The Freelancer

Plot

Red tipped off Elizabeth to a specific time and place where an unknown terrorist act was set to happen. When a train derailed at that location, Red blamed an assassin known as The Freelancer, a ruthless killer who staged attacks on entire buildings or major transport like planes, trains, and ships to make them look like accidents. According to Red, the Freelancer had caused 3,600 unintended deaths, nearly all of them collateral damage from eliminating a few key targets.

Red compared the assassin's body count to that of terrorist groups and governments. He linked the Freelancer to a building collapse in Moscow, a ferry sinking on the Brahmaputra River, the murder of an Ohio appeals court judge, and a plane crash that killed a French diplomat. Red and Elizabeth then learned the next target was Floriana Campo, a humanitarian fighting sex slavery by cartels. At her charity event, Red pointed out the Freelancer, and Ressler arrested him.

The Freelancer admitted he was a decoy Red had hired to poison Campo. Red had known Campo was a fraud—she actually ran a sex slavery ring and used her charity to take out rivals. Separately, CIA Agent Meera Malik was assigned to Red's security as part of his immunity deal. Tom was released from the hospital, and Elizabeth put his box back under the floorboards. Later, she watched a recording of Tom expressing his love for her during an adoption hearing.

Reception

The episode aired on NBC on September 30, 2013 in the 10–11 p.m. time slot. It garnered a 3.3/9 Nielsen rating with 11.35 million viewers, making it the highest rated show in its time slot. It was the thirteenth most watched television show of the week and became NBC's most viewed drama through its first two weeks since Providence in January 1999. Phil Dyess-Nugent of The A.V. Club gave the episode a C, noting that while the show may not make a lick of sense, it promises to always be absolutely on the nose.

He felt none of the supporting cast made much of an impression but noted that The Blacklist seems prepared to rise or fall on the strength of Spader's character. Allison Keene of The Hollywood Reporter gave a mixed review, stating that watching The Blacklist is like drifting along a lazy river, with events and their many twists just washing over you, and that even if one guessed Floriana Campo may not have been entirely on the up and up, the way it unfolded was exceptionally fun to watch.