a national-security threat.
Cooper: Absolutely.

[ Aram’s colleague, Nick Faria, enters ]
Nick Faria: What are you watching?
Aram, My ex-boss.

Cooper: The target was a shipment transported from Asia. The Bureau assigned an undercover team to infiltrate and identify the perpetrators, which I’m told they were unable to do.
TV Host: In the past two years, this country has seen–

Nick: Come on. Why are we listening to this? You aren’t taking the meeting with Conroy seriously.
Aram: It’s okay. I’m prepared for it.

Cooper: –rise in crime–

Nick: No one’s prepared for Conroy. You endure Conroy. You suffer him. You supplicate yourself in the microscopically vain hope that he will agree to be an angel investor in our idea, which, to date, is notable only for costing us our life savings. So, you know–

Cooper: So when they–

[ Nick clicks the TV off 🔅]
Nick: I need you to focus on that, only that.
Aram: Okay. I got you, Nick.

 
[ In an auto shop, a man in jeans is working under a car ]
[ The same news broadcast is on ]

Cooper: Criminal empires are like authoritarian regimes. Most often ruled by a single, all-powerful leader. When that power becomes decentralized or fractured, it leads to a period of chaos and instability.

[ The man working under the car emerges. It’s Donald Ressler, but he doesn’t look the same. At one point code-named “crew cut” and seemingly never having a hair out of place, he’s now bearded with a tangled mess of orange hair on top. He watches the tv broadcast ]

Cooper: So when the leader of a criminal organization steps down or dies, there’s inevitably a rise in crime as others fight for control over what he left behind.

Ressler: [ Under his breath ] Reddington.

TV Host: Are you saying powerful crime bosses can actually make the world safer?
Cooper: There are a lot of criminals that we don’t know exist. The best of the crime bosses know them all and have the power to keep many of them in check. So, when they stop doing that, then, yes, the world is less safe as a result.

 
[ Dembe lies in a hospital bed with a Nurse working on him. He is obviously in pain ]
[ Dembe groaning ]
Nurse: I can boost your meds.
Dembe: [ Groans ] It’s fine.
[ Cooper enters ]
Cooper: My friend. I came as soon as I could. How is he?
Nurse: Stubborn. His flak jacket acted like a furnace. He’s got third-degree burns on his upper arms and torso and not enough pain meds in his system.
Dembe: Not until we talk.
Nurse: So you’re the reason. I’ll give you a few minutes. Please talk. So he can have some peace.
[ The Nurse leaves with her cart ] [ Wheels rolling ]
Dembe: I need to find him. The man who killed Laver. [ Groaning ] The passcode– I-S-H-Q. The first photo. Six months undercover, I don’t know the buyer. All I have is that.
[ Cooper uses Dembe’s phone to look at a photo of a tattoo ]
Dembe: Both mercs had it.
Cooper: Do you know what it means?
Dembe: No. Neither does anyone at the Bureau. But we both know who might.
Cooper: When was the last time you spoke?
Dembe: A year and a half. I can’t reach him. But you have Agnes, so I assume you can. What’s the protocol? How do we make contact?

 
[ Cooper walks along a sidewalk. Using chalk, he make a large white “X” on the side of a Post Office box ]
[ Cooper’s Cellphone chimes✨ ] [ A message comes up giving an address in — Cuba ]
Cooper: I’m getting too old for this.

 
[ Clayton Beck is talking with an older man, Vincent Duke, who is practicing his golf drive using a machine at a golf course ]
Vincent Duke: What were you thinking? Killing an FBI agent. You’re putting us at risk. Jeopardizing the brand.
[ Thunder rumbling in distance ]
Clayton Beck: You gave me this opportunity, so I come to you when you call and I listen to you blah-blah-blah about playing it so safe that if I didn’t know better, I’d say you were once the CEO of an insurance company. But I do know better. Certainly better than some old fool the world’s passed by. What you see as a problem I see as an opportunity.
Vincent: I doubt the buyer thinks his microchips getting incinerated is much of an opportunity.
Clayton: Plan “A” was to get the product. Plan “B” is to get to the secret to how the product is made. That way, the buyer can make the product themselves.
Vincent: There’s gonna be an investigation. Things could get exposed. If I were you, I’d let it go.
Clayton: You were me. And you gave it all up to play golf.
[ Clayton takes a golf iron from Vincent’s golf bag ]
Clayton: May I borrow this?
Vincent: You gonna hit some balls?
Clayton: Yeah. I might give ’em a whack.

 
[ Taipei, Taiwan ]
[ Kuo Pai-Han is shackled to a rail inside a warehouse. Clayton Beck toys with the golf iron ]
Kuo Pai-Han: It’s not my fault. I told you everything I knew about where the chips would be. How could I know the FBI was watching the port in Los Angeles?
Clayton Beck: That’s all in the past. Now the plans have changed. I need to know how to make them, the knowledge and the processing software. Luckily, the person who can give me both is your boss. Where does he live?
Kuo Pai-Han: I don’t know.
Clayton: You golf? Are the fingers supposed to be interlocked? Forget it. Heh. If I get it wrong, I’ll take a, uh– What do you call it?
Kuo Pai-Han: A mulligan?
Clayton: Yes. A mulligan. Thank you.
[ Clayton⚡️whacks⚡️Kuo Pai-Han on the head with the golf iron ]
[ Kuo Pai-Han groans ]

 
[ Havana, Cuba ]
[ Upbeat latin music plays ] [ ✨Bell jingles✨ ] [ Harold Cooper walks into a bar ]
Bartender: Perfect timing.
Cooper: I’m not here to drink.
Bartender: I know why you’re here. I’ve sent for the doctor.
Cooper: I came to see Reddington.
Bartender: Which is why I called the doctor. Like you, I follow protocol. Put a mark on a mailbox, I call the doctor. If Reddington wants you to find him, you will. If he doesn’t, you won’t. Sit.
[ He pushes a cocktail toward Cooper ]
Bartender: Drink. The doctor will be here soon.
[ He pushes a piece of paper toward him as well ]
Bartender: A list of sights to see in Havana. I highly recommend La Cabaña.
[ Cooper takes a sip ]
Cooper: I’m leaving. As soon as I speak with Reddington.
Bartender: I’m sure you will. But that won’t be for a few days. [ Echoing ] There was a flood in the Amazon.
Cooper: [ Wearily ] The Amazon? I thought he was in Cu– Cuba. [ Echoing ]
[ Cooper’s vision blurs ]
Bartender: He might be. Eventually.
Cooper: I can’t wait. This–
[ Door opens, bell ✨jingles✨ ] [ A man enters ]
Cooper: Why I came, it’s–urgent.
[ Cooper passes out, his head on the bar counter ]
Bartender: Once you finish your scan and his identify is verified, I’ll call the sisters.
[ The man peels back Cooper eyelid and does a retina scan ] [ Beeping ••• ••• ]

 
[ Cooper finds himself in a large darkened room, backlit with red light ]
[ A woman is chanting in Kaqchikel, an ancient Mayan language 🔘 [See Note] ] [ Her name is Mierce Xiu. Her sister, Weecha, stands on guard nearby ]
Mierce Xiu: Look at me. Come closer.
Cooper: I’m here to see Reddington.
[ She continues chanting in Kaqchikel while running an egg around Cooper’s face. She hands him the egg ]
Mierce: Crack it into the water.
[ He cracks the egg into a glass of water ]
Mierce: What do you see? The shape. Tell me.
Cooper: A cloudy orb.
Mierce: The sun breaking through the clouds.
Cooper: Is that good or bad?
Mierce: You may pass. Very few do. Go. I will watch over you.
⋘⋙
[ Cooper enters a room through a red-lit door. Red is seated inside, pouring water into a glass from a pitcher. His head is completely shaved. On the table lies a crumpled hat ]
[ Liquid pouring ] [ Pitcher thuds on table ]
Red: How is Agnes?
Cooper: She’s good. Thriving.
Red: I see you’ve met Weecha.
Cooper: And a bartender who drugged me, and a shaman who rubbed me with an egg.
Red: Hm. Weecha protects my body, Mierce my soul. I wouldn’t have survived the past two years if I hadn’t found them. What do you want, Harold?
Cooper: It’s about Dembe.
Red: How is Special Agent Zuma?
Cooper: In the hospital with third-degree burns. His partner was shot and killed. We don’t know anything about the assailants except for this tattoo.
Red: You don’t want to show me that.
Cooper: I do if it will help Dembe.
Red: During the past two years, I’ve learned what to hold onto and what to let go of. If I look at that, if I come back – even once – I fear all that work will be for nothing. There would be names to be taken, people would be held accountable. Down the line, things would get very dark.
Cooper: Then don’t come back. But tell me what I need to know.
[ Cooper holds up a photo Dembe had taken of the men’s tattoo ]
Cooper: The symbol. Do you know it?
Red: Yes.
Cooper: You know who we’re looking for?
Red: I do. A 700-year-old pirate.

 
[ Taipei, Taiwan ]
[ Chen Yu-Lan, with his wife Wei and his young daughter Shu, are waiting for a cab. Chen Yu-Lan’s assistant, Kuo Pai-Han, briefs him on his itinerary ]
[ Conversing in Mandarin ]
Kuo Pai-Han: It’s all here: Hotel address, plane tickets, rental car info.
Chen Yu-Lan: I’d be lost without you. Don’t look so worried. If the meetings go well, we could be building a new manufacturing plant in America by this time next year.”
Kuo Pai-Han: You’ll land in New York tomorrow. You’ll have a day the see the sights before flying to Washington DC for your meetings.
Wei (Chen Yu-Lan’s wife ): Please tell me you’re doing something fun while we’re away.
Chen Yu-Lan: Pai-Han’s idea of fun is trying to figure out what happened at that port. I’ve told him to leave it to the police, but he won’t let it go.
Kuo Pai-Han: If you need anything– If anything happens– call me.
Shu (Chen Yu-Lan’s daughter): You’re silly. What could happen?
Kuo Pai-Han: Nothing. Don’t listen to me. Go. Have fun.
[ The cab arrives and picks up the family ]
[ As soon as they are gone, Kuo Pai-Han places a call ] [ Cellphone unlocks, speed-dialing ]
Kuo Pai-Han: [ In English ] I’m sending you his itinerary. Chen is staying at the Fountain Grand with his wife and daughter.
Clayton Beck: [ On phone ] The more the merrier.

 
[ An FBI raid is in progress ] [ Agents break down the door of a house ]
— FBI! Open the door!
— Put your hands where we can see them!
— Put your hands where we can see them!
[ Agent Alina Park follows the other agents inside ]
Agent Park: You’re all dead! Well! That sucked! Perkins?
Perkins: We didn’t sweep every room.
Park: And the first rule after a breach?
Perkins: Sweep every room. Let’s run it again.
⋘⋙
[ Park leads the agents out of the house. She sees Cooper ]
Park: [ Chuckles ]
Cooper: Hello, Alina.
Park: I heard about Dembe. How is he?
Cooper: Not good. Which is why I came. We have a case.
Park: I’m not a field agent anymore.
Cooper: And I’m not with the Bureau. But Dembe asked me to do this. Now I’m asking you. Just this once.
Park: I trained Ken, and I want to help Dembe.
Cooper: Congratulations, by the way, on the wedding. I’m happy for you.
Park: It’s been great. And if I want to keep it that way, I can’t go back to the field. I promised Peter I wouldn’t go back.
Cooper: I didn’t know you trained Ken.
Park: He was in my first class. He was a good agent and a better man.
Cooper: I know the stress that field work can put on you. I do. And, still, I’m asking. That’s how important I think this is.

 
[ Aram is making a presentation to potential angel investor Henry Conroy ]
Aram: So, Flagify is a company that warns clients about security issues or red flags. It has multiple platforms, each designed to fulfill a different security need. Now, ShadowSee is piracy detection. It scans up to a million websites an hour to determine if a specific product is being used in violation to copyright restrictions. Now, Greylock uses key words to, um– [ Cellphone buzzing »»»» ] [ The sender is “Cooper” ]
Aram: I’m sorry. It’s, uh– Nothing. It’s nothing.
[ Cellphone buzzing »»»» ]
[ Click ✵ ]
Henry Conroy: You were talking about Greylock.
Aram: Yes. Greylock uses key words to determine sentiment analysis. This function has a forensic– [ Cellphone buzzing »»»» ]
Aram: Oh, dear. Uh, I think I should take this. I’m– I’m so sorry.
Conroy: I don’t invest in sorry. I invest in focus and concentration. In the people who have it. Not in the people who don’t.
[ Conroy gets up and leaves ]
Aram: Just– Um– Just– Um– Sir?
Nick: My parents took out a second mortgage for us. So tell whoever that is he just cost them their house.
Aram: One second. Nick, Nick.
[ Nick leaves ] [ Aram answers the call ]
Aram: Mr. Cooper.

 
[ Siren🚨wails. It’s night at the hospital ]
[ Red enters Dembe’s hospital room, accompanied by Weecha ]
[ Monitor beeping 🔅🔅🔅 ]
[ Dembe is sleeping. Red looks at him. Emotions play across his face ]

 
[ Cooper opens his front door. Aram is there ]
Cooper: I hope it wasn’t a bad time to bother you.
Aram: It wasn’t bad. It was a horribly bad time.
Cooper: There’s the Scotch.
[ Knock on door ✽ ] [ Park is there ]
Cooper: What did Peter say?
Park: What makes you think I told him?
[ Door closes ]
[ Park and Aram hug ]
Cooper: Thanks for coming. Let’s get started.
Aram: Uh, what about Ressler?

[ Flashback: ]
[ Ressler is at the garage, working on a car. Cooper enters ]
Cooper: Nice ride.
Ressler: The answer’s no.
Cooper: You don’t even know what I’m gonna ask.
Ressler: Well, I know you came all the way to Detroit to ask it. I saw you on the news talking about Reddington. At least it sounded like Reddington.
Cooper: I was just answering the question.
Ressler: Then, please, answer mine – Is Reddington involved?
Cooper: Not really.
Ressler: “Not really” isn’t “no.” Which is my answer.

Cooper: He still blames Reddington for what happened.
Aram: We all do. Well, uh, I guess the difference for me and– and maybe you guys, as well, is that I believe Mr. Reddington blames himself. Um, and I forgive him for it.
Cooper: The Silicon Shield. Tell me what you know about it.
Aram: Right. Um, it’s a term used to describe the protection Taiwan gets for being the sole manufacturer of next-gen microchips – protection from America, which might go to war to prevent the supply from being disrupted.
Cooper: Which means we’re talking about a tripwire, one the Skinner apparently wants to trip.
Park: “The Skinner”?
Cooper: Right. How to explain this. According to Reddington, highway robbery and plunder may not be the world’s second-oldest profession–

[ Flashback: ]
Red: –second-oldest profession, but it runs a close third. The Skinner practices a well documented version of brigandage. The dacoits in India. Gentlemen Reivers in Scotland. In Devonshire, the Gubbings. In America, Highwaymen. Different countries, different centuries. All outlaws. And in France.

Cooper: And in France. The ecorcheurs.
Aram: The flayers.
Cooper: Armed bands who rose up in opposition to Charles VII. They took what they wanted, and when people resisted, they burned their feet in fire.
[ Cooper shows Aram and Park the photo of the tattoo ]
Cooper: The mercs Dembe shot all had this. Fire, surrounding the letter “S,” for the “Skinners,” who burn people alive.
Park: So we know who they were. Who are they know?

[ Flashback: ]
Red: The original Skinner died quite suddenly in 1452. He had a fearsome reputation, and his followers worried that, without him, their days were numbered. So, as no one knew he had died, they elevated one of their own to take his place, beginning a line of succession that continues to this day. The Skinner is more myth than man, so the identity of the man personifying the myth has always been a carefully guarded secret.

Aram: And does Mr. Reddington know the secret?
Cooper: If he does, he’s not saying.
Aram: What? He’s not coming back? E– Come on. Even for Dembe? How– How is that possible?
Cooper: I don’t know. And he wouldn’t say. All I do know is it’s our job to find the current Skinner, whose goal it was to steal 800,000 of the world’s most advanced microchips. Dembe stopped him once. Unless we find him, I’m sure he’ll try again.
Aram: Before we do that– I know none of us expected to be here, and it’s– It’s hard. And it’s a little weird. But, um, if it’s okay with you, I’d, uh, like us to take a moment to, uh, to remember Liz. You know, uh, together. Think we can do that?
Cooper: I’m embarrassed I didn’t suggest it myself.
[ They join hands and close their eyes ]

 
[ Dog barking ]
[ Mierce chanting in Kaqchikel ] [ Candles burn and smoke rises from incense ]
[ In the ambient light, Red inspects Agnes’s drawings on the refrigerator in Cooper’s kitchen ]
[ Cooper appears ]
Red: I bet she’s happy here.
Cooper: She’s also asleep.
[ Chanting stops ]
Red: Mierce has powers, Harold. All for the good.
Cooper: Agnes is fine.
Red: What if I wanted to see her?
Cooper: I don’t think that’d be a good idea.
Red: [ Pause ] Right. I don’t know who the current Skinner is, but I do know his predecessor, and that’s where we’re gonna start.

 
[ Aram and Park and in one vehicle, Cooper is in another. They talk over comms ]
Park: He just showed up? In the middle of the night? With a witch?
Cooper: The more you think about it, the less sense it makes.
Aram: It makes as much sense as a Skinner living in a retirement community.
Cooper: Don’t let the salmon shirt fool you. Remember what Reddington told me about the old Skinner.

[ Flashback: ]
Red: His name is Vincent Duke. He ran the organization for almost 30 years. Built on its history of hijacking whatever commodity was most in demand. His predecessors commandeered guns from the Spanish Armada, gold from Russian tsars. Duke’s plunder was a little more contemporary, everything from intellectual property to uranium.
Cooper: If you know him, why do you need our help to make contact?
Red: We had a falling-out. Over a word.
Cooper: One word?
Red: [ Chuckles ] Yes. “Ex.” As in ex-wife. Apparently, she wasn’t.

Park: Here we go.
[ Vincent Duke walks out of a seaside house, acompanied by a body guards, They get into a vehicle ] [ Engine starts ]
Aram: Sir, are you ready for this?
Cooper: I’m not looking forward to it, if that’s what you mean.
Park: He’s leaving the country club, turning onto Saw Mill Road. He’s heading your way.
Cooper: I have a twenty.
[ Cooper pulls in front of the other car ]
[ Tires squealing ] [ 💥Crash💥 ]
Bodyguard: You all right, sir?
Vincent Duke: I’m fine. Go. Deal with it and get us out of here quickly.
[ Steam hissing ]
Cooper: What the hell happened?
Bodyguard: That’s my question. You slammed on the brakes!
Cooper: I don’t believe this! I just bought this car! It’s brand-new!
[ Siren 🚨wails ]
Bodyguard: You stopped short!
Cooper: I stop– Oh, so this is my fault? You hit me from behind!
[ Aram and Park step out of a police cruiser, wearing officer uniforms ]
Aram: Everybody! Step to the side of the road now! Who was driving?
Driver: I was. And this man. [ Indicating Cooper ]
[ Radio chatter ]
[ Park sees the gun the bodyguard is wearing ]
Park: Hands in the air!
Bodyguard: Whoa! Take it easy. I’m licensed to carry.
Park: Up against the car, now!
Bodyguard: We’re both armed security!
Aram: If that’s true, then there’s nothing to worry about, but we are gonna have to check it out.
[ Park takes the Bodyguard’s gun; Aram takes the Driver’s gun ]
[ Vincent Duke gets out of the car ]
Vincent Duke: What’s going on? Officer, this was an accident.
Aram: Sir, I’m gonna have to ask you to stay right there, please.
[ Aram and Park get the Bodyguard and Driver into the cruiser ]
Cooper: [ On comms ] Let’s wrap this up before anyone else can crash the party.
[ The cruiser leaves with the Bodyguard and Driver. Cooper also leaves ]
[ A large black SUV pulls up alongside Vincent ]
[ Horn honks ] [ The side window rolls down. Red is inside ]
Red: Vincent. Need a lift?

 
Vincent: That’s why you’ve kidnapped me. To ask me to betray my own organization.
Red: No. To urge you to save it.
Vincent: What makes you think it needs saving?
Red: Well, I know about the microchips and the dead FBI agent and the one in intensive care. I know port security has increased as a result, which certainly hurts my organization.
Vincent: Oh, so you’re not here to help me. You’re here to save yourself. Self-serving as always.
Red: How is Bianca?
Vincent: No idea. You’d have to ask the golf pro.
Red: The last thing you and I want is the American government on alert, adding billions to Homeland Security.
Vincent: Is that really gonna happen? Over a shipment of microchips?
Red: SCG microchips that, apparently, none of the brilliant minds in America know how to make. Any hint of a weak link in that supply chain will be viewed as a huge national-security threat.
Vincent: I don’t like what he did, but I have no influence on my successor. Believe me. I’ve tried to exert it.
Red: You picked an unworthy successor. That’s not a judgment. I failed spectacularly when I tried. But it’s true, and something needs to be done about it. I’m sorry about the golf pro, by the way.
Vincent: Don’t be. Before they ran off, he fixed my slice. All in all, a pretty fair exchange.
[ Red smiles ]

 
[ Children shouting playfully ] [ Red’s SUV is parked across the street from a girls’ soccer game ]
Red: [ On the phone ] Vincent, you’re certain? Beck? Thank you, Vincent. I’ll call you when it’s resolved.
[ Beep🔅]
[ Speed-dialing, line ringing✨]
Cooper: [ Answering ] Cooper.
Red: Harold. I have news. The Skinner is in New York at the Fountain Grand, under the name Clayton Beck.
Cooper: You trust Duke’s intel? That he’s willing to betray his successor?
Red: He understands that the legacy is more important than any one Skinner.
Cooper: Why New York? It can’t be the microchips. They’re not shipped to the East Coast.
Red: Perhaps he’s found another way to skin this cat. Listen. I have Edward standing by. If you want it, you can be wheels up as soon as you’re ready.
Cooper: That’s a generous offer, and I’ll take you up on it, but before I do, I wanted to circle back to Agnes, our conversation earlier.
Red: You were clear about boundaries.
Cooper: Yes, and I want to thank you for respecting them.
Red: Elizabeth made you Agnes’ guardian. She was confident that you’d do right by her. I have no doubt that you have and you will.
[ Beep🔅, phone closes ]
Mierce: When will you tell me? What she means to you?
Red: I can tell you now. She means everything to me.

 
[ An airport ] [ Plane engines rumbling ]
[ Park is inside Red’s plane, talking to her husband Peter on her cell phone ]
Park: I’m sorry, but something’s come up. I don’t know how late, but– Yes, as soon as possible. Mm-hmm. Love you, too.
[ Beep🔅]
Cooper: Take it from me – keeping secrets is not the secret to a happy marriage.
Park: I’m not keeping secrets. I’m – keeping the peace.
Cooper: Is it possible Peter will understand?
Park: How could he? I don’t. What am I doing in the field? I left for my mental health.
[ Ressler enters ]
Ressler: Yeah, well, you and me both.
Cooper: Well – Here’s a pleasant surprise.
Ressler: Aram called me about Dembe.
Cooper: I’m sure he’ll appreciate your concern.
Ressler: Well, I came out of concern and curiosity – about his health and, uh, how the hell he became an agent.
Park: You look a mess.
Cooper: Where’s Aram, anyway?
Ressler: Well, that’s another reason I’m here– to take his place. He called, said he had to bail. Something about everything he’s been working on for the past two years blowing up in his face and him needing to try to fix it.
Cooper: You were right, by the way. Reddington is involved. Sort of.
Ressler: Then for his sake, I hope we’re never in the same room together. But Aram tells me we’re going after some 700-year-old pirate?
Cooper: We don’t know his real name, but Dembe’s given us a description, and Reddington’s told us he’s on his way to a hotel in New York, and so are we.

 
[ Cooper, Park and Ressler get out of a cab at a park in New York City ]
Cooper: You’re sure this is right? The concierge said that Beck came here?
Park: Said he asked for directions about an hour ago. Why? He didn’t know.
Ressler: Well, I’d say it’s a safe bet it’s not to smell the flowers.
Cooper: Well, whatever the reason, we’re not gonna leave here until we find out what it was.

 
[ Aram stands at the front door of a stately home. He clears his throat ]
Aram: Okay. Deep breath.
[ Doorbell rings✨] [ Maggie Conroy answers the door ]
Maggie Conroy: Oh. You’re not Eric and Barbara.
Aram: No. Not Eric and Barbara. Or– Or Eric. Or Barbara.
Henry Conroy: Honey, is that Eric and Barbara?
Aram: Hello. [ Chuckles ]
Conroy: [ Angrily ] You’ve got to be kidding me!
Aram: I know. I am way out of line, uh, coming to your home like this, but I was hoping, uh, you’d give me just, uh, two minutes to explain.
Conroy: You had your two minutes.
Aram: Well, actually, uh, you walked out after about a minute or so, so, technically, I have unused time on the clock. At least, um– At least about, uh, say, 40 seconds?
Conroy: You should leave.
Maggie Conroy: Come on, Henry. He’s here. And he’s flop sweating.
[ Aram looks at his armpit ]
Maggie: The party can spare your sparkling conversation for 40 seconds.
⋘⋙
[ Aram follows Conroy into an elegant library ]
Conroy: You’ll get your 40 seconds once my guests all have drinks in their hands.
Aram: Okay, I used to be an FBI agent. The call, during the pitch, it was from my old boss.
Conroy: You’re wasting your 40 seconds telling me about what you used to do for a living?
Aram: He needed help on a case with national security implications. He’s actually working the case now without me because I am here, with you, flop sweating.
Conroy: I’ll be back. Don’t sit. Don’t touch.
Aram: Gotcha.

 
[ The park in New York. Cooper, Park and Ressler have spread out, but speak to one another over comms ]
Ressler: So, Dembe’s an FBI agent now, huh?
Park: I think it’s cool.
Ressler: [ Sarcastically ] Special agent for the FBI.
Park: It sounds like you have a problem with that.
Ressler: Well. Problems, questions. We started with a background check. Did the Bureau abolish them?
Park: Hang on. That’s him. Right side of the statue.
Cooper: Maintain your position. What’s he doing?
Park: Watching the concession stand. Looks like he’s on comms.
Ressler: Which means he’s got company. All right. I’ve got a second suspect. Near the Madison Avenue exit.
Cooper: Careful. We have to assume they’re armed.
Ressler: He’s surveilling somebody by the vendor. The family buying hot dogs.
Cooper: I see them.
Ressler: Who in the hell is that?
[ It’s the family from Taipei, Chen Yu-Lan and his wife Wei and daughter Shu ]
Wei: [ Laughing ]
[ The family walks by Ressler; he takes photos ] [ Camera shutter clicking ¤ ¤ ¤ ]

 
[ At the Conroy’s house, Aram’s cell phone rings✨]
Cooper: I’m sending you a photo.
Aram: Sir, I, I told Ressler–
Cooper: I know what you told him, but the Skinner’s tracking someone, and I need you to tell me who.
Aram: Uh, I’m not at my desk.
Cooper: Then sit at someone else’s. Aram, this is important.
Aram: Hang on. Okay.
[ Aram looks at the photo ]
Aram: Um, an Asian man. That’s– That’s it?
Cooper: The chips come from Taiwan.
Aram: Okay. Great. That helps.
Cooper: SCG microchips.
Aram: All right. That’s better. That helps narrow it down.
Cooper: All you need to do us to hack into the employee database.
Aram: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That’s not great or– or better. I can’t do that. I mean, sir, I can do that. I know how to, but I can’t. Not– Not from here.
Cooper: Call me back with a name. [ Beep🔅]
Aram: Sir. Sir, I don’t– Sir? Sir.
[ Aram goes over to a laptop in the room ]
[ Keystrokes clacking ]
Aram: Oh. Okay. [ Muttering ]
[ He gets into SCG’s employee database and scrolls down the photos until he finds a match: Chen Yu-Lan is the Chief Technology Officer ]
Aram: Yes! Boom. There you are.
[ Henry Conroy enters ]
Henry Conroy: What are you doing?
Aram: Nothing. Uh, not nothing. Uh, I needed to hack into a company’s website for just a second.
Conroy: [ Furious ] On my computer? In my house?!
Aram: I know. It looks really bad, doesn’t it? But my boss really needs this information.
⋘⋙
Park: Beck’s on the move.
⋘⋙
Conroy: I thought you weren’t working with the FBI.
Aram: I’m not. Technically. Bu– It’s complicated.
Conroy: No, it’s not. It’s simple, really. Get away from the computer, or I’ll have you arrested.
⋘⋙
[ Cooper makes a call ] [ Beep🔅, speed-dialing ••• ••• ]
⋘⋙
[ Aram’s cellphone rings✨]
Conroy: Do not answer that phone!
[ But Aram takes the call ] [ Phone unlocks, beeps🔅]
Aram: Sir, I have a name. Chen Yu-Lan. He’s SCG’s chief technology officer. Certainly someone who would have details to the company in question’s manufacturing process.
Cooper: He couldn’t steal the microchips, so he’s going after the man that made them. Great work, Aram.
[ Aram gets up and leaves, walking past Conroy who stands speechless ]
Aram: [ To Conroy ] All it takes is a little focus and concentration.

 
[ In the park ]
Ressler: All right. Beck’s following him out.
Cooper: Stop him! Move in, now!
[ A van pulls up ] [⚡️Tires screech⚡️]
[ Henchman grab Chen Yu-Lan and Wei ]
Henchman: Get in the van. Get in the van! Let’s go!
[ The couple is shoved into the van ]
[ Girl screaming ]
Henchman: Get in the van!
[ Clayton Beck grabs the daughter, Shu, and uses her as a shield ]
Park: Stop! FBI!
Clayton Beck: Tell J. Edgar Whoever-It-Is, the more you try to stop me, the more innocent people get hurt.
Wife: No!
[ Clayton shoves Shu into the van ]
[⚡️Tires squeal⚡️]

 
[ Monitor beeping🔅🔅🔅]
[ Red sits near Dembe’s bedside. Dembe’s eyes squint open. Through a haze he sees Red rise and step forward ]

 
[ It’s night. Red and Cooper ride in the black SUV ]
Cooper: Leave? You can’t leave. Not now.
Red: I did what I came to do, identified the Skinner.
Cooper: Who we now know has abducted a man capable of mass-producing the world’s most advanced microchips, as well as his wife and daughter.

 
[ One of the abductors, Portnoy, forces Chen Yu-Lan and his family ahead of him in a dark warehouse ]
Chen Yu-Lan: What’s happening? What are you doing?!
[ Portnoy⚡️slugs⚡️him ] [ Chen Yu-Lan grunts ]
[ Portnoy forces them to sit on the floor ]
Chen Yu-Lan: Why are you doing this?!
Portnoy: I’m doing this because I’m following orders. I was told to. If you’re smart, you’ll do the same.
[ Wei hugs Shu ] [ Breathing heavily ]

 
Red: I don’t know who his client is, but if I were the Skinner, I’d think big. The superpowers want to be self-sufficient. Who knows – it’s possible some government bankrolled this from the start.
Cooper: And you’re just gonna walk away?
Red: I recently spent time in a monastery above Boudhanath with sweeping views of Kathmandu, meditating alongside 36 Tibetan monks. I achieved an inner harmony there that was more mind-blowing than any psychedelic, and yet more fragile than, than– than an origami swan. That has to be cared for. If I stay here, it will be torn and crushed.
Cooper: Be honest – is this about inner peace or is this about my reluctance to reintroduce you into Agnes’ life – a reluctance I know you blatantly ignored?
Red: Yes. You have her watched. That was a pleasant surprise.
Cooper: Nothing will happen to that girl. Not while she’s in my care.
Red: She didn’t see me.
Cooper: We need your help. We can’t find the Skinner without it.
⋘⋙
[ They arrive at Cooper’s house. He gets out ]
[ Weecha removes the comms device from her ear ]
Weecha: [ To Cooper ] Keeping the girl from him is cruel. Is that what you want? To be cruel?
[ Weecha gets back into the SUV ] [ Door closes, engine revs ]

 
[ Monitor beeping 🔅🔅🔅 ] [ Knock ✽ on door ]
[ Cooper enters Dembe’s hospital room along with Ressler, Park and Aram ]
Cooper: I’m told you’re feeling better.
Dembe: Hm. I am. [ Chuckling ] Mostly because I’m wasted.
Aram: Yeah, I think you’re entitled.
Park: You look good.
Ressler: Sorry to hear about your partner.
Dembe: Thank you. Are you all right? You look a mess.
Ressler: Okay. Is it really that bad?
Aram: Yeah, it, uh– it’s not great.
Dembe: Was I hallucinating, or was Raymond here?
Cooper: He was, but he’s gone.
Aram: Gone as in, like– he’s gone gone?
Cooper: It seems so.
Park: Along with his resources. His contacts. His jet. And any hope of finding the Skinner and the family he took.
Cooper: I don’t know about that. We know his real name and have a list of known addresses. I brought you a dossier.
Ressler: Wait. A dossier that you copied on Agnes’ printer?
[ Chuckles ]
Ressler: The, uh, unicorn stationary. It’s a nice touch.
Cooper: Okay, yes. We are a bit ragtag. We’re up against a well-financed Blacklister with no budget.
Aram: Or access to any databases and no authorization.
Park: And you thought we were here to cheer you up.
Dembe: Every two hours, an ICU nurse debrides me. She snips off dead skin with tweezers.

[ Flashback: ]
[ Dembe groans and winces and the nurse treats him ]

Dembe: It’s slow and painful. And it’s the only way to heal. We all have dead skin. All of us.
And healing will be slow and painful. But seeing you here, I can’t think of a better way to start.
Aram: So, um, now what?
Cooper: We have a case to solve. And no time to solve it. Which means we start right away. I’ll stay and bring Dembe up to speed. If you have anything to rearrange in your own lives, rearrange it and meet back here in an hour.
[ Jose Gonzalez’s ♫ “Head On” plays ]
[ ⬇ Go to Full Lyrics ] or [ ♪ Tap square below to play ♪ ]

♪ Action, reaction ♪
♪ Stay with it– ♪

[ Aram arrives back to his start-up’s location, only to be greeted by an agitated Nick Faria ]
Aram: Okay, okay.
Nick: Are you insane?
Aram: You talked to Conroy.
Nick: You went to his house?
Aram: I’m so– I’m so sorry. If there’s any way I can make it up to you, Nick– Uh-huh.
Nick: You could– drop your pants.
Aram: Except, uh, maybe that?
Nick: Mnh-mnh. I’m serious. I need to see ’em. “Stones”– and I quote– “the size of Montana.”
Aram: What– Uh, what are you talking about?
Nick: Conroy. I don’t know what you did, but the guy was impressed.
Aram: He said that? He said that about my stones?
Nick: That’s not all he said.
Aram: Did he say he’s in?
Nick: He said he’s intrigued. And he wants to hear more. Like, now.
Aram: As in now?
Nick: Yeah. As in, our dreams are about to come true. Well, unless you have somewhere else you’d rather be.
Aram: No. No. Uh– Yeah. Uh, uh, I wanted to also talk to you about that–
⋘⋙
[ Alina Park is driving and talking to her husband ]
Park: Hey. No. Not yet. Yeah. Long day. But– Not at the office. I had a case. In the field. I know, I know. I should’ve told you. I’m sorry I didn’t. I know how you feel. I do. But a family was abducted. No. It’s not over. Not even for tonight.

♪ Update

 
[ Red sits in his plane, across from Mierce ]
Weecha: An agent is here. The bearded one.

♪ Head on

Ressler: [ Scoffs ] This is the last place I ever wanted to be.
Red: And yet here you are. Please, sit.
Ressler: Liz – she knew all about being where she didn’t want to be, doing what she didn’t want to do. Like running your empire. And all she wanted was a life with Agnes. But the Blacklist changed her mind, knowing the world would be safer with it than without it. I mean, that’s why she agreed to be your successor, why she gave up everything, including her life, to protect it, keep it running. And then she died. We all just walked away and left the Blacklist to die with her.
Red: A life with Agnes wasn’t all she wanted. She wanted a life with you.
Ressler: I know you don’t need this. I don’t, either. As painful as it was to walk away, it’s just as painful to come back. Maybe more. But the Blacklist was her calling, and if we loved her, it has to be ours. That’s why I came back, because as much as I hate you, I loved her more.
[ Ressler holds out the file on The Skinner. Red won’t take it ]
Ressler: His real name is Graeme Anderson. He was a foster kid, bounced around until he aged out. Two years unaccounted for, and then he does a year at Stanford, where he becomes obsessed with the French adventurer and smuggler Henry de Monfreid.
Red: Of course. A former Skinner. Why are you telling me all this?
Ressler: Graeme Anderson is the next name on the Blacklist. Your Blacklist, the one that Liz died for. And whether she died in vain is up to you.
[ Ressler gets up, drops the file on a plane seat, and leaves ]
⋘⋙
Mierce: I like him. He has a good soul.
Red: I believe he does. I’m less certain about mine.

 
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For S9 Episode 9:1 The Skinner: 🎯 TVLine recap ¤ 🌅 Photo Gallery ¤ 🎹 Music Videos ¤ 📒 Script link: https://wp.me/pDKwi-cbA [ “you are here” ]

 

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Notes:

Quartz: Practitioners of traditional Mayan medicine have a lot to teach modern doctors http://bit.ly/2ZfXJsO
// 10/16/2016

JugaadProject (2019): Maya Spirituality: A Photographic Exploration of Contemporary Maya Ritual in Guatemala http://bit.ly/30KWN0e
// 7/21/2029

GlobalPressJournal (2015): In Rural Guatemala, Spiritual Guides Carry on Ancient Legacy of Mayan Faith http://bit.ly/3vypuca

Dissertation, Elizabeth Rachel Bell [OhioStateU] (2012): Sacred Inheritance: Cultural Resistance and Contemporary Kaqchikel-Maya Spiritual Practices http://bit.ly/2ZhiGUP
// 2012; see pages 26–34 of dissertation pages (not the pdf pages): follow link above and page down to: “1.5 Historical and Contemporary Contexts”

🔘 [Return]

 
WSJ: The World Relies on One Chip Maker in Taiwan, Leaving Everyone Vulnerable http://on.wsj.com/3jt4I8Z
// 6/19/2021; Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.’s dominance poses risks to the global economy, amid geopolitical tensions and a major chip shortage

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🔴 Episode Songs

 
♫ ⋙ Check Tunefind for any additional music for this episode

♫ Head On
By José González

♪ Action
Reaction
Stay with it
Hang on
Engage
Disengage
Deal with it
Head on
Head on

♪ Inhale
Exhale
Wave coming
Undertow
Speed up
Go slow
Put on your new boots and deal with it
While marching on
Head on

♪ Speak up
Stand down
Pick your battles
Look around
Reflect
Update
Pause your intuitions and deal with it
Head on
Head on
Head on
Head on

♪ Rent seekers
Value extractors
Corrupt oligarchs
Power snatchers
Pervert incentives
Ludic loops
Nepotism
Tribal troops

♪ Deflate
Escalate
Hit the sweet spot
Ignore the hate
Forget your miracles
Forget your god
Join forces and deal with it
Head on
Head on
Head on
Head on
Head on

🎹 Return to where this song occurs in script above
Lyrics and Credits: http://bit.ly/3m3N7X5
YouTube: https://youtu.be/4CyzpkgdIio

 

 

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🔴 General

 
⭕ Script 9:1 The Skinner https://wp.me/pDKwi-cbA Status: FINAL @NBCBlacklist #TheBlacklist My site: BlacklistDCd.com https://twitter.com/BlacklistDCd/status/1452323965561712647?s=20/photo/1

⭕ Easy-Search Scripts updated thru Episode 9:1 The Skinner https://wp.me/pDKwi-c3J#skinner #TheBlacklist @NBCBlacklist https://twitter.com/BlacklistDCd/status/1452324572859146246?s=20/photo/1

 
 

 
 

🔴 Episode Photos

 
⭕ Gallery Photos
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
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