How do you begin to summarize a decade-long story in a short piece?
That, apart from being my question, was a question the writers must have pondered repeatedly while crafting an ending for the show.
The Blackist two-hour series finale felt like a new lease on life the show had gotten, but dove into oncoming traffic and was run over.
With Raymond in the winds, the Task Force was tasked with, or more appropriately, forced to find and bring in Reddington, or they would be facing trouble of their own on The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 21.
But betraying someone you had known for years, had been through life-threatening situations with, and had saved countless times would never be easy. It became clear that this was a test of loyalty and how a sense of it can alter one’s effectiveness.
Dembe: I’m going to bring you in, Raymond.
Reddington: That’s the spirit.
Dembe: I’m serious.
It was always a risky decision to have the Task Force be the one to find Raymond and bring him in.
Everyone in that room held some positive sentiments for Reddington because of one favor he had done for them. Even the latest addition to the team felt like she owed Red something.
I realize I haven’t known Reddington as long as you have, but it still feels weird teaming up with strangers to hunt him down.
Siya
They all shared a mutual feeling, but they had a job to do, and it was not a request.
To ensure they did it, Congressman Hudson and Agent Nixon carefully watched every move the members made, and it was inevitable that they would feel like they were working on cross purposes.
Everyone had specific motivations, some pure and others impure.
Congressman Hudson was confident this would be what would make him a household name in America. The mere Congressman who brought the Raymond Reddington to justice has some folk hero ring.
The amount of publicity that would bring him was something he could bank on for the rest of his career.
And he made mistakes in that overexcitement about things that have not come to pass.
Hudson was never going to let the members of the Task Force go free. He stood to gain too much in seeing them prosecuted. It was why he would try to find any reason to incriminate them.
And when that phone call Dembe made was discovered, it was a gift from God.
Arthur: Unless it’s not us they’re helping. They’re the Reddington Task Force. It’s in their goddamn name.
Nixon: If you’re right, we’re gonna nail them to the wall.
Teams are effective because they work together for a common goal, but if everyone has different goals, it is a recipe for disaster. And a colossal disaster did happen.
The episode saw the team hunt Raymond down, but viewers who watch The Blacklist online knew that, as usual, he was many steps (or nine hours) ahead of them. His plan to get out of DC left even the best of agents grasping empty air.
It’s been over a decade, and I still don’t know him. But there are a few things we should probably explain. His personal assets are in the billions, the scope of his influence is basically unlimited. And those are just his external resources. It’s his mind you should be worried about. No matter where he is, the time of day, weather conditions. He has escape routes within escape routes.
Dembe
Anyone who had not been with the team for a while and saw how he operates would have just suspicions how Raymond kept slipping away. But that’s Red. It is what he does.
It was a fair thought that the team’s loyalty to Reddington might harm the cause.
Loyalty was front and center, as it always is when hard times knock.
But Dembe and Red’s loyalty to each other stole the show.
Look, I’ve grown quite fond of Dembe, truly, but should we really be that surprised? I mean, he spent decades with Reddington. It couldn’t have been easy to sever that kind of connection.
Siya
Initially, it appeared like Dembe was working extra hard to bring Red in to make up for his mistake with the phone call, but later it became clear. He wanted to see Raymond safe.
He knew that if he was on top of things and led the efforts, he had some control over the outcome in case Red was cornered. Even if he was proven wrong, it’s the thought that counts.
Learning that Dembe was under arrest saw Raymond do something we rarely see him do.
He put his life on the line for someone else. It was worth it for him when that life was Dembe’s. He could never count the times Dembe had saved him all these years.
You poke a hornet’s nest, and you’re bound to get stung. Arthur Hudson had been poking relentlessly, and he was lethally stung.
There had never been doubts about how much Red cared about Dembe, but a headshot of a congressman was proof enough.
Red knew that Dembe would rot in prison if he were to be convicted.
But Dembe had made peace with the fact that he’d led a life. The episode opened with him leaving the mosque, and from earlier experiences, we know attending prayer gives him clarity when he’s struggling.
He had made peace with the fact that it might be over for him. He could only minimize damage now, even if it might cost him his life.
The rescue scene was exhilarating to watch. Seeing Raymond shoot people is oddly satisfying. He pulls the gun out of nowhere so quickly that a body drops the next thing you know.
Arthur Hudson had his flaws but did he deserve to die like a common criminal? To Red, the answer was a resounding yes. What about you?
Even after The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 22, there remains a lot I’m unsure of.
It was supposed to be the episode that answered all questions, but they did not even try. The episode played out like a regular one and then just ended.
It focused on the team trying to find where Reddington was holed up after his escape.
But it all felt too quick.
One would think they would have given Reddigton some time to get acclimated to his environment, but everything happened right after the previous episode’s events.
A time jump felt in order before continuing the story, which was the first indicator that it would not be a satisfying series finale.
Over the past three episodes of The Blacklist Season 10, something had been changing in Harold Cooper.
For the lack of a better phrase, Harold had been growing some balls.
I’ll tell you what’s wrong is the three of us wasting time in this room while the most wanted man in the world gets further away by the minute. Agent Ishwood is a ten-year veteran of the Bureau with a sterling record. So if you’re building to a point, Mr. Hudson,I suggest you make it now.
Cooper
Harold had taken many hits through the years, leaving him almost neutered. He seemed passive in most cases, making him boring and predictable to watch.
But in the last episode, he finally showed why he had been made a deputy FBI director.
Seeing him get physical with anybody was rare, but Agent Nixon had been pushing it.
While he normally measured his responses, the episode saw him give curt, sassy responses that were more effective than any speech he could give. Cooper was giving Reddington a run for his money in iconic The Blacklist quotes.
Nixon: Wait, if you are still working with Reddington, your lead could take us exactly in the wrong direction.
Cooper: Does that mean you’re not coming?
Why didn’t we get that Cooper a long time ago?
Raymond had escaped to Spain and was recuperating from a risky blood donation. His life was not as eventful as one would have expected.
But in New York, Siya and Harold tried to guess where they might have gone.
It felt like a reach for them to figure it out quickly, and there was no evidence Raymond wanted them to find out where he was.
Their discovery saw Ressler back pursuing Raymond as he’d been doing all those years ago. But he got to Red too little too late.
The insinuated death of Raymond Reddington is bound to illicit various feelings from the viewers and will be a topic of conversation for years to come.
Raymond, a man surrounded by death in so many ways, so passionately committed to embracing life. He could have surrendered a thousand times over But instead, he chooses to rage. To rage against the dying of the light. To rage against the bad guys that would do us all harm. Rage to protect those people he loves. of peace and joy… and fun… …even though he knows the light is still dying. To live a most passionate life, knowing it will still lead to the same inevitable end… is perhaps the most deeply moving choice one can make.
Dembe
But whether he died or not, I’m not particularly keen on it. My only concern was how it happened.
I was convinced that the disease Raymond had — the one he coughed blood — would eventually claim his life one way or another.
But to be mauled and trampled to death by a bull in the middle of nowhere in Spain? It felt very random, which might have been the point.
With all the things going through my mind…I also thought of Raymond. More than anyone I’ve ever known, he’s always been at peace with death. He says death is inevitable. It will come for us all. And that inevitability robs death entirely of its significance. What matters are the things that are not inevitable. The things we create. The things we find. The left we take when everything in our life is leading us right. How we live. I’ve always loved him for that.
Dembe
Red had been in many deadly situations his entire life, yet he died because of a freak accident. What are the chances? It was anticlimactic.
For something so random, the buildup to it felt unwarranted.
He went for a walk, left his gun, abandoned a glass bottle, and wandered in the middle of a field. Even if they planned to kill him, they could have found a better way.
The setup felt too well thought out to warrant how that happened. Maybe the bull should have charged and caught him by surprise while he held the bottle, but then his illness would have struck a moment before, making it impossible for him to defend himself.
Raymond had always made peace with the inevitability of death, and when he realized it was here, he didn’t seem scared.
The series finale left a lot open to interpretation. Was Red really dead? People have been known to survive animal attacks even when every bone in their body is broken.
Herbie left the Task Force, Dembe was fired, and Ressler got his man. Was that it for the Task Force?
I began this review by saying it felt like the show had gotten a new lease on life because the hunt for Raymond Reddington was more interesting than the Wujing thing.
It should have taken a whole season to explore, and I truly believe the show would have gone out better if they didn’t cramp up two major plot points in one season.
The blacklisters vs. Raymond Reddington plot point should have taken a season, and the hunt for Raymond Reddington should have taken another.
While the series finale was entertaining as an episode, it wasn’t good as it did what we feared most.
It left many questions without answers.
What did you think? Unburden in the comments section.
Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on Twitter.