Warning: Spoilers for the newest episode of The Blacklist Season 6 -- "General Shiro" lie ahead.
The Blacklist sent viewers into its upcoming two-hour event with a moving story about Dembe and Red. While in his cell, Red shared a cigar with Harold, and told of how Dembe heroically saved his life. They were in a ship that capsized and Red drowned. Dembe was able to pull Red onto a wooden door and resuscitate him.
Red followed up by saying that Dembe saved his life, adding “Dembe’s always saved my life.” Keep that in mind because the show went on to reveal, or rather confirm, something else.
Even if you may have thought Dembe knew everything about Red, The Blacklist had yet to confirm it formally for Liz. In the latest episode, Dembe did just that. He affirmed to her that he knew all the answers she was looking for about Red. That's an indication that Dembe knows everything regarding Red’s true identity and beyond.
Along with affirming Liz’s assertions about how much he knows, Dembe also assured her she is a lot like her mother. Hearing it from Dembe seemed to relieve Liz, who is now treating everything Red says as lies.
Dembe’s confirmation of knowing all of Red’s secrets coupled with Red saying that Dembe always saved his life could be huge. What if, by helping Red assume Raymond Reddington’s identity, Dembe was saving Red’s life?
Perhaps, the decision to take Raymond Reddington’s identity was a matter of life and death. Not a power play or move to help his business.
As The Blacklist has pointed out throughout Season 6, whoever Raymond Reddington truly is, he is probably not a super bad person. Dembe would not be his friend otherwise.
The psychiatrist also said as much during her evaluation in “The Ethicist.” She indicated Red was having to keep a part of himself secret for an unknown reason. Could that person be far from the one he is purported to be? Is Red really Raymond Reddington’s good twin?
Dembe knows everything. Along with Red’s real identity, he also knows why Red needed The Pharmacist. That's a storyline that has yet to be entirely revisited or revealed. One thing worth noting is that Red emphasized how Dembe always saves him. That seems to hint that Dembe will do so again.
Dembe is one of the few people who know the truth, for now. The teaser for next week’s installment hinted that is about to change. Check it out below:
It appears that Liz may be talking to Ressler when she says, “Everything I thought I knew was a lie.” Whether she knows the whole truth when she says that is unclear. She is probably recapping him on everything she knows so far.
At the end of the teaser, Red says, “Now you know the truth.” She may know some of it, but all of it seems doubtful.
Not as doubtful is that the jury will be asked if they reached a verdict in Red’s case. Even that story could go on with a deadlocked jury unable to make a decision. Will Red go free? Or will his entertaining courtroom drama continue?
Find out what is found out about Red’s true identity when The Blacklist’s special 2-hour event airs Friday, February 22 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC. The crime drama is among many shows airing new in the midseason.
