The Blacklist season 5 episode 1 spoilers: Is Reddington … carefree?

Here is one of the biggest surprises we can offer when it comes to The Blacklist season 5 episode 1 — when the NBC show returns, we could see a totally new Reddington! For most of the series’ run, this is a man who’s been desperately working to keep his criminal empire rolling as smoothly as it can, and that means making sure that nobody gets in his way.

If Reddington is not going to have his criminal empire, then what sort of man is he? How does he operate and what are his goals? This is one of the things that the upcoming September 27 premiere episode entitled “Smokey Putnam” is going to address. (For the record, a “Smokey Putnam” sounds like an expression you’d hear on a Better Call Saul episode rather than the name of a Blacklister.)

The synopsis for The Blacklist season 5 episode 1 below, (courtesy of NBC) offers up more details as to what’s coming for Reddington, Liz and the rest of the crew:

“With his criminal empire in ruins, a surprisingly carefree Red (James Spader) enlists Liz (Megan Boone) in an unlikely plan to simultaneously earn cash and deliver a new Blacklister to the Task Force. As Liz faces the new reality of working alongside her father, Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff) finds himself in a precarious position and Tom (Ryan Eggold) weighs his options. Harry Lennix, Amir Arison, Mozhan Marnò and Hisham Tawfiq also star. Michael Aronov, James Carpinello and Aida Turturro guest star.”

Personally, we really like the idea of Reddington doing odd jobs for the sake of some cash, which we like to think that he spends on expensive meats and fresh new hats. He probably already has enough sunglasses to last a lifetime. On a more serious note, the synopsis does hint at a new dynamic between Liz and Reddington now that she knows that the two of them are (presumably) related.

Following up on this story, we also have the question of Tom, who is back on the show full-time and in possession of the suitcase that could effectively change everything for the show and some of the characters. It contains a secret that is so important to Reddington that he’s more afraid than ever before that it could come out. This gives Tom a ton of power, but maybe his motivation to hurt this man is different given the information that is out there. Remember, it’s not like Tom has all that great of a relationship with his own dad and his relationship with Reddington has never been great.

What do you want to see on The Blacklist season 5 episode 1?

Let us know some of your early thoughts in the comments concerning Reddington’s new life, what’s coming up with Liz, and also what you think Tom is going to do now that he does have some more knowledge at his disposal.

(Photo: NBC)