The Blacklist Episode 2.04 Dr. Linus Creel

Maddie Thornhill stands on a busy city street in a daze, ready to snap, unaware that Dr. Linus Creel is watching, collecting data. After being denied a loan, Maddie pulls a gun out of her purse and starts shooting up the bank.

Naomi lays into Red, refusing to go underground to start a new life for a second time. Her husband Frank has two daughters - he can't walk away from them! And now Naomi is forced to tell Frank - the man who never lied to her - about her history with Red. Needing to debrief Naomi as regards Berlin, Liz asks her whereabouts, but Red wants to talk about seven random acts of violence that have occurred in the last four months. He thinks there's a social psychology experiment happening, conducted by the U.S. government. Liz asks Aram to pull Frank and Naomi's phone records, then heads off to a mental hospital to interview Maddie, whose life inexplicably fell apart after a series of anonymous accusations. After DNA testing, Liz discovers that all perpetrators of the recent violent acts possess the MAO-A 2R or Warrior Gene, making them prone to aggressive anti-social behavior. Someone is exploiting the perpetrators' inability to deal with stress; Liz believes they've all been triggered on purpose. Disgusted, Cooper orders Liz to investigate Subproject 7 and sends her to interview Senator Donovan Sheridan, who claims mind control is nonsense. Nevertheless, his office will send over all pertinent documents.

After much discussion, Naomi and Frank decide not to disappear, despite Red's caution they're making a mistake. That's when Liz calls Red asking him to find a code breaker named The Polyglot, hoping he can interpret Sheridan's heavily redacted files. Having been exploited by Red in the past, Haskell Twain isn't interested, until Red offers him a giant bag of cash. He leads Liz and Red to his V2K-shielded basement and pulls out an un-redacted version of the Subproject 7 file. It's just as Liz expected; after reverse engineering the brains of serial killers, the government created a three-phase process to activate subjects with the Warrior Gene. Linus Creel was a lab assistant for the original study. In hopes of gaining access to Creel's files, Liz decides she'll pose as a candidate for Creel's ongoing study. First step, complete a personality inventory altered to identify the Warrior Gene, then create a fake medical history. Playing the role of abandoned wife Angela, Liz has a session with Creel, while Aram and Samar listen from a nearby van. Samar bets Aram $100 that Liz is telling the truth about wanting to chain up her husband, but Aram's not buying it. Creel tells Liz that some people's penchant for violence is baked in, and her parents' behavior is a window into her own. When he leaves the office to expedite her blood test, Aram guides Liz through a process to derive a code so he can take over Creel's laptop to find the next patient on the verge of snapping, Duncan Prince.

Red sends Mr. Vargas to a woman named Monica's house. After scolding Monica for poor care of her golden retriever, Vargas meets Red near the cabin in the woods where he's stashed Frank and Naomi. The dog makes a beeline for Frank, and Red tells him how life is going to be: Frank is done with Monica. From now on, there's only Naomi - she's the only reason Frank's still alive - and Frank is going to accept Red's protection. Naomi distrusts Frank's reversal, suspecting Red, but Frank insists it's all about keeping her safe.

The FBI rushes to Prince's apartment, but it's empty. After checking his laptop, Ressler calls Liz. It seems Prince has just been dumped by girlfriend Amber Deveraux, but further investigation proves she doesn't exist. Liz realizes this is a trigger engineered by Creel. Prince must be on his way to wherever he thinks Amber is to perpetrate some act of violence. Meanwhile, Creel has taken over a hearing on violence at a public rally attended by Senator Sheridan. He lays into Sheridan for ignoring his work just as Prince starts shooting outside. By the time the FBI arrives, Creel is urging Prince to shoot him. Liz tries to explain Creel is manipulating Prince into killing him so that his diabolical work will live on. Prince shoots Creel, so Liz rushes forward to tend to him. But Creel has his own gun, which he uses to take Liz hostage. Ressler is about to shoot Creel when he's taken out with another bullet, originating from a rooftop across the street. The FBI can't see that the shooter is Liz's neighbor.

That night, Samar gives Liz Creel's file on her. Could Reddington have known what Liz would discover in the process of this case - and is that why he sent them after Creel in the first place? Samar pays Aram his $100 - he was right; of course Liz wasn't telling Creel the truth. Before heading out, Aram hands Liz an address, and it's not long before she's knocking on Naomi's door. Liz is convinced Naomi can tell her how Liz is connected to Red's daughter Jennifer. Naomi assures Liz that Red isn't who she thinks he is; he must want something from her. That's when Red shows up to finalize his deal with Frank and Naomi. Before leaving, Naomi tells Red that she has no idea where their daughter Jennifer is. Watching them go, Liz asks Red the identity of her guardian angel, the sniper. Red confesses he's had her followed since the day Malik was killed. Liz wants the guy gone, which merely increases Red's suspicion that she's hiding something. And indeed, Liz appears to have something or someone locked behind a door at an undisclosed location.