tags: #publish links: [[The Blacklist]] created: 2021-07-26 Mon --- # The Blacklist S1 Episode 5 (The Courier) Previous: [[The Blacklist S1 Episode 4 (The Stewmaker)]] - Next: [[The Blacklist S1 Episode 6 (Gina Zanetakos)]] *(Spoilers)* A couple of interesting concepts in this one. Firstly, a "courier" whose service is dependable because he guarantees that, if either party screws with the other and the transaction doesn't work out smoothly, he'll kill them both! Interesting business model - a neat variation on the "precommitment" concept. I guess it's an alternative to proof-of-work to obtain trust amongst mutually untrusting parties. The second fun thing is that the courier has a condition rendering him unable to feel physical pain. This allows some interesting tradecraft such as hiding objects inside his own flesh to evade detection - both items being couriered, and jailbreak tools, with violent consequences as you can imagine. Both parts of the business model lead to some trouble when Ressler attempts to pose as the courier to extract some information. Firstly he has to gouge a hole in himself and pretend to feel no pain; secondly he has failed to realise the obvious fact that the extractee would expect him to kill them rather than come for a chat. The item being couriered is a young NSA crypto software dude. For reasons that weren't entirely clear to me he is also shut in a box with only a few hours of air, and must be rescued. Reddington assists, naturally, seemingly having some past history with the purchaser of the package. NSA lad is rescued and resuscitated, courier is dispatched, and Red gets a favour from the NSA lad: one-off government systems access! This he immediately spends on obtaining an uncensored version of Tom's case files to give to Liz, a frivolous waste that his shadowy assistant is unimpressed with. Red claims he's playing a long game... Liz heads home, because now Tom has found the box and feels like a chat about it. **Themes:** - Suffocation - Grisly skin wounds - New ways to create trust and cooperation