Directed by Duane Clark
Written by Anthony E. Zuiker, Ann Donahue, Carol Mendelsohn & Peter M. Lenkov
"Blacklist" is the 2nd episode of Season 6 and the 119th overall. It originally aired September 30, 2009.
A cybercriminal targets medical workers. The case gets personal for Mac when the perp taunts him about his father, who had died of small cell lung cancer 15-20 yrs prior.
Tropes for the episode:
- 555: The perp hacks into the lab's system and orders a surveillance camera to be installed in their hallway. Mac uses it to his advantage by holding up a hand-written sign that reads, "Call Me, 555-0131" to get the guy to call his office land line.
- Caught in the Bad Part of Town: The killer hacks the GPS of a hospital CEO's car and sends him into the worst part of New York. He then activates the car alarm to attract other criminals.
- Claustrophobia: One of the perp's intended victims is a nurse who is severely claustrophobic. He uses remote technology to trap her in a hospital elevator and send her to a floor that's temporarily empty. Mac and Sheldon barely get to her before she passes out from hyperventilating.
- Digital De-Aging: CGI was used to make Sinise look 15-20 years younger in flashbacks of Mac visiting his parents right before leaving the Marines to join the NYPD.
- Misplaced Retribution: The CEO was arguably an Asshole Victim, but the oncologist and the nurse had no say in the killer's cancer treatment being ended after he was dropped by by his insurance company.
- Monochrome Past: The flashbacks of Mac with his parents are shown in sepia tones.
- Plot Allergy: The villain's doctor is allergy to peanuts and orders a salad without peanut dressing, but the perp has hacked the restaurant's digital ordering system and removes the instruction, causing the man to choke when he takes the first bite of his meal.
- Smith of the Yard: Mac. "Grave Digger" contacts him after killing his first victim because he read a newspaper feature in which Mac mentioned that his father had died of cancer. The perp is dying from the disease and expects Mac to sympathize with him because of it. Nope.
- Terminally-Ill Criminal: The villain is a terminally ill cancer patient who kills the head of his insurance company, lands his oncologist in the ICU, and goes after the home-health nurse who had cared for him. It all started when the insurance company dropped him. He blames all three of them for not continuing to provide his treatments, even though the doctor and nurse's hands were pretty much tied at that point. Under police guard at the hospital after being arrested, he tells Mac they should've let him die since he's terminal. Mac replies that's probably true since the state will now have to foot the bill for his care, but that he's entitled to his day in court. The man then says he'll be dead before his trial date.
- Vader Breath: The villain, who coughs a good bit and uses an oxygen tank, has very labored breathing and speaks quite slowly with a low, raspy voice due to advanced lung cancer.
