The Blacklist season 6 finale review: Is James Spader leaving; who’s alive?
Was he really in on it? We were still somewhat in denial on it from the beginning, but in the opening moments of the episode, Diaz confirmed that death was his goal — a way for him and his family to escape the pain and free the First Lady and his family up for a little bit of a better life.
Unfortunately, the Task Force wasn’t exactly able to do a whole lot in order to help McMahon succeed in her goals — Cooper refused to help her, even while he was locked up in his makeshift prison. Other than Liz, she had every single person trapped within the facility … and Liz was intent on making sure that Cooper, Aram, and Ressler was safe.
So what does Liz do when she needs help? Well, she calls Reddington — and apparently enlists the help of none other than Max Ruddiger. Max helped him form a team to drill in and free up the Task Force — this was bonkers, but the right kind of bonkers. Of course, what he did was only a part of the problem, since Liz had to find a way to get them out of the cells first. Talk about a team effort, and a surprisingly fun one at the same time. Yet, here’s the problem: The whole plan fell apart, which meant that they all found themselves trapped in an even-worse spot than they were previously — think the old-school, classic Blackloist prison from the past.
So while the Task Force was trapped — again — it turns out that there was a twist within the twist. As it turns out, Liz expected the first plan to fail just so that she could get the Task Force within Reddington’s trademark box. This is when Reddington and his crew went to work. They had a diversion and, from there, Reddington was able to free everyone from their cell. The people holding them captive suddenly became the prisoners and, from there, they could move forward and plan their next move.
The next order of business
Trying to find a way in order to infiltrate the site of the debate and stop the plot from happening as it is currently planned. This is easier said than done. For starters, Cooper had to convince one of his associates in order to let some of his people on board the detail. Following this, Aram wend back to school as a means of going undercover. They were ready to try and stop the shooting, but the problem was that McMahon was moving forward with plans of her own.
Did the plan to stop the (planned) assassination work? Well, that depends on who you ask. Rather than killing the President, it turns out that McMahon’s plan all along may have been to kill the wife. Then, Ressler and Liz found themselves in huge legal hot water. After what happened, Diaz was enraged about the plan that went awry … though we don’t think that this was the plan. Sandquist, the shooter, had the experience necessary to hit the right target … but he didn’t.
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Reddington covers himself
After a conversation with Ressler about what he learned (and the identity reveal that Ressler will keep to himself), Reddington made it clear that he needed to take off for some sort of meeting. What was it? Well, he met with a mystery man regarding the people who were looking for answers on Katarina Rostova … and we have to wonder who that person is.
Forces collide … and a big surprise
With Liz, Ressler, and Aram in danger, Reddington had to go in action again in order to ensure that they could stay alive. That meant engaging in yet another high-octane shootout that could’ve led to all of them dying. All of it led up to the huge scene of Anna McMahon putting a gun to Reddington’s head, only for him to be saved by a really surprising person: Dembe! He’s back! He also killed Anna McMahon, so she is not a problem to worry about anymore.
In the aftermath of the shootout, the Task Force had to figure out a way in which to secure their freedom. That meant engaging in a little bit of old-fashion strategy. Ressler had to figure out exactly what the real objective was, and it was Reddington who really was able to figure out that the First Lady was the actual target. Here’s what is so crazy here — she survived! Was that a part of the plan? Well, the First Lady has a powerful secret. Four years ago, Diaz accepted a ton of money from Constantin — but there was something more here. What did she actually know?
Here’s where the First Lady’s confession came into play: Miriam admitted that four months before the primaries, the two of them covered up an accident that killed two people. She tried to encourage Diaz to come clean, but when he didn’t, she tried to compile together proof and forge a plan.
On the other side of all this…
The President decided to announce his resignation, and on the other side of this, a criminal investigation will be opened into what happened.
Meanwhile, Liz Keen was excited to bring back Agnes into her world again after so long — she got balloons and did everything that she could to welcome her kid back … which she did. We saw the sweet reunion, and soon after that Reddington retreated to his next order of business — going back and meeting the mystery man once more.
Then, we’ve got the next surprise: The mystery man revealed that he had uncovered … Katarina? Reddington then decided to go to Paris in order to pay her a visit, and that was the closing scene tonight. The two reunited on the city street, effectively confirming that the whole Rederina theory is dead. He told her that she was not safe, but then, she stabbed him!
Obviously, we don’t think James Spader is leaving … but this is absolutely a crazy ending nonetheless!
CarterMatt verdict
Another door is closed with The Blacklist, but another truly insane door has opened. We’re scared and excited for what lies ahead from here.
What did you think about The Blacklist season 6 finale? Be sure to share in the comments, and check back soon for more news. (Photo: NBC.)