Season 9 of The Blacklist has been eventful for Aram, to say the very least. Like other members of the Task Force, his life took him in a very different direction than he was used to after the tragedy Liz’s death. Unlike others (and certainly unlike Ressler), however, he had a lot to give up in order to return to his job at the FBI. Now, the next episode will finally provide some background on what kept Aram busy during those years of the time jump, and an exclusive episode clip (seen above) reveals his “million dollar idea.”
As shown in the flashback clip, the episode of The Blacklist that airs on April 22 – called “El Conejo” – will reveal what exactly Aram was up to in his life two years ago. The time jump between the end of Season 8 and beginning of Season 9 was two years, so this version of Aram is understandably still mourning the tragic death of Liz and the loss of the life he knew as part of the FBI’s Task Force. Fans already knew that Aram left the Bureau and began developing some very lucrative tech in the private sector; the new episode clip reveals that it was some “offensive” software rather than defensive.
He doesn’t find the most sympathetic friend in Nick, but Aram didn’t go to Nick looking for sympathy, and he had no trouble drumming up interest in turning his idea into a business. In fact, Nick considered it a “billion dollar idea.” It looks like Aram might have given up even more than was clear earlier in Season 9, when he decided to return to the FBI! Aram looks thrilled by the end of the scene, in a complete turnaround from how he looked at the beginning, but a lot plainly happened for him over the rest of the two-year time jump.
And if the episode description is any indication about his storyline in “El Conejo,” he’s in for a rough ride with the next new case. The official description of the episode from NBC reveals that this could be a very personal case for the Task Force, and they’ll need Red’s help to get out of it. The description reads:
When a member of The Task Force is captured by the leader of a cartel, they turn to Red for guidance. Red investigates a seemingly impossible heist.
This episode comes on the heels of Aram being promoted to Cooper’s former position, after Cooper’s efforts to catch his blackmailer and avoid going down for a murder he didn’t commit ultimately failed. The hits kept on coming for Cooper, so it’s possible that he won’t be much help for the capture in “El Conejo,” which may be bad news for Aram.
Red has of course been occupied with trying to solve Liz’s murder, which has been a mystery spanning almost an entire season. With the finale fast-approaching in the 2022 TV schedule, it may be time to start wondering if the mystery will be solved at all before the end of Season 9.
Fortunately, The Blacklist has already been renewed for Season 10, so the story can continue beyond the upcoming finale. For now, though, you can look forward to the “El Conejo” episode of The Blacklist on Friday, April 22 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. For when the long-running drama and plenty of of other shows will wrap for the season, check out our schedule of big spring TV finales!
