Updated 5.7.2014 - Added to Blacklister List - 'Berlin' (No.8)
With the myriad of shows getting pilots and full season orders lately it's tough to choose the few that get real estate on your precious DVR hard drive. Unless, of course, the program is so captivating and interesting you wouldn't miss it for anything. The Blacklist, no doubt, immediately comes to mind as one of these shows for a lot of viewers. Starring Megan Boone and James Spader, the show is part 'criminal-of-the-week' and part serialized storytelling, harmoniously combining elements of both to produce one of the best new shows on television and arguably the best new series of the 2013 and 2014 season. It's the combination of these two narrative styles that makes The Blacklist so unique and so well loved with an ever increasing fan base.
The show has been approved for a second season and with only two episodes remaining in season one (the two-part season finale) there are still many unanswered questions that we, as devoted fans, are trying to figure out. I have compiled a list, below, of these questions so we will have them all in one place for easy access and to keep track of. As a question gets answered, I can update this post accordingly and all of you can help by posting in the comments any questions you think are missing or any answers you come across. I used my own episode notes to make this and it's possible I missed a few questions.
Season One Questions
1. What is Red's relationship with Liz? At the end of the mid-season finale, back in December, she flat-out asked Red if he was her father and after a slight hesitation he told her 'No'. However, most fans think this was a lie meant to protect her. We should find out the truth in the two-part season one finale.
2. What is Red's association or relationship with Liz's father? We know Red chose Liz because of her 'father', but could Red and her father be one and the same?
3. What is the meaning of the symbol that we have seen throughout the season? We have seen it carved into the top of Tom and Gina's spy boxes, on the orange envelope that Tom left for Liz in the safe-deposit box, and it's the same shape as Liz's scar on her right wrist.
5. What is the story regarding the fire that Liz sometimes has flashbacks of? We think she got her scar during this time at age 14.
6. What really happened to Red's family? Before Red shoots and kills her, Diane Fowler asks if he wants to know the 'truth' about what happened because she knows. Red killed her anyway, stating that if she knows then someone else must know also. We know from Liz that Red abandoned them in 1990, but we still don't know what really happened to them. Red tells Madeline Pratt the touching Christmas Eve story of how he came home and found them massacred, but is that what really happened? Was it actually them or something else?
7. Who are the people in the group with Alan Fitch? In episode 20, Red asks Fitch for help telling him there is someone that is threatening his interests and, in turn, Fitch and his collective's interests as well. Fitch gets the group together to vote on whether or not to help Red. Who are these people and why are they so powerful?
8. What is the information Red has that he uses to constantly blackmail Fitch and his associates? It must be something big enough to keep Red alive, but not so big that the group involved with Fitch can disregard as they tell Red they can't help with the unknown threat. We also know Red has had this secret for 20 years and they 'allow' him to live because they know it will be released if he dies.
9. Who or what is Berlin? We know that Tom (and presumably Gina Zanetakos) works for Berlin and that's about all we know. The season finale is named 'Berlin', so I'm sure we will discover answers during this time.
10. What exactly was Tom's mission from Berlin? We know he needed to 'protect' Liz, but from what or whom? Do they want Red killed? We know that wasn't Tom's objective as he stated to Jolene, but is it a possible future mission?
11. Who is the woman in the photo that Red removes from The Stewmaker's book? The caption written at the bottom of the photo is "December 1990" and we don't know much else about her. Could she be related to Red? Or Liz?
12. What does Red threaten to reveal about Agent Cooper that happened in Kuwait? Red says this early on in the season, but we never get an answer.
13. What exactly happened in the house that Red destroyed? In the episode, Frederick Barnes, Red has Dembe plant explosives in the house he just purchased and we see Red reminisce about a little girl playing in the backyard. What memory was Red trying to forget?
14. Who was the little girl he was remembering in the backyard?
15. What secret did Sam tell Red he needed Liz to know? I believe this was the main reason for Red killing Sam so he wouldn't tell her. In episode 20, The Kingmaker, Red reveals to Liz that "it wouldn't have been up to him" anyway. What did he mean by that?
16. Does Liz have a criminal past and was never caught? We know she has certain skills as shown in the episode, Madeline Pratt, and Red alludes to it a few times.
17. Why was special agent Walter Gary Martin sent to Agent Cooper to tell him to stop the investigation on the disappearance of Diane Fowler? Who sanctioned it? Was it Fitch?
18. In episode 17, Ivan, Red builds Liz a music box playing the same song her dad would play for her as a little girl. How did Red know this? More importantly, why has Liz not asked about it since?
19. Tom reveals that Red had supported Liz financially since she was young through Sam. Why has Red done this? Did someone ask him to do it or did he do it all himself?
20. Red asks Agent Cooper if he could look through Milton Bobbit's client list at the end of that episode. Why did he need to see it?
21. The focus of the first season has always been about 'Who is Liz's father?', but never mentions anything about her mother? Who is Liz's mother? Is she relevant? Alive? If she is alive, where has she been? (Thanks for the question 'johnhelvete')
22. Who commissioned The Kingmaker to kill the politician in Prague? Red wanted ten minutes to speak to The Kingmaker, but Liz informs him that he died. Red is cleary upset about this because he needed this information? Could it be related to Berlin?
Here is a list with all the blacklisters and their corresponding numbers for reference. Maybe there is a mystery to the numbering system, but I have not figured it out yet...maybe one of you could shed some light on the subject?
Ranking below is based on the episode order
Ranko Zamani - ------------Number Unknown
The Freelancer - -----------145
Wujing - ----------------------84
The Stewmaker - -----------161
The Courier - ---------------85
Gina Zanetakos - ----------152
Frederick Barnes - --------47
General Ludd - ------------109
Anslo Garrick - -------------16
The Good Samaritan - ----106
The Alchemist - ------------101
The Cyprus Agency - ------64
Madeline Pratt - -----------73
The Judge - ----------------57
Mako Tanida - --------------83
Ivan - ------------------------88
Milton Bobbit - ------------135
The Pavlovich Brothers - --119-122
The Kingmaker - -----------42
Berlin - -----------------------8
If there is anything missing or if you want to see something added please comment below and let me know. I will update this page as often as I can and after each episode.
