The Blacklist has had its fair share of killers and eccentric villains, but no matter how many times various TV shows and films introduce the crazy family in the backwoods that likes to hunt people, I’m pretty much always creeped out.

Maybe a little Deliverance banjo in the background to really add to the mood?

But this family of wackos, just part of a piece in a twisty conspiracy involving cartels, poaching, and nature conservancy, took things up a notch by stuffing the victims as trophies. Or were those the big guy’s friends?

Watch The Blacklist Season 2 Episode 6 Online

While I was engrossed in watching Ressler not only first interact with the family, but then become the game for the big guy, The Blacklist Season 2 Episode 6 was much less about the crazy trio that took weird baths or abducted poachers to skin them.

The hour really boiled down to a personal mission for Red.

He had his reasons for going after the Mombasa Cartel, but the real revelation came when he confronted the super rich “Ace” who had created a weird monopoly involving poaching and nature preservation.

But that meant he was connected to the Mombasa Cartel, the group Red was set on going after.

So to see him so eloquently paint pictures with his words during that final sit-down, demanding to get all the names, etc. was fantastic. And James Spader gets to do that pretty much every episode near the end of the hour, but every time is just as engrossing to watch.

Though it was the connection to his bodyguard, Dembe, the little boy seen 29 years ago at the outset of the hour (I kept thinking maybe I’d missed something as it didn’t really seem to be touched upon right away) that was the crucial aspect of it all.

From Red’s speech alone, we learned about Dembe and how Red took care of him. It made me care much more about the character, that's for sure. But to hear the anger in Red's voice over what had been done to Dembe, even considering Dembe tried to dissuade him, it seemed pretty clear Red was going to kill his former “buddy.”

And he did. Classic Red.

It’s funny to think how often Red talks about not having friends or people he’s allowed to care about, and yet, there seem to be a fair amount of people that have found a personal way into the super criminal’s heart.

As it is, he certainly is making his play with the newly introduced Zoe. But I’m still wondering just what his angle involving her will actually be.

But of course, amidst the case of the week, at long last we finally learned that Tom was behind the door. Tom alive was Liz’s secret.

Not surprisingly, we didn’t learn about it until the last second (don’t trust the promos, that’s for sure), but it’s been teased for so long that not only did it seem like the answer could only be Tom, that actually seeing Tom wasn’t a shock. It was more of a “finally they stopped dragging it out.”

Frankly, I’m just glad we can stop playing the what’s behind the door game and move on towards what the next stage is involving Tom. What has he told Liz? What will Red do once he finds out?

Liz seems really pissed talking to the bearded and chained up Tom, but could she be pushed into actually killing him at some point? Or will Tom wind up being the good guy in the end?

I'm just hoping there’s some decent payoff for keeping the character of Tom around and now finally knowing he’s alive as we head towards the fall finale. It's definitely time to turn things up a notch.

What did you think of Red's decision? Were you shocked Tom was alive? And if you want to see James Spader's countless scene-stealing moments, then you should definitely watch The Blacklist online.

The Blacklist Cast: Before They Were Stars

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Sean McKenna was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. He retired in May of 2017. Follow him on Twitter.