The Blacklist Declassified

I’m with those who think Tom didn’t work with Red prior to his being shot by Lizzy. Red was going to finish him off himself at that point. I never thought it was plausible that Ezra never picked up Liz’s nightly excursions. Red knew something was up with Tom but wanted Lizzy to confide in him.

BUT, I keep notes on plot points that are unresolved and here is one… Very early on, in Episode 1:2 (The Freelancer/Floriana Campo), after Liz has found the box with Tom’s fraudulent passports in it, she confronts Red:

Liz: What do you know about the passports?
Red: What passports?
Liz: You know what I’m talking about. As far as I’m concerned, you put them there.
Red: Put what, Lizzy?
Liz: The box. The money and the gun. The passports.
Red: Who else have you told? What?
Liz: Nobody.
Red: Have you told Cooper?
Liz: No.
Red: If you go to the police, they’ll file charges. If the gun’s not registered, it’s a felony.

1. Red disarms, 2. Tom shoots, 3. Red is hit, 4. Red rushes to shoot Tom (Liz stops him)

The passports are 25 years each. On the other hand, if you confront him, what good does that do? He’ll deny everything, and you’ll continue to doubt him. Either way, it’s an impossible situation.

<<< But, later, the topic comes up again: >>>

Liz: We’ve confirmed that Floriana Campo was running a fortune through the Kowloon Bank. You were right. The woman ran the Eberhardt cartel. Based on the information you gave us, we were able to intercept the shipment and rescue the girls.
Red: She preyed on the weak and the innocent while dressed in the wings of a savior. I detested everything about her.
Liz: I had no idea. I mean, I just I should have known.
Red: We never really know anyone, do we? [❗] What are you gonna do, Lizzy? About this situation with Tom? It seems you have two options. Either you turn him in or confront him. Or perhaps there’s a third option.…

⋙ What in the world is this “third option”? He doesn’t say.

Did you all figure this out last year? It could just mean Red was considering ways he might neutralize or win over Tom very early on… He’s always mulling all the possibilities. But he was warning Liz or asking her about him, or trailing him, even at one point capturing him… right up until Tom held a gun to her head. Tom even shot at Red and grazed him, when Red had essentially disarmed himself… It looks like it was Lizzie’s hair getting in the way that threw off his aim… So I’m going with the notion he didn’t collaborate with Red until he had his near-death experience.

>>> Maybe Red had intended to kill Tom or have him killed… What was the “third option”?

BLDeclass/WSJ: [Hiatus:] What was Red’s “third option” for Tom? wp.me/pDKwi-4f #TheBlacklist @NBCBlacklist pic.twitter.com/MwG3wwKsoE <or> http://bit.ly/1xZcSrI