The Stewmaker (No. 161)

.... made to the evolution of suspense fiction (in his Silence of the Lamb series) was when he explored for the first time in modern fiction not the depths of evil (been done before) but rather what happens when, for a brief moment in time, you have "turnabout;" you have that force used for (briefly) good.

One can argue that the entire premise of Blacklist is a riff on this theme -- and the notion is fundamentally correct -- but this episode is the first in the series to bite down and take it to the gristle.

Just as Hannibal saves Starling from certain death, here Spader's character saves Lizzy from a similar fate. And it is done as well as, if not better than, the film version.

No mean feat, that.

There are two perpetrators. First, a drug lord who kills anyone who will testify against him, Lorca). He farms out the disposal of the witnesses to his associates and then to a guy who is expert at dissolving the bodies, the Stewmaker. Unfortunately, during this whole business, Liz is captured and ready to face death. Red, as is usually the case, is playing a complex game so he can get both of the bad guys. As will continue to be the problem with this series, things get really far fetched and we have to accept that these bizarre creatures are behind every rock. And we must accept that Red has intimate knowledge of their beings. But that is fiction for you.

So far the Blacklist has brought us a couple of criminals, properly introducing them by showing what atrocities they are capable of. But this one.. This one gave me the chills. It also came with a great story, and marks one of the rare instances where Liz' actual function at the bureau becomes useful to her (the one aside from her being Red's extention cord).

This criminal is just amazing in his methods,he is unique and creepy.He dissolves bodies in chemicals.Just amazing episode.loved it

What's not to love about this episode? Essentially, a serial killer, played by the impeccable character actor bad-guy Tom Noonan, who disappears people in the hundreds. Elizabeth Keen's psychological sparring to buy herself more time and Reddington's casual execution of vengeance, combined with an above average cinematography, put to an evocative soundtrack. This ep stands up to a 2nd and 3rd viewing and set the stage for a great spy/espionage thriller, with more twists and turns than a crazy straw. This and many other eps is one of the foundational episodes that make this series a stone-cold addiction. Lots of great acting from Spader and Boone.