'The Blacklist' Season 2 Spoilers: Red Plays Both Sides In Episode 11; What Happened In 'Ruslan Denisov'? [RECAP]

In episode 10 of “The Blacklist,” Liz (Megan Boone) took a trip down memory lane courtesy of Luther Braxton (Ron Perlman) and Dr. Selma Orchard (Gloria Reuben). Fans of the NBC drama found out exactly what happened the night of the fire that killed Liz’s father. Well, until Dr. Orchard revealed to Liz that because someone had tried to wipe her memory previously, her memories were unreliable. So, Liz -- and fans -- were back where they started. But the show must go on and there was a new bad guy to wrestle with in episode 11, “Ruslan Denisov.”

Here are 5 things we learned from episode 11:

1. Red and Liz on Bad Terms

One thing did come out during Liz’s memory recovery therapy – Red (James Spader) was there the night of the fire. This had Red and Liz on bad terms. She believed he was only interested in her for the Fulcrum and refused to talk to him about anything except the case at hand.

2. Next on the List

The case at hand – and next on Red’s Blacklist – was Ruslan Denisov (Faran Tahir). Denisov was the leader of a separatist military group in Uzbekistan. He had kidnapped a CIA agent, Burke (Arian Moayed), posing as a priest and Liz and Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff) flew into the country to help rescue him.

However, not long after getting into Uzbekistan, Liz and Ressler were kidnapped by Denisov who said the only reason he had kidnapped the CIA agent was to bring American attention to a fuel pipeline owned by an American corporation, Aneco. The pipeline had been leaking and poisoning the water of a number of villages in the area. Denisov wanted to negotiate with Liz and Ressler, but they would have to do so in secrecy. The Uzbekistan military was upset about the FBI treading in their jurisdiction and the CIA and Aneco were both watching closely.

3. Red Plays Both Sides

Liz and Ressler showed up for their negotiation with Denisov to find a big surprise – Red had showed up and volunteered to negotiate on behalf of Denisov! The two were old colleagues in the criminal underworld and as Red says, “There are no sides, just players.” Red accompanied Liz and Ressler on a tour of the villagers victimized by the pipe leak.

4. Old Mistakes Come Back to Haunt

While dealing with Denisov, Liz was contacted by a cop in D.C. who was searching for the dockworker Tom (Ryan Eggold) had killed while Liz had him captive in the midseason finale. It turned out the dockworker’s wife had reported him missing and the Metro police had gotten hold of Liz’s card, which she had given the dockworker when they met. Now Liz was suspected to be involved. The police interrogated Samoan (Dante Nero), who had been assisting Liz with Tom. Samoan agreed to show them to the dockworker’s body and tell them about Liz in a deal to stay out prison.

5. The CIA Get in the Way

Meanwhile, in the middle of Red’s awkward negotiations with Liz – and a stellar Uzbekistani tango – the CIA, acting with Uzbekistan military, raided Denisov’s compound and killed a dozen of his men. Under Red’s instructions, Denisov had moved the hostages, including Burke, but the militant was still angry.

Red and Denisov interrogated Burke who revealed that the reason the CIA sent him to Uzbekistan was Leonid Javin (Olek Krupa), a former government minister who had sold the land for the pipeline years before. Red and Denisov went to Javin who confessed that when he made the deal – before the Cold War had officially ended – there was an original pipeline that killed thousands of people when it leaked before Aneco built a new one. Red was able to use this info to blackmail the fuel company into packing up and leaving the country. Afterwards, Denisov released Burke. Plus, Reddington delivered the head of the Uzbekistan military to Denisov as a gift. It turned out Red knew what would happen the whole time and after Aneco decided to pull out of the country a new French fuel company swooped in to pick up the contract. Red, who Liz saw meeting with the new company’s head the day they arrived in Uzbekistan, got a nice cut and the villagers received reparations for Aneco’s mistreatment.

So, it was a happy ending for “The Blacklist” -- Reddington style. However, Liz might be in trouble in the next episode when the Metro police investigation catches up with her.

What did you think of “Ruslan Denisov?” Tweet your thoughts to @Ja9GarofaloTV.