The Blacklist Declassified

@A.M. @Belle The long post I did on “what happened Red’s family?” (Nov 23 at 3:00 am!) also reached the conclusion that the year of “Bloody Christmas” may have been earlier, perhaps 1987 when Liz was four. I also speculated that Naomi might have had something to do with it and that the memory of “Bloody Christmas” may been why Red didn’t show up in 1990. Remember when he told Madeline Pratt that it was “the reason I haven’t shown up a lot of places over the years.” I’m glad we’re independently reaching the the same general idea. It still doesn’t synch with the age of the little ballet dancer. Who she is remains a mystery. Military academy attendees are not allowed to be married or have dependents. But the writers may not have known that.

@Belle – Great points. Thanks for clearing up that Tom’s prediction that Red would kill Liz once Berlin was dead was a dream! I had totally missed that. Most of your other interpretations are ones I agree with. I was trying to present what is known including all the wiggle room, eg when the writers resort to saying someone “tells a story.” It creates a layer of uncertainty that I fear they plan to pull out from under us at some point! For instance, I agree it’s pretty clear that Red turned Liz over to Sam, but when he says “the way Sam tells the story…” I worry Red or the writers are “up to something.” It occurred to me also about the severity of Red’s burns. I even looked up to see if he (tough as he is) had scars that reflected medical treatment. I reached the conclusion, yes: http://bit.ly/1redcNb (graphic). That aside, Liz’s scar seems implausible.

“The Anniversary Waltz.” Thank you! There appears to be just one child’s growth penciled on the wall in the house. But at times it looks like two children in Red’s flashback and film. And in midwestern-ese you wouldn’t say “I raised my family here” for one child. You’d say “I raised my daughter here.” Little things, but it seems four would be very young for piano lessons. Still, not impossible…

Possible spoilers, this paragraph —–vvvvv
I agree there was no compelling reason for Berlin to have wanted to go after the Task Force. Megan Boone said in an interview that the Task Force may be disbanded (which maybe she shouldn’t have said) http://bit.ly/11EenzD. Plus the producers have put out a still from the Super Bowl episode that looks like the St Valentines Day Massacre in Chicago (which maybe they shouldn’t have done) http://bit.ly/1xQReqT (via @carnojoe). I wonder if that is how the Task Force is being “disbanded.” Surely, at least one supporting character has to go down for the Super Bowl! Hmmm, my guess: Samar. Better not be Aram!)

✛ Red’s burn scars reflect treatment with skin mesh #TheBlacklist @NBCBlacklist http://bit.ly/1redcNb pic.twitter.com/nhiH4a53jc (graphic).