The Blacklist series finale closed the book on the FBI’s Most Wanted criminal mastermind in a two-part episode filled with the classic cat-and-mouse chases, James Spader pontificating, and morally gray storytelling fans came to love over the show’s many seasons. Over ten seasons of The Blacklist, international criminal Raymond “Red” Reddington (Spader) has evaded capture through wile, charm, and a hyperintelligence that seems preternatural at times. From the first episode of The Blacklist to the last, Red has always found a way to evade capture.
However, as the series has gone on, the walls have begun closing in on Red. There are fewer and fewer places to hide and in season 10, Congressman Arthur Hudson (Toby Leonard Moore) has ordered Red’s former Task Force to bring in the man they had all grown to respect and even like. By the penultimate episode, season 10, episode 20, “Arthur Hudson”, the Task Force is given a choice to either be disbanded and possibly charged, or hunt down Red. In Episodes 21 & 22, “Raymond Reddington: Pt. 1 & Good Night”, the chase is on.
What Happened In The Blacklist Series Finale
In the two-part, two-hour series finale, Red has been tipped off to the search for him by Dembe Zuma (Hisham Tawfiq) and plays a classic game of Blacklist cat-and-mouse. As the Task Force gets closer to apprehending Red, their loyalties begin to waver and they each privately question what they will do if they ever come face-to-face with Red. Hudson picks up on this crisis and, instead of being understanding, only drives them harder. When he learns Zuma was secretly in contact with Red, he brings the agent in for questioning.
Never one to let someone else pay for his mistakes, at the end of Pt. 1, Red crashes into the FBI convoy carrying Zuma. Agent Donald Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff), Zuma, Hudson, and Red all meet each other in a tense standoff where an increasingly paranoid and volatile Hudson points a gun at Zuma. A brief scuffle results in Red once again escaping and in Good Night, the Task Force tracks Red down to Spain, sporting some new injuries and a limp.
After hanging around town, and recuperating at his friend Angela’s (Paulina Gálvez) home, Red heads out, knowing that the Task Force is on his tail after Hudson’s successor, Jordan Nixon (Derrick Williams), promises he’ll kill Red extrajudicially if he has to. As he walks through a pasture, Red encounters a large, angry-looking bull. The normally eloquent Raymond Reddington is at a loss for words and simply smiles as the bull charges toward him. Ressler is the first to find Red’s mangled body in the field, and he radios it in, “I’ve got him”.
Raymond Reddington Avoided Capture Until The Bitter End
The entire two-part series finale of Blacklist saw Red escaping from the FBI and the Task Force using just about every trick in the book: arson, firetrucks, taxi cabs, boats, and small Spanish hideaway villages. The phrase, “You can run, but you can’t hide” is not an effective threat against Red, because Red could very well run forever. That’s not much of a life though, and after he succeeds in saving his friend Zuma, at great cost to himself, he decides he’ll end things on his own terms, at the horns of an animal he’s always been fond of.
Arthur Hudson Gets His Well-Deserved Comeuppance
For how intense The Blacklist series finale is, there is a surprisingly little amount of bloodshed. Only one man gets killed and it’s probably the man who deserves it most. After Red smashes into the FBI convoy to rescue Zuma; Zuma, Hudson, Ressler, and Red get into a standoff. A distant noise spooks the agitated Hudson, who fires his gun into Zuma’s neck. Red responds with a perfectly placed bullet to Hudson’s temple, ending the Congressman’s rampage. Red also pumps a few shots into Ressler’s Kevlar just to make things look better for the agent back at headquarters.
The Blacklist Series Finale Had A Mixed Reception
The Blacklist series finale had a bit of a mixed reception, which was more of a result of the final few seasons of the show having worn out their welcome. TV Fanatic said,
“The Blackist two-hour series finale felt like a new lease on life the show had gotten, but dove into oncoming traffic and was run over.”
CNN said,
“Like a lot of things in Hollywood, “The Blacklist” didn’t know when to quit, hanging on for two listless seasons beyond the exit of Megan Boone as Liz Keen in 2021.”
Other critics had issues with the lack of answers in the series finale. The fate of the Task Force, the specifics of Red’s relationship with Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone), and even Raymond Reddington’s real identity were all mysteries left frustratingly open-ended. All in all, though, most critics agreed that it was still a worthy send-off for Red and was a better ending than many TV fans could ever hope for a long-running TV show.
There Are No Plans For A Blacklist Sequel Series
There has only been one spin-off to The Blacklist, The Blacklist: Redemption, which premiered for one season in 2017 but was canceled quickly. Beyond that, there does not appear to be any plans for a sequel series or another Blacklist spin-off. Red’s death and James Spader’s departure from the series leave a big hole, and it would be tough to fill that up with someone else.
The Real Meaning Of The Blacklist Series Finale Ending
The Blacklist has always been about Raymond “Red” Reddington. It’s his tale. The Task Force and the cases they solve are just details. He’s had a storied and painful life. He was a master criminal, an unrecognized hero, a terrible father and a great one, a loyal friend, and a fierce rival. Season 10, episodes 21 & 22 are his swan song. Red gets one last chance to show his criminal brilliance, easily evading capture, and then he dies on his own terms, having never been captured (not on his own accord), an incredible legacy for the concierge of crime.
Red’s Death Mirrors A Famous Bullfighter’s
There’s some historical significance in Red’s death. The way that the Task Force tracks Red to Spain is because they discover that the skull of Islero is missing from Red’s hideout in New York City. This skull belongs to a bull that gored and killed the famed matador, Manolete (via Andalucia). Manolete was from Andalusia, and that’s where Red goes to bury the skull in the bull pasture there. By the time Red reaches Andalusia, he is already dying.
Notably, after Zuma is shot, Red brings his old friend to a nursing home. Without any blood available for a transfusion, Red offers his own, a risk the doctor tells him. Red gives Zuma his blood anyway and saves his life at the cost of Red’s own. There’s a theory that Manolete did not die of his injuries from the bull. Instead, some believe he died from an incompatible blood transfusion that he received in the ring. It makes perfect sense that in The Blacklist series finale, Red would die in a similar bullring, facing his fate head-on.
