S10.E22: Raymond Reddington: Good Night

[paigow]

Series Finale

Airdate: 9:00 PM Jul 13 / 23

The future of the FBI's Reddington task force is decided.

[Dowel Jones]

Wouldn't it be weird if Spader would break the fourth wall throughout the episode to explain to the audience all those questions that came up?  "Look, I know you're wondering about the dogs.  Dembe has them at home at they're well taken care of."

[paigow]

5 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

 "Look, I know you're wondering about the dogs.  Dembe has them at home at they're well taken care of."

Where does Dembe live??? A big farm in upstate Maryland?

[Interior: A rustic barn in Maryland]

Vesco Cat: Hey buddy, where am I?

Sierra: Maryland.

Vesco Cat: Who is that ugly-ass goat?

Sierra: Barn Boss... Col. Belka Klebb... Last week, some dogs called her a pirate  ..they dead now...

Edited July 10, 2023 by paigow

[oftentimes]

I'm really going to miss all the snark about this program.

[paigow]

1 hour ago, oftentimes said:

I'm really going to miss all the snark about this program.

All the crap Star Trek GoldsmanVerse will get our full attention after this week...

[dwmarch]

21 hours ago, oftentimes said:

I'm really going to miss all the snark about this program.

This show is the Hattori Hanzo of honing snark. What once was sharp wit is now, after ten years of this show, snark that could cut God.

[anthonyd46]

Here is the press release sounds intense :

Get ready to bid farewell to one of the most captivating crime dramas on television. The series finale, “Raymond Reddington: Good Night” is set to air on NBC on July 13, 2023, at 9:00 PM.

In this monumental episode, the future of the FBI’s Reddington task force hangs in the balance one last time. Congressman Hudson’s relentless investigation puts immense pressure on the team, forcing them to strategize and anticipate Reddington’s next move. As the storylines converge, the fate of Raymond Reddington and the task force members will be decided in an unforgettable climax.

Prepare for an emotionally charged episode as the characters face their ultimate tests of loyalty, morality, and justice. The series finale of “The Blacklist” will keep you on the edge of your seat, unraveling long-held secrets, and answering lingering questions that have fueled the show’s intense narrative.

It’s time to uncover the truth, confront the consequences, and bid farewell to the captivating world of Raymond Reddington and his complex web of intrigue.

[paigow]

There are supposed to be some scenes shot in Spain... Is Red dying and having a Maximus dream????

[edhopper]

I mean, that was out of left field. I don’t think it was a good ending,  but it was an ending.

On question,  was Red Liz's mother?

[anthonyd46]

20 minutes ago, edhopper said:

I mean, that was out of left field. I don’t think it was a good ending,  but it was an ending.

On question,  was Red Liz's mother?

They didn't confirm anything just another of his roundabout hints.............

He was giving Agnes advice about a crush and Agnes said "Pinky you're being such a mom" and his response was "I guess I just can't help it."

Again another "hint", but not "direct confirmation" I dunno why we couldn't get anything giving closure like his life flashing before his eyes, after the ending maybe his license showing his real identity. Anything. 

So I guess we are just supposed to leave it at that exchange "confirming it" when it didn't confirm anything.

[StewieGriffin]

Interesting ending after 10 years no FBI Agents or Criminal Masterminds could kill Red then he gets killed by a wild bull.  They've hinted that Red was actually Liz's mom but they never cleared that up.  Show should've ended when Liz died honestly but once I start watching a show for a while I keep with it till the end so here we are 10 years later.  Leave the Memories Alone.

[Maren]

So they ended the show and STILL didn't tell us who Red really is???

 

Good grief. 

[anthonyd46]

18 minutes ago, Maren said:

So they ended the show and STILL didn't tell us who Red really is???

 

Good grief. 

Like I said it's just him saying "He just can't help it" after being called a Mom. So again another roundabout hint, but nothing like his license him saying I'm Katerina etc etc. So can we "assume" I guess? but why can't they give any kind of solid confirmation??????????? So annoying!!!!

Edited July 14, 2023 by anthonyd46

[desertflower]

I think the comment about how he just can’t help being a mom was definitely a nod to the theory that he was Liz’s mom. They probably figured most fans figured that out so they’d acknowledge it without spelling it out. 

The bull was out of left field but I guess it’s better than him being shot or dying of his mysterious illness. Note the song at the end was a Spanish version of “My Way”. So Red went out his way. 

I liked Dembe’s last scene. I really enjoyed the actor and I’m so glad they didn’t kill him off! 

[anthonyd46]

1 minute ago, desertflower said:

I think the comment about how he just can’t help being a mom was definitely a nod to the theory that he was Liz’s mom. They probably figured most fans figured that out so they’d acknowledge it without spelling it out. 

The bull was out of left field but I guess it’s better than him being shot or dying of his mysterious illness. Note the song at the end was a Spanish version of “My Way”. So Red went out his way. 

I liked Dembe’s last scene. I really enjoyed the actor and I’m so glad they didn’t kill him off! 

I get that, but it still leaves it open ended between the crowd of HE'S THE MOM!!! vs NO HE'S NOT!!! so it just still makes both sides feel they have enough evidence for either conclusion. I guess they wanted that instead of picking a side. Reminds me of a typical movie where it seems like we are at an end, but something else shows up and makes you question everything. 

[Neiman]

It was quite fitting that Ressler was the one to find him.  Love how he helped Dembe even though it was a risk.

[ShowsILoveToHate]

I’m solidly in the camp of “Reddington was born a male!” 
But I guess I can see why the theory of him being Liz’s mother was a thing. 
 

I don’t know, but I loved the ending. Very fitting. Red knew he was dying, he had been tying up his loose ends in the past several episodes. He knew that it was either him OR his friends on the task force. He didn’t want anything to happen to them. He didn’t want to put his friends through the trauma and decision of having to kill him. He purposely stepped onto the field where the bull was. He knew he’d be killed, he knew he’d be found by an FBI agent (Ressler), he brought the matador’s bull’s skull/horns back where it should be - Spain. 
 

Have I mentioned lately how much I love James Spader? lol 

[anthonyd46]

I just go back to Series creator Jon Bokenkamp quote from a couple years ago....

I love reading all of the fan stuff, the theories and what’s on Twitter. I take great joy in knowing the answer and seeing all the theories that are out there. In the writers’ room, our script coordinator, Sam — for a long time — has put up The Strangest Thing You Can Find About The Blacklist [on the board] every day, just the theories that are out there. That’s one of the things that’s so fun about the show. Whatever your theory or whatever your camp is, you can probably turn the story a few degrees and make your theory make sense. So yes, that is one that we have heard, and I know it’s out there. There are a lot of them, far more unusual than that. [Laughs]

I feel like thats what we just witnessed. 

[Proteus]

Nothing makes sense other than Katerina being Reddington. That said, I hated the ending & hate that they just didn't confirm it.

 

 

[anthonyd46]

Just now, Proteus said:

Nothing makes sense other than Katerina being Reddington. That said, I hated the ending & hate that they just didn't confirm it.

 

 

Yea it just felt very like any of his other "comments" to liz a million times that are circular and never confirming.

[Surrealist]

1 hour ago, desertflower said:

I liked Dembe’s last scene. I really enjoyed the actor and I’m so glad they didn’t kill him off! 

The best scene of the evening, and probably of the entire series.

[dwmarch]

3 hours ago, Neiman said:

It was quite fitting that Ressler was the one to find him.

Also quite fitting that Red had to die for Ressler (in a fucking helicopter!) to be able to catch up to him. Hilarious that Ressler went to the right address but forget to search the entire property.

No payoff with Siya, I really thought she was going to be a double agent. Maybe she was originally written that way and they changed their minds.

I don't think Lizzie got a single mention in this episode.

I guess when they were tossing around ideas for the finale someone must have said "we'll come up with some bull shit" and that is exactly what they went with.

[Danielg342]

I have many, many emotions when it comes to the end of The Blacklist.

On one hand, there's relief. Relief that this clunky, convoluted and ultimately stuffy series has finally reached its end. It beggared belief at the outset, and it beggared belief right until the end.

On the other hand, the ending of this show feels like the end of an era. Along with Grey's Anatomy, The Blacklist was arguably the last serial TV show that was not only built for a wide audience but actually commanded one at one time. As TV's audience fractured due to streaming, so too did TV's resolve to make a serial with mass appeal, to the point where now no one is even trying.

So the finale airs, and with it, becomes a relic of a time in TV history that is now lost, one that may never come back again.

How did it end? Pretty much as it began, with more questions than answers. A strange mess that is every bit as puzzling as the man who is behind the show.

At first, the scene of Raymond "Red" Reddington, gored to death by a bull in a field, feels anticlimactic. The greatest criminal in the world, a man who escaped detection for over thirty years, someone for whom many- both on the side of the law and those opposed to it- wanted to capture if not put a bullet in his head.

How can Red escape his fate so many times under those circumstances, but be felled by an incident so innocuous that anyone could have fallen for that?

It's then that I am reminded about one of the constant themes about this show- that if you have found Red, it's because he wants to you to find him.

For what, we don't know- but we always knew there was a reason.

Just like in the first episode, where Red "voluntarily" got arrested on Elizabeth Keen's first day to kickstart the series properly. Though we never really understood why he did what he did, we knew he got arrested because he had some unfinished business, business that somehow involved Lizzie.

That will be the same thing here in Seville, in the south of Spain (at the other end of the country to Pamplona, where the "Running of the Bulls" actually takes place). For what, we don't know, but there has to be a reason why Red sent the FBI on a metaphorical wild goose chase through Washington all the way to the villa in Spain to that very specific field where he was found.

Red even telegraphed, too, how he would die by taking with him the bull's skull, one that he felt was stolen and needed to be returned.

In many respects, how carefully crafted this sequence is seems like the perfect cap to this series, which always presented itself as a carefully crafted sequence but it never quite got there.

Even then, like in this episode, despite the clever and careful craft of this sequence, the more you look at it and poke holes in it, the more you are left wondering and questioning, resulting in not just intrigue, but frustration and confusion as well.

Make no mistake, there was no part of the finale that made sense at all, and picking apart all the inconsistences and contrivances would take volumes of books to do.

Just like the rest of the series...but, just like the rest of the series, it's arguable that little of it was ever designed to really make sense.

There would always be questions, and questions upon questions, and the show wouldn't always answer those questions.

Which made the show as infuriating as it was captivating. Much like the man himself who was behind the whole project from the beginning.

Yet, that's what made it- and Red- special, and there may never be another character- or show- quite like this one ever again.

So, good night Red. Good night indeed...and sleep soundly.

 

[Neiman]

6 hours ago, ShowsILoveToHate said:

I’m solidly in the camp of “Reddington was born a male!” 
But I guess I can see why the theory of him being Liz’s mother was a thing. 
 

I don’t know, but I loved the ending. Very fitting. Red knew he was dying, he had been tying up his loose ends in the past several episodes. He knew that it was either him OR his friends on the task force. He didn’t want anything to happen to them. He didn’t want to put his friends through the trauma and decision of having to kill him. He purposely stepped onto the field where the bull was. He knew he’d be killed, he knew he’d be found by an FBI agent (Ressler), he brought the matador’s bull’s skull/horns back where it should be - Spain. 
 

Have I mentioned lately how much I love James Spader? lol 

💯

Will be interesting to see what, if anything, Spader does next.

[Surrealist]

11 hours ago, ShowsILoveToHate said:

I’m solidly in the camp of “Reddington was born a male!” 
But I guess I can see why the theory of him being Liz’s mother was a thing. 
 

I don’t know, but I loved the ending. Very fitting. Red knew he was dying, he had been tying up his loose ends in the past several episodes. He knew that it was either him OR his friends on the task force. He didn’t want anything to happen to them. He didn’t want to put his friends through the trauma and decision of having to kill him. He purposely stepped onto the field where the bull was. He knew he’d be killed, he knew he’d be found by an FBI agent (Ressler), he brought the matador’s bull’s skull/horns back where it should be - Spain. 
 

Have I mentioned lately how much I love James Spader? lol 

I'm solidly in the "Red was Katerina" camp, but I also enjoyed the ending. The lead up made sense. He went out on his terms. 

Although poor Ressler being the first one to find his dead friends. Last week he discovered Pritchard ODed on a motel bed. This week it's Red gored to death in a field.

Edited July 14, 2023 by Surrealist

[milkyaqua]

I was fine with the ending and as others have said, Red went out on his own terms.  I do remember going, "that was strange (or different)," but okay show.  I also thought it was fitting that Ressler found him but of course only after failing to fully search villa lobo in the first place and I also liked that he insisted on going with the group when Dembe was taken into custody.

I was also fine with not having questions answered that I never really cared about in the first place.  The premise of this show in the first place called for suspension of belief.

I'm glad the show did call backs to former Red supporting players and I was definitely glad that Dembe survived and I also enjoyed his final scenes.  And while he's no longer part of the FBI per the AG, I'm wondering what about the rest of the team?  And Mr. FBI holier-than-thou agent can go take a flying leap.

It's definitely been fun reading all the comments and snark about the show and that'll be missed.  I wish Mr. Spader and the rest of the cast well in future products.

[anthonyd46]

1 minute ago, milkyaqua said:

I was fine with the ending and as others have said, Red went out on his own terms.  I do remember going, "that was strange (or different)," but okay show.  I also thought it was fitting that Ressler found him but of course only after failing to fully search villa lobo in the first place and I also liked that he insisted on going with the group when Dembe was taken into custody.

I was also fine with not having questions answered that I never really cared about in the first place.  The premise of this show in the first place called for suspension of belief.

I'm glad the show did call backs to former Red supporting players and I was definitely glad that Dembe survived and I also enjoyed his final scenes.  And while he's no longer part of the FBI per the AG, I'm wondering what about the rest of the team?  And Mr. FBI holier-than-thou agent can go take a flying leap.

It's definitely been fun reading all the comments and snark about the show and that'll be missed.  I wish Mr. Spader and the rest of the cast well in future products.

I agree that the future of certain members of the task force is something they should have expanded on the finale needed to be like another 10 minutes to explain this.

[Attatude]

I have disliked this series ever since they killed Tom, so this is my first post.  I was so happy to finally see the storylines wrapped up. The Ressler ending was anticlimactic to the speech Dembe gave.  It was poetic and beautiful. The Reddington he memorialized was the real one.  All the mother side nonsense never made sense to me. There were so many reasons he couldn’t have been Liz’s mother and I didn’t care one way or another.  I’m sad for Agnes to lose the only family she had left, but Cooper and the mostly invisible wife are doing an adequate job.  This series should have ended when Liz died.  The last few years were filler.

[paigow]

3 hours ago, anthonyd46 said:

I agree that the future of certain members of the task force is something they should have expanded on the finale needed to be like another 10 minutes to explain this.

Why use 10 minutes when a 2026 sequel movie could do the same thing... because of all the strikes...

[anthonyd46]

1 minute ago, paigow said:

Why use 10 minutes when a 2026 sequel movie could do the same thing... because of all the strikes...

Hmm true they did rush to get this out before the strikes, but doing a movie without Spader? Though I guess he could just fake his death AGAIN lol.

Edited July 14, 2023 by anthonyd46

[Dowel Jones]

I thought the last scene would have been better if Ressler ran up to find two dogs sniffing around Red's body.  😏

[paigow]

Lucky for Red that the bull was not Ferdinand 

[NeenerNeener]

On 7/11/2023 at 12:38 PM, anthonyd46 said:

The series finale of “The Blacklist” will keep you on the edge of your seat, unraveling long-held secrets, and answering lingering questions that have fueled the show’s intense narrative.

They only kept part of this promise, that 2 hours went by pretty fast. No long-held secrets were unraveled and no lingering questions were answered,  at least not for the audience. They didn't insult us by calling it a love letter to the fans, though, so there's that.

[TV Anonymous]

Only until the final episode that it was disclosed that the reason Reddington was closing down his criminal empire was because of a mysterious ailment. Terminal, I suppose? Of course his being Red Reddington meant that he could choose his own death. And the death he chose was... being mangled by a random wild bull in Spain?

[paigow]

Red was diagnosed with a terminal illness when Liz was still alive. The likely plan was for Red to die and Liz would take over... but reality intruded - Megan Boone quit and  so Red was temporarily cured....

Edited July 15, 2023 by paigow

[Danielg342]

1 hour ago, paigow said:

Red was diagnosed with a terminal illness when Liz was still alive. The likely plan was for Red to die and Liz would take over... but reality intruded - Megan Boone quit and Red was temporarily cured....

I think dropping the ball on Lizzie is what ultimately doomed this show. I have long criticized The Blacklist for failing to have a purpose, a reason to care for all the mysteries and intrigues the show presented us.

Lizzie could have very easily been that vehicle. The Blacklist has hinted many times before Red flat out said it- far too late- in the S8 finale that he sees Lizzie as his successor. If Red had established that in the very first episode, then at least you can craft a series where Lizzie- and maybe even the rest of the FBI Task Force- has to make a choice, between staying within the law or straying from it. The mysteries can be viewed through this lens, where Lizzie's choice gets even more complicated when she realizes she has a familial connection to Red- but what that is, she does not know.

[paigow]

3 minutes ago, Danielg342 said:

where Lizzie's choice gets even more complicated 

I am DONE with you! loses impact when it happens EVERY week

[Utpe]

I loved this show at first, but it started losing steam ever since the death of Mr. Kaplan.

Well, I certainly enjoyed participating in and reading the comments from fellow posters here over the years.  You guys made watching "The Blacklist" tolerable.

[Surrealist]

FWIW. From The Blacklist sub:

 

[Danielg342]

Good to confirm the theory, even if it means little. I never liked the "Redarina" stuff, but not because of any transphobia (though part of me feels like the writers simply made Red a trans man in a vain attempt to be "hip"). It's because the mystery surrounding it falls apart for the same reason that it falls apart when we were wondering if Red was Liz's father- get a DNA test and you have your answer.

Still, it doesn't do enough to give this show a purpose. So Red's Lizzie's mother. So what? Why did he decide to throw himself into Lizzie's life the minute she joins the FBI? Why didn't he do it sooner? Or at all?

More importantly why should I even care that he's now in her life at all? Just because he's family doesn't cut it- he was absent from her life until she joined the FBI, which is not typical "family" behaviour, and then decides to do a 180 once Lizzie joins the FBI and insists she goes on a journey with him. Because...reasons. Reasons we don't know about. Reasons we should know about.

Again, we don't have to know the answers for all the mysteries or even some of them...but if you want me to go on a journey to solve them, give me a reason to go on that journey. Or else I will not care about it.

[b4pjoe]

Well they can make the claim of Redarina all they want but I'm calling BS. You want to claim this far fetched story then prove it. You didn't so it didn't happen in my Blacklist world. If they had this written it into the original story line before casting they never should have cast James Spader for the role but a more believable person that could double as a trans. Using James Spader in that role is ridiculous.

Anyone have Red being killed by a bull in a remote field in Spain on their prediction card? What a stupid way to end it.

[ottoDbusdriver]

3 hours ago, b4pjoe said:

Anyone have Red being killed by a bull in a remote field in Spain on their prediction card? What a stupid way to end it.

Agreed, such a stupid way to end it.  Just seems so random.
Would have been better if Belka the goat killed him.

10 seasons and no confirmation of what Red's relationship with Lizzie was.

I am glad they didn't kill off Dembe.

Ressler is still just so terrible at his job.

Not to ask a silly question, but what were the 2 watermelons for ? 
Because that seems like an awful lot of watermelon for 2 people.

And for the final time:

Still no sign or mention of the dogs, Robert Vesco's cat, or Sierra the cat.

But we did get a bull -- so that's something. I guess.
 

[b4pjoe]

2 hours ago, ottoDbusdriver said:

Agreed, such a stupid way to end it.  Just seems so random.

My guess is they think they are edgy or cool because they came up with a way that no else has ever used. I've got news for them. It was stupid. I mean they might as well as just let him die after the transfusion to Dembe. At least that would have made sense and they could have saved about 20 minutes and used it to try looking for all of the missing pets.

[Hedgehog2022]

What a hot mess this last season was...from the shifting of days and times it was shown to the build up of what would be Red's demise. Glad it's over and we have been put out of our collective misery.

I just want to mention that one of the most egregious errors made by the writers was Dembe as an FBI special agent. I mean...come on now. First off, he would never be accepted into the program due to his past affiliation as Reddington's driver/security guy. Maybe they would put him on the payroll as a CI but definitely he would never be accepted into the FBI training program. The security protocols for this program are extensive and several deep background checks would have eliminated him immediately. But this kind of sloppy writing came to be par for the course during the course of this show. 

The ending was ridiculous of course. Getting gored by a bull? It would have been better if he had just had a heart attack and collapsed on his walk. RIP Blacklist.

Edited July 18, 2023 by Hedgehog2022

[NeenerNeener]

14 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

Why did he decide to throw himself into Lizzie's life the minute she joins the FBI? Why didn't he do it sooner? Or at all?

Supposedly he had been watching her for years, and he hired Tom Keene to watch over her as well. I thought she was already married to Tom when she joined the FBI. But Tom was so long ago it's easy to forget she was married to him.

[paigow]

3 hours ago, Hedgehog2022 said:

The ending was ridiculous of course. Getting gored by a bull? 

Bulls usually need to be agitated before they charge... Did Red start a monologue that enraged the slobbering bull???

[Attatude]

They should have recast Liz and stuck with the original plan. Maybe they will bring the rest of the cast back in a sequel with Dembe heading the FBI and creating a new kind of task force.  Cooper would be retired but have some role and Agnes would be a young FBI agent..

Edited July 16, 2023 by Attatude

[Danielg342]

1 hour ago, NeenerNeener said:

Supposedly he had been watching her for years, and he hired Tom Keene to watch over her as well. I thought she was already married to Tom when she joined the FBI. But Tom was so long ago it's easy to forget she was married to him.

I remember Tom...he was one of the more interesting characters this show produced. I even followed Tom to the ill-fated spinoff.

It still doesn't explain why Red chose the moment Liz joined the FBI to insert himself into her life. With Tom married to her, Red could get to her at any moment. Sure, their first meeting might be a bit awkward, but other than that, Red and Lizzie could still have a conventional familial relationship (at least as conventional as possible given the context of Red's character). There was nothing special about the moment Liz joined the FBI that would make Red want to choose that moment to come in to her life above all the other times that he could have done so.

[paigow]

1 hour ago, Danielg342 said:

There was nothing special about the moment Liz joined the FBI that would make Red want to choose that moment to come in to her life

Red was going to help his other FBI daughter Clarice... but Buffalo Bill was dead now...

[NeenerNeener]

7 hours ago, Danielg342 said:

There was nothing special about the moment Liz joined the FBI that would make Red want to choose that moment to come in to her life above all the other times that he could have done so.

Maybe if she hadn't joined the FBI he would have stayed away and continued to watch from afar. As an FBI agent she might have one day been assigned to chase him and he was trying to get ahead of that. If she'd been a kindergarten teacher he might not have bothered. The whole thing can be rationalized if you're trying to come up with a premise for a tv show.