Questions The Blacklist Series Finale Must Answer
Secrets and omissions kept The Blacklist entertaining, especially regarding Raymond Reddington.
The pursuit to uncover some of those secrets had grave and far-reaching consequences for many characters. Reddington has worked so hard to ensure that some of his dearest secrets were never discovered, but even when they'd be exposed, another would occupy the place.
As the show approaches the end and with The Blacklist Season 10 on its last breath, some lingering questions need to be answered to make an excellent end to this decade-long saga.
How'd They Get Around So Fast?
This has always been a personal nitpick because sometimes it was unbelievable. While Raymond could boast that he had a jet that would take him anywhere, the Task Force relied on government-issued SUVs.
Something could happen in one state, and the team would drive from DC to that state in record time. For example, on The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 11 (The Man in the Hat), Red was in a hostage situation in Philadelphia, and the Task Force learned of it while in DC.
The time from DC to Philadelphia is at least two hours. And that's given there's light traffic. And even then, the deli Raymond was in was not right on the outskirts. And they arrived way before hostage situation negotiators, whose job is to respond to these situations.
It felt like the Task Force should have spent most of their time on the road, but it was the last place they would be seen.
Did they have a government-issued portal too?
What Happened to Scottie Hargrave?
When one of The Blacklist characters dies, everyone with a direct connection to them disappears.
It was the case with Scottie Hargrave after Tom Keen died. Anyone who gave The Blacklist: Redemption a chance was familiar with her, and we grew to care about her.
Yet after Tom's death, she was never really heard from again.
Wasn't she Agnes' grandmother? Why would she not have taken custody of Agnes to make up for not having Agnes' father in her life when he was Agnes' age?
Scottie Hargrave disappeared into thin air.
Is Raymond Reddington Number 1 on The Blacklist?
Cases worked on by the team were never tackled linearly, which made sense on some level.
They worked on a case when the circumstances demanded it. For that reason, it felt like there was no end to the blacklist, but the numbers preceding every blacklister would insinuate otherwise.
The last name on the list is Raymond Reddington #00, but how long was it? Did the Task Force catch all blacklisters? What if someone new crops up?
Is Red the last name on the list?
What Happens to Red's Empire?
No one knew the magnitude of Raymond Reddington's empire. Not Mr. Kaplan, Marvin Gerard, or even Dembe Zuma.
The fact that he gave up some of his enterprises on The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 17 and The Backlist Season 10 Episode 19 didn't mean that his empire was done.
He was involved in a million and one things.
Raymond had groomed Liz to take over the empire after his planned death, but those plans didn't pan out on The Blacklist Season 8 and The Blacklist Season 9.
It was too lucrative of an operation to let go to waste. Surely Raymond was not planning on running things forever, especially since he was planning on seeing the moon from around the world.
What did he have planned for his empire? Will he let it die organically? What if some other ambitious criminal installed themselves in his place?
Will he take measures to ensure it doesn't exist anymore?
Will he hand it over to someone else?
What Happened to Red's Neurological Disease?
In our prediction of how Raymond might go out, we thought his neurological disease would kill him.
In The Blacklist Season 6, the illness, vaguely mentioned as being neurological, began. By The Blacklist Season 7, it had become so bad that Red collapsed, and his emergency medical team had to gather.
Yet it was never addressed in depth. By nature, neurological diseases tend to progress until they claim the victim's life.
Did it heal by itself, or was it a misdiagnosis?
Does it still afflict Red?
What Happens to Raymond Reddington?
Everyone finally meets their fate, which is true for those we love.
The show hinted at Raymond riding into the sunset, but the sun usually sets.
I understand the pressure that can come from ending a show like this and writing a satisfactory ending for someone as beloved as Raymond Reddington. Still, sometimes it can be too idealistic or ridiculous such that it doesn't feel like an ending at all.
The end should be unambiguous, unlike in The Sopranos, where the story cut to black, or Dexter, where Dex rode into an oncoming tsunami wave.
If the viewer is left asking: "So what happened?" then that's not a good end.
Will Reddington be killed off in the series finale or live a mundane life until he dies of natural causes?
Will he abandon the life of crime?
What Happens to The Task Force?
With Red's fate revealed comes the next thing.
The Task Force had continuously operated with Reddington in mind, and whatever happens to Red, the Task Force will also be affected.
They are a special group who have seen more than any regular FBI task force.
In their ten-year working with Reddington, they have done so much, sometimes to their disadvantage. The Attorney General gave them one last chance on The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 20 to prove their worth.
Will they remain to work on other cases as a group, or will everyone go their separate way?
Will they be prosecuted for their involvement in Reddington's affairs?
What happens to Agnes Keen?
Agnes is the only remaining reminder of Liz and Tom Keen, and even at such a young age, she has started displaying similar qualities to her mother with her keenness and attention to detail.
Being raised by adoptive parents, Agnes will have questions when she's older.
Will she have a normal childhood? What career path will she take?
Will she feel compelled to seek the truth about her parents?
Who is Raymond Reddington?
This I call the mother of all questions.
The search for the truth about Raymond Reddington began when Mr. Kaplan revealed that this person claiming to be Reddington was not the Reddington.
The revelation took Liz on an extensive search to find who this person was. After hitting dead end after dead end, she made peace with the fact that she might never know who he was until her death.
She was just thankful he was in her life.
After Liz died, no one else was interested in who he was.
But as the series nears its end, the question has been coming up more often. It is the thing viewers who watch The Blacklist online want to know the most.
Answering this question would answer many more, including why he came to Liz's life, cared about her so much, and survived that long.
It will also end the discourse on whether Red is Katarina Rostova, who transitioned from female to male.
What if he still is the Raymond Reddington but fixed the DNA using Dr. Adrian Shaw on the bones to throw people off his scent?
What if he was a secret operative from another covert government institution tasked with infiltrating the criminal world as a famous criminal?
Answering or failing to answer this question might make or break the series finale.
There are so many possibilities it is maddening thinking about it.
Initially, the question about who's Edward the pilot was also on the ballot, but we were finally introduced to Andrew McCarthy as Edward. Everyone who grew up in the 80s or loves the 80s freaked out at that mini Pretty in Pink Reunion.
Fun fact: Andrew McCarthy has been with The Blacklist for a long time directing twenty-six episodes in total -- the most of any recurring director on the show.
How these questions are addressed -- if they are addressed -- will tell if the show will be fun on the way out.
What do you think about these? How eager are you for The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 21 and The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 22?
Hit the comments section.