The Blacklist season 5 spoilers: Will a main character really die?

CarterMatt has some of the latest The Blacklist season 5 spoilers following the premiere episode, and much of them are geared around Tom Keen. How could they not be given the end of the premiere episode? This was one of the most shocking cliffhangers that the show has given us, since it certainly looked as though Raymond Reddington was finally ready to kill Liz’s husband in the flash-forward at the end. The history of animosity between the two parties is clear, and the only reason that Tom is probably still alive at this point is because of the relationship that he has with Liz.

Here is where things get a little bit trickier this season: Tom carries with him the capacity to make Reddington’s life a living hell, given that he has the suitcase and the bones. He knows where one particular body is buried, and the identity of these bones could end up being a complete game-changer for the entire series. It could alter the course of almost everything, and this is something that Reddington is clearly aware of. This is why he was so intimidated by Mr. Kaplan and what she could have hanging over him.

So why include the flash-forward at the end of the episode, rather than just having that be something to incorporate into the story down the road? This is something that show executive producer Jon Bokenkamp commented on to TVLine, making it clear that he wanted the tone of this moment to balance things out with the comedy elsewhere in the episode:

“It was partly to give contrast to the lightness and the fun that Reddington’s having in rebuilding his empire. The show, I hope, is more fun this year. Reddington is really having a blast. But I didn’t want people to confuse that with the notion that we might somehow become a different show because we’re on at a different time period. We thought, ‘Why not give a taste of something that’s going to come?’ People can see that it’s still a very strange and dark and dangerous and, at times, bloody show. We felt like that was a nice little tease of something big to come. We wanted to acknowledge to the audience that the journey Tom is starting on really puts him on a collision course with trouble.”

As for whether or not Tom is really going to die as a result of this, good luck getting confirmation on that one way or another! The only thing we feel confident in reminding you of is that this is a show that loves the fake-out death construct. Remember that they really tried to make you believe for a while that Mr. Kaplan was dead when that really wasn’t the case. Tom could survive this, and if he does, Reddington may be in danger from not only him, but also potentially Liz.

(Photo: NBC.)