On Monday, Christina and I watched the last episode of The Blacklist, a TV show which ran from 2013 to 2023. We started watching Season 1 with the kids around 2015 and we loved it.
It’s about a special FBI Task Force set up to work with the most wanted criminal in the US, Raymond “Red” Reddington, in order to catch “blacklisters”, other dangerous criminals. During the show, we learn about the way the US and Russia work, about parenthood, criminal networks, politics and politicians, family and friendship. Sure, some of the characters were a bit boring but the main ones were very interesting, starting with…
Raymond “Red” Reddington is the main characters (in the sense that everything revolves around him) and he has the intelligence, personality, elocution and talent to steal the show. Every scene he is in is fantastic and, despite being a hardened criminal, everyone root for him.
Raymond’s sidekick is Dembe Zumma and he is a formidable character too. He is easily the most decent and dependable person in the show. He is so genuine that, even after having been Red’s bodyguard, he is admitted in later episodes as an FBI agent. In real life, he must be very nice to be friends with.
Harold Cooper is an Assistant Director of the FBI and heads the Reddington task force. He is a methodical person who is nice to everyone despite facing enormous pressure. He is the glue that prevents everything from exploding.
Elizabeth Keen is the FBI profiler who is initially brought in at the request of Raymond “Red” Reddington. Little by little, we come to understand that she and Raymond are linked and that, ultimately, she would have to leave the FBI to become Raymond’s heir. Unfortunately, things ended abruptly for her.
Donald Ressler is the other FBI agent and is most of the time contradicting the others. He is a pain in the ass in many episodes but grow into becoming another very good and dependable person.
Finally, I liked the Agnes Keen character as well. She is Elizabeth’s daughter and she is adopted by Harold Cooper who she calls Pops. She regularly gets the visit of Raymond Reddington who she calls Pinky.
So, farewell Raymond, Dembe, Harold, Elizabeth, Donald and Agnes.
Farewell also to the other recurring characters in the show such as Aram Mojtabai, Samar Navabi, Tom Keen, Alina Park, Mr. Kaplan, Cynthia Panabaker, Chuck, Brimley, Baz, Weecha Xiu, Siya Malik, Meera Malik, Herbie Hambright and, of course, Katarina Rostova (among others).
It was a wild ride and we highly recommend The Blacklist. Rated 8/10 by Christina and I.
