'The Blacklist' Season 3 Spoilers: Tom Returns In Episode 2; What Happened In 'Marvin Gerard'? [RECAP]

In the Season 3 premiere of NBC's "The Blacklist," Liz (Megan Boone) jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire. After spending the entire episode fleeing the FBI amid false allegations that she was a Russian spy, she ended up separated from Red (James Spader) and desperately seeking diplomatic immunity from the Russian Embassy, claiming to be, you guessed it, a Russian spy. Would she be able to get herself out of that pickle in "Marvin Gerard"?

Here's how it all went down in episode 2:

Liz enters the Russian Embassy with a full head of steam, determined to bluff herself to safety, but she runs into a roadblock in the form of Alexander Raskovitch (Sean Cullen), the chief Russian FSB officer in the Western Hemisphere. He knows Liz is not a spy and forces her to tell him the truth. She says their interests are aligned as Russia has been wrongfully accused of Tom Connolly's (Reed Birney) murder as well. She suggests they confirm that Karakurt has gone missing -- aka switched his allegiance to the Cabal.

The Russian Embassy confirms her story and agrees to give Liz diplomatic immunity, but only if she allows them to transport her to Moscow. Liz protests that moving to Russia would make her look guilty, but the issue is not up for debate.

Unfortunately, Red has eyes on the inside thanks to a blackmailed Russian ambassador and he finds out that it was a Cabal operative who authorized Liz's Moscow transfer. In other words, if she gets on the plane, she dies. So, Red calls up Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff) and asks him to stop the convoy, by any means necessary.

Ressler had been sitting outside of the embassy furious, but as much as wants to capture Liz, he also wants her alive. He agrees to help and rams his car into the Russian convoy, setting off a deadly shootout. When the dust settles, most of the Russians are dead, but Liz has escaped and is free again.

There is only one person Liz can turn to -- Red. They meet at a diner where Red convinces Liz that Ressler was trying to save her, not kill her. However, after Red dishes out some guns-drawn relationship advice to an unruly patron, Ressler is tipped off to their location. When the FBI shows up, Red does his best impression of Al Pacino in "Dog Day Afternoon," taking the restaurant hostage and demanding an armed van to transport everyone to the nearest airport. He also demands Ressler bring him a man named Marvin Gerard, a disgraced lawyer who dishes out legal advice to high-profile criminals.

When Gerard gets inside the diner, he is frustrated that Red has brought him into this mess just a day before his parole hearing. While the two friends catch up -- Gerard is engaged! -- one of the diner patrons tries to jump Liz. She responds by, well, beating the living daylights out of him, shocking everyone around her, including Red. It seems the trauma of everything Liz is going through is starting to take a toll.

Afterward, Red tells Liz Gerard's story. He reveals that Gerard's ex-wife was abusing his son. When he tried to step in to help, his wife, a wealthy heiress, saw to it that he was disbarred, framed for a litany of crimes, and could not get custody. A year later his son killed himself.

After enough time passes and Red's demands (other than Gerard) are not met, Red decides it seems like a good time to leave. It turns out the diner was not a diner at all, but some sort of sophisticated smuggling outpost. Red, Gerard, Liz disappear through a hidden door in the kitchen freezer. Outside Ressler discovers that the tip that lead him to the diner came from Red himself and, realizing this was all part of Red's plan, moves his men inside. It's too late. Red and Liz are gone.

Once Liz and Red escape, the real object of Red's plan becomes clear. It was all just to break Gerard out of prison. He wants the lawyer to analyze the Fulcrum data and develop a plan to take down the Cabal. He puts Gerard in a van, which just happens to be carrying his fiancée, and sends him away to work.

Meanwhile, Red and Liz hideout and Liz confesses that she is struggling to deal with being someone people now fear. Red tells her about having dreamed of living at sea when he was a kid. Red tells her that when he sees her he does not see someone to fear, he sees his way home, the way sailors look to the North Star. On that touching note, they both step out onto a the deck of a yacht sailing under a star-filled sky.

Elsewhere, things are not so peaceful. Dembe (Hisham Tawfiq) is being tortured by Mr. Solomon (Edi Gathegi) to get Red's location.

Plus, there is one more surprise. Tom shows up in the last scene to talk to Ressler. He wants to help Liz! This should be interesting. Fans will have to wait until next week to see how it all goes down.

What did you think of episode 2? Tweet your thoughts to @Ja9GarofaloTV.