The Blacklist has packed in its fair share of twists through the years, and there's no sign that they'll stop being unleashed. It's been a wild ride, and there are still some things I would love to still see happen when the crime drama returns for Season 8 -- or at least, twists that could usher in some real surprises.
If you're already pumped for it and require further theoretical possibilities, then look no further. When it comes to The Blacklist, the sky tends to be the limit for potential twists. Short of anything supernatural occurring, the renewed drama tends to play with its share of futuristic ideas. So what does that mean for the twists I would love to see?
What I'm about to propose are a few twists that would stay within the bound of reason and the show’s mythology. They're also things that seem possible, as The Blacklist heads out of Liz’s ominous stand with her mother, a person I believe to be the real villain of the show – Katarina Rostova.
Without further ado, here's where I hope The Blacklist’s twists and turns are heading next in Season 8.
Red Is Really Raymond Reddington After All
The Blacklist has gone the exotic route when previously “revealing” Red’s true identity. In Season 6, it made viewers believe that Red’s actual identity laid in the elaborate answer of Ilya Koslov. Fast forward, and viewers now know that Red is not Ilya, leaving all of us to once again wonder who he is.
Considering all of the missing pieces and the continued vitality of the twin theory, the potential is still there for The Blacklist to surprise viewers. How? With the biggest twist of all -- Red is Raymond Reddington after all. Stay with me for a second because it has to do with that twin theory.
If the real Raymond Reddington had an identical twin (as I believe), he might be the one who died. In all of the confusion, Red’s twin may have been the one who perished and whose bones ended up in that bag. Their DNA would match, and The Blacklist has not confirmed that Red is not genetically related to the real Raymond.
With this, Red could actually be the real Raymond, and the world knowing the real Raymond is alive could be why Red is so determined to keep the truth a secret. In so many instances, the truth on The Blacklist is hiding in plain sight. Maybe the same thing applies to Red.
Liz Already Knows Who Red Really Is
Liz is on a mission. Or at least, she seems to be on The Blacklist. Her goal is to find out who Red really is and discover all of the secrets he is hiding. This has, of course, led to Liz’s surprising alliance with her mother and complete turn from Red’s side. (She even threatened him.) Whether or not Liz ever honestly believed that Red was Ilya Koslov, she now knows for sure that he's not.
What if the reason for her surprising turnaround with Katarina is that she already knows who Red really is? After Liz learned the truth about Red not being Ilya, she could have theoretically learned who he really is off screen on The Blacklist. Occam’s razor, anyone? A seasoned investigator like Liz should be able to put two and two together at this point.
So if you believe the twin theory, those two are Raymond Reddington and his twin brother. You have to think that Liz has considered Red being Raymond Reddington’s twin as a possible answer to everything. With that said, she has curiously never mentioned the possibility aloud, to my recollection.
Nevertheless, Liz could very well have thought of it, and whatever she knows could be fueling this newfound feud with Red. The depth of Liz’s seething anger at Red seems to be about more than the closely guarded secret of his identity and his illness. She seems to know something explosive enough to turn on him.
Katarina Rostova Is Dead
When The Blacklist began, Red claimed that Katarina had died. Cut to Season 6, and that seemed to be confirmed as a lie. The thing is Red is a pretty honest guy when asked about something directly, which makes his fib comes across all the more strange. What if he was telling the truth, though? What if Katarina Rostova has been dead?
And for whatever reason, he is going along with pretending that the woman claiming to be Katarina is actually her. Whether or not “Katarina” is an imposter is not the big takeaway from this proposed twist, though. The twist is that Liz may be seeking a relationship with a person that is not her mother, and her actual mother may have taken her secrets to the grave.
If Katarina is dead, the revelation would change everything. For years, The Blacklist has always dangled the possibility that she is alive. But if she is deceased, it means Katarina Rostova may not be the villain, but another semi-victim in this sordid tale.
Her memory is being used for some purpose, and it could be to simply get close to Liz for a more profound goal. In my opinion, the Katarina that The Blacklist has shown in its many flashbacks does not gel with the woman viewers are meeting now. Think about it. If the real Katarina were alive, she would have already taken down this imposter.
Red Is Actually Liz’s Biological Father
Whoever Red turns out to be, I think there is a real possibility that he is Liz’s biological father on The Blacklist. How else do you explain Red giving up the love of his life to rush into Liz's life? She was a complete stranger. Why would he go to all of these extremes for a woman he had never met when all of this began?
It makes no sense. The Red that viewers have gotten to know would not take all of the chances that he has for anyone, not to mention his generous forgiveness of her betrayals. Red is all about loyalty, and Liz had done nothing to earn his when The Blacklist began. She merely existed. What drew Red to her in the first place?
We now know the angle that he was sworn to protect her by Katarina is not precisely accurate. That whole conversation between Ilya and Katarina, during which she asks him to protect her daughter, was apparently one of Dom’s fictions; that is if there were bits and pieces of the Ilya saga that were true. There could be some kernels of truth The Blacklist presented.
The thing is that Katarina seems to have no knowledge of who Red really is. If she ever told him to take care of her daughter, whoever he was then, you would think Katarina would recall that or at least tell Liz. That would not really succeed in strengthening the wedge between Red and Liz, so maybe she is keeping that secret. Speaking of Red’s secrets…
Tom Is Still Alive
The Blacklist has had some shocking deaths, but Tom Keen getting killed off probably takes the cake. Okay, I was pretty rocked (and will never be the same) after Mr. Kaplan apparently met her end. Mr. Kaplan’s death was pretty hard to get out of, as she jumped from a bridge. But Tom’s demise is open to a bit more speculation.
Liz and the audience never actually saw Tom die. She woke up, and Red told her that Tom didn't make it -- ten months after the fact. Remember, Liz was in a coma for a long time, leading to her subsequent quest for revenge. Since we The Blacklist viewers didn't actually see Tom perish, I always held on to that ray of hope.
Of course, any hope should be met with certain restraints. Ryan Eggold told EW that Tom was “unequivocally dead” after the episode aired. So that would seem to indicate that Tom did indeed meet his end. Still, as Eggold pointed out in that same interview, The Blacklist has been known to evolve or change course. Tom was supposed to die in the pilot after all.
Things change behind the scenes on any show, and The Blacklist is no exception. Of course, I liked Tom and his relationship with Liz, so maybe I am a bit biased or at least, have reason to have hope that it could happen. It's not entirely out of the realm of possibility, though, in terms of the story.
I can totally see where Tom might have been in a coma, and silencing Tom to keep his secret was Red’s only choice. Instead of killing Tom, he has been holding him prisoner in one of his many off-site locations. By telling Liz that Tom is dead, he has avoided people looking for him, and The Blacklist has a potential secret up its sleeve. Will that shocking twist unfold?
So will any of these twists happen? I honestly have a bit of hope that some of these things could actually come to fruition. Tom turning out to be alive and Katarina being dead are probably the least likely to occur. Ryan Eggold is on the excellent medical drama, New Amsterdam so, if Tom were to return, it would probably happen during the series finale. So we'll just have to wait and see how this and everything else pans out.
Stay tuned when The Blacklist returns for Season 8 on NBC well after this summer’s premieres. To check out past shockers on The Blacklist, you can watch previous seasons on Netflix alongside content arriving in 2020.
