The Blacklist season 9 episode 12 photo: A Cooper, Lew showdown?

While The Blacklist season 9 episode 12 may not be airing this week on NBC, there is a good bit to look forward to! Take, for example, an opportunity to dive further into one of the biggest storylines we’ve had a chance to see so far this season: Cooper being set up for the murder of Doug Koster.

Who framed him, and what is the reasoning behind it? It’s our hope that “The Chairman” (airing on March 18) will give us at least a few important answers. What we can confirm right now is that it’s going to feature the return of Cooper’s longtime colleague Lew Sloan.

Watch our most-recent The Blacklist review! Take a look below to see more thoughts on this past episode of the series. Once you do just that, SUBSCRIBE to Matt & Jess on YouTube for previews, theories, and all sorts of other good stuff.

If you recall, Lew tried to help Cooper out of a bind earlier this season by giving him a ballistics report that should put him in the clear. However, soon after the two met, Harry Lennix’s character received a call from a blackmailer. Someone is trying to keep him from getting out of this problem, but who is it? There are already conspiracy theories aplenty that Lew is somehow involved, but it’s hard to know what his motive here could be.

Personally, we’ve thought that Cynthia Panabaker could have some sort of role to play in all of this. Just remember for a moment here that she was especially cold to Cooper when we saw her earlier this season, and at one point she wanted the Task Force gone altogether. We may just be hoping to see the character responsible because she’s such a great foil and we want to see more of her on the show.

What do you most want to see transpire with Cooper on The Blacklist season 9 episode 12?

Be sure to share some of your early thoughts and theories in the attached comments! Once you do just that, come back around for some other updates that you don’t want to miss. (Photo: NBC.)