What Happened To Heddie Hawkins? Why The Blacklist Character Faked Her Own Death, Explained
A gripping crime thriller series, The Blacklist is full of twists and turns, including Heddie Hawkins’ faked death in season 9. For 10 seasons, NBC’s The Blacklist chronicled the adventures of Red Reddington (James Spader), a criminal mastermind turned FBI informant who used his intellect and experience to help take down lawbreakers just like him. Spader plays up Red’s complexities — he can be cold and ruthless, but when he lets someone in, his loyalty and compassion know no bounds. One such person he got close to is Heddie Hawkins (Aida Turturro).
Heddie is introduced in The Blacklist season 5, episode 1, “Smokey Putnam”. She worked as an accountant on the carnival circuit, and alongside her boss, the titular Smokey, embezzled $2 million. Heddie takes a deal for a lighter sentence in exchange for testifying against Smokey, but Red has other plans for her. He offers Heddie 2% of his business if she’ll help launder his money, and she accepts. From there, the two form a sweet business relationship, with Heddie popping up throughout the seasons. But in The Blacklist season 9, things appear to go seriously south for Heddie Hawkins.
Why Heddie Hawkins Faked Her Own Death In The Blacklist Season 9
The Blacklist season 8 saw the heartbreaking death of Liz Keen (Megan Boone), Red’s most trusted ally, and the quest to find her killer is a major season 9 storyline. In season 9, episode 20, “Caelum Bank”, Red is led to believe that sweet Heddie Hawkins is the one responsible for Liz’s murder. Red, Weecha (Diany Rodriguez), and Marvin (Fisher Stevens) pay Heddie a visit in Florida. When Red interrogates her, Heddie admits that she was indeed “looking for another employer”. Hearing enough, Red has Weecha take Heddie into a backroom where a gunshot is heard. Marvin jumps.
But it turns out that Red had actually been onto Marvin for some time, and a phone call from Park (Laura Sohn) proves he was dirty. That’s when Heddie walks back into the room, very much alive, and it’s revealed that her staged death was an elaborate ploy to suss Marvin out. Caught, he admits that he, in fact, is the one responsible for Liz’s demise, which he framed Heddie for.
While Liz’s death is still tragic, it’s a relief that Heddie wasn’t the culprit. Even for a show as twisty as The Blacklist, having Heddie, who has never proven herself to have killer instincts, be responsible would have felt like cheap shock value. So would Red killing her for real.
While the Blacklist protagonist has no problem dispensing with those who have done him wrong, his victims are always people the audience has no attachment to. If Heddie really did kill Liz, and Red murdered her as revenge, it would have been doubly upsetting. Though Liz’s killing is tragic, Marvin being behind it is a more satisfying reveal. And after all this drama, Heddie’s final episode, season 10, episode 20, “Arthur Hudson”, shows Red’s ally happy and healthy, with the two enjoying a nice visit together.
Where You’ve Seen Heddie Actress Aida Turturro Before
Aida Turturro is the actress who plays Heddie Hawkins on The Blacklist, and though she may not be a household name, she’s certainly a familiar face to many TV viewers. Turturro has been acting professionally for over 35 years, and by far her most well-known role is Janice Soprano in The Sopranos. Janice is the older sister of mafioso protagonist Tony, and an extreme narcissist. Between Janice and Heddie Hawkins, Turturro really proves her range, as the two women couldn’t be more different. The selfish Janice would certainly never fake her death for anybody.
Though The Blacklist is Turturro’s most recent credit to date, she still continues to act steadily, and has been playing the recurring role of Trial Judge Felicia Catano on Law and Order: SVU. Turturro does a predictably great job in the role, even if Catano doesn’t have quite as thrilling storylines as Heddie Hawkins.
