The Blacklist Wasted A Huge Opportunity Not Bringing Back This Underused Season 6 Villain Group
The Blacklist should have brought back a villainous organization introduced in season 6. Over the course of ten seasons and 218 episodes, Raymond Reddington (James Spader) and the task force led by FBI Assistant Director Harold Cooper (Harry Lennix) hunted down and stopped hundreds of dangerous criminals. Some of The Blacklist’s smartest enemies included Milos Kirchoff (Peter Stormare), also known as “Berlin,” the CIA’s Peter Kotsiopulos (David Strathairn), who was the leader of the Cabal, and former KGB agent Tatiana Petrova (Laila Robins), who pretended to be Katarina Rostova.
Berlin, Kotsiopulos, and Petrova were all killed by Reddington, but many of his other adversaries survived and were apprehended. In the episodes leading up to The Blacklist’s series finale in season 10, many of Reddington’s previously apprehended enemies banded together to strike back at him and have their revenge. While many former Blacklisters returned throughout the series, a formidable organization introduced in one of The Blacklist’s best season 6 episodes was never brought back despite their potential.
The Blacklist Season 6 Introduced The Terrifying Osterman Umbrella Company
The Blacklist season 6, episode 14 introduced an organization of mercenaries called the Osterman Umbrella Company. They were hired by government agencies from around the world to kill any agents who were deemed to be treasonous or compromised, with the murders often carried out on foreign soil. The Osterman Umbrella Company’s assassins wore rings with a spike dipped in a lethal poison. All the assassins needed to do was nick their targets with the spike and that small cut would kill in a matter of seconds, as seen by the woman they killed at the beginning of the episode.
When the Mossad learned that their agent, Samar Navabi (Mozhan Marnò), had vascular dementia, they hired the Osterman Umbrella Company to kill her in the United States. Samar had not committed any treason, but the Mossad believed that she was compromised because of her medical condition, which might one day cause her to accidentally divulge government secrets. The Osterman Umbrella Company could kill without impunity or government interference, ensuring that government agencies did not have to kill their own and could instead work through a third party.
The Blacklist Should’ve Made The Osterman Umbrella Company A Bigger Part Of The Show
With help from Reddington, Samar was able to leave the country and find refuge in another location where the Osterman Umbrella Company could never find her. This episode was the first and last time that the assassins were featured in The Blacklist, but they should have been brought back and made a bigger part of the show. An organization of ruthless mercenaries taking out government operatives around the world was the kind of conspiracy threat that would have been perfect for a larger storyline in The Blacklist.
Like the shadow government known as the Cabal, the Osterman Umbrella Company could have been a long-running antagonist that Reddington and the task force had to take on over the course of numerous episodes and seasons. While Samar escaped them, they were still an active threat after their debut episode, and would inevitably continue killing more government operatives. On Reddington’s Blacklist, they were number six, meaning they were ranked higher than the likes of Berlin and high-ranking Cabal members. The Osterman Umbrella Company deserved a more extensive arc in the series.
Why The Blacklist Never Brought The Osterman Umbrella Company Back
The Osterman Umbrella Company was introduced to help Samar exit The Blacklist. After being a series regular since season 2, Marnò wanted to leave the show during season 6 and pursue other opportunities. The Osterman Umbrella Company was brought into the show to facilitate Samar’s exit, which also meant concluding her romantic relationship with Aram Mojtabai (Amir Arison) and her relationships with the rest of the task force. The organization of contracted killers was not introduced to be a recurring antagonist.
It is also important to remember Reddington’s Blacklist was primarily based on serving his interests. He defied the Osterman Umbrella Company because they were trying to kill Samar, someone he trusted and cared about deeply. Once she was safe, he had no reason to continue the fight. However, it seemed uncharacteristic of Cooper, Aram, Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone), and Donald Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff) to let such a massive international threat continue existing, and this could have led to a strong arc in the second half of The Blacklist’s 10-season run.
