‘The Blacklist’: 1 Theory Suggests a ‘Dead’ Character Is Very Much Alive
When it comes to NBC’s The Blacklist, who’s to say whether a character really died or not? The crime drama centers itself on the mysterious connections between criminal informant to the FBI, Raymond “Red” Reddington (James Spader), and the notorious crimes those villans committed before their capture. That said, The Blacklist has a high casualty list. Here’s why some think the death of one character doesn’t necessarily mean it’s permanent.
A lot of characters on ‘The Blacklist’ have ‘died’ and come back
The premise of The Blacklist lies in the FBI’s ability to capture anyone in Raymond Reddington’s “blacklist” of notorious criminals. As a criminal himself, Red almost always has his own hidden agenda when informing the secret FBI task force team assigned to him.
This, unfortunately, leads to a lot of death, typically by Red’s hand and especially if someone betrays his trust. However, not all deaths are equal. As shown time and time again in The Blacklist, many have been presumed “dead” only to return at a later time for whatever reason.
Some Reddit users have taken it upon themselves to keep track of those who’ve risen from the dead. Among the rather lengthy list are Katarina Rostova, Ilyas Surkov, Tom Keen (after Berlin), and even Red himself after the fire.
Many others had, what fans deem, suspicious deaths. Berlin’s daughter, Isabella Stone’s husband, and plenty of others in various episodes that writers may have forgotten about.
With The Blacklist using death as a plot device, it’s no wonder fans have trust issues. The biggest shockers of the series thus far — Red shooting Mr. Kaplan, where she is first assumed dead and FBI Agent Elizabeth Keen’s (Megan Boone) death during childbirth — left a lasting impression.
Most just don’t buy what each episode is selling now. Many think there’s one prominent character who will reprise their role — eventually
Fans have a theory about this character’s death
The death of Tom Keen (Ryan Eggold) came with a slew of mixed emotions for Blacklist fans. The skilled assassin who once tried to kill his wife (Boone’s Agent Keen), but reformed and re-married, came with a lot of baggage.
The very day Tom and Liz were to re-marry, Liz went into labor. Thus, she “died” the day their lives should’ve started over. The season 3 shocker sent viewers into a tailspin of feelings. First, she’s unequivocally dead. The show went on without her, showing the repercussions of that loss via Red.
Then, it’s revealed she’s alive. She and Tom felt it the only way to live a normal life was to go this route. Not long after, Tom’s death, by the hands of Ian Garvey (Jonathan Coyne), happened as he attempted to tell Liz the DNA results about whether Red is her father.
These betrayals — which got Mr. Kaplan and many others shot — is one reason many think Eggold’s Tom Keen will come back at some point.
“[The Blacklist] seems to be a show where they go to extremes to make you think somebody is “REALLY dead this time” and then BAM they’re alive again! Eg, Liz dying right there on the screen in season 3. If they bring Tom back it’ll have to be fairly convincing though,” one Redditor said.
“I just found the scene where Cooper identifies Tom’s body to be a little fishy,” another said.
“If Liz can fake her death, why can’t he?” another fan added.
Another thread suggests that, not only is Tom Keen alive, but Red is in on it.
His story isn’t finished yet. Loose plotlines include his evil father, his mother and why he disappeared when he was a baby. My personal theory is that Reddington is actually holding Tom as a prisoner.
Red can’t bring himself to kill his daughter’s husband. I’m betting the final scene is Tom being revealed as alive right after Liz finds out the truth about the duffel bag.
Reddit
The likely reason ‘Blacklist’ producers will bring Tom back from the dead
To quench viewers’ thirst for more Eggold on the set, the actor told Entertainment Weekly Tom Keen is “unequivocally dead,” adding “there’s no funny business there.”
Eggold, who now stars in the medical drama, New Amsterdam, said he’s open to returning for flashback sequences.
“It would be fun primarily in the sense that learning truths from the past inevitably colors the present and your current perspective,” he said.
“So I think there’s certainly information that we could learn and things we could see that we didn’t know about, or moments that were shared that could have significance in the present. I don’t think it would be a lot, but something would be interesting.”
Interpret that as you may. But with The Blacklist‘s history of tricking fans, nothing is out of the realm of possibility.
