The Blacklist season 7 theory: Was the Katarina meeting staged?

In the wake of the stunning events of Friday night’s The Blacklist season 6 finale, there are going to be a number of different thoughts and theories floating around out there. Take, for example, the idea that the Katarina Rostova we saw was an imposter. Or, the subject of this particular article: That the entire encounter that we saw at the end of this past episode was totally staged. While it may seem crazy to think about at first, it’s actually a little more believable when some of the dust settles.

For some more thoughts on this The Blacklist subject in video form, be sure to check out some of what we’ve got below! Meanwhile, remember to subscribe to CarterMatt on YouTube for more.

Why? Well, go back and rewatch the scene, which we have included for your viewing convenience at the bottom of this article! There are a few different ways to look at the specific series of events that play out here, so we want to do our best in order to break them down.

1. The meeting place – While it seemed as though the Stranger knew that she was in Paris, how did Reddington know precisely where she would be at night? It’s feasible to think that the Stranger arranged a meeting time between the two where they could make the entire event look like a chance encounter.

2. Saying each other’s names – How often in real life do people actually do this? It made some sense for Reddington to call out Katarina’s name, but for her to say his, that really felt like either A) something that was done for our benefit as viewers, to know that she considers him to be Reddington, or B) something that was done for the sake of a possible captive audience. Remember, Katarina assumes that is always being watched.

3. Is this Katarina fake? – If she is, you can argue that maybe this is all a ploy in order to draw out some of the people who are actually hunting down Katarina — if Reddington knows where she supposedly is, all of a sudden more attention is diverted over to him. Meanwhile, he could’ve injected him with something that he knew wouldn’t kill him, just as a means of ensuring that it would look as though there is dissension between the two. Ultimately, the endgame here could be quite simple — Reddington wants to find a way to infiltrate those coming after Katarina, and the #1 way in which to do that could be creating some sort of visual tableau that Reddington would be want to be turned against her further.

4. Did Katarina and the Stranger set Reddington up? – That’s certainly a valid theory given that clearly, Katarina had some people standing by — people who she was aware of and trusted enough to help her cart Reddington’s body away. She also had a loaded syringe, which you don’t just have willy-nilly. Unless she and Reddington planned this out themselves, she had to be tipped off to some degree.

5. Katarina picks up Reddington’s hat – Why do this? If she didn’t care about him at all, she wouldn’t pick that up. It’s an interesting move for her to make, given that if people are watching, they will interpret that as her still holding some sort of candle. Maybe this was set up on her part to interrogate him, or maybe it is meant to just protect him.

Do you think that the Katarina incident was staged on The Blacklist season 7? Be sure to share right now in the comments, and check back soon to get some other information. (Photo: NBC.)