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katarinas-redemption · 3 days

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The mystery of Red’s connection to Elizabeth Keen was solvable in Season 4. The key episodes are Mato, Adrian Shaw Conclusion, and Requiem.

The Blacklist first look: Mr. Kaplan's ties to Red revealed — first look

Source: Entertainment Weekly, Natalie Abrams

“In the episode titled ‘Requiem,’ we get to step back in time and see Reddington through the lens of what is essentially an origin story,” executive producer Jon Bokenkamp tells EW. “It’s a really compelling hour that involves Young Liz, her mother Katerina, her adopted father Sam Milan and, of course, Mr. Kaplan. In this photo, we see Mr. Kaplan putting on her ‘cleaner gloves’ for the very first time.”

The Blacklist unveils a shocking amount of backstory

Source: Entertainment Weekly, Natalie Abrams

"It turns out, Kaplan was more than just a cleaner for Red, but once acted as the caretaker for a young Masha, a.k.a. Liz Keen (Megan Boone), working for Katarina Rostova (Lotte Verbeek) and eventually uncovered that she's a Russian spy and becoming her cleaner."

In 4.02 we learned for the first time that Mr. Kaplan’s history with Red went as far back as to when Liz was just an infant. This was the episode where Red shoots Kate for betraying him. During the episode and before he shoots her which she knows is coming… Mr. Kaplan explains to Red that she only betrayed him because of an agreement they had made back when Liz was a baby for which Red insisted she always put Liz first. She mentions an incident that happened with “Annie” way back when. At one point Red tells Kate that he “was away”. All of this backstory dialogue was pretty vague and didn’t give too much insight. But in the episode Requiem, all of this is explained. We get to see Baby Liz in Kaplan’s arms. We see the promises made to keep Liz safe. We saw the incident with Annie and Kate. We learned how Mr. Kaplan got her name. We saw Katarina call Kate from Cape May to tell her she was going "away". Etc...

In short, the episode of Requiem will MOSTLY feature Katarina and Mr. Kaplan. The younger Mr. Kaplan is played by Joanna Adler. Susan Blommarert of course plays the Mr. Kaplan we all know.

Susan Blommaert

And just like the episode of Nachalo, the story in Requiem is ABOUT RED in the flashbacks but who we see onscreen is Katarina played by Lotte Verbeek. This is because Red was formerly Katarina Rostova who took on the identity of Raymond Reddington.

The lines:

4x02 - Mr. Kaplan: Do you remember what I looked like that night? Lying in the street, my head torn open… Annie’s body in front of me. Red: You know I don’t know what you looked like. I was away.

The explanation: 1. The episode Requiem will introduce the story of Annie and how Kate met her. The episode will feature the very scene that Kate referred to. We see her lying in the street, head torn open… Annie’s body in front of her. Bonus: We finally learn how Kate got her name “Mr. Kaplan”. We are also shown the tragic scene of both Annie and Kate being shot. Annie dies. 2. Red’s line about him being away is explained by the scene where Katarina calls Kate at the motel from Cape May and tells her she is “going away”.

4x02 - Kate: Do you remember…? Red: You know I don’t know what you liked like….

When Kate said: Do you remember…? Red’s response wasn’t that he did not know her back then. Instead, he told her he was away. They knew each other. Also, there is no reason for Kate to ask Red in the first place if he remembers anything unless she knew Red during this time frame. What is important here is that the event of Annie and Kate getting shot at Little Nikkos happened BEFORE Red approached Mr. Kaplan to work for him. And yet: Kate to Red: Work for you? I don't know you. She thought he was the real RR. But anyway, the part where Red said he was away is explained by the phone call from Katarina to Kate from Cape May. She tells Kate she's going away.

4.17 Mr. Kaplan: Work for you? I don’t know you.

Red: I’m not as unknown as you might like to believe, Ms. Nemec.

Kate believes that Red is the real Raymond Reddington. That is who he is presenting himself as after all. The explanation for Red’s line that he’s not as unknown as she might like to believe means that Kate does not yet know that Red is Katarina disguised. Red is known to her. Afterall he did put Baby Liz in her arms 10 years prior.

4x02 - Kate: I’m not sorry for what I did. I betrayed you for the same reason I just betrayed Nikos– to keep Elizabeth safe, just like you asked me to all those years ago, when you first put her in my arms as a baby girl, only now she has a baby girl of her own, and your existence in their lives puts them in constant danger.

- to keep Elizabeth safe, just like you asked me to all those years ago, Requiem explains this line in the scene where Mr. Kaplan is in the nursery with the baby and Katarina walks in. 1. Note: that the song Kate is singing has the lines: You are safe, you are loved. You are wise. I think this was an intentional little nugget by the writers. 2. The scene ends with Kate telling Katarina that she would do anything to protect her baby. Kathryn: I told you. I have a pact with your daughter. I will do everything in my power to keep her safe. And her mother.

- “And her mother”: aka Red.

- when you first put her in my arms as a baby girl, This line is explained by the same scene when Mr. Kaplan is in the nursery. Though we do not see Katarina handing the baby to Mr. Kaplan's arms and asking her to keep her safe, (that would be TOO obvious). Perhaps the show decided to do the reverse as a clever clue to cover the handling of the baby. That said, in the scene, they do show Baby Liz in Kaplan’s arms. In the scene, Mr. Kaplan even mentions “in my arms”.

- Baby Girl, We can infer by Mr. Kaplan’s reference [“only now she has a baby girl of her one”] to Agnes being a baby that Liz was not a little girl but a baby when Red put her in Mr. Kaplan’s arms.

The timeline

30 years

Mr. Kaplan: Wrong. You have me. Raymond thinks he out maneuvered me today, but he underestimated my commitment. I’ve been his cleaner, keeper, and confessor for 30 years, and I’m prepared to tell you everything you need to know in open court.

(2017 - 30 = 1987. Liz was born in 1985 though she looks under a year old in Requiem.)

Two decades

Mr. Kaplan: For the last two decades of my life, you had me convinced I was helping keep Elizabeth safe. But in reality, I was helping you become a monster.

(2017 - 20 = This is when she started working for Red.)

This wasn't a part of Mato but the messy situation Red talked to Kate about in Requiem is about the "mess" in the kitchen. Red knows about it because he's Katarina.

Also not a part of Mato but Requiem revealed Katarina was burned on her back.

“Ultimately this is a ‘chosen one’ story. Elizabeth Keen is clearly incredibly important to Red. Why? That’s what we’re slowly revealing over time, and trust me, the answers are all there. - Jon Bokenkamp interview with EW post episode 4.08;

youtube

#the blacklist #requiem #mato #redarina #Youtube

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katarinas-redemption · 3 days

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Edited to add Gif #5.

#the blacklist #leslie jones #chatty woman #glen carter #clark middleton #raymond reddington #james spader #lady ambrosia #3.14

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katarinas-redemption · 3 days

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#the blacklist #glen carter #clark middleton #gaia #4.04 #raymond reddington #dembe zuma

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katarinas-redemption · 17 days

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Liz: And how should I look at this? Red: Like a criminal. May come easier than you think. Shall I show you?

PART TWO

(part one here)

Dr: Creel: People with the warrior gene can be triggered. I have identified what those triggers are, and when they occur, it’s not their fault.

TRIGGERED!

Liz: I killed some men. Doesn’t matter that they were bad. That it was them or me.

Lilly: He didn’t kill Mosadek. Liz: I know. I don’t care. Garvey: If I tell you everything I know about Reddington, what guarantees do I have that you won’t arrest me? Liz: Absolutely none. Lilly: He’s innocent.

(she's referring to Tom's murder)

Red: They’ll accept it when I’m dead in the street. They’ll accept it because you’re a criminal. Liz: Is that what I am? Or is that what I am because of you?

Additionally and in conclusion…

Red was an Imposter since Day 1

“Everything about me is a lie”. - Raymond Reddington.

Entertainment Weekly

Jon Bokenkamp [Showrunner and creator of the show]

“The Imposter Theory can be traced all the way back to first time Reddington met Elizabeth Keen and told her: ‘I’m a criminal, criminals are notorious liars. Everything about me is a lie.”

TV Insider

Did you know from the beginning that James Spader’s character wasn’t really Reddington?

Jon Bokenkamp: Since day one. It’s almost impossible to not know the ending before you begin or at least a really strong sense of it. “it is something that we’ve been playing from the beginning, and James has been playing from the beginning that we’ve been working towards.”

#the blacklist #elizabeth keen #megan boone #redarina #james spader #raymond reddington #nbc the blacklist

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katarinas-redemption · 17 days

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Liz: And how should I look at this? Red: Like a criminal. May come easier than you think. Shall I show you? The Blacklist.

PART ONE

🕵️‍♂️

This line makes a parental connection between Liz and Red.

Episode 4.22

The second crucial line in the pilot that showrunners confirm was an Imposter clue is the “Everything about me is a lie” line.

Parental connection via the criminal parallel +

Red is not her father but an imposter of her father. =

Red is The Mother.

Wild ass speculation:

The mother died of WEAKNESS AND SHAME as per what Red told Liz in the pilot. Interestingly, that line about weakness and shame was different on the draft pilot script dated 2012 that somehow made it online and fans have decided to dissect it carefully. LOL.

In the original draft, her mother worked two jobs to keep Liz in school and out of juvenile court. Some anti-Redarina fans say this is evidence that Red was originally not supposed to be the mom as the mom would have raised Liz until she was 14. That same draft has Liz's age as 36 later changed to 29/30. Liz: There was a fire. I was fourteen. Mr. Kaplan: You tell people you got it when you were 14. Why is that? Liz: To hide the truth?

I disagree that any of this disproves Redarina. It is possible that her mother still could have disappeared and re-emerged as the imposter.

Liz's age was changed to 4 because maybe they realized that if Liz was 14, she could've remembered Red or saw something in him like his eyes. Changing her age to four years old IMHO, would've made it less likely for Liz to remember details, like Red's eyes. In the Luther Braxton Conclusion episode, it seemed Liz recognized that Red was at the fire by his EYES. She saw her mother in Red's eyes in the season 8 finale so. Add in the fact that Red had her memories erased.

And anyway, if they had kept it that the mom worked two jobs, etc, etc.. She still went somewhere and was out of the picture> Liz told Cooper she raised herself so both parents were out of the picture. Liz: Like most kids who raised themselves, I can display narcissistic behavior. I can be withdrawn, disconnected.

THINK LIKE A CRIMINAL. The showrunners talk about Liz’s darkness and how she's becoming more like Red.

SEASON 3 - THE AU REVIEW

(When Liz and Red went on the run)

John Eisendrath: In terms of where Liz is heading, I think she’s struggling with this notion that there’s a piece within her that is criminal. Red told her in the very first episode of the show ‘think like a criminal, it may come easier to you than you may expect’ and I think that sort of haunts her, and now, even though she has whispers of a criminal past that we’ve alluded to, now that she’s being confronted with actually being a criminal, she’s had to rely on these instincts that she wants to ignore and pretend like they’re not there – and now she needs them.” So, not only is Liz forced to embrace a darker side that might be within her, we’re also getting to go out and travel with Red and to see him take the reigns and see how he operates and where he goes and stays in ways that we haven’t really seen before. Liz is going to take the audience by the hand and go into Red’s world a little bit more and learn about how he moves and operates which is going to be a lot of fun.

SEASON 5 TV GUIDE - SEASON 5

Daddy issues. If you thought the discovery that Red is her father would put an end to Liz's identity crisis once and for all, think again. "Her father is essentially the devil," Bokenkamp says. "She's confronting some frightening questions about who she is and what's in her DNA and that fight between good and evil. ... Liz is going to be combating that instinct to perhaps break the rules and fighting a darker side of herself that she knows is probably right under the surface." But in some twisted way, embracing her true nature may make Liz even better at her job. "Is she like Reddington?" Bokenkamp wonders. "He told her early, 'Think like a criminal. It may come easier than you think.'"

SEASON 5 ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

How is Liz dealing with the truth that Red is her father?

Jon Bokenkamp: It’s going to be interesting to watch it play out, because I think she’s secretly terrified, or maybe not so secretly terrified, that the devil is her father and that she may have some of those instincts. He told her in the pilot, “Think like a criminal. It may come easier to you than you think,” and we’ve seen aspects of that. She murdered the Attorney General and has been on the run in the past. And so, I think she’s going to plant her flag early on that she’s a cop first and that is probably going to be a season-long struggle for her.

Elizabeth Keen No. 1 on The Blacklist.

SEASON 8 ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Megan Boone: I was definitely hoping it would be Liz at No. 1, but I didn't want to presume," Boone says. "I have to say… it's an honor.

SEASON 8 ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

John Eisendrath: From the second Reddington walked into her life, a dark path was always a possibility for Liz. "One of the dramatic questions from the beginning is how this master criminal's desire to connect with this innocent FBI agent would change her life," Eisendrath explains. To find Blacklisters, Reddington has encouraged Liz to understand the mindset and think like a criminal. "She's learned at the feet of a master," he adds. The FBI agent's key moments, including learning she has the Warrior gene in her DNA and covering up a murder she committed, coupled with what Reddington has been teaching her, have been leading her to this place. Now, she's been pulled far enough into the dark side to be at the top of Red's list.

Red told Cooper that what Liz did by betraying them in this episode and kidnapping Dom was her “destiny.” What does that mean?

SEASON 8 THE WRAP

Bokenkamp:

I think what Red was talking about goes to the core of who Liz is. Is she fundamentally good? Is she fundamentally bad? Has she reached a tipping point that she can’t return from, or was this meant to be because it’s in her DNA? We’ve seen Liz dip her toes in the dark waters over the years — she’s certainly not that innocent, young FBI agent that we met in the pilot — and this season is going to explore her darker side. I think the real question lies in seeing how she navigates these dark waters and, if she does survive this, how she looks when she comes out the other side.

Eisendrath:

This has been a question since the pilot. First when she thought Red was her father; later when she realized Katarina Rostova was her mother — how much of a parent’s behavior is a child destined to repeat? In Liz’s case, how much bad behavior?

The murder of Attorney General Tom Connolly (Reed Birney) was more about Liz than it was about her executing him. "It reflected to the audience about how far Liz is willing to go," Bokenkamp says. "That murder is very telling of who she was, and perhaps even who she was in the process of becoming." It got at the core of a debate the writers had for years, which was whether she's destined to embrace her darkness or it was free will that she chose to do these things. Liz's desperate action was not just a considerable character turn, but it sent her on the road with Reddington. Spending time with him meant seeing that she was more like him than she wanted to admit. - Entertainment Weekly

The Warrior Gene - Dr.Linus Creel Episode 2.04

The episode did not confirm that Liz had the warrior gene though it was implied. In later interviews, the showrunners confirm that Liz DID possess it.

Samar: I received everything Creel had on file at the hospital patient records, test results Including yours. We logged everything else into evidence, but I thought perhaps you would want that. It’s probably meaningless, right? Do you think Reddington could have known, when he gave you this case, that you’d find out?

Part two

#the blacklist #elizabeth keen #redarina #raymond reddington #nbc the blacklist #raymond reddington gifs #elizabeth keen gifs #liz keen gifs #megan boone #james spader

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katarinas-redemption · 18 days

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Liz: And how should I look at this? Red: Like a criminal. May come easier than you think. Shall I show you?

#the blacklist #reddit

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katarinas-redemption · 22 days

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Red: Elizabeth couldn’t sleep. Colicky. But more often than not, when she scrunched that bunny against her cheek, she was calm, quiet. 9X12.

XYZ

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katarinas-redemption · 23 days

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"This flag was deliberately placed at half-mast so when it landed on Reddington and the glasses, I thought this was a nice, iconic image to introduce this guy." - Joe Carnahan, Director. Ep 101 Pilot.

#the blacklist #james spader #raymond reddington #1.01 #pilot #joe carnahan #newton phillips #flag #american flag #half mast #half-mast

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katarinas-redemption · 25 days

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Season 7- The Katarina Rostova aka Fakerina Arc.

XX

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katarinas-redemption · 1 month

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Redarina in Season 1 - The way Sam told the story.

The way Sam told the story.

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katarinas-redemption · 1 month

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The Blacklist, Season 6, Episode 19 "Rassvet"

Dom: What you need to do is to thank me for putting all of this behind you. Red: Is that what you think you did? Because I think you may have made things worse. So, from the start what did you tell her, word for word?

#raymond reddington #raymond reddington gifs #rassvet #6.19 #dom #james spader

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katarinas-redemption · 1 month

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When did Red's mother die? Lena Volkova aka Virginia Lopatin aka Virginia King.

From a Redarina perspective? I propose it was during the time he was in prison. Posted below is a timeline of Red's prison arc and how it reconciles with Katarina's mother dying around that time.

R E D A R I N A

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katarinas-redemption · 1 month

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ishipsharpwin side blog

🔗

#new amsterdam #sharpwin #max & helen #helen and max #helen sharpe #max goodwin

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katarinas-redemption · 1 month

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The Blacklist - Megan Boone as "Elizabeth Keen"

First and Last Scene

S1 (Sept 2013) & S8 (June 2021)

#the blacklist #megan boone #elizabeth keen #james spader #raymond reddington #ryan eggold #tom keen

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katarinas-redemption · 1 month

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NBC The Blacklist- Pilot Gif

"Oh, I think you're very special.

#james spader #megan boone #elizabeth keen #raymond reddington

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katarinas-redemption · 1 month

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The Blacklist - Brainstorming Raymond Reddington's Fingerprints and DNA.

Also posted on Reddit.

A little theorizing.

Red's fingerprints.

In the pilot episode, Red is identified as "Raymond Red Reddington" by FINGERPRINTS and by a visual identification from the Assistant Director of The FBI Harold Cooper. Red's fingerprints were a match to the prints of Raymond Red Reddington stored in the FBI's database [AFIS]. RR was on The FBI's Most Wanted list for Treason among many other charges.

We later found out in Season 4, Episode 22 that Assistant Director Harold Cooper did consider taking DNA from Red in the pilot but only in so far as he suspected that Red and Liz might be related. Liz: Procured a sample of Reddington’s blood? From evidence? That’s tampering. Cooper: Yes. And I should’ve done it the day he surrendered.

Red's DNA

Red is an imposter and not the real Raymond Reddington as is later revealed in So how did his fingerprints match?

The writers may have given a possible explanation.

Samar: What’s with the long face?Ressler: We pulled a print off the Fowler crime scene.Samar: Reddington’s?Ressler: Possibly. If it is, it ties him to our murder. Haven’t run it yet.Samar: And you don’t know if you should.Ressler: Oh, I know I should, but if I do, this could all end and we might end up in jail.

Gale: And? Ressler: It didn’t match. Gale: [ Chuckles ] What? Ressler: The print it’s not Reddington’s. Gale: That’s impossible. Did they even run it through AFIS? Ressler: Yeah, the unsub wasn’t in the system. Gale: Well, there you have it. The system’s rigged. Ressler: What are you talking about? Gale: [ Chuckles ] The system’s rigged by Reddington, for Reddington. It’s the only explanation. I mean, he’s he’s got somebody on the inside. You said so yourself. Ressler: I was kidding.

Liz: How’d you do it? How’d you change the fingerprint? Red: The fingerprint? Liz: Don’t play dumb. The one Gale and Ressler found that connects you to the death of Diane Fowler. Red: I assure you I know nothing of it.

Additional:

Gale: He’s listening to “Sundown.” The strum of the guitar, the voice of a man who’s seen too much sorrow. You know, there is a chance this music was on before Reddington got here.

Doubtful that music was on. Red put that record on. This was an alternative explanation to "the prints didn't match Reddington"

more wild speculations:

Conclusion (Imho): The show is trying to say that the system is rigged by Red. It's the only explanation. Not surprising given the episodes Room 417 and The Morgana Logistics Co in Season 10.

Fingerprints and DNA cannot be changed even in the universe of The Blacklist. Not even Red's. Rigging/falsifying/manipulating on the surface is just trickery. The show told us how the magicians do their tricks but they also told us how the truth is easy to unravel. [proper testing, etc]

Katarina faked the DNA report to fool Kirk into believing he was Liz's father. Liz took a new test between her and Kirk and it was revealed that he was not the father. Retesting properly would reveal the actual truth.

Same thing with The Alchemist episode. Yes. medical science is portrayed as being competent. Just like they don't show the FBI being incompetent all the time. The DNA from 4.22 ACCURATE. The DNA from 5.22 ACCURATE. The Dna report between Red and Liz that Liz ran in Episode 1.02 would have been accurate. There is a reason the show couldn't and didn't address running a DNA report between the two in the beginning of the series or even throughout the whole show. It's the biggest mystery so understandable the show needed to preserve this secret to stay on the air. The DNA from 5.22 between the real RR and Liz matched as parent/child. Red's and Liz's would also match as Parent and child because Red is the Mother.

The Philomena Episode

Agent Gale was trying to solve the murder of Diane Fowler. What was shown was that when Red was at Fowler's house, he handled the record and the record player.

Those things were scrubbed and cleaned of any DNA or prints. The chair Red was sitting in had no trace of anything. For some reason, the record brush was the only item that had many fingerprints on it.

*There is a reason the writers wrote this and it was a big part of the episode.