So, maybe there was something more to Liz’s murder than just revenge by one of Townsend’s lieutenants.
And, surprise, surprise, The Blacklist Season 9 Episode 12 indicated that goes back to someone who is targeting Red.
That was why Raymond undertook a two-pronged approach to his problem.
First was the secret pain he has been dealing with, some nameless investor who had gained controlling interest in his company on the criminal stock market.
When Cuban holistic medicine enabled Reddington to rebound from near death, he needed to rebuild his empire after ignoring it for two years.
This meant placing his company on the night market to generate operating capital.
Unfortunately, this allowed an unnamed person to infiltrate Red’s business, becoming a thorn in his side following his resurrection.
Of course, Raymond supplied none of this backstory to Harold when he brought The Chairman and his night market to the Task Force. As usual, he portrayed himself as just hoping to close down another criminal enterprise.
You would think by now that Harold would stop falling for that approach. It’s almost like Charlie Brown trying to kick the football pulled away at the last second by Lucy.
In his way, The Chairman was at least as ethical as those directing the legitimate stock market, who have allowed greedy business people to cheat their investors for decades.
He was correct when he proclaimed that the businesses in his night market are no more criminal than those defrauding their investors in the legal stock market.
Granted, someone who cuts off fingers as a warning isn’t to be admired. But The Chairman had to clear a reasonably low bar.
Also, the night market was a whole lot more insular than its “legitimate” counterpart, making cracking the code of which criminal organizations are involved difficult.
Naturally, Reddington gave them a place to start, an Albanian company involved with extortion and gambling.
Its head, the gangster Abazi, was already on the radar of Gambling Enforcement, who had turned his mistress Fiona. She sadly got turned over to The Chairman’s cleanup crew before the Task Force could get to her.
However, Fiona’s sister gave them a new target, Abazi’s other mistress Felicia.
It was cute how room service waiter Aram made friends with Felicia’s daughter Lily, who was more than happy to help get Abazi removed from her mother’s life.
The bug Aram planted yielded results, as Dembe saved the two Gaming Enforcement agents from assassination.
Fearing The Chairman more than the FBI, Abazi clammed up.
Harold lied through his teeth, sending shockwaves through the night market. That caused The Chairman to call a rare meeting to calm the investors.
Then, when The Chairman refused to reveal the name of the controlling investor in Raymond’s company, Red sicced the Task Force on that meeting.
The Chairman philosophized but refused to say anything of substance. So Reddington had little to show for his efforts to disrupt the night market and spook his secret investor.
Raymond made out better on the exhuming-Liz front after Harold eventually changed his mind on the topic.
At first, Cooper favored letting Elizabeth rest in peace. But his friend Lew got him to realize that all the people who loved Liz, especially Agnes, would want to know the truth about her death.
The only clue they had to solve the mystery behind her death was the tracker buried with her body. So Harold got a court order to exhume that.
That decision sent Ressler off the reservation, always a short trip. Park was right to explain his situation to the rest of the team (except Harold), so they could help him through his addiction struggles.
Aram established from examining the tracker that it came from someone with connections since he couldn’t find a similar prototype at any of the secret agencies.
So that’s a dead-end until Aram can crack the mystery of the tracker.
But the whole debate over Liz’s life did spur Cooper to tell Agnes about her mother and extended family. It’s a shame viewers couldn’t listen in as he broke down that complicated history for Agnes.
That was a rare lucid moment for Harold, who had more than the two cases on his mind. There was that whole pesky blackmailer thing.
Sure, Cooper is being noble, not having the Task Force or Reddington assist him with what he considers a personal problem.
Still, that’s a lot of resources that he’s just ignoring. And all the above people don’t have squeaky clean records, so what’s the problem?
Instead, he had to settle for his buddy Lew as his investigator and sounding board. Lew does an admirable job, but he’s just one man.
Before Lew could gain any traction, the blackmailer called Harold, ordering that he make a grad student disappear (in a good way, with a new identity, not in an unmarked grave).
Cooper and Red had a heart-to-heart, with Raymond revealing his motivation about the night market and Harold vaguely hinting at his difficult decision. Red’s advice was, what, follow your heart? That’s helpful.
To follow Harold’s blackmail quandary, watch The Blacklist online.
Does such a thing as the night market exist in reality?
Do you agree with exhuming Liz’s body?
Is figuring out who Andrew Kennison is essential for Harold?
Comment below.
Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.