This marked the third consecutive episode without a sighting of Liz.

And yet, she was all over The Blacklist Season 8 Episode 7.

Liz had Red and his entire criminal network and the Task Force going in multiple directions to intercept the players that she set in motion.

And no one was any closer to finding her or determining what she is planning.

As Dembe pointed out, her multi-step operation sounded like something Raymond himself would have schemed up.

Most importantly, Liz kept everyone in the dark, with each knowing only a tiny portion of the plan.

Scooter, the lawyer who got The Freelancer released, couldn't believe his luck, having such an expensive case with great exposure just handed to him.

Of course, that was before he met Reddington, whose stolen money paid for Scooter's services. 

That was Red at his finest, making himself at home in a place to which he wasn't invited, then informing Scooter into what he had actually stepped. 

No wonder he was more than willing to sacrifice his client.

Then Red employed Rogelio, who seemed to be taking over some of Glen's old tracking duties, who used a network of service workers to determine where The Freelancer was lying low.

It was hard to picture Raymond as ever being someone who would stay at a hostel, but he accurately described that scene to Dembe, right down to the guitarist strumming folk tunes in the hallway.

It was humorous to see a mass murderer such as The Freelancer literally caught with his pants down.

The big twist was that the killer's target wasn't Reddington after all but instead was Chemical Mary, the vile nerve-agent specialist. There's no coming back from killing a cute pig in the opening scene.

And while Red put Mary on the Task Force's radar, being aware of her and knowing where to locate her were two totally different things.

Having Ressler and Park fly to Turkey for the long shot of extracting information from Mary's former bodyguard, himself nearly killed in an American attack, really seemed like the longest of shots. And a waste of time it was.

Again it was up to Aram to come up with the workaround of finding the doctor that treated Mary, who must have been badly maimed as well.

Having Raymond lean on a former acquaintance with a dubious past to locate those who helped Mary was a more effective way to extract information.

Was anyone surprised that Mary's assistant pulled a gun from her purse and mowed down the Parisian cops? What happened to someone hollering, "No sudden moves!"?

While taking out Mary was laudable (after she made a sale to the Albanians?), killing a whole planeload of innocents didn't sound like any version of Liz.

Fortunately, Aram was smart enough to see through The Freelancer's plan to bring down the plane, remembering a similarly staged train derailment.

Still, to talk an air controller and a flight crew through possible scenarios wasn't easy until they discovered the out-of-place flash drive.

Aram correctly guessed what The Freelancer's method was barely in time to save the plane.

And only to discover that the whole plot was a sleight of hand on Liz's part, one that allowed her to fly to Paris in Mary's stead while she captured Mary for future use.

After she lets Mary simmer for a time, she'll be ready to cooperate with whatever Liz is planning.

Which brings us back to the question of what is Liz planning?

That one part of her wants to kill Reddington isn't in doubt.

After she attempted to kill Red with a bomb in The Blacklist Season 8 Episode 3 injured Ressler instead, Liz is looking for a more precise method.

That's where Chemical Mary comes in. Her weapons are nothing if not precise. One drop could lead to an agonizing death, which might satisfy Liz's need for revenge after Katarina's murder.

But another side of Liz is seeking a more legitimate option to take down Reddington. That's why she had the flash drive stolen from his safe-deposit box on The Blacklist Season 8 Episode 5 and then left it for Harold.

If it can be opened, the contents of that drive could well prove that Red is N-13.

That would be cleaner than killing him. Liz might be able to come back from stealing something that proves a greater wrong.

In Congressman Freidenberger, Harold found a potential ally who was also unwilling to dismiss the myth of N-13.

But while Freidenberger didn't initially trust Harold, Cooper likewise shouldn't put faith in him without doing some more digging.

Apparently, Raymond's allies in Russia were so concerned with what's on the drive that they are willing to eliminate Harold to keep the contents from coming out. 

A better question might be if Red is now too big to fall.

Despite his most-wanted status, he's been feeding U.S. law enforcement big fish for almost a decade. So would being a double agent ruin his favored-nation status?

Also, he's making Faustian deals with well-placed people daily. Just ask Park, who is now waiting for the other shoe to drop.

To follow Liz's scheme, watch The Blacklist online.

Were you surprised by the scope of Liz's plan?

What does she want with Chemical Mary?

Has she put Harold in harm's way?

Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.