Spoilers for the Season 7 finale of The Blacklist entitled “The Kazanjian Brothers” are discussed below.
Liz has made some shocking decisions in her time on The Blacklist, though none of them have been more surprising than the one she arrived at towards the end of the Season 7 finale. In the last minutes of the season, Liz took sides in the brewing battle between her mother, Katarina Rostova, and father-figure, Raymond “Red” Reddington.
After seven years with Red and barely a seventh of that with Katarina, Liz decided to go all-in on Team Katarina. In the final sequence of the Season 7 finale, during a monologue which was either spoken to her grandfather or to herself, an animated Liz laid out her cards moving forward on The Blacklist. Arriving at a still unconscious Dom’s bedside, Liz told him:
Hey. Doctors say you're going to wake up soon. When you do, I need you to know the person who did this to you, my mother. I’m on her side now. I’m committed to helper her find the truth she's looking for. Anyone who is in her way, is in my way. That includes you and that includes Reddington.
It got even worse. It seems that Liz is saying that if Dom (her own grandfather) or Red (the man who has saved her life countless times) get in her way, they will have to die. Neither Dom nor Red would say the same about her. Nevertheless, Liz left little room for doubt as to her menacing meaning in her Season 7 finale monologue.
Liz’s turn to the darkness was strongly hinted at during The Blacklist’s 150th episode last week. Cut to the Season 7 finale, and it has arrived, despite my doubts it would actually happen. Well, I stand corrected, and here is the rest of Liz’s speech to prove it:
It’s strange. I was afraid earlier of that darkness I was telling you about. I’ve always feared it. Ever since Reddington entered my life I’ve worried that his darkness might somehow overtake me. That it might just swallow me whole. But now that I’m here, I’m not afraid. In fact, I embrace this part of me and wherever it takes us on our way to the truth. You and me, Reddington, I’m at peace with that. I embrace that. I consider it my destiny.
Seriously. I have tried to defend Liz in Season 7 and even forgave her for betraying Red and almost getting him executed. To side with her mother after all of this means she has really learned nothing from either of these experiences on The Blacklist. Now, she is pairing up with Katarina, and it is, arguably, her worst idea yet, and that is saying something.
Last season on The Blacklist, Liz teamed up with the real Raymond Reddington’s other daughter, Jennifer. Fast forward, and she is again aligning with a not-so-great relative. That said, Katarina did make some good points in regards to wanting Red to stop whatever it is he set in motion, so she can get back to her life. There is just one problem.
Before she kidnapped him, Red warned Katarina about her being in danger during last season’s finale of The Blacklist. If he wanted her dead or did not want to help at all, why would he give any sort of heads up? Katarina tends to forget that crucial detail, and instead, she has focused on torturing Red and Ilya Koslov to get the “truth.”
Right before the Season 7 finale, Katarina upped the tyrannical ante by kidnapping and threatening to kill Dembe’s Imam, if Dembe did not reveal Red’s secret. That is the action that convinced me that Katarina is the real villain of The Blacklist. Whereas for Liz, Katarina only solidified her position as mother of the year. Yikes.
Yes, Katarina saved Red’s life when he was dying from his mystery illness during the Season 7 finale. Yes, Katarina covered for Liz with Red over Liz’s latest betrayal. Does any of this change all of the awful things she has done so far on The Blacklist? No. Remember, it is not all just recent stuff, either. Years ago, she framed the real Reddington as a traitor.
She is not a saint, people. And, I do not understand why Red cannot come clean about who is after her. In other words, who put the Townsend Directive on Katarina’s tail and convinced them she had some sought-after blackmail info. Nor do I get why Red cannot come clean about who he really is on The Blacklist.
The Season 7 finale brought viewers no closer to learning the truth on that front. It did not rule out the possibility that Red is the real Raymond Reddington’s twin brother, though. This is good news for that theory, as Liz’s morality begins sliding down the drain (which really does make me sad).
I have always been a Liz fan, and she is still a refreshing TV heroine who has worn many hats, including those of wife, mother, friend, and now daughter. But this decision turned me off. Despite her mother’s absence, Liz has always acted as her daughter by showing how in denial or in awe she's been of the mysterious shadow that has been her mom.
Hopefully, Liz’s loyalty to Katarina is short-lived or an all-out con for her mother’s benefit that will be revealed in Season 8. I cannot bear for Liz and Red to be on opposite sides – again. They are just too wonderful together when they are eye-to-eye. Now that Liz has chosen her side, it is time for viewers to choose theirs.
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The Blacklist is gone for now but will return for Season 8 on NBC at some undisclosed date in the future. But, it is safe to say that Blacklist fans will have to wait until after this summer’s premieres for it to debut. Until then, you can busy yourself with past seasons of the crime drama on Netflix, along with lots of 2020 arrivals.
