The Blacklist (2013–…): Season 8, Episode 21 - Nachalo - full transcript

Previously on The Blacklist:

We'll intercept the
signal when you turn it on.

They're coming toward us.
Fast, like, impossibly fast.

Twenty minutes to Riga.

We're going to Latvia?

- For what?
- For answers.

What is this place?

Baltic's best
seafood distributor.

Why do I feel like that's
not at all what this is?

Because that's not at
all what this is. It's a front.

I brought you here because this is
where it all started. The epicenter.



You are N-13.

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.

This is the Blacklist.

This? This is where they
come up with the Blacklist?

It's not that literal.

But this is where intelligence
from 17 outposts around the world

is gathered, sorted
and analyzed.

Intel.

Leaked documents,
intercepted communiqués,

secrets from
governments, corporations,



people in positions of power.

- You're sourcing intelligence.
- I'm printing currency.

And the Sikorsky Archive,

that's how this all began,
13 packets of intel?

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.

And it's all analog?

Oh, no.

We have gigantic
computers elsewhere,

but around here, they allow me
to believe it's completely analog.

- Digital footprints make me jittery.
- And what happens to this information?

It's sent to me.

Wrapped, packed and
smuggled into New York Harbor.

Yes.

Okay.

Thank you for the tour.

But why am I here?

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.

This is Raymond Reddington.

And you need to see what one day
will be yours, to learn how it works.

I'm not interested.

You need to understand the
infrastructure, how we cull data,

meet the analysts who
make this all possible.

The only thing I'm
interested in is my mother.

- You said you didn't kill her, but I saw...
- You don't know what you saw.

I saw you shoot her.
You murdered her.

Elizabeth, stop.

Forget about everything
you think you know.

Right now, there is only
you and me and the truth.

What did you say?

The story you need to
hear. It's all connected.

N-13, the Fulcrum, you, me.

- Your mother.
- Your mother.

What about my mother?

To understand why I
came into your life...

You need to hear my story.

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 dissidents.

My father was not only part of
that system, he helped to build it.

And because I was the
son my father never had,

he decided early on 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 carry out operations.

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.

- Ivan Stepanov.
- 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
handpicked 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.

My father.

He's an American, stationed
at the embassy in Moscow.

The director believes
he could be... useful.

Hello, sweetheart.

- You don't remember me.
- I do.

You're my father.

I remember your face.

- Hey, wait.
- Sorry. Too late.

You knew I was
going to take that.

You have cheese. Be happy.

What if I trade you the
cheese for the bread?

You're American.

I should have 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.
- Not all of them.

Most of them.

And you had a family.

Yeah.

Yes. I...

My wife Carla was at home.

- We had a baby girl.
- Jennifer.

It was a mistake. I
should have seen it.

I started to see it.

- And that's when it happened.
- What happened?

- You did.
- You did.

I suppose, in some
ways, it's an opportunity.

It's not an opportunity, Ivan.

It's a baby. This is a problem.

- Let me speak with your father again.
- There's no point.

He's made up his mind.

He says a child will
keep Reddington invested.

Oh, my God, what am
I gonna tell Constantin?

Tell him it's his.

He'll be happy.

And so I did what I do.

I lied.

I told my husband I was
pregnant with his child.

I told my mark I was
pregnant with his child.

I was home on leave.

Katarina was in the U.S. while
supposedly traveling with the Bolshoi.

- This is what I want!
- You're married.

- I'll leave her.
- You have a child!

- Now I'll have another.
- What are you talking about?

This baby will destroy
your family and your career.

I don't wanna be
responsible for that.

Katarina.

She's my daughter.

So she took you from me.

She let another man
believe you were his daughter.

What's worse...

I couldn't even be there.

Be where?

That day...

seeing you, I'd never
felt anything like it.

I had spent my entire
life lying and pretending.

But you, you were the
first real thing in my life.

So I vowed that I would
do whatever it would take

to protect that.

Masha.

To protect you.

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.

My lover had no
idea he was a mark.

We'd see each other
when we could. Paris.

- Moscow.
- London.

- St. Petersburg.
- Berlin.

By then, I had lost
any sense of myself.

I was living a lie.

Everything about me was pretend.

- And your wife, she never knew?
- There were some close calls.

I even helped watch Jennifer
one weekend while she was away.

It was extremely
uncomfortable, playing house.

It was becoming unbearable.

There was a relentless
demand for more intel.

It was a strange double life,

which was why it took me so
long to figure out that it wasn't real.

But you did figure it out.

I know the company
is leaving tomorrow,

but can't you tell them you'll
stay behind to see your mother?

I would but your wife
gets home tomorrow.

We could made 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.

I have to wake Masha. If I
don't, she'll be up all night.

Elizabeth.

Stay with the story.

Stay with the story.

He knew she was lying to him.

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.

Everything about you is a lie.

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.

The Cabal.

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.

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.

And I knew I couldn't let him
do that because he had proof.

The Fulcrum.

We were looking
for a Christmas tree.

You came and took
me to the beach house.

- Yes, but your mother, her people came...
- He knew we would come for you.

Not just you, the Fulcrum, and
that's why she came with a team.

Oh, you love
Christmas? Well, I...

How do you like it,
Hopsy? Good or not?

Honey, I need you
to come with me.

- What's wrong?
- Come with me.

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.

You understand?

Okay.

- Where is she?
- Don't do this.

Is she here?

- You're in trouble.
- Because of you.

They'll kill you if
you don't give it back.

Where's my daughter?

- Masha...
- Get away from her.

It's okay, Masha.
Just tell me where it is.

Masha, come here. It's okay.

Do you know what will happen
if they find out what you've done?

Give me my daughter.

Are you hearing me?

You're signing my death warrant.

If you won't protect
me, protect yourself.

- What does that mean?
- You don't think we have assurances?

What have you done?

We've been gaining leverage
against you, Raymond.

Hiding money in
accounts under your name.

Paper trails, passports,

evidence that I didn't
steal but you gave to me.

I didn't give you anything!

Stop! You're hurting
her! You're hurting her!

If you move forward with what you
think you know, no one will believe you.

You'll be branded a traitor.

Get off her!

Stop it, Katarina.

- Let go!
- Masha.

Let go!

No, Raymond.

Raymond, look at me. Talk to me.

The information you
took, I know it's here.

Please, I'm begging you.

Raymond, where
is it? Where is it?

They got me to the car. Your
mother thought she could save me.

Masha.

Masha, turn around. It's
okay. He's going to be okay.

- We can't find it.
- It's in there. Go back in.

- There's too much fire.
- Go. Now. Go!

The men who worked for
me looked for the Fulcrum.

But the fire, it
spread too fast.

We'd given up. We were
at the car, about to leave.

- And that's when...
- I went back inside.

Masha!

To look for my stuffed
animal, the bunny.

I came in after you, but
we got turned around.

The flames spread
fast, the smoke...

You were burned.

We both were.

The fighting, the gunshot...

the death of your father...

those flames...

I was desperate to erase
that night from your memory.

Wait. You had my memory erased?

I only wanted to protect you.

Where are you?

I don't know. A pay phone.

I couldn't save your father.

I couldn't lose you too.

You have to leave Masha with
someone unconnected who I can trust.

I knew the only way
to keep you safe...

was to give you up.

You abandoned me.

Forget the rest.

Forget the lies you told my
father, your husband, your country.

You abandoned me.

I was trying to
protect you, Masha.

I had followed
Raymond to America.

But the KGB...

started asking questions
I couldn't answer.

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.

You hid from them.

Not just them, the Cabal.

They knew Reddington stole
evidence of their existence.

The Fulcrum.

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.

The irony is that part of
me didn't wanna survive.

Living meant facing
what I had done,

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...

and that the people hunting
me wouldn't hesitate to hunt you.

You wanted to
take your own life.

But you didn't.

Why? What changed your mind?

You.

I made a promise
the day you were born.

To protect you.

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.

Ilya Koslov.

We grew up together.

We were both chosen by the KGB.

And when the Cabal came calling,
we chose to betray our country together.

You can stop. I
bought this story before.

Dom made it sound very
convincing, but it's not the truth.

Dom lied to you about
who became Reddington,

but most of what he told
you about Ilya was true.

Including the part about
framing Reddington as a traitor.

No one knew he was dead.

To the rest of the world, it
seemed as if he had disappeared.

A fact that we used
to our advantage.

If the fugitive Raymond Reddington
can disappear without a trace,

why wouldn't it stand to reason

that the money you framed
him with could disappear as well?

- Ilya, it's not that simple.
- I think it is.

I had an idea.

One that would allow us to access
the money used to frame Reddington,

and it was a lot.

- Forty million.
- Forty million.

That is more than
we would ever need

to stay two steps ahead of the
KGB, the Cabal, the Americans.

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.

I don't think you're entirely
grasping what I'm suggesting.

What are you suggesting?

Becoming Reddington.

Mr. Reddington. Welcome back.

What sort of withdrawal
will we be assisting you with?

How many accounts to transfer?

The full amount for withdrawal?

We're sorry to
lose your business.

Yes. It worked.

No, it didn't.

Ilya wasn't the one who
walked into those banks.

He didn't become Reddington.

I did go into those banks.

I impersonated your
father for a few days,

long enough to
withdraw the 40 million.

Long enough for me to realize how
valuable a new Reddington could be.

- You're lying.
- No. Dom was lying.

He misled you into believing
I became Reddington.

He did that because he
couldn't accept the truth.

The truth is, my mother
hated Reddington.

She feared him.
She didn't create him.

If she had, she'd have known
Reddington's true identity,

but she didn't.

Or else she would have told me.

But she didn't
tell you, did she?

Because I didn't know.

And I didn't know...

because I'm not your mother.

Who are you?

I was an operative.

What kind of
operative would choose

to impersonate someone
who's being hunted

by the most lethal organizations
and criminals in the world?

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.

Your judgment means nothing to
me. I know what I did and why I did it.

You destroyed
her life and family.

To save my child and grandchild.

I made a calculated
and brutal choice

to value their lives over hers.

And it worked.

What worked?

Nobody believed
your mother was dead.

The KGB were still looking, the
Cabal, the Americans, Neville Townsend.

By then, I had
vanished. You were safe.

I was hidden.

They were looking, and
they would have found you.

I wasn't willing to
take that chance.

So he called me to Belgrade.

Her enemies pooled their resources
and put a bounty on her head.

They call it the
Townsend Directive.

Dom, I...

I can't help you.

You made a promise to Katarina.

You told her you
would look after Masha.

I cannot call off Townsend,
and he will not stop looking.

Sure he will.

He'll stop looking, and
so will the rest of them,

if Katarina's dead.

- You want me to kill your daughter.
- I want you to hear my plan.

You were the plan.

Yes. Ilya called me.

By then we'd worked together
on a number of assignments.

We were friends.

I trusted him.

Her real name is
Tatiana Petrova.

To the world, Katarina
was a phantom.

Hardly anyone knew
what she looked like.

So I did what Dom ordered.

Ilya called me to Belgrade.
It was a simple assignment.

Drive into the city,

deliver a package to
Dominic at Vukov Station.

She has to die. It's the
only way to protect Masha.

Dom had leaked that his
daughter was staying at a local inn,

released a photo.

We knew the KGB and
others were watching.

If they saw the explosion,
they saw her die.

And the world
would stop looking,

and my daughter would be safe.

But I didn't die.

My husband did.

We didn't know he'd be there.

The world believed I
was Katarina Rostova.

My identity, my real name...

became one of my aliases.

And the real Katarina Rostova...

stayed hidden.

Years later,

when Reddington found out what
Dom had done to this innocent woman,

he was horrified,
he was guilt-ridden.

He was right to feel guilty.

It was his fault that a plan
was needed in the first place.

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.

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.

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.

That's why he killed you.

Because Dom told you
how to find my mother.

Where are you?

Why won't you find me?

I know you have to
hide, but not from me.

I've made so many mistakes.

But abandoning you wasn't one
of them. I would never do that.

But you're not here.

No.

Long before your
grandfather tricked Tatiana,

almost from the moment I
knew I couldn't be with you...

I created someone who could be.

You created someone.

Raymond Reddington.

You know his real identity.

I do. I always have.

Tell me.

I will. But before I tell you the
who, you need to know the why.

No "before." I've
waited long enough.

I'd given you to Sam Milhoan,
thinking that would be enough.

That you'd be safe.

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.

So you reanimated your mark.

Brought my father
back from the dead.

If he wasn't dead, you'd
never know you'd killed him.

No one knew your
father was dead.

KGB, the FBI, CIA,

the entire alphabet
was looking for the man

they thought betrayed his
country and abandoned his family.

Which meant they were
chasing a man who never existed.

What if he did exist?

What if Reddington was real?

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.

What does that
mean, "constructed"?

- It meant turning to criminals.
- It meant creating a persona.

It meant a complete
transformation.

♪ This is a man's world ♪

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.

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 ♪

♪ Man made the
boat for the water ♪

♪ Like Noah made the ark ♪

♪ This is a man's,
man's, man's world ♪

♪ But it wouldn't be nothing ♪

♪ Nothing without
a woman or a girl ♪

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.

Greed and
corruption trickle down

and turn into crime on
the way to the gutter.

Deals were brokered
for politicians, criminals.

Intelligence was
traded for intelligence.

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.

My safety.

Which came at the
expense of people I loved.

♪ This is a man's world ♪

♪ But it wouldn't be nothing ♪

♪ Nothing Not one little thing ♪

♪ Without a woman or a girl ♪♪

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.

She came for me.

Tortured me.

Got me to tell her where
your mother had gone,

where she was living,

her new identity.

And Reddington killed her so
she couldn't tell Townsend the truth.

Yes. He was afraid if they found
out, they would become a threat to you,

to your daughter.

Which is exactly what
Townsend became

after I told him the truth.

This story is all
about you, Masha.

Protecting you.

And then protecting
your daughter.

Okay.

Now we have the why.

Now I want the who.

Who is he?

Who became Reddington?

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?
- Raymond?

Where are you?

- Elizabeth, we need to leave.
- Wait. No.

Answer me. Who
became Reddington?

- Elizabeth, we have to go.
- Who is he?

Townsend's here!

- We have to go.
- No! I need more!

Who took his identity?
Who? There's more!

There's no more if you're dead.

Dembe, we need
to get to the nest.

We're almost there.

She needs a doctor.

You know what she
needs even more?

A mortician.

It's ironic.

You devoted your life to protecting
her, and in the end she betrays you.

Relax. That's it.
Keep breathing.

You wanted to use the
tracking chip to find me?

She made it possible
for me to use it to find you.

Elizabeth, stay with me.

- Keep breathing.
- By the way, where are we?

A nest in Latvia.

- Even for you, this is a tad dramatic.
- Stay with me.

She and I made a deal.

She would lead me to you, and
in exchange I would let her live.

Unfortunately for her,
deals are made to be broken.

Talk to me.

Radley says you're on-site. Am I
clear to send the extraction team?

Clear as ice.

On its way, sir.

And, sir...

congratulations.

Killing her won't
bring your family back.

I always wondered
how you gathered

such an enormous amount
of intelligence all these years.

- This is quite the operation you've built.
- It's yours if you help her.

No, no, no.

It's all right.

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 can't imagine loving
anyone enough to do that.

I have other facilities.
You can have all of it.

I haven't slept through
the night in 25 years.

Tonight I'll sleep like a baby.

- I'll give you whatever you want.
- Whatever I want?

If you help her, yes.

Anything you want.

All I want is for you
to watch her die.

Hurry, Raymond!

Help her get down the hatch.

Okay.

There's a first aid kit in the cabinet
and a bottle of vodka in the freezer.

We'll get you properly sloshed before
we go poking around in that wound.

- Is there another way out?
- No.

The hatch is the only way.

Here.

Take a sip.

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.

I appreciate that.

A deathbed confession
is always very moving.

But it won't commute
your sentence.

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.

I've waited years for this.

I can wait a few minutes to break
through some flimsy hatch in the floor.

I should tell you that 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 Rundale Palace
puts Versailles to shame.

The country is home to more
than 7000 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? "Flimsy hatch" in the floor.

Where the Russkies 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.

- How much longer?
- A minute. Maybe less.

Make it less.

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 gases
is of course the most flammable.

What are you gonna
do? Destroy all your intel?

The source of your power?

The source of my
power is right here.

She won't be destroyed.

Certainly not by
the likes of you.

Aw, f...