Well, for one minute there it looked like Red might have finally saved himself, almost flawlessly executing a brilliant prison escape plan, but leave it to Liz to mess that up too. Steps away from Dembe’s helicopter and freedom, Red was stopped by prison guards who had only been alerted that he was missing because Liz randomly decided to come visit him.
This was a catastrophic mistake on Liz’s part, because Red had pleaded guilty in court so he would have time to plan and execute his escape. Now Red is stuck back in prison facing his guilty plea and death sentence with no possibility of a different outcome. Even before he tried to escape from prison, it was pretty clear that the jury would find him guilty, but add Red’s guilty plea and attempted escape from prison on top of that and there’s no way he’s ever going to have his sentence overturned in the courtroom.
Red’s only hope now is, unfortunately, for Liz and the Task Force to somehow save him, which seems almost impossible judging from next weeks’ trailer that shows Red in the lethal injection room about to be executed. With The Blacklist being renewed for season 7 and the original cast set to return it’s very unlikely that Red will end up being executed, but I have no idea what influence Liz will be able to have in saving his life. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
I know I keep harping on this, but literally everything that’s happening right now is Liz’s fault. First she puts Red in prison, and then can’t even leave well enough alone and let him save himself, and then she gets to step in and be the hero at the end of it all? I don’t think so. I do want her to save his life, but there better be a reckoning between the two of them where Red finds out about her betrayal, and how close she came to ending his life. I still don’t understand why Dembe kept that secret from him, but after Liz ruined Red’s escape plan, I would hope that Dembe would see that Red deserves to know.
One scene that rang extremely hollow was Liz testifying on Red’s behalf in court. I guess it was supposed to be a heartwarming moment, in which Liz tells the world how much Red has meant to her and all the things he’s done for the greater good at risk of his own life and reputation, but it felt so meaningless and fake coming from her. She knew what getting him arrested would mean, and that he could face the death penalty and end up executed, and yet she turned him in anyway. Liz getting up on the stand talking about the greater good and Red’s part in it is, frankly, insulting.
Other than the extremely frustrating outcome to Red’s brilliant escape plan, and the fact that Liz Keen continues to be insufferable and hard to watch, it was a very solid episode. James Spader was brilliant as usual, and his escape plan was a lot of fun to watch until it all went wrong. The cryptobanker was also a formidable villain, hacking into the pacemakers of thousands of innocent victims and threatening their lives, all in the name of stealing money from the company that made them.
Next week we’ll finally get to see the conclusion of Red’s prison story-line, for better or for worse. I don’t know about all of you, but I’m ready for this particular chapter of The Blacklist to be over, and hopefully it ends with Red cutting ties with Liz. The ideal outcome for me would be Red continuing his work with the rest of the Task Force but refusing to talk to Liz. It would be a nice juxtaposition with the pilot of season one, when he would only talk to Liz and no one else, and would be a fitting ending to this season of The Blacklist.
Check out the synopsis and trailer for next week’s episode below and let me know in the comments, do you think Red is going to walk away scot-free, or is this the end of the road for the Raymond Reddington we know and love?
Synopsis:
Liz and the task force make a play to uncover the truth about an international assassination in a last-ditch effort to save Red’s life.
The Blacklist airs Fridays at 9/8c on NBC.