Liz and Jennifer will be teaming up in The Blacklist's sixth season to take down the man currently known as Raymond Reddington. How the newly united sisters will work together is something The Blacklist's creator, Jon Bokenkamp, has teased. Here's what he had to say:
These are two women who have very different backgrounds. Jennifer was just short of living in hiding in a witness protection program. Liz was becoming a law enforcement agent. They have different mothers. But they do share Raymond Reddington as a father. They both believed that this man was Raymond Reddington. There's this betrayal that has bonded them, these two very different people. . . . The way in which they will choose to run down this story is not always going to be the same. They may not always agree.
It sounds like some sisterly conflict may be in the cards! Just from the brief bit of time they spent together in The Blacklist's fifth season, it readily registered that these two would not always be on the same page. Liz has lived on the run for a time, though, so perhaps they can bond over that shared experience and find some common ground. What Jon Bokenkamp shared with TVLine indicates that their differences could end up complimenting each other.
Jennifer and Liz come from different backgrounds and share different mothers. The common link is Raymond Reddington, a guy viewers now know is deceased and, quite frankly, do not know as much about as it initially seemed. Jon Bokenkamp continued about the sisters' dynamic, saying:
It's probably important to point out that while Jennifer has no real law enforcement experience, Liz not only is an FBI agent, she's an FBI agent who has arced dark, believing that Raymond Reddington is her father for the past five years. I mean, she stewed somebody last season. The way in which they navigate this story together is going to be fun to watch.
Whoever Liz has "stewed", as Jon Bokenkamp puts it, it was not based on the man identified as the "real" Raymond Reddington. She has conjured this identity based on the man she previously believed her biological father to be. The question for The Blacklist's sixth season (and Liz and Jennifer) to uncover is not only who the current Red is. It is also who dead Red was.
Jennifer grew up believing he was/is a monster. To the public, he is not far away from that, either. The Red that Liz knows has a dark side. But, he in no way completely aligns with who his public image has perpetuated him to be.
In truth, viewers know less about "Red" than they originally thought. Jon Bokenkamp's tease not only reveals how Liz and Jennifer's collaboration will go. Bokenkamp also affirms that Raymond Reddington is their father.
Could that poke a hole in my theory that Raymond Reddington was a twin and that each brother played him at different times? Following that train of thought, "fake" Red would be Liz's biological father and not Jennifer's.
Jon Bokenkamp's emphasis on them sharing Raymond Reddington as their biological father is telling. It potentially teases that whomever James Spader is currently playing, he is not Liz's biological father, after all.
That is an angle that is difficult to reconcile given the lengths "fake" Red has gone to for Liz and has not gone to for Jennifer. In Season 5, Red made it pretty clear he did not have much feeling for Raymond Reddington's other daughter. If he is a complete imposter, why would he care for one of Raymond Reddington's daughters over the other?
Also, will a bit of sibling rivalry come into play in Season 6? Liz has experienced the affection of who she believed was her father, whereas Jennifer has grown up detesting him and received no support from "fake" Red at all. That is a lot of history to shake overnight.
Whatever happens, The Blacklist is about to dive into some very exciting territory. Unraveling this mystery in the span of the upcoming season is going to be a ride.
The Blacklist's sixth season premiere will kick off over two nights. The super-sized Season 6 premiere begins Thursday, January 3 at 10 p.m. ET and concludes on Friday, January 4 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. It will continue airing throughout the midseason.
