"But I can't forgive you.". The Blacklist fans have been waiting eight months for the NBC drama's return, excited to see how Raymond "Red" Reddington's (played by James Spader) story ends. The culprit of the interruption is Neville Townsend (Reg Rogers), who shows up in Latvia with his own motivations. The Blacklist, Season 8 Finale, Wednesday, June 23, 10/9c, NBC. With the intention of protecting Liz and that the woman that she knew as Katarina was the real Katarina Rostova, and added, The real Katarina Rostova is still alive somewhere.. It appears fans have a lot of different theories. Well, kind of. With the help of Dembe (Hisham Tawfiq), Red gets Liz into a bunker before setting decades of intelligence, Neville, and his men on fire in the space above them. And y'all I admit, when I saw Mann appear on the screen, as a former lover of his eccentric performance on Revenge, I thought: Wow, what a perfect addition to a show with fellow eccentric, James Spader. That was basically it. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. In 2012, Reddington received a panicked phone call from a woman named Josephine Moliere, who is revealed to be a love interest of his. Parents is one and that goes for both biological and adoptive parents. All we know is that the real Raymond Reddington is dead. The Blacklist has at long last revealed the answer to the shows central question who is Raymond Red Reddington (James Spader) and how is he connected to Elizabeth Liz Keen (Megan Boone). Plenty of time to learn. 2023 Oscars predictions: See who will win at the 95th Academy Awards. The Blacklist has officially gotten more exciting and confusing than ever. The first comes from a conversation in The Blacklistseason 8between Red and Liz when she asks him if he knew her mother, to which Red responds that he knew Katarina "very well" with a knowing smile. Dom tells Liz that from there Ilya and Katarina went to a hotel where Katarina called Masha at Sam's and told her, "Whatever happens, mama will always love you." , Reddington spent 20 years creating a criminal network of spies, thieves, drug traffickers, etc. They have consequences. Considering that Katarina Rostov's whereabouts are unknown it's entirely possible thatThe Blacklist's Raymond Reddington is actually Liz's mother. So how about a few quick Q's to get you rolling on what I'm confident will be a much-considered analysis in the comments: Sure, that's a great plan to hide Ilya in plain sight, but uhwhat part of that plan was for Katarina? That unexpected heartbreak hit me like a freight train. If you are a fan of The Blacklist but do not want to spoil the fun of the series for you, then a cautionary warning to you, this article is going to be filled with a lot . But judging by Red's reaction to Liz's glee at telling him she's now, like, so in the knowwe're only getting half of the true story about the death and birth of Raymond Reddington. So The Blacklist fans are back to square one when it comes to the truth of Red's identity and his relationship with Liz. Now that's out of the way, a brief introduction. He yells that he has a way to get her life back, and to get his life back too, which is what she seems to worry about most. Hes even enlisted the help of the FBI to ensure her protection. You'll find points that reflect your thoughts, improving some and attacking others, that should help you decide whether you feel this holds up based on the entirety of the series. No matter what anyone tells him, Raymond Reddington feels like he is justified in keeping his identity a secretin asking others to keep it a secret too. The flashback-heavy hour saw Katarina Rostova seek to establish a new life and identity after avoiding drowning in the ocean. Transcript: James Spader Monologue: I ran out of gas. We were left with some big clues as to who assumed the Red persona and became the character played by James Spader, but we got no outright answer, because Townsend stormed the epicenter and shot Liz before she could get the conclusion to the story. The Blacklist is his only current announced project, for which he also stars as one of the shows Executive Producers. 33) - kidnapped by the Corsican to surgically alter his face in preparation to carry out an assassination. as a very good reason for any of those awful things to have happened, And I don't think the writers want us to see this story as credible. I missing something here. Dom tried to murder Katarina. But the next scene we see is Liz showing up in Hong Kong to joyfully tell Red that she knows the truth now: "I know you were Ilya, and the incredible thing you did to protect my motherto protect me. No cars to come help. Red was previously married to Naomi Hyland, but their marriage ended in divorce. With season nine returning to NBC next week, fans have continued to try and unveil the biggest mystery of the series. Katarina went into hiding at this point and Liz was sent off to live with her adoptive father, Sam. The second clue is the letter that Red gives to Liz before she dies in The Blacklistseason 8. Katarina as a former Cabal operative would know a lot more. In the season 6 episode, "Rassvet," fans finally learned the real Raymond Reddington's backstory. Who is Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader) of "The Blacklist," really? That's not true at all. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. The Blacklist: Cooper With fans only two episodes into season 10, many are eager to see how . After 10 seasons of thrilling NBC drama, fans of "The Blacklist" are in shock after hearing the news that their beloved show has been canceled. Only one thing was new and that turned out to be false. Wow. Box, all that stuff she told Red circa an hour ago about no longer needing to know his secret because she realized, "I don't care about who you were, I care for who you are"oh yeah, that goes super out the window as soon as she gets a bonafide lead. This is where things get a little more "inspired by a true story" than "based on a true story." Reddington found Zuma in 1993. is his only current announced project, for which he also stars as one of the shows Executive Producers. But the closer I got, the more I realized how funny the whole thing was, how much they'd love the story, daddy running out of gas, how every Christmas they'd get such joy from telling that story at my expense. We're living in a gosh-darn house of mirrors. Nerds and Scoundrels is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Wizards of the Coast Fan Content Policy. - Raymond Reddington. I can still s-smell the nape of her neck feel her little fingers on my cheek her whisper in my ear. It's certainly interesting! This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. ", Red's response to finally being hailed a hero by the most beloved person in his life? So he was hunted by the FBI, in constant danger from the Cabal. It's pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. However, the one condition he had was to solely work alongside rooky Liz Keen (Megan Boone), which later made fans believe he was her estranged mother Katarina Rostova (Lotte Verbeek). However, just when it felt like things were starting to make sense, dropped another bomb on its viewers with another revelation about Reddingtons identity, shocked viewers once again with Season 7, Episode Katarina Rostova when Katarina reveals to Liz that Reddington has been lying once again. Why show us Katarina's journey post-fire, post-death of the (alleged) death of Real Raymond Reddington? Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games; he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. You can unsubscribe at any time. On last weeks The Blacklist, titled Nachalo, Red, who revealed on the previous episode that he is in fact N-13, the elusive spy shes been hunting this entire season, brings Liz inside the epicenter of his operation in Latvia and begins to tell her the story, the true story, of her life and how he came into it. Katarina fears for her daughter; she fears for what the cabal will do to Reddington's reputation; she fears for Velov coming after her parents and Ilya. And the two men get them cornered, until Ilya shows up, swiftly shooting the remaining threats. It was all a lie. The Blacklist season nine returns to NBC Thursday, January 6. I feel like one of those contestants on Survivor who just has to shake their head and laugh approvingly as they congratulate the remaining sacks of bones for pulling a fast one on them on the way out of Tribal Council. Because as convincing as Dom's (Brian Dennehy) Fraymond Freddington origin story was (somewhat), and as engaging as Gabriel Mann was somehow able to make a brand new character (extremely), there has to be a reason Red isn't telling Liz who he was before he took on the identity of Raymond Reddington. Dom says he forgave Katarina but implies that his lonely life in hiding is no better for it. So even in Red's grief, it's been hard to get behind him suddenly deciding to blame Elizabeth's death on Dembe, just because Dembe failed to notice he was . The story seemed to make sensebut all of that changed when Elizabeth confronted Red. Why would Liz not want to kill Red if she read the letter?" Throughout the series, fans. To prevent that, they tried to destroy me.". Katarina Rostova, a KGB agent, is sent to seduce him, and they have a relationship, leading to Elizabeth's birth. When Liz was only four she shot Reddington while he was attacking Katarina and then a fire broke out. Raymond Reddington'srather odd condition is that he will only work with rookie Liz Keen (Megan Boone), with his connection to her being mysterious. When Raymond discovered her secret and Katarina's plans were foiled, the lovers became embroiled in a heated argument that left one of them dead. Yes, Liz and Raymond are father and daughter, but the man she thought to be Red wasn't her father at all. At that time, Red demanded to know where she was while talking with Naomi, her mother. It's also possible Red made a promise to look after Liz and is simply keeping his promise. Wednesday's episode, in the lead-up to the Season 8 finale of the NBC show, revealed almost the entire backstory of James Spader's character and his relationship with Liz Keene (Megan Boone) but ended right before she could get the exact answer as to who Red really is. Wednesdays episode, titled Konets, also reveals the fate of Megan Boones Liz, (Warning: This post contains spoilers for the Season 8 finale of The Blacklist.). This content is imported from poll. "That's part of why, every year, we've been able to give genuine, legitimate answers that the audience has been able to enjoy. It's entirely possible Red told Dom about his hallucination, he went to Dom after Cape May after all and Dom simply retold that to Liz. "Because I think you may have made things worse. After taking pity on the young man and freeing him, Reddington helped him build a new life by enrolling him in school and helping him learn many different languages. https://old.reddit.com/r/TheBlackList/comments/gogj2b/theory_with_many_spoilers/. SIGN UP FOR OUR FREE DAILY NEWSLETTER, FIRST TAKE. What Dom told Liz was probably disinformation they cooked up in advance to tell Liz if she ever got close to the truth. At the time, Dembe was a 14-year-old boy who had been left to die after being chained to a pipe in a basement in a brothel in Nairobi. Red: I was so excited to get home, I didn't even bother to look. One more or less enemy doesn't really do much. Eisendrath was a little more direct, explaining that the show's writing isn't influenced by online theories and that the direction and storyline of "The Blacklist" has been cemented since its inception. Most audiences know him from his early portrayals of eccentric characters, such as Graham Dalton in Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) and Dr. Daniel Jackson in Stargate (1994). That's when he presents his plan: The world doesn't know what happened to Raymond Reddingtonso we give them an answer.". Liz's Father Is The Real Raymond Reddington The Blacklist season 6 seemingly revealed the truth, revealing that yes, Raymond Reddington IS Liz's father but the man Liz knows isn't Reddington. The detail that's brand new to all of this is Ilya. Check out our rankings for, The Blacklist: Three Things to Know about the Katai Fellowship, The Blacklist: 10 Ilya Koslov Facts Every Fan Should Know. What to see another side of Red and the other characters? Again, this points to the theory that Raymond Reddington was an amalgam, a.k.a. An emotional montage closes out the finale, with highlights from Lizs life and relationships replaying on screen. It's gross! The results of a poll posted to the subreddit by u/LizIsRedsMother indicates two things fans are frustrated with the show's lack of answers when it comes to Red's real identity, and many of them think he might be related to Liz just not in a fatherly way. To spend two hours thinking we were getting those sweet, sweet answers we've been searching for, only to have one millisecond of Spader's face twitching turn it all on its head? Especially if they take place near that cursed Cape May. "Everything about me is a lie." That is how Raymond "Red" Reddington, the notorious most wanted career criminal . People who know him concern him, and rightfully so.