The Blacklist - Looking Back and Forward

"Like broken glass under my feet, I could lose my mind in this heat,
Looking for the prize but I don't want blood, I order one drink then I drink the flood"
- Hugo, "99 Problems" (originally by Jay-Z) From Ep.1 - Pilot

The Blacklist is currently on a long four week hiatus because of the Olympics that are being held in Sochi. I'll admit the only events I watch are Ice Hockey and Curling (I can admit that to you since I consider you all friends). I know what you're thinking. You're saying to yourselves, "Curling? Why would anyone watch curling?!?" The answer is simple. Curling is as amazing as it is cool...literally. In my opinion curling is the most underrated event of the Olympics much like The Blacklist was underrated at first then quickly picked up steam once everyone had seen James Spader's breathtaking portrayal of Raymond "Red" Reddington. I think I am the first person to ever reference "curling" and Red Reddington in the same sentence; I think that deserves a gold medal. During this long break I thought it would be a great idea to look back at the fascinating characters that have drawn us to our television sets every Monday night and the most decisive moments in the show thus far. I suppose I shouldn't say every Monday night since The Blacklist now holds the record for largest increase in viewership in the category of "Live +7 Day" DVR viewing, an incredible milestone to say the least. Now is a perfect time to go over the most important moments in the show so we can see how far our characters have come and possibly forecast their paths through the last nine episodes of the first season.

Top Moments And What We Know

Red's first encounter with Liz and when he questions Liz about the scar on her wrist - Episode 1 - Pilot

How is it possible we simultaneously learn so much about the relationship between these two yet know so little? The Pilot episode and Red and Liz's first meeting set the stage for the entire show up to this date. We know Red is a criminal and a liar which he admits freely and has no reservations about sharing that with anyone. We learn that Liz's father was a career criminal (much like Red, wink wink, but more on that later) who abandoned her, and Red tells Liz her mother died of weakness and shame. What exactly does that mean?
There was an obvious connection between Red and Liz since he asked to speak to only her but how deep their connection goes is the real question. When Red asks Liz about her scar it opened up a whole list of questions that grows with each new episode and I'm sure its integral to the over-arching mystery. We know it happened during a fire but notice how Red says "Someone tried to hurt you." He didn't ask but rather stated a fact like he knows the real story, however, Liz answers "Not exactly, no." Is it possible she doesn't know the truth of the matter and Red does? We also learn that it happened when Liz was 14 years old, but that is all the information we get at that point. During this scene at The Post Office Red also says "Is a child really what you want? But a baby won't fix what happened in the past." Red has obviously been spying on her to get this kind of detailed personal information but why? What does he want? What is his end game? These questions are what make this show the standout hit it is. An intricate hybrid of "case-of-the-week" and serialized story makes for perfect television entertainment. Episode 1 does a great job at drawing us in and setting the stage for what becomes a great first half of the season. Liz's life is turned upside-down from the moment we first see her with Tom (happily married, great job, great home) to the last moment with her discovery of the box containing passports with different names and Tom's photo, money, and a gun.

Liz discovers the box under the floor board - Episode 1 - Pilot

Liz's first day as a field agent was not how she imagined it to be and having blood stained carpets was very discomforting to say the least. However, it was great a great reason to get Liz to cut out the stained carpet. Could this be why Red sent Zamani to attack Tom? Did Red ask Zamani so there would be blood on the carpet that Liz would want to change in turn revealing a floorboard where Red knew Tom hid his get-out-of-the-country-quick-box? That's a long con even Sawyer would envy (LOST reference). The scene is important for two reasons; the first of which is it planted a seed of doubt about Liz's husband being a "good guy" to both Liz and us, the audience. The second reason is because it adds to the air of mystery surrounding the scar on Liz's hand; The symbol engraved on the box is identical to the scar on Liz's wrist. This was a great moment in the show as it expanded the overall mystery and lead to another great moment when...

Tom discovers the box under the floor board - Ep 5 - The Courier

This one is a bit of a head scratcher. How did Tom know to look under the floorboard? In the photo to the right I screen-grabbed from the episode it almost appears that Tom is smiling when replacing the cover of the floorboard. If this is true, then the box and its contents are Toms and Red is right to tell Liz to be careful about her husband. Tom, of course, denies all wrong-doing and the aftermath changes the balance in their relationship. The moment is one of the most important in the show because it still has ramifications down the road. In the back of Liz's mind, no matter what, she will always suspect Tom and wonder what the truth really is with her husband. Every time Liz is confronted with a dilemma whether or not to trust her husband this incident will make her second-guess what she thought she knew about him. She did it when she found a picture of Tom in Gina Zanetakos' apartment along with another box with the same engraving on the lid as the one she found underneath her floor. Is Tom a good guy or a bad guy? We will be asking ourselves that until the season finale when hopefully we will get some more concrete details.

Liz asks Red "Why her" - Ep 3 - Wujing
In this Episode, Liz and Red work together to take down blacklister #84, Wujing. What had bothered me up to this point was that Liz did not ask enough, or the appropriate, questions of Red that would give her the answers she needs. What The Blacklist does best is give us just enough information to keep us satisfied but always wanting more. This moment is important because we get another piece of the puzzle but of course with each new piece more answers emerge. Liz asks Red "why her" and he says that it is because of her father. When she asks if Red knew her father, he says that the answer is complicated, and says no more. Not the biggest clue in the over-all scheme of things but we will take it. Plus it shows that the overall mystery is just as important to the writers as the criminals-of-the-week are.

Red rescues Liz from The Stewmaker - Ep 4 - The Stewmaker

This is one of my favorite episodes of the series so far. Red swooping in to save the day was the highlight of the episode and we get some excellent writing when Red waxes philosophical to The Stewmaker. What we get in this moment is a number of things. Red proves he really is here to protect and care for the well-being of Liz and he is adept at carrying out missions on his own. We also get another puzzle piece to add to our collection when Red takes a photograph from the book The Stewmaker kept of his victims. The photograph is of a pretty girl and what's important to note is the date written at the bottom. The date, 12 '90, happens to be the same date that Red disappeared long ago. What's the connection? Who is the girl? In the analogy that Red told The Stewmaker before he pushed him into the tub of chemicals, is Red the farmer?

Red destroys his newly purchased home - Ep 7 - Frederick Barnes
When Red recalled his troubled past in this episode we only saw a small bit of what could have been his daughter. Nonetheless he chose to destroy any memories he had in that house when he had Dembe plant explosives in the basement to detonate as they drove away. Why did Red need that house destroyed? Red tells Luli, "I spend everyday trying to forget what happened here. This (referring to the destruction) should help". What happened that was so horrible that he needed to blow up a house to help him forget it? The moment is important because it gives us a glimpse into Raymond Reddington whose memories are shaped by a past that he doesn't want catching up to him. His past is so horrible that he would rather see the home obliterated than have it exist at all. Red does comment that he raised his family in that house and tells Luli that it used to be lovely, not anymore. Maybe one day we will find out what exactly happened at 66 Luli Lane (the 66 is the house number but I have no idea the street name so I named it after Red's fallen assistant).

Sam dies at the hands of Red/Red speaks with Tom for the first time - Ep 8 - General Ludd

The 8th episode of the season seemed to be more about the serialized mystery of The Blacklist than the actual criminal-of-the-week. I did like the villain in this episode and thought it was a story the writers could have done more with down the road though. I also did not see the twist coming where Red killed Sam, Liz's "dad". Sam wanted to tell Liz the "truth" because she deserved to know, according to him, but apparently Red was not ready for her to know whatever the "truth" might be, so, what else to do but kill him. We learned in this episode that Sam adopted Liz when she was 4 after her mother passed away and Sam just "happens" to know Red. This, surprisingly, was not the best part of the episode. The best part came when Red left the hospital after and sits down next to Tom. This happens to be their first meeting, that we see, and the two actors do such a great job with the scene. As the audience, we are to believe that Red knows who Tom is but that Tom has no idea Red exists let alone what he looks like. Red sort of alludes to the fact that he will always be watching over Liz, protecting her and we get a sense that Tom understands who Red is after the conversation. Tom does look very nervous throughout the scene and I think it will be an important event by the time the season finale rolls around.

Liz asks Red if he is her father - Ep 10 - Anslo Garrick
The question on everyone's mind since the pilot episode and one that I don't think will be answered for another season or two. Liz just comes right out and asks Red in the final scene of the midseason finale if Red is her father and he flat out denies it...after a 3 or 4 second pause of course to make us question the veracity of his answer. A hot;y debated topic regarding the show with clues pointing to both a yes and no answer. Like I've said before, the answer is not as simple a yes or no. When we do find the real answer it will be a little more complicated than that. The show and it's characters are complex so why would we expect anything less in the answers to its mysteries.

Liz chooses to NOT adopt a baby with Tom - Ep 13 - The Cyprus Agency
I chose this moment because it speaks to the lengths Red will go to get his way. He purposely chooses the blacklister that week to be The Cyprus Agency, a criminal organization that creates opportunities for adoptive parents to get the exact child they want by sedating women and impregnating them. Red chooses this blacklister because he knows that Tom and Liz are planning on adopting a child and he hopes that the case and the subsequent interviews will act as a deterrent to Liz...which it does. Liz tells Tom that she thinks they are not ready to adopt because their relationship is broken. The moment is important because it shows how manipulative Red is and that he always gets what he wants. This time he did not want Liz to adopt a baby with Tom and it worked.

Red kills Fowler - Ep 13 - The Cyprus Agency
This scene was the last one we saw before this latest hiatus. I believe it's important because it shows that Red is, in most ways, above the law. It also shows us that he is determined as he is great at being a criminal. When he set out on that road of revenge after the Midseason Break he wanted nothing more than to catch the mole and dispose of him or her (or them). He had no problem with fatally shooting the US Assistant Attorney General Fowler even after she asked him if he wanted to know the "truth" about his family and that fateful night. Red, of course, said he would like nothing more but very calmly stated that if she knew others would know.

First appearance of Jolene and Red looking at the newspaper photo of her - Ep 12 - The Alchemist

In episode 12, The Alchemist is the next blacklister given to the FBI by Red. The Alchemists unique talent is that he can take ordinary people and "change" their DNA after killing them to make it appear that his clients are deceased when in fact he creates new lives for them. He essential creates doppelgängers for his clientele. It was not a coincidence that this happens to be the blacklister in the same episode that we are introduced to Jolene. The writers meant for that to happen. Red is looking at an obituary for 'Lucy Brooks' but then later in the episode we see that she is actually alive and a substitute teacher, which would help her get closer to Tom and Liz. It's clear she has a hidden and nefarious agenda because when we first see her she has a dossier on Tom. Who is she really? What's her relationship to Red? Why is she so interested in Tom? Does Red know she is alive?

A Look Ahead And Questions Unanswered

Ostensibly The Blacklist is a story about new beginnings and fresh starts. It is also a 'chosen one' story at its core and that fact is what appealed to me in the first place and kept me glued to the screen each week. The show being serialized will always make us want answers to the questions posed week after week and moving forward with the story this season I believe we will get more answers about Tom and Liz's relationship than we will about anything else. We probably won't know the secret behind what Red's overall plan is, for Liz or himself, besides a small snippet of information in the finale that will make us so anxious for season two this fall. As long as the writers and creator keep doling out incredible stories week after week I have no problem with the wait.

- In Episode 1, We find out that Red was behind the attack on Tom by Zamani. Why did Red need Tom injured? Was it just to get the ball rolling for Liz to see Tom in a malevolent light like Red? Was it so there would be blood on the carpet that Liz would have to replace revealing the box underneath the floor board?

- In Episode 2, Red says to Liz "What if I told you all the things you knew about yourself is a lie". How does Red know the truth? Sadly, I'm afraid we won't get this answer until season 2 or beyond. But it will be well worth the ride.

- In Episode 9 Liz holds a partially burnt stuffed rabbit and reminisces about the fire from her childhood. What caused the fire and what does it mean in Liz's life? how does it all relate to the scar on her right hand if at all? We know that Liz received the scar from her "father" when she was 14 but what are the specifics?

- Who is the girl in the picture that Red took from The Stewmaker's book? What is her relationship to Red? Who wanted her dead that they hired The Stewmaker to kill her and why?

- Who is Jolene/Lucy Brooks? Does Red think she is deceased or no? What is her relationship to Red? Who does she work for?

- Is Red Liz's biological father? It's probably too early to ask a question like this since this the major mystery of the show but still on everyone's mind.

- Will Liz and Tom adopt that baby? Will Liz find out that Tom seeks solace in the company of Jolene?

- Is Tom a good guy or a bad guy? If he is a bad guy I wonder if we will find out because he makes a mistake or because Liz starts to dig deeper into her husband's history per Red's instructions.

- What secrets does Fitch Crowley not want to get out?

- Whats the connection between Liz's scar and the engraving on the box found under the floorboard of her and Tom's house and the one found in Gina Zanetakos' apartment? What does the "Y" shape symbolize? Are there other people with that "Y" shape scar besides Liz?


I'm sure there are quite a few important moments that I missed from the first 13 Episodes but that doesn't mean that they are any less important than the ones I listed here. If you can think of any other scenes that should be listed here please leave a comment below. I would love to discuss the show, past and future, with anyone. See everyone next week when we discuss Episode 14 that airs Monday, February 24th. Liz helps Tom come to terms about their impending adoption while Red reveals that a woman from his past, Madeline Pratt is the next target on the Blacklist. Elsewhere, at an elaborate party at the Syrian Embassy, Red convinces Liz to pull off a covert heist. ---Can't wait!

About the Author - Geo N

My name is George and I am from Detroit, MI. My favorite shows are The Blacklist, Hell On Wheels, The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, LOST, Sons Of Anarchy, Sleepy Hollow and countless other shows. When I'm not watching tons of TV, I enjoy reading, playing hockey, comic books, weightlifting, and writing. Thanks for checking out my post.