Monarch Douglas Bank
"Monarch Douglas Bank" is the second episode of the second season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on September 29, 2014.
| "Monarch Douglas Bank" | |
|---|---|
| The Blacklist episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 2 |
| Directed by | Paul Edwards |
| Written by | Kristen Reidel Amanda Kate Shuman Daniel Knauf |
| Production code | 202 |
| Original air date | September 29, 2014 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
| |
Plot
The FBI is alerted to a robbery at the Monarch Douglas Bank in Warsaw, Poland, since its U.S. headquarters are under FBI jurisdiction. Although nothing seems to have been stolen, the FBI believes the records of criminal transactions must have been the robbers' target.
Red receives a parcel which contains a bloody tooth (taken from Naomi, whom Berlin is still holding).
Upon arrival at the bank, the FBI discover that the real purpose was the kidnapping of an employee, Kaja Tomczak. Liz and Ressler locate Kaja, who explains that all of the bank's transaction records are stored in her head via her photographic memory. She was actually trying to escape, because she was a virtual prisoner due to her value to them. Strickland, the bank manager, sends a team to recapture her, but they are defeated by Samar Navabi, the Mossad agent. Red arrives and brings Kaja to his plane, and through the account number she gives him, drains Berlin's accounts. He meets with Berlin and extorts him with his money in exchange for the safe return of Naomi. But the FBI has frozen those accounts. Red keeps the swap appointment just the same, and the accounts do have money in them (Liz arranged this), so Naomi is returned to him. The next day Cooper meets Samar in a park to review her file on Reddington, facilitating her recruitment into the task force.
Reception
Ratings
"Monarch Douglas Bank" premiered on NBC on September 29, 2014 in the 10–11 p.m. time slot.[1] The episode garnered a 2.8/8 Nielsen rating with 10.51 million viewers, making it the second most-watched show in its time slot behind the season premiere of ABC's Castle, which collected 10.75 million viewers.[2] It was also the thirteenth highest-rated show of the week.[3]
Reviews
Jodi Walker of Entertainment Weekly gave a positive review of the episode, stating: "So it’s pretty impressive that the followup to last week’s Blacklister-of-the-week premiere manages to pile on the narrative question marks, give some definitive movement to the Berlin storyline, catch a whole heap of criminals, and put Peter Stormare, and his hook, and James Spader, and his hat on one park bench."[4]
Rebecca Jane Stokes of Den of Geek gave the episode four out of five stars, stating: "The Blacklist has The Spader Factor working in its favor, something it uses with great alacrity when casting not just the man himself, but with its featured guest stars. Casting Peter Stormare as Berlin, Red’s big bad wife abducting enemy in extremes is just the perfect amount of strange."[5]
References
- "Episode Title: (#202) "MONARCH DOUGLAS BANK"". The Futon Critic. 2014-09-29. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
- Bibel, Sara (2014-09-30). "Monday Final Ratings: 'The Big Bang Theory', 'The Voice' & 'Scorpion' Adjusted Up; 'Dancing With the Stars ' & 'Castle' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers. Tribune Digital Ventures. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
- Kondology, Amanda (2014-10-07). "TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25: 'Sunday Night Football' Tops Week 2 With Adults 18-49 & With Total Viewers". TV by the Numbers. Tribune Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on 2014-10-09. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
- Walker, Jodi (2014-09-30). "The Blacklist recap: 'Monarch Douglas Bank'". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved 2015-06-06.
- Stokes, Rebecca Jane (2014-09-30). "The Blacklist: Monarch Douglas Bank Review". Den of Geek. Dennis Publishing. Retrieved 2015-06-06.