🔴 Season 4 Unanswered Questions
Season 5 Unanswered Questions: http://wp.me/pDKwi-8ch (with comments)
Season 4 Unanswered Questions: http://wp.me/pDKwi-52V (with comments)
Season 3 Unanswered Questions (original version): http://wp.me/pDKwi-39B
Season 2 Unanswered Questions (original version): http://wp.me/pDKwi-ZN
Season 1 (I did not start watching the show until Season 2)
Last Updated: 5/9/2018, 8am CT (Chicago/Central Time)
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🅾️ Season 4 Unanswered Questions
🔺The Swan Lake program: What was the significance of the date? Who was the little dancer Red remembers? Does the story of Swan Lake reflect the story of Red and Katarina?
🔺Why doesn’t Red seem to care about Jennifer? Is he her father or just Naomi’s daughter? Technically, service academy students aren’t supposed to have families (timeline issues).
🔺Who was “Seaduke”?
🔺Is Dom an American citizen? Originally Russian? How did Katarina become a KGB spy? Was Dom himself KGB? When Katarina refers to ‘falling in love with an American’ it seems like she’s referring to a foreigner.
🔺Was Katarina in love with Red? She writes in her diary she was but evades answering when Kate asks her. How did Red and Katarina both know Sam?
🔺Is Red really, really, really Liz’s father? What about “Red never lies to Liz?” (Per Daniel Knauf. (Do writers lie to fans?)) Also, Red repeatedly insists he has never lied to Liz.
🔺In Cape May, Katarina says “It’s not that he died. It’s not even the way he died. It’s in the things I said to him… just before he died.” Who died? What did she say to him? Also, was the necklace real?
🔺What happened between Red and Alexander Rostov at Cape May (or elsewhere)?: “That house by the water, holding a gun in your mouth… I should have pulled the trigger.”
🔺Why did Cooper use 30-year-old DNA? You’d think they’d have taken blood from him and stored samples from when he was in custody. Are the results from the DNA test Liz ordered still on file?
🔺Red told Liz that her father was probably the only man her mother “really loved.” He looked pained when he said this. Was he talking about himself?
🔺What was Diane Fowler talking about (“I know the truth, Red, about that night – about what happened to your family. Do you want to know the truth”)? Is it connected to the story Red told Madeline Pratt? Was the latter just a trick on Madeline?
🔺What happened in the house where Red raised his family that was so bad he wanted to blow it up? Naomi/Jennifer are okay. Liz is okay. Did Red have yet a third family?
🔺Red agreed with Liz when she said she remembers her father saving her from the fire. If so, how did Katarina get her and take her to Kate? Who was ‘dying on the floor of a burning house’? Red ‘was there.’ Why? Who sewed the Fulcrum in the bunny? Will Liz ever see Red’s burn scars?
🔺Why did Liz remember shooting her father? Did she shoot someone else? Was a memory implanted? Red told Liz about Katarina that “The man she loved [was] killed by the child she adored.”
🔺What was Red accused of doing (by the Cabal? the US govt?) that was a set-up? Selling secrets? Why was he set up?
🔺The Cabal has slipped into the background. Are they still coming for Liz? Shouldn’t there be greater public uproar over the revelation of the Cabal? Will the Cabal be destroyed by the end of the series or are we not supposed to care about that?
🔺At the Summer Palace, Liz finds what seems to be the very drawing that in her dreams she sees burning in the fire. How is that possible?
🔺Things never explained: How Pepper got the key. How Red had access to a Presidential limo. What Red whispered to Kirk that kept him from killing him. The last is most important.
🔺Did Red kill Nik (the doctor, Liz’s ex-fiance)?
🔺Red obtained the “Glosnost” file for “Rostova” (Katarina, not Kirk) and then said “It just keeps getting worse.” What did he learn?
🔺What is the story behind Red’s “weird little apartment”? Was it Katarina’s? (Russian books, Zhukov photo)
🔺Was Velov right and Katarina didn’t drown and showed up later in a hotel later?
🔺Did Red have plastic surgery? Maltz says to Red: “You look great, the elascitiy is amazing.” Is Red really Raymond Reddington?
🔺In two different episodes, Red mentions he “died in Marrakech.” Is this significant?
🔺Did Liz really have her memory tampered with only “two years ago”? What memories did Red originally try to expunge?
🔺Whose bones are in the suitcase and why are they so mangled? The “K ” on the tree suggests it was Katarina. What did Red do to Katarina that Dembe thinks Liz will never understand?
🔺Where is “home” to Red?
Thank you to everyone who submitted questions. Special thanks to Nate From Paris (@NathParis on Twitter).
This list was tweeted to Jon Bokenkamp, John Eisendrath, Daniel Cerone (all executive producers/writers) and to writers Daniel Knauf (as a Direct Message), Dave Metzger, Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier. I received a response from Brandon Margolis.
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Notes after Requiem:
⭕ Who was the dark-haired man Katarina was fighting with and killed? They were shouting in Russian. (Anyone speak Russian who can translate what they were yelling?) She tells Kate Alexander doesn’t know anything her being a spy. Was this her KGB handler? Liz’s father? Both?
⭕ A man put Masha in the closet before the fire, according to Liz’s recovered memories. So how did Katarina get her? In Liz’s memory, she screamed and a man wearing black gloves led her through the burning house, not a woman, a man with whom she struggled (she would have recognized her mother). (All this is attenuated by Dr Orchard’s cautioning Liz that her memories were likely altered, particularly with regard to who did what)
⭕ Liz’s scar in the early episodes indicates a severe wound. Yet Masha in Requiem is not even whimpering. Did Liz get her scar later? Red was severely burned during the fire. His story is that Liz’s father “died in that fire.” (And “Red never lies to Liz.”) Yet, Katarina says Red thought he was Masha’s father and that’s why he abducted her. All this assumes Red was the “blond man” – the American, the man in the car
⭕ First: How is it that Sam came to be a person both Katarina knew and trusted? Second: Granting that, why would Katarina have Kate deliver Masha/Liz to Sam? Didn’t she just steal Masha back from Red? Didn’t she just tell Masha “He was a bad man”? How did Red know Liz was with Sam? How could Katarina go from stealing Masha back to delivering her to a friend of the person she stole him back from?
⭕ In Cape May, Red said he had made a “Hobson’s Choice” to save the Masha over Katarina. Yet Requiem doesn’t seem to have Red playing a role in saving Masha at all. Plus he has the scars on his back to show he wasn’t in much of a position that night to be saving anyone, unless he saved Masha, Katarina took her, and then he went back in when he got badly burned. Unless, by saving her, he meant taking Masha from Katarina in the first place. Or subsequently.
⭕ Kirk referred to holding a gun to Red’s head at the beach. “I should have pulled the trigger.” So Red got those awful wounds yet made it to the beach where Katarina disappeared. How was Kirk there? This implies a period of several months between the fire and Katarina’s last phone call to Kathryn. Then again, wounds heal very rapidly on this show. Lol.
⭕ Katarina wrote in her journal “Here I am … In love with an American.” In Requiem, she evades answering Kate’s question. To me Red and Katarina being in love and each sacrificing everything for that love is very moving, but if “meh,” not so much. The underlying question is how much of a “pinko Mata Hari” Katarina was … How many lovers did she have? How human was she? (I’ve been shipping Katington since Cape May.)
Newer:
⭕ So, who sewed the Fulcrum in the bunny? The man with the signet ring put Masha in the closet with her stuffed bunny, so I had assumed it was him. Now it seems that was Red, but Red didn’t know where it was. Did Katarina find it and then sewed it in? ⋙ On the Facebook Lizzington blog, AlyBlacklist points to a scene in 4:17 Requiem which she says shows Kate sewing something … 4/28 🔸//➔ wouldn’t Kaplan have told Red?
⭕ I’m really glad they are going back to the Diane Fowler murder (at the end of The Cyprus Agency), since that raised the profile of an important question: What did she mean here:
Diane: I know the truth, Red, about that night – about what happened to your family. Do you want to know the truth?
Red: More than anything in the world. But if you know the truth, Diane, then somebody else does, too.
At the time, a lot of people thought she was talking about “Bloody Christmas” ~ the story Red told to Madeline Pratt about coming home to “blood everywhere.” While it was never clear that Red wasn’t making this up, Fowler’s reference seemed to verify that something tragic happened to Red’s family. The problem is: What family does he mean? He knows about Naomi/Carla and Jennifer. He knows they’re fine. And (if Liz is his daughter), he knows about Liz/Masha and Katarina. So what didn’t he know? Is there another family? 4/28
🅾️ S3 Questions List w Answers to Resolved
Questions
Original Date: June 3, 2016; Updated 5/24/2017
Permalink: http://wp.me/pDKwi-39B (“you are here”)
Daniel Cerone, writer and an Executive Producer of The Blacklist, wrote:
Before I joined #TheBlacklist this season, I had to know…Red…Liz…their connection. Is there was a plan? There is a plan. It's awesome.
— Daniel Cerone (@DanielVCerone) April 15, 2016
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
⋘ and ⋙
.@momtobe23 All will be explained, but patience and attention to detail will be required. #TheBlacklist
— Daniel Cerone (@DanielVCerone) May 20, 2016
Still, there is a ‘disturbance in the fandom’ – concern that certain story elements, especially from the first two seasons, may have been lost or subtly retconned out of existence. This list includes the most important of these. Here’s hoping that all will indeed be woven into the story’s endgame.
This list will be shared via Twitter with some of The Blacklist’s writers and producers. (Daniel Cerone, Daniel Knauf, Brandon Margolis, Dave Metzger, Brandon Sonnier, Jon Bokenkamp, plus the Blacklist Writers Room)
KEY: ● Unresolved, ❌ = Resolved, ✛= New since S2
⭕ These events seem to be central to the mythology:
[1:1 Pilot] Ressler says ” … Then in 1990, Reddington’s coming home to see his wife and his daughter for Christmas. He never arrives”
[1:7] Luli: “This place must hold a lot of memories for you.” Red: “I spend every day trying to forget what happened here.” 💥‼️ What happened in that house?
[1:13] Diane Fowler tells Red “I know the truth, Red, about that night – about what happened to your family”
[1:14] Red recalls a child (“I can still … feel her little fingers on my cheek”), tells Madeline Pratt “It was Christmas Eve. … I walked through the door. And there was just blood. All I saw was blood. All there was was blood.” [ May be just a ruse to fool Madeline ]
[1:17] Liz has memories of a fire in flashbacks and nightmares (evoked by the Sorrento music box Red built) of a fire at Christmas time. Liz: “I know this song. When I was a little girl, I had these terrible nightmares. I remembered flashes of– of fire and smoke.” Images: Christmas tree on fire, doll’s face melting, girl with stuffed bunny being led through fire.
[1:22] Red tells Liz her father “is dead. He died in that fire.” In the next scene, Red removes his shirt. There are terrible burn scars on his back.
[2:1] Naomi Hyland aka Carla Reddington said she was implicated in Red’s disappearance: “I had a life, you know? [ Voice breaking ] My daughter had a life with a house and a dog. And then I woke up one day. … They accused me of being a part of it? Somehow, I was a suspect.”
[2:9] Red tells Liz “I once had a relatively normal life– bills to pay, playdates, family, some friends, people to care about. Lost all that”
[2:10] In Braxton2, Liz undergoes memory recall therapy: she is four; her name is “Masha”. She sees the fire more vividly, hears an argument, is led through flames by man with gloved hand
[2:22] In Tom Connolly, Liz’s repressed memories are released as she shoots AG Connolly: she watches her parents argue. Liz remembers shooting her father.
[3:23] Alexander Kirk says he is Constantin Rostov. “Masha, I’m your father.” Liz’s Russian name is Masha Rostova (the female form of Rostov).
Related Questions:
All these are still unresolved:
🔸//➔ = Current Status (May 2017)
● Are the Christmas events one event, two, three? An initial event plus a revenge event? 🔸//➔ 1. Red’s car found abandoned (in the Pilot), 2. Red’s story to Madeline, 3. Red’s memories of little girl playing with super-bubbles, 4. Home movie: first Red laughs, then his expression changes to horror
● Red lost or abandoned his family, yet Naomi and Jennifer are alive. Did he have another family? 🔸//➔ when Red talks about ‘play dates, etc’; “lost all that”; because he was framed
● Was “Bloody Christmas Eve” real? What happened? This could be dismissed as a tall tale told by Red to Madeline, except Diane Fowler seemed to confirm something awful happened. [ see note #1 ]
● Who saved Liz from the fire? Red? Her father? Who were the other people there? Why was Red there? Who sewed the ‘interface unit’ of the Fulcrum into Liz’s bunny? 🔸//➔ still unresolved
● Red told Liz, “I’m telling you, with no uncertainty, your father is dead. He died in that fire” [1:22] Yet Alexander Kirk now claims to be her father – both can’t be true.
🔸//➔ as of end of Season 4, it appears Red is Liz’s father
⭕ Other Questions:
● Who is the little ballerina? (timing issues suggest this cannot be Jennifer or Liz) [ see note #2 ] What is the significance of “Swan Lake” (the theme of the Dying Swan)? 🔸//➔ still of interest
● Who is the girl Red remembers at his old house & in his home movies? Who is the woman Red edited out of the film? 🔸//➔ likely Katarina
● What is Jennifer’s relationship to Red? Bio-daughter, step-daughter? 🔸//➔ still a question
✛ Who was the male voice in the Braxton2 argument scene who insisted “her name is Elizabeth?” Alexander Kirk/Constantin Rostov calls her “Masha” in 3:23. 🔸//➔ likely Red
● Why does the shape of Liz’s scar resemble that on the two “go” boxes and bank envelope? 🔸//➔ Red likely is responsible for the boxes, Tom for the envelope
● Who was/is Liz’s father and what was/is his relationship to Red? Why would knowing his identity put Liz’s life “in grave danger”? Has the danger passed? ✛ Is Alexander Kirk/Constantin Rostov really her father? 🔸//➔ knowing Red is her father would make her a target of all his enemies, assuming Red is her father
● Was Katarina really a “Mata Hari”? ✛ (i.e. did she use sex to disarm enemies?) Red’s pained expression when he tells Liz her father was “the only man she ever really loved” – was Red a victim of this? Who was the ghost of Katarina referring to when she says “It wasn’t the way he died … ” in 3:19 Cape May 🔸//➔ still a question
● Why has a DNA test never been done to see if Red is Liz’s father? [[ lol – waaaaay too easy! ]] 🔸//➔ turns out Liz ordered a report after 1:2 and Cooper ordered one from 30yo blood on a shirt in 4:22; why did he got back 30 years for DNA?
● What was Red’s relationship to Liz (if any) prior to the fire? Before someone takes her to Sam? 🔸//➔ Red and Katarina’s relationship lasted several years, assuming Red was the father; Red speaks of Katarina’s pregnancy in familiar terms and they are still having a torrid affair when Liz is about one year old (when Kate becomes her nanny)
● What was Sam’s relationship to Red? ✛ In Pilot, Red says “I haven’t been home in years” – Where was “home”? 🔸//➔ still don’t know
● What was Liz’s father’s “criminal background”? Was this Sam or her bio-dad? Why/how did he “abandon” her? 🔸//➔ Both Sam and Red (as her father) were criminals; Red “abandoned” her to pursue his criminal empire even though he provided monetary support
✛ How did Liz acquire her ability to do brush passes, etc? From Sam? From the FBI? On her own? Did Liz have a criminal background? 🔸//➔ from Sam
● Why did Tom tell Liz “Your father is alive”? Who does he believe Liz’s father was? Did Tom really say it or did Liz make it up? 🔸//➔ Likely he heard something but didn’t know it was Red
● More about Red’s “weird little apartment” – whose was it, if not his? ✛ Why Russian medical books? ✛ Why a photo of Russian General Zhukov? 🔸//➔ possibly because the apartment belonged to Katarina; it seemed frozen in time
● Why would Red have access to a Presidential limo❓🔸//➔ still a question
● Is Liz even an American citizen? A Russian citizen? 🔸//➔ She would be an American citizen because of Red being her father; unclear if her mother was American. Red likely provided Sam with fake IDs
● How was the Cabal established? Why? 🔸//➔ Hardliners and opportunists set it up during the chaos at the time the fall of the USSR
● Why was Fitch in Russia? Was Red there? Is that where/when The Cabal was set up? 🔸//➔ Red and Fitch were both in Russia as part of ONI/CIA ops; Fitch became part of Cabal; Red set up his own criminal network after he was framed. Details on why/how he was framed are lacking.
● How and why was Red framed? By whom? 🔸//➔ He was unjustly framed, but why? Yes, he took the Fulcrum but he took it for leverage against the Cabal, so why did he need leverage?
● Who is Mr. Kaplan? Is she a forensic pathologist? What is her history with Red? She remembers Liz as an infant … [ “Kate” couldn’t be “Kat-e”rina? … Naw ] 🔸//➔ Naw is right. Her history is examined in depth in Requiem. She was a pathologist AND Liz’s nanny
● How has Red used: the Alchemist’s client list, Milton Bobbitt’s client list, the page from the Djinn’s journal? 🔸//➔ I probably wasn’t paying attention
● And of course: What explains Red’s fascination with Liz? 🔸//➔ He’s her father and his mission, his empire was built to protect her; still there’s a dark secret that Dembe implies: “I’m not sure Elizabeth will ever be ready to learn about what you did to Katarina.”
● P.S. What’s with Liz’s dog, Hudson❓️️️Animal lovers need to know‼️🔸//➔ He just faded away like an old soldier.
⭕ Resolved Questions
❌ If Red “never lies to Liz,” why did he say “yes” when she said her only memory of her father was of him pulling her from the fire? [ see note #3 ] 🔸➔ Red doesn’t directly lie to Liz, but he is evasive and tells partial truths. If he is her father, it seems he lied more than once about that.
❌ Why is the argument dialogue when Liz shoots her father different from the argument dialogue in Braxton2? [ see note #4 ] 🔸➔ ( assume writers didn’t expect Braxton2 dialogue to be decipherable )
❌ How did Liz and Red get their scars? Was Liz “branded”? 🔸➔ Red’s and Liz’s burns are from the fire, though Liz’s scar has a mystery to it. In Requiem, Katarina brings Liz to Kate after the fire. She doesn’t act as if she has a burn bad enough to have caused such a scar[ note #5 ]
❌ Why did Liz tell Red she got the scar from a fire when she was 14 and not 4? ‼️
@BlacklistDCd got the scar at age 14 not 4 is due to changes after pilot was shot to actual show.
— TheBlacklist Exposed (@TheBlacklistGSM) June 1, 2016
❌ How does The Director know what Liz’s mother looked like? 🔸➔ He knew Katarina. [ Liz doesn’t look like ghost Katarina in 3:19; Liz looks more like Alex Kirk or like Red (casting!)]
❌ Why does Liz’s mother wear a ring that Tom thinks looks like one Berlin wore? 🔸➔ Both were KGB operatives
❌ Why would Pepper have the skeleton key for the Fulcrum? Did she know Red? ‼️🔸➔ still a question
@BlacklistDCd a reasonable answer for pepper and the key was discussed in the Bokenkamp interview in December 2015 https://t.co/1J5yrWjwJQ
— TheBlacklist Exposed (@TheBlacklistGSM) June 1, 2016
❌ Does Liz have the ‘warrior gene’ (the rarer type)? What does this imply about her mother? 🔸➔ Closer look at 2:4 Linus Creel indicates “yes.” Both her mother and father must carry the gene (SNP). Katerina may have had the milder version.
❌ What is the Cabal’s goal (originally planned for 2017 but moved up)? 🔸➔ apparently refers to attack on CIA counter-intel unit (Orea bombing)
❌ What is The Stewmaker’s backstory and is it related to Red’s own history? 🔸➔ Apparently yes, metaphorically
❌ What happened with Cooper and Reddington in Kuwait where Reddington gave Cooper the only evidence on the USB drive? ➔ Additional info from 3:11 Gregory DeVry is likely sufficient. It may also refer to Cooper having used force to extract truthful information from someone, as described in The Judge.
❌ Are the Germans and/(or the Major) still hunting Jacob/Tom? Why aren’t the Germans dead? 🔸➔ the Major is dead; but what about the Germans? [ The Germans all seemed dead at the end of 2:16 Tom Keen, but they showed up fully healed in 2:17 The Longevity Initiative. I assume this was a goof. In any case, with the Major dead, not expecting them back ]
❌ Was episode 3:20 an extension of the dream sequence in 3:19 – is Dom real or another ghost? Will we see Katarina’s necklace again? 🔸➔ Dom is real. Was the necklace real? Or part of the dream? Will it appear again.
@BlacklistDCd 3:20 was not a dream sequence because he tells the very real metal detector guy he has to go see someone at the end of 3.19
— TheBlacklist Exposed (@TheBlacklistGSM) June 1, 2016
⭕ Notes:
Note 1: The story Red told to Madeline Pratt (from 2016)
The story Red told to Madeline Pratt seems to have been confirmed by Diane Fowler’s telling Red in [1:13 The Cyprus Agency] “I know the truth, Red, about that night – about what happened to your family. Do you want to know the truth?” and his emotional response, “More than anything in the world…” before shooting her dead. If not for this, the story could have been dismissed as simply a trick Red played on Madeline. Because of this corroboration, however, the story Red told to Madeline still needs an explanation.
Note 2: Age of the little ballerina in [1:16 Mako Tanida]
The service academies do not allow dependents of any kind. Nor do they – in the interest of group cohesion – allow skipping ahead of your class and graduating early. This means that Red could not have graduated prior to 1983, gotten married, and had a daughter before 1984. When he attends the performance of Swan Lake he holds a program for a March 1987 performance. The ballerinas have gossiped that his daughter performed in Swan Lake “years ago.” The girl Red remembers or imagines dancing among the older ballerinas could be as young as 8 or 9, though the actual age of the performer was 12. But Red’s own biological daughter could not have been more than three or four years old in 1987.
Did Red have a step daughter? This scene was one of the most beautiful of Season 1 and fans on many forums have noticed the age issue. Who was the little ballerina and why is Red holding the program to the March 22, 1987 performance while his voice in the voiceover offers condolences to Ressler on the loss of his fiancé?
Note 3: “Red never lies to Liz”
If “Red never lies to Liz,” why did he say “yes” when Liz said she remembered her father pulling her from the fire? On the wsj blog (comment dated stamped 2:52 am May 21, 2015 Masha Rostova discussion http://on.wsj.com/1HGFsEG), LizzieB90 gave this explanation:
Red has placed his highest value on blocking from Liz’s memory the fact that she shot her father. She was apparently having nightmares etc. There was a fire (we still need an explanation of why it started) the night that Liz’s father was shot. Liz says Tom told her that her father was alive. Red wants her to know her father is dead, but his highest priority prevents him from saying Liz shot him. So, instead of focusing on the immediate cause, he refers to the general context: “in that fire” or “the night of the fire” (a period of time rather than a cause).
It reflects Red putting one thing above telling the whole truth to her: “I think I will always do what is necessary to keep you safe.” When he decided (with Sam, presumably) to block her memory of what she did, he also committed to not telling her what he blocked. He is even willing to accept her opprobrium in allowing her to speculate that he killed her father because he was in love with her mother – even though we now know he did not kill her father. That’s quite a “sin” to “eat.” But this “lie” told by Red still stands out as blatant, compared to other half truths and misleads offered by Red and may need to be further explained.
Update: The very last line of Season 3 is Alexander Kirk (who says he was previously know as “Constantin Rostov”) saying: “Masha, I am your father.” Is he lying? Is Red lying? “Stay tuned.”
[ Cross-posted under “Writers Room” ]
Note 4: Two versions of the argument scene
Even a cursory look comparing the argument scenes between [2:10 Braxton2] and [2:22 Tom Connolly], differences are apparent. How much of the [2:10 Braxton2] version is to be trusted? Liz remembered “My father!” and, about Red, “You were there!” to which Red responds “Yes.” How much of the Braxton2 version remains intact through the caveats of 1) “the memories and a 4yo are unreliable,” 2) Red’s intervention to block Liz’s memories of the night, and 3) Dr Orchard’s caution to Liz about the tampering. It is a critical night in the story’s mythology that at least has to be revisited in light of Red’s admission to Liz that he was there.
One commenter, Nan at the WSJ blog, had her sons apply sound enhancement and voice recognition software to the argument scene in [2:10 Braxton2] which was considered as canon at that site. That transcript is here.
Note 5: Liz’s scar is peculiar
Neat, huh?
The shape of Liz’s scar appears similar to the symbol carved on the two wooden “go” boxes, Tom’s and Gina Zanetakos’. It also appears on the Manila envelope Tom directs Liz to get from a bank vault which contains the photos proving that Red was at the hospital at the time of Sam’s death. What caused Liz’s burn? Did her father ‘give it to her’ as she tells Beth in the pilot? And who is behind the mysterious use of this symbol in Season 1?
Note: After I finished this list (6:00 am Central/Chicago time 6/3/2016), I remembered I had copied a list from the WSJ blog. I looked it up. It’s by Tessa. I was pleased to note the list she put together covers very much the same questions listed here. I think that means there’s some consensus among attentive fans about what the loose ends are. All I had to add from her list were: ‘Who sewed the interface unit into the bunny?’ And the list of lists Red collected that may not have yet been used yet: from the Alchemist, Milton Bobbitt and the Djinn. Tessa’s blog is here. I set up an index to her site at the end of Black Sites.
Thank you – especially to Blacklist Exposed and Tessa. Also to all my other irrepressibly imaginative Twitter buddies.
🅾️ S2 Questions List w Answers to Resolved
Questions
Original Date: May 25, 2015; updated 5/24/2017 (🔸//➔)
Note: This list was prepared based on input from fans on Twitter and at the WSJ blog. It was shared with several members of the creative staff. Daniel Knauf, writer and co-exec producer responded with a smiley face :). Dave Metger, another writer responded on Twitter that it was “a good list.” That’s all I know. – LizzieB90.
● Who is the little ballet dancer? (see note #1) 🔸//➔ Still don’t know
● Who is the girl Red remembers at his house & in his movies? Who was her mother? 🔸//➔ likely Liz whose mother was Katarina
● What is Jennifer’s relationship to Red? Daughter, step-daughter? 🔸//➔ Still don’t know
● Was “Bloody Christmas Eve” real? What happened? (see note #2) 🔸//➔ Still don’t know
● How/why did Red lose/abandon his family? Was the family he lost (above) different from the one he abandoned on 12/24/1990 (assumed to be Carla/Naomi & Jennifer)? 🔸//➔ Still don’t know
● Who saved Liz from the fire? Who were the other people there? Why was Red there? 🔸//➔ Still don’t know
● If Red “never lies to Liz,” why did he say “yes” when she said her only memory of her father was of him pulling her from the fire? (see note #3) 🔸//➔ Red agrees she remembers that?
● Who was the man with the red signet ring? 🔸//➔ likely her father/Red
● Why does the version of the argument when Liz shoots her father differ from the argument from Braxton2? (see note #4) 🔸//➔ different memories
● How did Liz and Red get their scars? Was Liz “branded”? (see note #5) 🔸//➔ in the fire; likely not branded, though in Requiem Liz doesn’t seem badly burned
● Why does the shape of Liz’s scar resemble that on the two “go” boxes and bank envelope? 🔸//➔ because Red designed the boxes; Tom likely put the mark on the envelope
● Why did Liz tell Red she got the scar from a fire when she was 14 and not 4? 🔸//➔ inconsistency in original Pilot script
● Who was Liz’s father and what was his relationship to Red? Why would knowing his identity put Liz’s life “in grave danger”? Has the danger passed? 🔸//➔ if Red, because he is a notorious criminal and people would use her to blackmail him
● More about Liz’s mother and her relationship to Red. Was she really a “Mata Hari”? Why did Red say she died “of weakness and shame”? (see note #6) 🔸//➔ Yes, Katarina was a “Mata Hari”, Katarina assigned to Red to seduce him. New question: Was Red’s being jealous of other lover(s) an issue? Did she leave evidence that she drowned but then turned up alive? Dembe says he doesn’t think Liz will ever be ready to learn “what you did to Katarina.”
● Why has a DNA test never been done to see if Red is Liz’s father? 🔸//➔ Liz did one after she met him but didn’t open it; Cooper does one in 4:22 that shows Red is Liz’s father, but the DNA is 30 years old; it’s hard to believe the FBI doesn’t have more recent samples of Red’s blood on file, but hey, willing suspension …
● What was Red’s relationship to Liz (if any) prior to the fire? 🔸//➔ Red had a long affair with Red when he was in Russia. This was about the time when Anton Velov said Red was the KGB’s “greatest nemesis.” Kirk (Constantin Rostov) found out about the affair and Katarina tried to end it. Subsequently, Red abducted Liz because, as Katarina told Kate, “He thinks she’s his.” Then there was the fire after which Katarina got her back and left her with Kate. Later, she called Kate from Cape May and told Kate to take Liz to Sam.
● What was Sam’s relationship to Red? 🔸//➔ friend; also friend of Katarina; though it’s possible one or the other is a relative
● What was Liz’s father’s “criminal background”? Was this Sam or her bio-dad? Why/how did he “abandon” her? 🔸//➔ Both Red and Sam had criminal backgrounds
● How does The Director know what Liz’s mother looked like? 🔸//➔ He knew her as a KGB spy
● Why does Liz’s mother wear a ring that Tom thinks looks like one Berlin wore? 🔸//➔ both were KGB agents
● Why did Tom tell Liz “Your father is alive”? 🔸//➔ Because he is (at least as of end of 4:22 it seems so, if Red is her father). Tom apparently didn’t know who Liz’s father was, though
● More about Red’s “weird little apartment” – whose was it, if not his? 🔸//➔ Was this Katarina’s apartment? (Russian books, photo of Russian general)
● Why would Pepper have the skeleton key for the Fulcrum? 🔸//➔ Still don’t know
● The Presidential limo ❗🔸//➔ How would Red have access to this of know of its existence?
● Is Liz even an American citizen? A Russian citizen (as she was born in Moscow)? 🔸//➔ Liz was born in Moscow. For her to have American citizenship, one of her parents would have be be American. Also, Kirk thought she was his. Red was American and her mother may have been American. Clearly, Red would have given Sam forged documents for her, but not based on his paternity. We need to know more about Katarina and whether she was American. Technically, she should be American based on her relationship to Red at the time of her birth. (if he is her actual father) at time of her birth. It appears Red lost his citizenship sometime after her birth, likely when he was framed as a traitor.
● Does Liz have the ‘warrior gene’ (the rarer type)? What does this imply about her mother? 🔸//➔ apparently yes, both
● How was the Cabal established? What is their goal (originally planned for 2017)? 🔸//➔ Connolly described its benefits to Cooper (Season 2); the 2017 goal (actually, a plot) was moved up, became the plot to frame Liz.
● Why was Fitch in Russia? Was Red there? Is that where/when The Cabal was set up? 🔸//➔ Both Fitch and Red were in Russia as US spies as the USSR crumbled; the Cabal was likely set up then or somewhat later.
● Was Red framed? 🔸//➔ Liz seems to think so, in 3:2 Marvin Gerard.
● What is The Stewmaker’s backstory and is it related to Red’s own history? 🔸//➔ metaphorically: Red sees his own sins in Stewie and knows “he must pay.”
● Who is Mr. Kaplan and why is she so good at cleaning up blood etc.? 🔸//➔ She’s a trained pathologist.
● What happened with Cooper and Reddington in Kuwait where Reddington gave Cooper the only evidence on the USB drive? 🔸//➔ This likely refers to when Cooper extracted truthful evidence from someone (related in The Judge); we know now that Cooper also helped rescue Red in Russia from Seaduke [4:22]
● Are the Germans and/or the Major still hunting Jacob/Tom? Why aren’t the Germans dead? 🔸//➔ The Major is dead; The Germans faded away
● And of course: What explains Red’s fascination with Liz? 🔸//➔ As of the end of S4, because Red is Liz’s father, or maybe not, as Dembe asks “You didn’t deny it?” “I didn’t.”
● P.S. What’s with Liz’s dog❓❗🔸//➔ Liz no longer has a dog
See http://wp.me/pDKwi-ZN for Notes
Notes:
Note 1: Age of the little ballerina in [1:16 Mako Tanida]
The service academies do not allow dependents of any kind. Nor do they – in the interest of group cohesion – allow skipping ahead of your class and graduating early. This means that Red could not have graduated prior to 1983, gotten married, and had a daughter before 1984. When he attends the performance of Swan Lake he holds a program for a March 1987 performance. The ballerinas have gossiped that his daughter performed in Swan Lake “years ago.” The girl Red remembers or imagines dancing among the older ballerinas could be as young as 8 or 9, though the actual age of the performer was 12. But Red’s own biological daughter could not have been more than three or four years old in 1987.
Did Red have a step daughter? This scene was one of the most beautiful of Season 1 and fans on many forums have noticed the age issue. Who was the little ballerina and why is Red holding the program to the 1987 performance while his voice in the voiceover offers condolences to Ressler on the loss of his fiancé?
Note 2: The story Red told to Madeline Pratt
The story Red told to Madeline Pratt seems to have been confirmed by Diane Fowler’s telling Red in [1:13 The Cypress Agency] “I know the truth, Red, about that night – about what happened to your family. Do you want to know the truth?” and his emotional response, “More than anything in the world…” before shooting her dead. If not for this, the story could have been dismissed as simply a trick Red played on Madeline. Because of this corroboration, however, the story Red told to Madeline still needs an explanation.
Note 3: “Red never lies to Liz”
If “Red never lies to Liz,” why did he say “yes” when Liz said she remembered her father pulling her from the fire? On the wsj blog (comment dated stamped 2:52 am May 21, 2015 Masha Rostova discussion http://on.wsj.com/1HGFsEG), LizzieB90 gave this explanation:
Red has placed his highest value on blocking from Liz’s memory the fact that she shot her father. She was apparently having nightmares etc. There was a fire (we still need an explanation of why it started) the night that Liz’s father was shot. Liz says Tom told her that her father was alive. Red wants her to know her father is dead, but his highest priority prevents him from saying Liz shot him. So, instead of focusing on the immediate cause, he refers to the general context: “in that fire” or “the night of the fire” (a period of time rather than a cause).
It reflects Red putting one thing above telling the whole truth to her: “I think I will always do what is necessary to keep you safe.” When he decided (with Sam, presumably) to block her memory of what she did, he also committed to not telling her what he blocked. He is even willing to accept her opprobrium in allowing her to speculate that he killed her father because he was in love with her mother – even though we now know he did not kill her father. That’s quite a “sin” to “eat.” But this “lie” told by Red still stands out as blatant, compared to other half truths and misleads offered by Red and may need to be further explained.
Note 4: Two versions of the argument scene
Even a cursory look comparing the argument scenes between [2:10 Braxton2] and [2:22 Tom Connolly], differences are apparent. How much of the [2:10 Braxton2] version is to be trusted? Liz remembered “My father!” and, about Red, “You were there!” to which Red responds “Yes.” How much of the Braxton2 version remains intact through the caveats of 1) “the memories and a 4yo are unreliable,” 2) Red’s intervention to block Liz’s memories of the night, and 3) Dr Orchard’s caution to Liz about the tampering. It is a critical night in the story’s mythology that at least has to be revisited in light of Red’s admission to Liz that he was there.
One woman, Nan, at the WSJ blog, had her sons apply special sound enhancement and voice recognition software to the argument scene in [2:10 Braxton2] which is considered as canon at that site. That transcript is here: http://wp.me/pDKwi-Lt.
Note 5: Liz’s scar is peculiar
Some fans don’t believe the scar on Liz’s wrist could have been caused by the fire, intense as it was. It is too interior – other parts of her body would have burned first; her hair would have caught on fire. In [2:10 Braxton2] the burn appears mysteriously. The scar appears to be a chemical or plastic burn, like napalm, something that stuck to her skin. In any case, it is oddly shaped (similar, some have noted, to the shape of the Chinese symbol for fire http://pic.twitter.com/0y0vyCjtZK).
The shape of Liz’s scar appears similar to the symbol carved on the two wooden “go” boxes, Tom’s and Gina Zanetakos’. It also appears on the Manila envelope Tom directs Liz to get from a bank vault which contains the photos proving that Red was at the hospital at the time of Sam’s death. What caused Liz’s burn? Did her father ‘give it to her’ as she tells Beth in the pilot? Why does she tell Beth she was four when she got the scar but tells Red she was 14 (both in the pilot)? And who is behind the mysterious use of this symbol in Season 1?
Note 6: Liz’s mother died “of weakness and shame”
In [2:20 Kuon Zhang], Red confirms as he said in the pilot (which perhaps could be renamed “Ranko Zamani”) that Liz’s mother “died of weakness and shame.” In [2:21 Karakurt] Agent Masik refers to Liz’s mother, Katarina Rostova, as a mythical “pinko Mata Hari,” invoking the WWI spy who obtained secrets from officers by seducing them, a femme fatale. It was intimated in [2:4 Dr Linus Creel] that Liz may have “the warrior gene.” That would mean her mother would have had it too. Wikipedia http://bit.ly/1qZG6jX indicates the warrior gene is associated with alcoholism and drug abuse. In the original pilot script (but not in the actual show), it indicates that, Liz’s mother suffered from substance abuse. Red: “Abandoned by a father who was a career criminal. A mother who worked two jobs, despite her addiction, to keep you out of juvenile court. You’ve practically raised youself.” Were sexual adventurism and substance abuse the reasons Red said Liz’s mother died “of weakness and shame”?
Observation: Earlier in [2:8 The Decembrist], the show’s writers did provide an answer regarding the age of Berlin’s daughter when she was a “dissident” (very young) and her age in the photo in The Stewmaker’s book and, although it seemed a stretch, the answer was appreciated by the fandom and for the most part people were willing to move on.
Miscellaneous :)
● Is Red a woman? Did s/he have sex reassignment surgery? Is s/he Katarina Rostova?
● Is Mr Kaplan (“Kate”) Katarina Rostova? Is “Jelly Bean” Katarina Rostova? Is PeeWee Herman Katarina Rostova?
● Is Liz a Romanov? Is she related to General Zhukov? Was General Zhukov Katarina Rostova?
● And the perennial classic: Is Red Liz’s father?
(Prize goes to whoever can correctly guess the three possibilities that have NOT been seriously discussed on the WSJ Blacklist blog)
Note: Sorry for the redundancies. They’re due to questions unanswered from season to season.
Also (Appended to Season 2):
⭕ Seriable’s List of Not Yet Answered Questions: http://bit.ly/1rPl5Yk
⭕ Seriable’s List of Answered Questions: http://bit.ly/1FTq7dS
⭕ List of Unanswered Questions from The Blacklist Wiki: http://bit.ly/1ecfKvl
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It is pure hypothesis…
S3-14 :
Red: “Your parents loved each other very much. The Cold War was hard– too hard for your father. When the Soviet Union was collapsing, he took you from her. She gave up everything to follow him, to follow you. Your mother, despite what he’d done, she wanted him back. She wanted them to be a family”.
Except Red did not…
So, he decided to push Katarina towards the exit.
Faking his death was the plan : “the man she loved killed by the child she adored”.
So, he let Liz have access to a gun (“There should never have been a gun for you to grab”…) with blank cartridges.
He had an argument with Katarina, maybe was physically threatening, urging little Lizzie to shoot him. He was left lying, presumed dead, on the floor, where he was seriously burned while escaping. (surprisingly, there are no burn scar on his hands & head… but I guess they could not ruin Spader’s pretty little face & charm).
“The man she loved killed by the child she adored…. it was… just too much. Two months later, she went to Cape May and left her clothes on the beach, walked into the ocean, and was never seen again”.
Katarina’s suicide certainly hit him hard, hence his painful comment about suicides in Cape May.
Then, Liz is raised by Sam ; Red hopes that “God willing, Katarina’s daughter will live a private life of quiet courage”(S4-18).
Technically, “Red doesn’t lie to Liz” when he says her father is dead…
BUT FINALLY, in S3-14, Red discovers in the “Glasnot files” (Glanost : 1986-1991) that Katarina Rostova is alive : “It just keeps getting worse”…
Confirming that possibility is this very intriguing dialogue in S3-15 :
Red: WHERE’S ROSTOVA ?
Allond: Who? I don’t know who–
Red: Nine days ago, a painting was commissioned. It was sent to this address, shipped to you– Mr. Paul Allond.
Allond: Yes. I… I’m a dealer. A private art broker. I received a call. No name was given. SHE said a piece had been acquired and was nearly finished. SHE asked that it be sent to me. For pickup. Yes. But not by HER. By you. I assume you’re the one she spoke of. Reddington. SHE said you would come.
[ Red and Dembe rip open the large crate containing the painting. It shows Liz standing over a gravestone marked “Reddington” ]
Red will have trouble explaining Liz he used her to get rid of her mother. Maybe that’s why he didn’t look happy at all when she said they were family (S4-22) ; he couln’t return the hug because real troubles are just beginning…
Interesting hypothesis. Red would have to be pretty monstrous to have Liz seem to shoot him, though to his credit (I guess) he did have her memories altered.
I had totally missed that it was a “she” who commissioned the painting. Could this have been Susan Hargrave who did it at Kirk’s request? (I’m a little fuzzy on the sequence of events). If not, that’s definitely an important unanswered question.
– Monstrous, yes. Precisely, we know there is something unforgettable here :
S4-22 Dembe: “Raymond I’m not sure Elizabeth will ever be ready to learn about what you did to Katarina”.
– “She” could be Odette ?
But god, why did Red ask : “where is Rostova ?”
Rostov’s wife was Katerina, we know of no other Rostova.
– If Daniel Cerone doesn’t lie to Blacklist fans, we’ll know…
Daniel Cerone 11/11/16 04:56 : “Red whispered something to Kirk that changed his mind about Red. Eventually we’ll reveal what.”
Daniel Cerone 11/11/16 09:21 : “won’t hear the exact words of “what he said” but the truth of what Red said will be def be revealed”.
– Saw your tweets about ratings : are they good according to US standards ? I have no point of comparison.
I have more questions, but I know you are overwhelmed.
I am currently re watching season 3 with my 87 year old mother, who is a die hard fan of the Blacklist and James Spader.
In S3-14, what did Red discover in the “Glasnost file” labeled “Rostova” (in both russian & english) ? A disruptive info since he said : “things are getting worse”.
In this very episode Red explains a lot (but can we trust him ?) : “Your parents loved each other very much. The Cold War was hard– too hard for your father. When the Soviet Union was collapsing, he took you from her. She gave up everything to follow him, to follow you. Your mother, despite what he’d done, she wanted him back. She wanted them to be a family. As much as it pains me to say it (why would it pain him if he is the man), he was probably… the only man she ever really loved. Your mother was never the same after that. The man she loved killed by the child she adored– it was… just too much (how can he say that if he is her very alive father?). Two months later, she went to Cape May and left her clothes on the beach, walked into the ocean, and was never seen again”.
In S3-13, who is Josephine Moliere to Red ? They seem very close ; she looks 30 year old and could be his daughter (another one !!).
We have very little intel on Red’s family : his mother is dead (S3-09) but what about his father ? Brothers, sisters ?
to be continued…
Wow! I’d forgotten the part about “the man she loved killed by the child she adored.” It sure seems to run counter to Red’s being Liz’s father.
I loved Josephine. Red and Josephine were lovers and continued their affair after Josephine was forced into an abusive marriage arranged by Alistair Pitt. Then, when Josephine’s husband found out about the affair, he beat her into her current vegetative state. I really wish, with all the miracle cures in this series, they’d find one for Josephine. I thought their relationship was beautiful. I agree, she looks 30 but I looked up the actress who played her and she was 40.
Sorry to bother you again but my brain won’t stop !
I would appreciate to know your feeling about what I consider a very disturbing scene : do you remember that moment in S3-12 when Dembe tells Red off because he is enjoying Michael Row the Boat a bit too much ? That scene gave me the impression Red might be mentally ill ??? Why write this scene ?
Red was emotionally all over the place in that episode. It was the first time we got the impression that Red and Dembe’s relationship was more egalitarian than we’d thought. It was a protective move, I think, from keeping Red from spinning out of control, but startling, I agree.
Bravo : your list “season 4 unanswered questions” contains the very substance. Loved our little mental exercise yesterday. Need to improve my english so I can be more incisive on S5 !
2 last thoughts :
– Many people seem to know a lot of things… Some are dead (Diane Fowler, the Director, Luther Braxton, Fitch …), some are alive (Naomie Campbell, Dom, even Cooper & Dembe…) Why did they / do they remain silent ? Are they covering up for Red ? Are they also compromised one way or another in something big ?
– I have the feeling that Red killed Diane Fowler because he perfectly knows what happened to his family (which family ? I don’t know however). You don’t kill someone who certainly knows, hoping that someday, you’ll find someone who may know : You just call Brimley and make the dirty rat talk !!!
Your blog is just fantastic, so exhaustive ; I haven’t read everything, watched all the pictures or seen all the videos yet but I’m working on it.
Like I said on Twitter : the Blacklist keeps our mind busy but we are lucky not to be pressurized to solve the case !
Nath
It’s struck me, too, how many people seem to know more than Liz, but we also know Liz herself was reluctant to know too much (e.g. not looking at the results of the DNA test she ordered).
On the talk-over commentary version of the Diane Fowler murder scene, Jon Bokenkamp said Red did want to know what Diane Fowler would have told him, but ‘he didn’t want to hear it from her.’
Red seemed panged and sincere when she asked him, “Don’t you want to know the truth, Red?” He answered “More than anything in the world.”
Also, there is a scene (at the end of S1, I think), when Red and Liz agree that there are things each of them want to know that they can’t find out without the other. So that, I think, is the journey they (and we) are on …
I was wondering : is Dom an American Citizen? Russian? What is his name? How did Katarina become a KGB spie? Was Dom himself KGB ? What is their link with USSR ?
More from @NathFrom Paris
Nath from Paris @nathparis75
Ah! last for tonight, but not least : I want to know what Red said to A. Rostov in S4-8. Good night Blqcklisters from all over the world.
What happened between Red & Alexander Rostov in Cape May (or elsewhere) : S3-22 “that house by the water, i was holding a gun in your mouth”
+ hotel employees know him, meaning Home is not the USA, not DC. Is Home the FBI ??
Back to the “Home” problem : in the pilot, Red says “I haven’t been home for years”. But we know he has this little weird appartment in DC
S2-01 : Red knew Naomie was in protective custody. How does it fit with the “loss of his family “? Are there several Reddington families ?
Naomie in S2-01 : “i finally convinced them i was innocent”. Innocent of what ?
Did Red have plastic surgery ? S1-18 : Maltz says To Red: “you look great, the elascitiy is amazing”.
S4- 2 : Kate tells Red “..when you first put her (Liz) in my arms as a baby girl”. Doesn’t fit with what we’ve been told in S4-18…
Did Red really join the Cabale at the end of S3-10 ?
Why were people so afraid of the Fulcrum ? Revealing it did nothing, or so it appears.
In Anslo Garrick, they had lab results on blood from Red : why didn’t Cooper use them instead of blood from a 30 year old tee shirt ? Why didn’t they cross-check those results ? Where did Cooper find this tee shirt ? In G. Devry, Samar says they cannot prove false Red wasn’t Red since there was nothing available from before he disappeared in 1990.
From Twitter:
Nath from Paris @nathparis75
S3 – The Director : the director calls Liz : Red’s “prima ballerina”. Is Liz the little ballerine? Can’t be.
S4- requiem: Red says “Katarina was a traitor to 2 countries, both global superpowers” How so ??
Why doesn’t Red seem interested in Jennifer’s fate ?
In 2 different épisodes, Red mentions he “died in Marrakech” . Could we have more intel about that ? That presidential limo bothers me too.
S3 – G. DEVRY: “He claims he’s R.R. We cant disprove it with DNA cause there’s nothing on file from 1990 when Red disappeared”. Cooper???
certainly like your website however you need
to take a look at the spelling on several of your posts.
Many of them are rife with spelling issues and I in finding it very bothersome to tell the
reality on the other hand I will surely come again again.
In Philomena as they left to go to Anicostia the traveling ovehead shots of buildings, one of the buildings had the work “Nothing” painted on it. Is it of any signficance?
Who was the red head young woman looking at the video screens in Drexel?
Who was Pepper and how did she get the key?
Who gave Masha the name Elizabeth? I believe Masha would translate to Maria or perhaps Mary.
Red or ‘Liz’s father’ appears to have given it to her, if the analysis of the dialogue of what was said when Liz and Young Liz were in the closet is to be believed, see http://wp.me/pDKwi-Lt
Question: Kate once told Red that she has loved Elizabeth since he placed her in her arms as an infant. In Requiem, Kate’s flashback show her meeting Red after Elizabeth was already with Sam. Which brings up another question: Red tells the story that he took Elizabeth to Sam. In Requiem, we saw Kate remembering Katarina and Kate taking Masha to Sam.
Red knew Katarina when she was pregnant and was apparently around in Liz’s early years when Katarina was married to Kirk. So he would have been a presence when Katarina hired Kate. Liz then seemed to be about one year old, a bit old for an “infant,” but I think we can give them (the writers) a pass.
I don’t think Red ever said it was him who had dropped Liz off with Katarina. Here’s the passage:
“The way Sam told the story was that one night, an old friend showed up at his door scared. The friend told Sam he was leaving town, that he was in danger and that he needed someone to care for a little girl that her father had died that night in a fire. So Sam took the little girl in, and he raised her as his own always sheltering her from the truth about her biological father.”
Granted, Katarina is a “she,” but Red hedges by saying “The way Sam told the story…” As the motto of this blog says “There’s always another way to tell the story – N.O. Brown”
Was using two different actors supposed to signify two different Reds?? Bokenkamp confirmed that the man in the car was Raymond Reddington, so why didn’t they use Spader for that? Or is it to signify that the man in the car was Raymond Reddington, yet Spader stepped in and took up his identity after he died in the fire? Hence using 2 different actors, because they are actually 2 different men–the original and the imposter?
What is the i the red envelope Red lit in fire at the grave?????
The envelope was to be given to Liz on Red’s death. It was likely an explanation or confession. As he burned it he said something like “I don’t care if she ever finds out,” and Dembe says something like, “If the universe wants her to find out, she will.” From recent developments, it seems the universe wants her to find out.
I do not understand what happened to he man at the motel who went for cigarettes and was taken by Mr. Kaplan. Did she kill him? Why? and where did his body go? Also, what exactly did she dig out of the motel wall? Old body parts wrapped in plastic?
Mr. Kaplan killed him ! Maybe they found his body and stopped Kaplan !
I don’t get why it was body parts, rather than a full body. The other bodies at the ice rink appear to be complete bodies (e.g. Diane Fowler). The body parts she catalogued were each helpful in identifying who it was (knee surgery, plus a ring).