The Blacklist Finale- Disappointed or Happy?

By: Greg Rector

 The Blacklist I have to say, I was disappointed in the final episodes. I wanted to find out who Raymond Reddington really was for those of us who went through the entire series. Instead, we saw a farewell that was a bit morose for me. James Spader was still magnificent right until the bull killed him in Spain.

The Task Force

Harold Cooper played by Harry Lennix so well for all ten seasons was yet again magnificent as he has always been throughout the series. His direct approach to being stood up to by Agent Nixon in the final two episodes was brilliant. How he stayed with Agent Dembe Zuma portrayed so well by Hashim Tawfiq after getting shot by the Congressman and those moments they spent together was a decent wrap-up of how great a man Harold Cooper was on “The Blacklist.” Dembe doesn’t end up with a job after the Attorney General decided against charging him for making the call to Raymond Reddington.

Agent Donald Ressler played by Diego Klattenhoff who was the original agent of the FBI to go after Raymond Reddington was the one who found Raymond Reddington’s lifeless body in Spain. His character was such a good guy who went through sheer hell in first trying to find Reddington and to have him be the FBI agent who ends up finding his body was a great ending to the series. Agent Ressler will never be forgotten as he dealt with addiction his lost love for Elizabeth Keen and all the other things he had to do being involved in the task force.

Agent Malik was never dealt with as far as her relationship with her mother went. So her character was really left out of the finale for the most part in my opinion.

My Questions After The Blacklist Finale

Who was Raymond “Red” Reddington? How did he become Reddington? Why was he so dedicated to saving Elizabeth Keen for those first eight seasons of the show? Where does all of Raymond Reddington’s money go after his death? Does Dembe Zuma get it as was promised when Reddington was going to die at the end of season eight? We shall never know the truth behind who Raymond Reddington really was. That’s the single biggest problem with how the series ended up going though. After Megan Boone decided to end portraying Elizabeth Keen the questions about who Raymond Reddington really was went out the window.

What happens with Raymond’s vast fortune likely means that Agnes Keen ends up being a very wealthy young lady is my guess. I really found that the final phone call between her and Reddington was handled beautifully.

I still want to know whatever Elizabeth Keen’s real mother Katrina Rostovo became as well as why none of that was ever covered by the series something for the producers to deal with. It’s just disappointing to those who watched all 218 episodes of The Blacklist as I have and millions of others did as well.

My Final Thoughts

My final thoughts on “The Blacklist,” are to say thank you to the producers of the show. The cast and the crew of the series were fantastic. Even when production had to be shut down during the seventh season and they created an episode using the characters as animated in order to give us a final episode for that season. My wish list was almost complete with the series however I still want to know who Raymond Redington really was that’s going to be left to our collective imaginations.