'The Blacklist' Ep. 8 SPOILERS: Red Kills Liz's Father; Meets Tom
"General Ludd" is the eight episode of "The Blacklist." However, General Ludd and the deadly fight against the capitalists were not the highlight of the episode. The highlights of "General Ludd" were Liz's past, Red killing Liz's father, and Red meeting Tom.
In the episode, Liz's father, Sam, calls her up from his hospital bed. He just calls-up to ask about her and does not update her on his grim, health situation. Sam's cancer has returned and he has nearly six weeks to live. Since Feds are hunting down General Ludd, Liz has work to do and cannot be there for her father. Tom goes to meet him.
There is one more person who is visiting Liz's father. It is Red. Sam and Red seem to be friends. Red tells Sam that he met Liz and thanks him for "taking her hand and loving her as your own." Red also tells him that Liz has "incredible fire" like Sam, and that he gave her an "incredible gift."
Sam wants to tell Liz the complete truth (the episode does not reveal that). He wants to do that before he passes away as Liz deserves to know that. For reasons best known to him, Red does not want Liz to know the truth. Red uses Sam's pillow to suffocate him to death. He kisses Sam's forehead after killing him.
Tom arrives in the hospital to hear the dreaded word "sorry." Later, Red approaches Tom like a stranger. Red and Tom get talking because of a common ground -- someone is dead. Tom tells Red that Liz was adopted at the age of four and Sam raised her as a single parent, and that Liz will be completely heart-broken.
There is no flicker of recognition on the face of Tom, while Red calmly (though there is a tinge of threat) says that Liz will be safe and that she will be well-watched. Later when Liz meets Red, he tells her to talk about her father and share with him, her memorable moments with him.