The Blacklist is hurtling towards its Season 6 finale. Lately, one of the prominent big bads of the season has been Anna McMahon. President Diaz’s adviser wanted Red to be executed and they are jointly connected to a conspiracy against the United States. That all sounds pretty damning. Is there more to the story?
The Blacklist’s creator, Jon Bokenkamp, revealed an important season finale tidbit about the duo. Bokenkamp suggests viewers keep an eye out for Anna McMahan and President Diaz. Bokenkamp told TVLine:
We still don’t know what exactly it is they’re plotting. It’s not what you expect.
Not what viewers would expect? Now, this is very interesting. What this viewer would least expect is for them to turn out to be heroes and not villains. Is that even possible?
In its latest episode, The Blacklist hinted there was more to what is going on with Anna McMahon and President Diaz. By episode's end, Red confirmed that Anna had no connection with the Blacklister known as the Third Estate. This, despite her holding that file back from Main Justice.
The audience knows the reason she did that. She told a seeming co-conspirator that she had held the file back on purpose, knowing the Task Force would be looking for her too. In turn, she alerted them to the criminal organization. The person she was talking with hinted at how that fit into their overall plan. Anna interrupted them by adding “Like I said. It’s under control.”
What is under control? There are a lot of puzzle pieces in play. Putting them together to see the overall picture remains hard to do. As Jon Bokenkamp pointed out, fans are not privy to what President Diaz and Anna McMahon's plan is. Many aspects remain a huge question mark.
Could Anna McMahon and President Diaz actually be misunderstood? Could they be secretly working against the conspiracy? Are they trying to shut down the threat against the U.S. themselves? It may sound far-fetched. However, The Blacklist likes to keep the audience assuming one thing when it is actually another.
Like any good magic trick, distraction is the key. Obviously, viewers are in a position to be automatically distrustful of Anna McMahon and President Diaz because they preferred Red dead. Is that blocking viewers’ view to something more though? Could both secretly be good? Will Anna be a long-term member of the Task Force when all is said and done? Maybe. Maybe not.
If she is not a villain that would mean Red misread the situation, which is highly uncharacteristic of him. Considering he has also been wrong about Liz in Season 6, it stands to reason he could have misconstrued the Anna McMahon situation too. Did he? He admitted she was a worthy adversary. Could she ultimately be an ally? Stay tuned.
Find out what surprises are in store for President Diaz and Anna McMahon when the Season 6 finale airs on May 17. The Blacklist continues with this week’s two-hour event. It airs this Friday (April 26) starting at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
