The Courier (The Blacklist)

Last updated
"The Courier"
The Blacklist episode
Episode no.Season 1
Episode 5
Directed by Nick Gomez
Written by John C. Kelley
Production code105
Original air dateOctober 21, 2013 (2013-10-21)
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
"The Stewmaker"
Next 
"Gina Zanetakos"
The Blacklist season 1
List of episodes

"The Courier" is the fifth episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist . The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on October 21, 2013.

Contents

Plot

A courier (Robert Knepper) is scheduled to deliver a valuable shipment to an Iranian spy. Following a car chase, Elizabeth and Malik manage to arrest the courier, and they learn he has imprisoned Seth Nelson, an NSA analyst. Nelson is entombed and only has a limited amount of air left. While the FBI searches for him, the courier escapes. Red coerces the courier's contact, club owner Laurence Dechambou (Barbara Schulz), to help find him, and with that information Malik and Ressler eventually track the Courier and then kill him in self-defense. Elizabeth and Red meanwhile, find and save Seth. As an act of gratitude, Seth gives Red documents regarding the high-profile murder Elizabeth suspected Tom was involved in, and Red sends them to her. At the same time at home, Tom discovers the box and wants to talk to Elizabeth about it. They are unaware that their house is bugged with cameras and listening devices, and they're being watched.

Reception

Ratings

"The Courier" premiered on NBC on October 21, 2013 in the 10–11 p.m. time slot. [1] The episode garnered a 3.0/8 Nielsen rating with 10.44 million viewers, making it the second most-watched show in its time slot behind ABC's Castle , which collected 10.59 million viewers. [2] "The Courier" was also the thirteenth most-watched television show of the week. [3]

Reviews

Jason Evans of The Wall Street Journal felt the episode "left [people] on a cliffhanger". [4] He went on to say that "the weekly criminals being caught are almost an afterthought compared to the drama of [the] story" and that "the slow reveal of Liz, Red, and Tom's backstories" make the show great. [4]

Ross Bonaime of Paste gave "The Courier" a 6.0/10, stating that: "The Blacklist is slowly finding a way to make its show work in a less-frustrating and more watchable way since the pilot, but it still has a long way to go before it’s even a good show". [5]

Related Research Articles

"The Freelancer" is the second episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on September 30, 2013.

"Wujing" is the third episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on October 7, 2013.

"The Stewmaker" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on October 14, 2013.

"Gina Zanetakos" is the sixth episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on October 28, 2013.

"Frederick Barnes" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on November 4, 2013.

"Anslo Garrick" is the ninth episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on November 25, 2013.

"Anslo Garrick Conclusion" is the tenth episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on December 2, 2013.

"The Alchemist" is the twelfth episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on January 20, 2014.

"The Cyprus Agency" is the thirteenth episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on January 27, 2014.

"Madeline Pratt" is the fourteenth episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on February 24, 2014.

"The Judge" is the fifteenth episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on March 3, 2014.

"Ivan" is the seventeenth episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on March 24, 2014.

"Milton Bobbit" is the eighteenth episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on March 31, 2014.

"The Pavlovich Brothers" is the nineteenth episode of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on April 21, 2014.

"Berlin Conclusion" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the first season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on May 12, 2014.

"Lord Baltimore" is the first episode of the second season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on September 22, 2014.

"Dr. James Covington" is the third episode of the second season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on October 6, 2014.

"Dr. Linus Creel" is the fourth episode of the second season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on October 13, 2014.

"The Front" is the fifth episode of the second season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on October 20, 2014.

"Tom Connolly" is the twenty-second episode and season finale of the second season of the American crime drama The Blacklist. The episode premiered in the United States on NBC on May 14, 2015.

References

  1. "Episode Title: (#105) "THE COURIER"". The Futon Critic. 2013-10-21. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  2. Kondology, Amanda (2013-10-22). "Monday Final TV Ratings: 'The Voice', 'How I Met Your Mother', 'Bones', & 'Dancing With the Stars' Adjusted Up; 'Hart of Dixie', '2 Broke Girls', 'Beauty and the Beast', 'Mom' & 'Hostages' Adjusted Down". TV by the Numbers . Tribune Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on 2013-10-23. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  3. Bibel, Sara (2013-10-29). "TV Ratings Broadcast Top 25: 'Sunday Night Football' Tops Week 5 With Adults 18-49, 'NCIS' Number One With Total Viewers". TV by the Numbers . Tribune Digital Ventures. Archived from the original on 2013-10-31. Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  4. 1 2 Evans, Jason (2013-10-21). "'The Blacklist' Recap, Season 1, Episode 5, 'The Courier'". The Wall Street Journal . Dow Jones & Company . Retrieved 2015-06-01.
  5. Bonaime, Ross (2013-10-22). "The Blacklist Review: "The Courier" (Episode 1.05)". Paste . Paste Media Group . Retrieved 2015-06-01.