š“ Script 9:16 Helen Maghi (ā 172)
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NBCās series The Blacklist starring James Spader and Megan Boone
Series created by: Jon Bokenkamp
Program air date: 4/15/2022 in the US (7pm Central/Chicago Time)
Script Permalink: https://wp.me/pDKwi-dmZ
EntertainmentWeekly Recap: https://bit.ly/37Pg6ZWu
š¹ Tunefind for Episode: http://bit.ly/3MbMiFA
IMDb (Internet Movie Database): http://imdb.to/3EhUotB
Source: Raw Script from OurBoard: http://bit.ly/3EsoREs [ dump of captioning ]
STATUS: ā Pending ā Rough ā Preliminary š“ FINAL
STATUS: š« Pending š Rough š Preliminary ī Final
Last updated: 4/17/2022 at 4:00pm CT [ Central/Chicago time ]
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Directed by: John Terlesky
Written by: Daniel Cerone
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SERIES STARS:
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Raymond āRedā Reddington ā James Spader
Donald Ressler ā Diego Klattenhoff
Harold Cooper ā Harry Lennix
Aram Mojtabai ā Amir Arison
Alina Park ā Laura Sohn
Dembe Zuma ā Hisham Tawfiq
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GUEST STARS:
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Agnes Keen ā Sami Bray
Redās Army ā Kemo Coleman
TAC Team Leader ā John Damroth
Mehmet Akurek ā Danish Farooqui
Judge Carol Bailey ā Darlene Hope
Helen Maghi ā Anna Khaja
Maghiās Bodyguard ā Edmund Laryea
Prosecutor ā Felicity Jones Latta
Cynthia Panabaker ā Dierdre Lovejoy
FBI Agent Aronson ā Beth Malone
Agent McCoy ā Edward Manley
Lew Sloan ā Danny Mastrogiorgio
Valve Room Guard ā Andrew Mauney
Mateo DeSoto ā Joseph Melendez
Charlene Cooper ā Valarie Pettiford
Agent McConaughey ā John Rochette
Weecha Xiu ā Diany Rodriguez
Real Agent McCoy ā Wayne Stephens
Mount Bastion Guard ā Terrell Wheeler
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š“ Script 9:16 Helen Maghi (ā 172)
Brief (Where weāre at):
Cooper has been placed under arrest for a number of charges ~ potential felonies ~ relating to his and Lew Sloanās āinvestigationā of the person attempting to blackmail Cooper, now believed by Cooper and the task force to be an former NYPD detective whose name is Reginald Cole. Unfortunately that does not excuse the crimes Cooper and Lew committed, including witness tampering, unlawful imprisonment, failing to report a murder and altering Cooperās service weapon. Cooper was forced to come clean after Red placed a man named Andrew Kennison on the Blacklist (Blacklister #185). Red had flown to Boston to talk to a doctor about the tracking device found in Lizās body during an exhumation autopsy. The doctor recognized the device as a prototype developed by Kennison to help patients who were inconsistent in taking their meds. But when Red went to find Kennison, his roommate told him Kennison had been missing for several weeks. So Red turned to the task force for help. Cooper instantly recognized Kennison as the young man he had placed in witness protection because his blackmailer had demanded it. He didnāt immediately speak up, but instead dispatched Ressler and Dembe to MIT to talk to Campus Police. A surveillance photo of the license plate led them to the US Marshals Service where they were told that it was Cooper who had placed Kennison in protective custody.
So Cooper had to come clean, to both Red and the task force. Cooper refused to give Red the location of the safe house where Kennison was being held but Red used his own sources to find Kennison and abduct him. Kennison told Red that he had given the tracking device to Reginald Cole, the ex-NYPD detective who was now a private investigator. Simultaneously, Aram was able to ID Cole by reversing the voice modification he had used to disguise his voice in phone calls to Cooper. So the task force and Redās team arrived at Coleās office at the same time, but the task force nabbed him first. Red fruitlessly pleaded with Panabaker to let him interrogate Cole. She refused, but when Coleās lawyer showed up, even after dropping hints that he knew *a lot* about Lizās murder, the tracking device, and even Vandyke (who killed Liz), Panabaker conceded they didnāt have enough evidence to hold Cole, so Cole was released. Red was waiting with his lawyer Marvin Gerard outside the Post Office and had given orders to his crew to grab Cole once he was five minutes out, but before that could happen, a motorcyclist sped by and mowed down Cole and his lawyer with an automatic pistol as they were getting into their car.
Unresolved from earlier episodes:
1) Redās business is under attack. Illiquid after his two-year hiatus following Liz Keenās murder, Red had incorporated on an underground stock exchange called the night market. Someone organized a group of investors to attempt a hostile takeover ā and Red canāt figure out who.
2) In an effort to be more open with her husband Peter about the nature of her work, Park appeared ready to divulge that it has to do with Raymond Reddington. This is of course very tightly-held classified information.
3) Ressler has reached a two-month milestone in his treatment for drug addiction and the task force celebrated with him, but he remains somewhat paranoid and uncharacteristically emotional. Cooper still doesnāt know Ressler cheated on his drug test to get reinstated into the FBI.
4) Cooper began to tell Agnes āher storyā in a way which seemed to imply Red might be her grandfather. How much did Cooper tell Agnes? How much does Cooper even know?
5) What was in the box Red gave to Dembe?
6) What did the letter from Katarina to Liz say about Redās true identity?
7) And what happened in Brasilia, anyway?
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[ Red and Weecha let themselves into the office of Reginald Cole ] [ Lock disengages ]
Weecha: [ Sighs ] Looks like the FBI already took anything useful.
Red: The FBI has no idea whatās useful to me.
Weecha: Maybe weāll find the shooter.
Red: I donāt know, weāve got everyone out there, but a guy on a motorcycle? That bikeās in pieces by now. The shell casings are a dead end. Shooter could be anyone, anywhere. All we can do is keep looking.
[ Weecha pours the contents of a bowl of odds and ends into an empty drawer and pokes through it ]
Weecha: Whoever killed Elizabeth is going through a lot of trouble to keep you from finding them. Seems like it would just be easier to take you out.
Red: Perhaps they need me. Or theyāre saving me for something special.
Weecha: Could be they love you.
Red: Or it could be all three.
Weecha: This is something. What is this?
Red: Oh, this is an item that definitely should not be in the possession of a former NYPD officer, even a crooked one like Reggie Cole.
Weecha: What is it?
Red: Itās a key to a vault thatās inside one of the most inaccessible, enigmatic security facilities in the world.
Weecha: How do you know that?
Red: I have one just like it.
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[ Door opens ] [ Indistinct voices ]
[ Cooper is awaiting his arraignment. Cooperās lawyer Mateo DeSoto enters with Cooperās wife Charlene ] [ Door closes ]
DeSoto: Harold. The judge is taking the bench now. Sheās gonna arraign Lew Sloan first. Iāll give you guys a few minutes alone together.
Charlene: Thank you.
DeSoto: [ Whispers to Guard ] Do you mind giving them a few minutes?
[ Door opens, closes ]
[ Cooper and Charlene hug ]
Charlene: [ Sighs ] [ Breathes deeply ] Is it true? About the cop? Mateo said that he was killed?
Cooper: He and his lawyer. We couldnāt hold them. As soon as we left the Post Office, they were gunned down.
Charlene: By who? Why?
Cooper: I donāt know. Other than somehow itās connected to Elizabethās murder.
Charlene: Which means itās connected to Reddington.
Cooper: Oh, heās not to blame, if thatās what you mean.
Charlene: I lied for you, to the cops to give you an alibi. I lied for you, not him.
Cooper: No charges will be filed against you. Cynthia gave me her word.
Charlene: Yeah, well, Senator Panabaker lets Reddington do as he pleases. And as soon as you and poor Lew try to figure out who framed you for murder, she just lets you both rot.
Cooper: This isnāt on her, Char, this is on me. Based on my years of service, my attorney expects that Iāll be released without bail. So hopefully I can return to work.
Charlene: Elizabeth left Agnes with us as parents, role models. You want to make this right for me, I understand. But you have got to make it right for her.
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[ New York City ] [ Piano music plays ] [ A waiter pours tea for a dark-haired middle-aged woman, Helen Maghi ] [ Door opens ]
Helen Maghi: Thank you, Walter.
[ Red enters ] [ Door closes ]
Red: Helen. What a delight to see you.
[ Red sits down at the small table across from Helen ]
Helen: [ British accent ] Iāve been making a great effort not to be seen. By anyone. How did you know where to find me?
Red: The real mystery is why youāre hiding in the private room and why you arenāt returning calls.
Helen: Too many questions, Raymond.
Red: Mm.
Helen: What can I do for you today, other than marvel at your deductive powers and tolerate your unwanted presence?
Red: A dead cop was storing something of value in Mount Bastion. I need to know what. I need to get inside this vault.
[ Red puts the vault key in front of Helen ]
Helen: Impossible.
Red: You engineered the impossible when you carved out the core of a granite mountain to build your impenetrable facility.
Helen: Well, I have more pressing concerns than enabling your criminal mischief, Raymond.
Red: Tell me.
Helen: I recently consulted on a job. A heist crew needed a way to steal cargo from a heavily guarded container yard. My rig worked beautifully, but the crew left evidence behind. Now theyāre in federal custody using my name to cut a deal. If Iām not a wanted woman already, I fear I shall be at any moment.
Red: It seems we both have itchy backs. An opportunity to scratch each otherās itch.
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[ Cooperās arraignment, Judge Carol Bailey presiding ]
Judge: Mr. Cooper, itās not every day an assistant director of the FBI graces us with his presence, particularly on the wrong side of the bar. How do you plead to the charges against you today?
Cooper: Not guilty, Your Honor.
Judge: Iāll hear the defense on bail.
Mateo DeSoto: Defense asks for release with no bail, Your Honor. Harold Cooperās led a long and distinguished career in law enforcementā
Prosecutor: Long and formerly distinguished until 10 years ago. After that? Who knows? No one will say. Everyone knows everything in this town, but what he does and how he does it is ā No one has a clue.
Desoto: Oh, Your Honorā
Prosecutor: Which means he can go anywhere anytime, which makes him, by any reasonable standard, a flight risk.
Judge: Bail is set at $300,000. Trial in six weeks. [ Gavel bangs ]
āā
[ Charlene, Aram and Cynthia Panabaker gather around Cooper ]
Charlene: Honey, we can get the money. We can cash out an insurance policy if we have to.
[ Charlene hugs Cooper ]
Cynthia Panabaker: Iām sorry I couldnāt do more.
Cooper: You kept Charlene out of this mess. Thatās enough.
Aram: Weāre not stopping until we find out whoās behind this. If I had any say in this, the only Blacklister weād go after is the person who did this to you.
Cooper: You do have a say. The say. [ To Panabaker ] You havenāt told him yet?
Panabaker: Until the judge miscarried justice, I was hoping I wouldnāt have to.
Aram: Have to what?
Cooper: Give you my job.
Aram: What? No.
Cooper: You have my full confidence and blessings. And youā
DeSoto: Harold, you have to go.
[ Door opens ] [ Cooper leaves with DeSoto ]
Aram: [ To Panabaker ] I canāt do this.
Panabaker: Probably not. [ Door closes ] But Harold chose you.
Aram: What about Agent Ressler?
Panabaker: What about him? You eat life, or life eats you, Agent Mojtabai. Youāre the boss now, so bon appĆ©tit.
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[ The Post Office war room ] [ Aram addresses the task force ]
Aram: This is only until Mr. Cooper is back, which I hope is really ā Really soon. Um, Iām just a figurehead, like Colonel Sanders. They need a face on the bucket. [ To Ressler ] It shouldāve been your face, obviously. Square-jawed, dimpled, top of the pecking order.
Ressler: I had my shot. Itās your turn.
Dembe: Youāll be fine.
[ Red gets off the elevator with Weecha ]
Red: I understand congratulations are in order.
Park: [ Quietly ] Says the man who really rules the roost.
Red: If I may offer some counsel ā āDo not go where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.ā [ Ralph Waldo Emerson ] In the spirit of that, I bring an unusual case. A Blacklister not to catch, but to release.
Ressler: Ah, here we go. [ To Aram ] Good luck.
Red: Helen Maghi, one of the worldās most accomplished structural and geotechnical engineers.
[ Aram pulls up her history ]
Aram: In the invasion of Iraq, Maghi designed a floating bridge to carry tanks and heavy-armor vehicles across the Euphrates River in the dark of night.
Red: Her crowning achievement is Mount Bastion. Using proprietary drilling techniques, she carved into a Pennsylvania mountain of solid granite to create an impregnable storage facility favored by the criminal elite, with more safeguards and redundancies than the U.S. Bullion Depository.
Ressler: And you want to break into it.
Red: Well, we found this key in Reggie Coleās office. A key to a storage vault in Mount Bastion.
Dembe: Mount Bastion would never rent a vault to a former police officer, but they might to his employer.
Red: His employer, Haroldās blackmailer, Elizabethās killer, all the same person.
Park: What are we waiting for? Letās storm the mountain.
Red: Impossible without Maghiās help. Thatās where the task force comes in. She provided engineering services to some heist crew working the Port of Virginia. The crew was just arrested by the FBI, and Helen is afraid theyāll sell her out in a plea bargain.
Aram: You want us to make the criminal case against Helen Maghi go away, in exchange for her help breaking into Mount Bastion. How do we feel about that, team? Show of hands for yes.
[ Aram raises his arm. Red *enthusiastically* raises his. No one else does ]
Aram: Right. I am in charge here. Okay, uh, Agent Ressler, Agent Zuma, track down the FBI team that made the arrest. Weāll start by trying to find out what kind of case they have.
Ressler: You got it.
[ Ressler and Dembe leave ]
Red: And Harold. How is he?
Aram: Not good. Heās stuck in jail with a bail he canāt afford.
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[ Dembe and Ressler visit the FBI team investigating the case against Helen Maghi ]
FBI Agent Aronson: They cut open a shipping container right in the middle of the yard, directly in front of security cameras, and nobody saw a thing.
Ressler: How did they do that?
Aronson: Look at the red container. Now check it out 15 minutes later. [ Mouse clicks ] And after that ā And after that.
Dembe: Who was moving it?
Aronson: It was moving itself ā slowly. So slowly, motion cameras didnāt detect it and security guards never noticed.
Dembe: The heist crew was hiding inside.
Aronson: They retrofit the container with hidden wheels, then crept it into position next to the stolen cargo to block security cameras. It was brilliantly engineered, which makes sense given the woman who hired them.
Ressler: Helen Maghi. Now, our intel says that she was hired by the crew, uh, as a consultant.
Aronson: Someone is playing you. The crew weāre talking about are high school dropouts.
Dembe: What did they steal?
Aronson: Six crates of RPGs. According to our suspects, Maghi made plans to ship them to separatist forces in Kazban. To put it simply, sheās arming terrorists.
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[ Cooper is dressed in a suit again ]
Charlene: Mr. Homan? I donāt know who that is.
Cooper: Our friend with the hat.
Charlene: He posted bail?
Mateo Desoto: All $300,000. Once payment goes through, you can go home.
Cooper: Have you spoken to the prosecutor about a deal?
Charlene: A deal? A deal for what?
DeSoto: She says sheāll take two years if you plead guilty to conspiracy.
Charlene: No!
Cooper: Char, itās 15 if I go to trial.
Charlene: But you were framed.
Cooper: And to find out why ā I tampered with evidence and witnesses and let you lie to create my alibi. You were right, I have to make this right for Agnes. A deal is the best way to do that.
DeSoto: So, Harold, tell her weāre good?
Cooper: On one condition. I wonāt testify against Lew. He wouldnāt cut a deal to hurt me, and I wonāt cut one that hurts him.
DeSito: Okay.
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[ Redās camper in the woods ]
[ Red holds an egg against his forehead, reminiscent of Mierceās shamanic practices ]
[ Mierceās sister (and Redās bodyguard) Weecha brings a glass of water ]
Weecha: Go ahead, read the results.
Red: Iām not trying to read anything. Iām trying to remember. I miss Mierce.
[ Cell phone buzzing ] [ Cell phone beepsš
]
Red: Is it done?
Aram: [ On phone ] Well, we spoke to the Bureau about the heist crew you say hired her. Only, uh, they say she hired them and that, uh, sheās a terrorist.
Red: While dramatic statements are effective attention grabbers, overstatement merely serves to try your listenerās patience.
Aram: Iām not being dramatic. Or maybe I am, because, well, stealing RPGs to arm extremists in Kazban is, well, pretty dramatic, and apparently what she did.
Red: We need the FBI to lose interest in Helen Maghi. Itās the only way for us to obtain information we need to avenge Elizabeth and free Harold.
Aram: You asked us to look into Maghiās claims, and we did. And now Iām asking you to do the same, respectfully. Please?
Red: Another word of advice, moral relativism.
Aram: Thatās two words.
Red: Yes, but one piece of advice.
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[ Red tosses his hat on the table of the private dining room where Red meets Helen Maghi. He sits down ]
Red: Did you lie to me, Helen? Fresh intel says youāve been arming the separatists in a war-torn country, putting innocent civilians at risk.
Helen: And you know me better than that.
Red: I do. But my best contact in law enforcement has replaced by a conscience with ears, so I am unable at present to wave your federal troubles away.
Helen: Then we have little to discuss.
Red: On the other hand, I could make you disappear.
Helen: Iām sorry. Is that a threat?
Red: What Iām offering is a gift. While I canāt stop the FBI from looking for you, I can certainly make sure they never find you. New papers, private estates. Reflexologist on call, day and night.
Helen: I prefer shiatsu.
Red: Done.
Helen: If I just help you break into the mountain fortress I designed. There must be something quite valuable hidden inside that vault.
Red: I hope so, Helen. I really do.
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[ Cooper descends the yellow metal staircase from his office carrying a file box ]
Aram: Can I help?
Cooper: I got it.
Aram: I insist.
[ Aram grabs the file box and heads back up the stairs ]
Cooper: What are you doing?
Aram: Taking this back where it belongs.
Dembe: Raymond gave us a case that can help find the person who framed you.
Ressler: Heās the one who should be on trial right now, not you.
Cooper: Iām not ā On trial. I agreed to plead guilty.
Aram: Wait, what? No. No, no, no, no, no, no.
[ Aram comes back downstairs, still with the file box ]
Aram: You canāt because, um, youāre not.
Cooper: But I am, and finding the person who set me up wonāt change that. Two years. With good behavior, maybe 18 months. Then itās over. Unfortunately, so is my career [ Chuckles ], so thank you, but Iāll take the box where it belongs.
[ Cooper takes the file box from Aram ]
āā
[ Elevator doors clang open ] [ Red and Weecha step out ]
Red: Ah, Harold. Hello.
Cooper: Hello, āMr. Homan.ā Thank you for my bail. Iāll repay it. Iām not sure how or when.
Red: Harold, the deal, your plea to fall on your all-too-honorable sword, have you told Agnes about it?
Cooper: Have I told her her life is being upended again? No. Of everything thatās happening, thatās the thing I dread the most.
Red: Then donāt. You want to repay me for bailing you out ā Say nothing.
Cooper: I canāt protect her from this.
Red: No, but perhaps I can.
Cooper: Then you have my word. And my curiosity.
Red: All I need is your patience.
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[ Cooperās (for now, Aramās) office ] [ Red sits down. Aram stands beside the desk ]
Red: Helen Maghi denies arming terrorists.
Aram: Do you know a lot of people who would admit to arming terrorists?
Red: I do, yes. I also enjoy that degree of honesty with Helen Maghi. A fact I only mention to put your righteous mind at ease about working with her.
Aram: I canāt make the heist crewās testimony go away. She- She will be indicted.
Red: Yes, wheels of justice and all that. Terrible metaphor, really. Wheels turn, justice sits. Nonetheless, Helen has agreed to help us break into Mount Bastion.
Aram: How did you make her agree?
Red: The only relevant question is, will you agree to help? ā You do know thatās your chair now, right? Go on, it wonāt bite.
[ Aram sits ] [ Chair squeaks slightly ]
Aram: Uhā This feels wrong.
Red: Well, Iām sure thereās a knob underneath you can adjust.
Aram: Not the chair.
Red: Oh, well, give it time. Youāll do fine.
Aram: No, I donāt mean the job. I mean the case. Despite what Maghi told you, I have solid intel that Kazban rebels are expecting a shipment of stolen RPGs from the U.S. And, well, Maghi is accused of stealing RPGs, so I canāt let the team work with a woman who is actively arming terrorists.
Red: Iām right about Helen Maghi. You need to trust me on that and move on with this case. If for no other reason than if you donāt, Harold will never be able to reclaim that seat.
Aram: [ Pause ] Mount Bastion. How do we get in?
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[ Upbeat music plays ]
[ Helen Maghi explains the plan to Red, Dembe and Weecha in Redās garage/office. Separately, Aram then conveys the plan to the task force at the Post Office ]
Helen Maghi: My contract with Mount Bastion was to engineer impenetrable storage vaults inside a mountain with one heavily fortified way in and out. To hide its existence from the outside world, the entire facility had to remain unconnected to the municipal power grid.
āā
Aram: Okay. So to stay off the grid, Maghi built her own geothermal power station inside the mountain, but this created a hidden vulnerability ācause the system needs a constant supply of circulating water to dissipate the thermal load.
āā
Helen: That water is piped in underground from a nearby lake. If anything happens to that water supply, the entire system, including security, will overheat and shut down.
āā
Aram: So Maghi provided us with GPS coordinates of an emergency valve hidden on the mountainside. Once Mr. Reddington and Agent Zuma are inside the mountain, you two need to close the valve and cut the water supply.
Park: How do Red and Dembe get inside Mount Bastion? I thought the place was like Fort Knox.
Aram: Turns out Mr. Reddington has a vault of his own there, and, as his former bodyguard, Dembe has security clearance, too. This should the enable the both of them to clear the three levels of biometric scanners, and from there, it is 30 floors down to the subterranean vaults.
āā
Helen: But, as you know, the guard will escort you to your private vault, so you have to go there first. By the time you reach the vault, your support team needs to be in position.
āā
Aram: Mount Bastion keeps the water valve under tight watch with two guards. Now, youāll relieve them just before their shift ends, which gives us a short window before the real guards arrive.
[ Flashforward: ]
[ Knock on door ā½ ā½ ] [ The guards let Ressler and Park in ] [ Buzzer ]
Ressler: Hey, guys. We got it from here.
Guard: Youāre early. We still got a half-hour left on our shift.
Park: This is our first assignment on the mountain. Didnāt want to be late.
Guard: Be our guest.
[ Door closes ]
āā
[ A guard lets Red and Dembe into Redās locker ]
Aram: When you get the signal, you need to find this high-pressure water valve and turn it off quickly. Without water for cooling, the power system will immediately shut down and switch to auxiliary power.
[ Flashforward: ]
[ Ressler turns off the valve ]
Aram: When that happens, the guards are ordered to lock clients into their vaults to keep them safe and then report to the perimeter to provide security for the facility. At that point, the Mount Bastion controller will call Maghi, the systems designer, to figure out what the problem is.
[ Flashforward: ]
[ Cell phone rings ] Hello?
Controller: Helen, itās Terry. We have a Tier One problem on the mountain.
Helen: Send me a remote access code, and Iāll take care of it.
[ Cell phone beepsš ] [ Keyboard clacking ]
Helen: [ To Red and Dembe in Redās locker ] All right. I have surveillance running on an endless loop.
Red: How long do we have?
Helen: [ Over comms ] You have six minutes to get to the other vault and back. After that, the system reboots, and itās shoot to kill. Iām sorry, I wish I could give you more time.
Red: Youāve given us enough. I hope.
Helen: Go now.
[ Keyboard clacking ] [ Computer beeps ]
āā
[ Alarm blaring šØ]
[ Red and Dembe find Reginald Coleās locker. Red opens it with the key ] [ Lock disengages ]
[ Alarm blaring šØ]
[ Inside the room-size locker is only one thing: a metal lockbox. Both Red and Dembe recognize it ]
Dembe: It canāt be.
Red: But somehow it is.
Dembe: We put it in a safe in Tivat. Only two people could open it.
Red: And neither of us did.
[ Red opens the box. Inside are computer disks ]
Dembe: If it wasnāt you or Elizabeth, then who did?
[ Red lifts one disk labeled āStrategy and Inplementationā ]
Dembe: And how?
Red: This was her future. What she needed to succeed.
[ Another disk is labeled āIntelligence Gathering and Disseminationā ]
Red: She wouldāve been great. Stronger than me.
Helen: [ Over comms ] Hurry. You have 30 seconds.
Dembe: We have to go, Raymond. Itās time.
āā
[ Alarm blaring šØ] [ Blaring stops ] [ Power comes back on ]
[ In the guard station, Park and Ressler get up and leave ]
āā
[ A regular guard opens the locker where Red and Dembe are. Red is putting the files into a leather bag ]
Red: Nothing serious, I trust?
Guard: Not at all. A venting issue, but we have the all clear.
Red: And we have what we came for.
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[ After the successful operation ]
Helen Maghi: [ On phone to Red ] Well, it sounds like a win-win. You got what you wanted, and I got a new contract to retrofit the geothermal piping that caused the shutdown. [ Laughs ]
[ Red is in his plane ]
Red: A contract youāll be undertaking in a new life from an undisclosed location of your choosing.
Helen: Oh, Iāve chosen. The Villa Peduzzi on Lake Como.
Red: [ Laughs ] A stoneās throw from Clooney.
Dembe: [ To Red, low voice ] Aram asked me to text him when weāre in the air.
Red: [ To Helen ] If you see him, please remind him he still owes me a case of tequila for our wager on the Palio di Siena.
āā
[ Aram sits at Cooperās office ] [ Tablet chimesāØ] [ He picks a two-way radio ]
Aram: TAC Ops, initiate takedown. Move.
āā
[ The door to Helenās dining opens ] [ The TAC team bursts in on Helen ]
ā FBI!
ā Hands up.
ā Hands where we can see them!
[ Helenās guard moves to protect her ]
Helen: [ To her guard ] No, no, dear.
ā Donāt move.
Helen: No need to die on my behalf.
ā Donāt move.
ā Back, please.
Helen: Not today. [ To the waiter ] Thank you, Walter.
Ā
[ Cooperās kitchen. Cooper is making pancakes for Agnes ]
Agnes: Pancakes are not a snack food.
Cooper: According to whom?
Agnes: I think everyone.
Cooper: Well, āeveryoneā hasnāt tasted my pancakes. Letās see. A little butter.
Agnes: Thatās a little-and-a-half.
Cooper: And a little-and-a-half of syrup.
[ Ringtone playsāØ]
Cooper: Go on, sink your fangs into that and tell me it isnāt amazing. [ To person on phone ] Hello?
Mateo DeSoto: Harold, we have to talk. Itās about Lew.
Cooper: What happened? Is he all right?
DeSoto: Heās fine. Youāre not.
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[ Cooper knocks on the door of Lew Sloanās house ā½ā½ā½ā½! ā½ā½ā½ā½! ] [ Door opens ]
Cooper: You agreed to testify against me?
Lew: You shouldnāt be here.
Cooper: I would never sell you out, never. I was planning to do jail time to protect you, two years. Now the D.A. wonāt offer me less than five.
Lew: Well, Iām sorry, but I wasnāt prepared to go to jail, okay? I got two teenage boys who need their father.
Cooper: You should have thought about them before you altered the barrel of my service weapon.
Lew: I did that to help you!
Cooper: I never asked you to. You made that decision on your own. You decided to tamper with evidence.
Lew: Youāre my friend, and this breaks my heart. But Iāve got a family Iāve got to look out for.
Cooper: So do I. And thanks to you, Iām not gonna be able to.
Ā
[ The Post Office war room ]
Ressler: We broke into a mountain fortress for a box of homemade DVDs?
Park: Thatās it? Thatās all that was in the vault?
Aram: What was recorded on them?
Dembe: They are a series of instructions recorded by Raymond for Elizabeth and advice on how to run his empire after he died.
Park: A master class on how to become a criminal. And to think I signed up for a mixology class.
Ressler: Why would Reggie Cole steal them? I mean, what good did they do him? And where did he steal them from?
Dembe: Those are good questions, and Raymond canāt answer a single one.
Aram: Well, you all did good work on the mountain. Mr. Reddington got what he was after, and so did we.
Park: What did we get?
Aram: Helen Maghi, our Blacklister. Sheās in holding right now.
Ressler: How?
Aram: While you were all pulling off the heist, I dispatched a van with an IMSI-catcher to intercept any mobile phone traffic emanating from the mountain. Once the repair call went out to Maghi, it was just a matter of using her cell signal to track her location.
Dembe: So when you asked me to notify you that we were in the airā
Aram: Yeah, that was the signal to move on the target.
Dembe: You should have notified me.
Aram: Iām sorry, but I did not want to put you in Mr. Reddingtonās line of fire, any of you. It was decision, and if thereās fallout, Iāll take the heat.
[ Ringtone playsāØ]
Ressler: Looks like the heatās here.
Park: Put him on speaker. You donāt have to deal with this by yourself.
āā
[ Aram steps aside to take Redās call. Red is upset ]
Aram: Mr. Reddington.
Red: We had an agreement! We agreed you wouldnāt act on Helen unless I confirmed your intel.
Aram: It wasnāt exactly an agreement. It was more like an order.
Red: Which you disregarded.
Aram: Yes, I did.
Red: Where is she?
Aram: Two agents from the Joint Terrorism Task Force are on their way to take her into custody.
Red: And I was just on my way to take her into hiding, which I promised to do in exchange for her help. I donāt break my promises. Itās bad for business, mine and therefore yours.
Aram: Iām, uh, sorry, but itās done.
Red: Harold Cooper knows when to compromise, and he knows it isnāt immoral because he accepts moral relativism. Clearly you do not, which is a problem because I canāt work with you until you do.
Aram: Then remove me as head of the task force, please. I am aging in dog years here. But I urge to use whatever you learned on Mount Bastion to help us find Elizabethās killer and prevent Mr. Cooper from going to prison.
Red: Helen first.
Aram: Helen is going to prison, which, I am sorry, isnāt about moral relativism. It is about doing whatās right. Clearly you do not see that, which is also a problem because I canāt work with you until you do ā Sir.
[ Cell phone beepsš
]
Ā
[ Aramās sits in Cooperās office ] [ Knock on door ā½ā½ ] [ Ressler enters ]
Aram: You donāt have to knock.
Ressler: Took a lot of, uh, balls to do what you did yesterday.
Aram: For which I assume we will all pay a painfully stiff price.
Ressler: You gave him what he wanted, but without compromising your principles.
Aram: Thanks for the pep talk.
Ressler: Youāre welcome, but thatās not why I came up. The, uh, agents from JTTF are here to transfer Maghi over to Central Detention.
āā
[ Aram and Ressler descend the staircase from Cooperās office ]
Aram: Agent Mojtabai. Youāre here for the prisoner?
Agent McCoy: We are. Agents McCoy and McConaughey, JTTF.
Dembe: Iāve reviewed their paperwork. Everythingās in order. Parkās bringing out Maghi.
Ressler: Just a little heads up on the transfer, fellasā We have it on good authority that Raymond Reddington wants to spring Maghi loose.
Agent McConaughey: The Raymond Reddington? Thanks for the tip.
[ Park comes out with Helen Maghi ]
Park: Sheās all yours.
Agent McConaughey: Well, well, well. After all these years. You got a lot to answer for. Canāt wait for our chat.
Helen: Youāll chat with my lawyer.
[ Elevator door opens, closes ]
Ā
[ Redās office/garage ]
Red: [ On phone ] I trust everything is in order? Very good.
[ Door opens; Weecha enters ]
Red: Iāll meet you in a half-hour.
Weecha: I got the information you wanted about your lady friend.
Red: I donāt know if we need to worry about that anymore, Weecha.
Weecha: Too late. I already got to the bottom of it.
[ A man whose head is covered with a sack is brought in ]
Red: Oh, my. And whom exactly did you get to the bottom of?
[ Weecha pulls the sack from the manās head; heās bruised and bloody ]
Weecha: This is Mehmet. He received the cargo from the shipping container job Helen engineered.
Red: Well, hello, Mehmet. So you know what was stolen and where it went?
Mehmet: [ Nods ]
Red: Tell me.
Ā
[ The Post Office ] [ FBI Agent Aronson, head of the team originally investigating Helen Maghi, enters with two JTTF agents ]
Dembe: Agent Aronson. How can I help you?
Agent Aronson: Helen Maghiās a big fish, and we all reeled her in together. I didnāt want to miss this. These gentlemen are with the Joint Terrorism Task Force. Theyāll be taking Maghi into custody.
Aram: The JTTF was already here. They took Maghi half an hour ago. Agents McCoy and McConaughey.
Real Agent McCoy: We are Agents McCoy and McConaughey.
Aram: He didnāt.
Ressler: He couldnāt.
Dembe: He did.
Ā
[ Redās airplane ] [ Helen Maghi is brought in ]
Helen: Raymond? Whatās going on? Who are these men?
Red: Imposters. My imposters, to be precise. I told you, Helen, you had nothing to worry about from the FBI. Please, sit. I just had a very interesting conversation with a young man. I believe you know him. Mehmet?
Helen: [ Shakes her head ]
Red: Well, he knows you anyway. He says you sold him six crates of heavy artillery that you stole from the Port of Virginia, which are now on their way to a group of extremists in some faraway desert.
Helen: I didnāt do it for money, if thatās what youāre thinking.
Red: Iām thinking about survival. My survival depends on relationships. Iām gutted youāve poisoned ours. You lied to me. Twice! Why?!
Helen: [ Tearfully ] My son. They killed my son. Beheaded him. He was an aid worker in Kazban, providing food and shelter for people with none, but the state heard a rumor he was a rebel, soā [ Voice breaking ] They cut off his head.
Red: Iām very sorry to hear that. I wish youād shared this painful story from the start.
Helen: Weāre not going to Italy, are we?
Red: Youāve proven you canāt be trusted. And you know much too much. If you were in my shoes, what would you do?
Helen: What would you do if you were in mine? If someone butchered your only child for no good reason? Iām willing to bet that you would stop at nothing to scorch the very earth they walk on.
Red: That may be. But if I were you and you were meā I would never, ever lie to you. āā [ To the two men ] Take her to Como, see to her needs.
[ Red leaves the plane with Weecha ]
[ Helen Maghi covers her face with her hand ]
Ā
[ The Coopersā kitchen ] [ Agnes sits at the table. Cooper enters ]
Cooper: I need to talk to you, honey.
Agnes: Did I do something wrong?
Cooper: No, I did.
[ Cooper sits down ]
Cooper: I did something very wrong. I lied to a police detective. I thought I was doing it for a good reason, to protect my family from getting hurt, but I learned something. I learned thereās never a good reason to tell a lie.
Agnes: Well, thatās okay. At least you learned, right? Thatās what you always tell me.
Cooper: Well, the reason we teach children when they are children is because when youāre an adult, there can be serious consequences for bad behavior. And now ā I have to pay for mine.
Ā
[ Redās office/garage. Red is there. Panabaker is brought in ]
Panabaker: Really?! In the Senate parking garage you send two guys to āgive me a liftā?! Youāre the fox in the henhouse, and Iām the sheepdog, which is not a good look.
Red: Harold is scheduled for sentencing this afternoon. Heās pleading to five years he doesnāt deserve.
Panabaker: Iād help him if I could.
Red: āIf ifs and buts were candy and nuts, oh, what a Christmas weād have.ā Youāre not a sheepdog, Cynthia. Youāre Santa Claus. And youāre not going to give Harold coal.
Panabaker: Harold is clenched firmly in the jaws of the legal system. There is no path forward here but to let it play out. Now if you donāt mind, Iāll just be going.
Red: āOtherwise Illegal Activity.ā
Panabaker: Excuse me?
Red: A federal agent, usually undercover, fills out an application that, when approved, authorizes him or her to bend laws with almost no judicial review or oversight, all to catch a criminal.
Panabaker: Harold was operating with no such authorization.
Red: But he was chasing a killer who murdered Doug Koster and framed Harold to gain leverage over him. How hard could it be to backdate one of those fancy forms to explain his actions?
Panabaker: As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I wonāt participate in a cover-up. If Harold had nothing to hide, he shouldnāt have hidden.
Red: Agreed, but he did. Cynthia, to spare our loved ones from pain and to get to the truth, who among us wouldnāt abandon a few of our firmest principles, like rats from a sinking ship?
Panabaker: Iām sorry you have such a dark view of humanity, Raymond, but not all of us would compromise our ethics so willingly.
Red: Is that a fact?
[ Tape recording: ]
[ Nurse Binstock screams ] [ Groaning ]
Reddington: You seem ill at ease.
Panabaker: Yes, well ā There is a line I have studiously avoided crossing in my career, until now.
[ Shouting indistinctly ]
[ Recorder clicks ā½ ]
Red: That terrible sound came from a woman you brought to me two weeks ago to interrogate for information.
Panabaker: You recorded that?
Red: Sheād harmed your daughter-in-law, who was harming your granddaughter. I wonder how that recording would play for your Judiciary Committee.
Panabaker: I thought you were trying to help me.
Red: I did help you. And now you can help me. Or Harold, to be precise.
Panabaker: You son of a bitch.
Red: Okay, but then again, you didnāt know my father.
Ā
[ The Coopersā kitchen ] [ Agnes is with Cooper. Charlene walks in ]
Charlene: Itās time.
[ Agnes and Cooper hug ]
Agnes: [ Sniffles ]
Cooper: Itāll be okay.
Agnes: Iām not gonna let you go.
Cooper: You donāt have to. Iām never gonna let go of you. But you do have to let me leave.
[ Doorbell rings⨠]
Charlene: Iāll see who that is. You get your things and then weāll go.
Cooper: [ To Agnes ] Iām gonna call you every day, okay? I am not going to let you go. Ever.
āā
[ Footsteps approaching ] [ Panabaker enters ]
Cooper: Cynthia, what do you want?
Panabaker: Reddington paid me a visit today.
Cooper: If itās all the same to you, I really donāt want to hear about Reddington right now.
Panabaker: Oh, I think youāre gonna want to hear this.
[ Chelsea Wolfeās ā« āIf You Have Ghostsā plays ]
[ ⬠Go to Full Lyrics ] or [ ⪠Tap square below to play ⪠]
āŖ If you have ghostsā āŖ
Ā
[ The Post Office ]
Ressler: What are you doing here? We were just on our way to your sentencing hearing.
Cooper: Panabaker got it postponed. One month. To allow me time to finish investigating.
Dembe: Why did the senator change her mind?
Cooper: I donāt have the details, but I know Reddington got involved.
Park: Does that mean youāre back? Please tell me youāre back.
Cooper: Iām back.
Aram: Youāre back. Youāre back! Oh, Mr. Cooper! Mr. Cooperās back. I could kiss you. You know what? I will kiss you. [ Kisses him on the cheek ] You donāt understand. The office, the title, the headaches, they are all yours. I tried to make you proud. I stood up to Mr. Reddington. I showed the courage of my convictions. And then he sent two fake JTTF agents who trampled all over them. My convictions and me.
Cooper: Iām sorry to disappoint you, but Iām back only as an agent. Unless and until we can figure out who set me up, youāre still the boss.
Aram: Uh, okay, but, uh, [ Whispers to Cooper ] you can just tell me what to do, and Iāll pretend to boss you into doing it.
Cooper: Now I just need to show results.
Ressler: Donāt worry. This time you wonāt be working alone. Weāre gonna find your blackmailer, all of us.
[ Speaking indistinctly ]
Ā
[ Cooperās house ] [ Cooper walks into the kitchen. Red is sitting there ]
āŖ If you have ghostsā
Red: There is no more peaceful sound than the quiet of a home with a family tucked safely under the covers and fast asleep. I envy you, Harold.
Cooper: Iām not sure how safe anyone is with you in the house.
Red: Nonsense. Iām a guardian angel and an angel of death, all rolled into one fiercely protective package.
Cooper: Thank you, for the look I saw on Agnesā face when I told her. Now we have a month to figure this out.
Red: I came here tonight to tell you that from now on, I wonāt be working with the rest of the task force on this case or any other.
Cooper: Aram.
Red: He leaves me no choice. I donāt trust him.
Cooper: Thatās ironic, because you wonāt find a more trustworthy soul on this planet.
Red: Then he has you fooled, Harold. Because he deceived me. The sort of deceit that gets people killed.
Cooper: Was it? Or did he give you a taste of what you give us and you didnāt like it ā Any more than we do?
Red: I have to operate the way I do. I give, but I get. And nine times out of 10, my get is the very thing that enables me to give you what you need.
Cooper: And as I explained to Aram today, thatās why we need to trust you, even when youāre not forthcoming with us. For our team to work, one side needs to adhere to rules, be held accountable. Thatās our role as FBI agents. I forgot that myself, nearly went to jail for it.
Red: Donāt be too hard on yourself.
Cooper: I wonāt if you wonāt be too hard on Aram. Give him another chance. Heās new to the job, heāll learn. Heās also my boss, so I have to back him.
Red: Weāll see. Iāll consider your words.
Cooper: Well, when youāre done considering, turn off the light, lock the door behind you.
āŖ If you have ghostsā
Cooper: Good night, Raymond.
Red: Good night, Harold.
āŖ You have everything
If you have ghosts
You have everything āŖ
Ā
āāā 9:3 End Helen Maghi
Ā
For S9 Episode 9:16 Helen Maghi: šÆ EW Recap ¤ š
Photo Gallery ¤ š¹ Music Videos ¤ š Script link: https://wp.me/pDKwi-dmZ [ āyou are hereā ]
Ā
Ā
š“ Episode Songs
Ā
ā« ā Check Tunefind for any additional music for this episode
If You Have Ghosts
By Chelsea WolfeāŖ if you have ghosts then you have everything
if you have ghosts then you have everything
you can say anything you want
and you can do anything you want
if you have ghosts then you have everythingāŖ one never does that
one never does that
if you call it surprise there it is
the moon to the left of me
is a part of my thoughts
is a part of me
is me
one never does thatāŖ in the night i am real
in the night i am real
the moon to the lеft of me
is a part of my thoughts
is a part of me
is me
forеver is the wind
is a part of my thoughts
is a part of me
is meāŖ in the night i am real
i donāt want my fangs too long
i donāt want my fangs too long
the moon to the left of me
is a part of my thoughts
is a part of me
is me
forever is the wind
is a part of my thoughts
is a part of me
is me
i donāt want my fangs too longāŖ if you have ghosts then you have everything
if you have ghosts then you have everything
if you have ghosts then you have everything
if you have ghosts then you have everythingš¹ Return to where this song occurs in script above
Lyrics and Credits: http://bit.ly/3vflr4Q
YouTube: https://youtu.be/F9AJrWqhlPM
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š“ General
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ā Script 9:16 Helen Maghi https://wp.me/pDKwi-dmZ Status: īFINALī @NBCBlacklist #TheBlacklist My site: BlacklistDCd.com https://twitter.com/BlacklistDCd/status/1515801192374452230?s=20/photo/1
ā Easy-Search Scripts updated thru Episode 9:16 Helen Maghi https://wp.me/pDKwi-c3J#maghi #TheBlacklist @NBCBlacklist My site: BlacklistDCd.com https://twitter.com/BlacklistDCd/status/1515806394871656451?s=20/photo/1
š“ Episode Photos
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