Episode no. Season 2
Episode 21 Written by Daniel Knauf Original air date May 7, 2015 | Directed by Steven A. Adelson Production code 221 | |
"Karakurt" is the twenty-first episode of the second season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on May 7, 2015.
Contents
Plot
The task force investigates a Blacklister named "Karakurt" who is targeting a U.S. Senator using a deadly biochemical weapon that is transferred via touch. Later on, Liz and Ressler think they have rescued the Senator from being infected by Karakurt. However, as they later learn, Liz is the one who unknowingly infected the Senator (during the rescue). Once the discovery is made, the Cabal sets a plan in motion to frame Liz, under the guise that she sympathisizes with her Russian spy mother (a discovery that Liz herself also learns about her mother). Elsewhere, Tom tries to mend things with Liz.
Ratings
"Karakurt" premiered on NBC on May 7, 2015 in the 9–10 p.m. time slot. The episode garnered a 1.4/5 Nielsen rating with 6.90 million viewers, making it the third highest-rated show in its time slot behind ABC's Scandal and CBS's The Odd Couple. It was also the twenty-ninth highest-rated television show of the week.
Reviews
Ross Bonaime of Paste gave the episode a 8.0/10, stating: "For maybe the first time since 'Berlin', 'Karakurt' supplies us with an exciting villain, one who is actually several steps ahead of the government. Even more exciting is that we finally see just what the Cabal and the government are capable of within the world of The Blacklist."
Jason Evans of The Wall Street Journal gave a positive review of the episode, writing: "Wow! What a set up for the season finale! This is not going to be easy for Liz to get through. She and Red are probably going to have to take down Connolly and prove he is corrupt to prove Liz is innocent. I can’t believe they are going to resolve all this next week in just one hour!"