The Blacklist has just come to an end with its tenth season. It’s something that’s going to be hard to top.
The Blacklist has just come to an end with its tenth season, and it’s something that is going to take a while to get over. Since this drama criminal genre series premiered almost ten years ago and acquired a very special relevance worldwide. This led it to be considered one of the best NBC series of all time.
Likewise, there are many reasons why The Blacklist had a great reach and conquered millions of viewers because its direction was well-worked and developed in all aspects, in addition to its cast and plot. Let’s break down why this series was so popular that it was able to produce ten seasons now that it has come to an end.
A Balanced Plot
Something that really grabbed those who watched this TV show from the beginning is that the series was never totally black or white. Every situation, character, and development during the story had shades of gray, which were adjusted between the criminal and the dramatic. Thus, The Blacklist knew how to balance itself and make all the elements come together in a realistic way. It’s common to see plots where the characters fall into “two camps” (the villain and the hero), even when this is not so in everyday life.
Although, in the beginning, it could be thought that Reddington was a criminal who deserved to go to jail for his crimes, we manage to observe in each season that he’s more complex than that. Not only because he wanted to take advantage of the situation and his perks, and clear his record of wrongdoing, but he also had a caring personality deep down inside. You can see more of this as the story progresses and, in fact, in the end, ended up leaning this way.
James Spader as Red Reddington Is Unforgettable
Since the first season, James Spader was praised for his performance and made sure to hook all viewers with his character, Raymond “Red” Reddington. Those who have watched this TV show from the beginning know that Red’s character was quite dynamic and managed to adapt to any situation. His plot began with a man who had been wanted by the FBI for more than 20 years. He then surrendered to this organization and cooperated with them, looking for the most dangerous criminals using “The Blacklist,” which he himself had filled for all that time.
Likewise, he showed himself as someone who’s able to make anyone adapt to his rhythm. At the beginning of the series, he managed to establish that he would only have contact with Elizabeth Keen. In addition to being cunning, he not only managed to ally with the FBI and play with Elizabeth’s secret (about him being her father), but he was able to stop those on his list. Now in this last season, he had his final test by taking care of Wujing and other criminals, who fell for Reddington and escaped from prison to take revenge on him.
All the Cast of The Blacklist
The Blacklist not only has a very solid leading role, but the supporting characters gave it the necessary balance. Since the first season, it was observed that the entire cast had careful development, from the simplest to the most complex plots. In addition, as with Reddington, each one showed a unique performance, along with the fact that the actors cast were high-caliber stars.
The story of Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone), who co-starred in the series until her death, was highly praised by audiences. Additionally, characters such as Donald Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff), Harold Cooper (Harry Lennix), and Dembe Zuma (Hisham Tawfiq) provided the bulk of the TV show’s presence, as they were there from the first to the last season.
Meanwhile, the first seasons featured Tom Keen (Ryan Eggold), Meera Malik (Parminder Nagra), Samar Navabi (Mozhan Marnò), and Aram Mojtabai (Amir Arison). Alina Park (Laura Sohn) and Siya Malik (Anya Banerjee) were introduced in the final seasons of the series, but are still remembered for their parts.
The Relationship Between Red Reddington and Elizabeth Keen
Half of the plot of the series (the other part was made up of the development of the FBI and the criminals) was based on the strange relationship between Red and Elizabeth. In the beginning, this was surrounded by a lot of mystery, but that later became clearer. After a while, we find out that Reddington was her father, which explained why so much interest in the co-protagonist since the first episode.
The story between the two caught the audience’s attention easily, which made it a series with more relevance. Since Red could always be seen protecting her and helping her in her development. It was very sad when Elizabeth died in the eighth season, which was arguably the most shocking event in the whole plot of The Blacklist.
