Warning: Spoilers ahead! January 20th Episode of The BlacklistThe name of the company is “Boukman Baptiste.”
The BlacklistWrapped Season 8 on arguably the biggest twist in the show’s historyWhen the departure Megan BooneWas dealt with by the execution Liz KeenShe died in her sleep. Red’s arms with ResslerYou can observe from afar DembeRed was trying to be hustled away. Even with the two-year time jump between the end of Season 8 and beginning of Season 9, Liz’s death still The characters are cast a shadow, but it’s starting to look like they may be ready to start moving on from mourning her.
“Boukman Baptiste” split the story between chasing down some bad guys in the present while telling the flashback story of how Dembe went from Red’s #2 in the Season 8 finale to an FBI agent in the Season 9 premiere. At the outset, it was obvious that Dembe and Red were each his own. Dembe is still to be blamed for VanDyke’s conversion to Elizabeth and therefore her death, and Red didn’t even want Dembe contributing to a case when Dembe had expertise on the matter.
Red offered to help Dembe towards the end of the battle, but with the support of Aram, they realized that Dembe isn’t directly responsible for her death no matter how anybody looks at it. Data proved that somebody else led Liz’s killer to her location, and now they can join forces to chase down the person really responsible. Red and Dembe are not 100% innocent of the events that led to Liz’s death, but they can now cooperate.
This does not mean that you cannot be a good citizen. The Blacklist obviously isn’t done with the story of Liz’s death, they were both less emotionally reactive about her death in this episode than before. There is still hurt, sadness, and regret, but they’re moving forward; if Red of all people can start moving forward, then I think it’s a sign that the focus can be on getting justice for Liz (and/or avenging her) rather than stewing in their grief and blaming each other.
There’s also the point that the rest of the task force absolved Dembe of any blame, even before the data pointed toward somebody else leading Liz’s killer to her. They are also still recovering from Liz’s death. Ressler did You can fall off the wagon once moreHe was devastated by the loss of Liz last week, but he also made first steps to get clean again. His growing relationship with Park. Everybody may not be moving on entirely, but they’re moving forward, and that could mean fans will be watching less mourning and more action.
Fans who were excited about the Red/Dembe reconciliation will be disappointed. Season 9: The Other StorylinesBis now, The BlacklistThe show will take a break until after Olympics. The show will resume on February 25th, at 8 p.m. ET NBCMoving back to its old time slot on Friday evenings With the Law & OrderRebirth taking its placeThursdays You can also view the previous weeks’ viewing options. The BlacklistOur February issue is back! Check out our 2022 Spring and Winter Premieres.