Spin-Off Goals: Should Ryan Eggold’s Tom on ‘The Blacklist’ season 3 step out on his own?

Throughout this season on “The Blacklist,” we’ve seen Tom Keen try to figure out a way to fit into the story, and at times, it has proven itself to be rather difficult. He doesn’t have that many connections to the task force beyond Liz, and his relationship with Reddington is certainly rather complicated and then some.

With all of this being said, is there a way to expand his role in this universe even if it’s not on this particular show? That’s something we are certainly looking at examining further in the latest edition of our Spin-Off Goals article series.

Why Tom? – As we said, he’s not getting too much to do at the moment on the flagship show, and we feel like there’s a lot of story still to be examined here beyond just his relationship with Liz. We want to know more about his background, how and why he has gotten into this line of work, and also how he functions more on the field. He’s a master of disguise, and he has this great quality where he can play himself off as very unassuming, while at the same time be very dangerous.

The idea – We feel like TV could use a good spy caper series these days, given that we have some like “Homeland” out there that are a little more grounded and we don’t quite know what the future of “24” will be beyond just a pilot. Why not tell a story here that turns Tom into almost a Jason Bourne sort of action hero, where you watch him unravel conspiracies and float out there in the wind? It could explore the stresses that come with this job, and also the inherent loneliness that can come with being out there on your own. Sometimes, that is an aspect of playing this sort of character that is forgotten.

Could it happen? – It’s unlikely, even if this were a case where we didn’t just make up the idea ourselves. The big issue with a Tom spin-off is that he is a divisive character as it is, so there are probably only so many “Blacklist” fans who would give this a chance. Of course, the irony that goes along with that to a certain extent is that he would probably be a more popular character on his own, where he had more of a specific role and opportunities to shine.

(Photo: NBC)