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The Blacklist Season 9 is the first season without Liz Keen, and things are definitely different. Episode 1 began two years after Liz’s death, with the task force broken up and Raymond Reddington in hiding. As the season went on, The Blacklist has been filling in the blanks on how Liz’s death impacted each character, and what they did in the past two years. Several characters have gotten their flashback episode, and Amir Arison recently teased that there is more to come.

Harry Lennix as Harold Cooper and Amir Arison as Aram Motajabi in The Blacklist Season 9. Cooper and Aram stand behind a desk looking up at something.
Harry Lennix as Harold Cooper and Amir Arison as Aram Motajabi in ‘The Blacklist’ Season 9 | Heidi Gutman/NBC

‘The Blacklist’ Season 9 features flashbacks to the past two years

The first flashback episode in The Blacklist Season 9 was titled “Between Sleep & Awake” and focused on Donald Ressler. After Liz’s death, Ressler fell back into addiction with prescription painkillers. While hiding out in a small town, he helped a woman and her son who were being harassed by her ex-husband.

The next flashback episode was about Dembe and why he became an FBI agent. In the wake of Liz’s death, Red disappeared, leaving Dembe to try to keep his criminal empire afloat. While trying to take out an enemy of Red’s named Boukman Baptiste, Dembe accidentally caused the death of the man’s son. This was the catalyst for Dembe’s decision to join the FBI.

Finally, the most recent episode of The Blacklist Season 9 centered on Agent Park. Park went to the morgue with Liz’s body and prayed over her. She revealed that Liz was like a guardian angel for her and she was lost after her death. During this time, Park joined an organization of government assassins known as The Conglomerate. Her friend also set her up with a man named Peter, who owns a chain of movie theaters. Peter eventually became Park’s husband.

Amir Arison hints there are more flashback episodes coming

Actor Amir Arison plays Aram in The Blacklist Season 9. Last week the actor Tweeted, “We have seen how Dembe & Ressler dealt with aftermath of Season 8 -The two years before we came back together for Season 9 Task Force reunion. Now we see what happened to Agent Park. We have a couple more eps of this nature this season…”

Harold Cooper, Raymond Reddington, and Aram Mojtabai have yet to have their own episodes flashing back to the two-year time gap. The series has filled in some of the blanks for Aram, explaining that he founded a cyber security company. Fans also know that Cooper adopted Agnes after Liz died. However, a lot of Red’s activities over the past two years are still a mystery.

James Spader as Raymond Reddington wearing a hat and coat. The Blacklist has been renewed for season 10.
James Spader as Raymond Reddington in ‘The Blacklist’ | Will Hart/NBC
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‘The Blacklist’ Fans Noticed a Key Element Missing From Season 9

A solo Red episode could be released this season

One Reddit user pointed out the likelihood that Red will have his own episode sometime this season. “The character-driven episode we have not seen (and the one they’re probably saving for May sweeps) is Red’s. Picking up from his disappearance at the apartment, dealing with his grief, his illness, his time in Tibet, meeting the sisters, his “happy” period, and maybe even an answer on Brazilia,” they wrote.

There’s certainly a lot to explore regarding Red’s experiences after Liz’s death. The Blacklist Season 9 has not yet addressed how he spent his time grieving Liz, nor has it explained what happened with the mysterious terminal illness Red was previously suffering from. Hopefully, fans will get all the answers they want soon.

New episodes of The Blacklist air Fridays at 8 p.m. EST on NBC.

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