To be fair, Task Force 836 does sound a teensy-weensy bit treasonous when you spell it all out.
That tea is piping hot enough to make the AG skip a meeting with the president.
Which is not great news for our team but they don’t know what’s happening quite yet.
James Spader.Zach Dilgard/NBC
In Miami, Red is busy dropping by to visit Heddie Hawkins (Aida Turturro).
(For the record, I didn’t believe it for one second.
That loyalty pays off now as Red buys her a bird sanctuary in Guatemala.
Hisham Tawfiq as Dembe Zuma.Zach Dilgard/NBC
It’s a thoughtful gift and a sweet way to say goodbye to a fan-favorite character.
After all, he just got this desk the way he likes it.
His sponsee has clearly fallen off the wagon, pushed by Hudson.
Toby Leonard Moore as Congressman Arthur Hudson, Derrick Williams as Agent Jordan Nixon.Zach Dilgard/NBC
Back from Miami, Red is once again letting go of real estate.
This time, it’s the bathhouse.
This chapter of his life is ending, having lasted longer than he thought it would.
Sami Bray as Agnes Keen, James Spader as Raymond “Red” Reddington.Zach Dilgard/NBC
He asks her to come with him, but Weecha is reluctant.
Despite their love, they’re too similar and eventually, one of them will get restless and leave.
Red tells her that the jet leaves at 4 p.m.
If she wants to be with him, she’ll be there.
When Cooper tells her to come in and sit down, the look on her face is hilariously resigned.
While that’s happening, Red’s goodbye tour has taken him to visit our very favorite torture expert.
Luckily, Dembe interrupts with a call explaining Hudson’s spying and the meeting Cooper is currently suffering through.
We cut back to that gathering, and it’s a doozy.
Hudson is full of outrage, Panabaker is defensive, and Cooper has had quite enough.
“I can sleep at night.
If you want my badge, take my badge.
I’m done apologizing.”
At that very moment, the monitors in Stromberg’s office come alive and Red appears.
The look of shock on everyone’s face (except Cooper’s, natch) is amazing.
Back in Teddy’s barn, Tadashi Ito (Alex Shimizu) is running the hacking feed.
in question shoots back, “It’s funny, you have more power than a congressman should.”
Panabaker clearly smothers a laugh, but I do not smother mine.
But Red isn’t there to defend himself; he’s there to defend the Task Force.
Not in the harsh light of day.
Well, shame on you.
I am what I am.
You made a devil’s bargain.
Did you really expect me to stop being the Devil?"
Let me take a moment to fan myself and recover, because oh, my.
Okay, I got a glass of ice water.
Nixon, Hudson, and the team of FBI agents who have just shown up to take over.
The Task Force is being raided.
The tail number is visible, and they start to track the plane through its transponder.
Dembe pickpockets the cell of an agent to call Red and warn him.
Red is already on the plane, waiting to see if Weecha will arrive.
He checks his watch.
At 4:15 p.m., Red’s pilot Edward calls to let him know they’re grounded.
And then the plane blows up.
I’ll give Hudson credit, he immediately suspects shenanigans and demands that Nixon go and find a body.
It’s adorable, and I am fully rooting for them.
And who is playing Edward?
ANDREW FRICKIN' MCCARTHY.
It’s over too soon, and we are suddenly back at a much moodier TFHQ.
Stromberg lets Cooper know that there were no bodies, so Red is still at large.
He doesn’t care about Hudson, who has had his chance and failed.
But the savvy politician also knows that someone is going to take the fall for everything that has occurred.
Everyone gets their cell phones back and for Ressler, it just makes everything worse.
Pritchard has called multiple times, leaving desperate voicemails.
By the time Ressler gets back to the motel, it’s too late.
Pritchard has overdosed and died.
Hudson will probably not be held accountable for that tragedy, but it’s on his ledger nonetheless.
Cooper finally arrives at home and is somehow surprised that Red is sitting in his kitchen.
“Let’s have a little fun on the way out,” he says.
“Catch me if you’ve got the option to.”
