‘The Blacklist’: Some Say the Alaskan Triangle Might Actually Be True
Leave it to a show like The Blacklist to keep viewers pondering for weeks (and months) on end. Season 7 of the NBC crime series explored a longtime conspiracy theory that revolves around an Alaskan mystery. Is any of it true?
Agent Alina Park took ‘The Blacklist’ to Alaska
Season 7 of The Blacklist dwindled toward the start of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. So, producers brought on Laura Sohn full-time as the new FBI Agent, Alina Park. She appeared in season 6 but was promoted to recurring character status. This means fans will get to better know her character in season 8.
Though she appears to work “by-the-book” on the surface, Agent Park has a mysterious past that erupted more than once. The series doesn’t typically explore supporting characters’ backstories but might for an episode or two.
Such was the case with Agent Park. The task force team sent her to Alaska in the episode, “Twamie Ullulaq.” It began with Raymond “Red” Reddington (James Spader) asking the team to look into trucks that had gone missing in The Alaska Triangle.
The show itself ended with a solved mystery (of course). But, some wondered if the Alaska Triangle is real?
The Alaska Triangle is allegedly responsible for over 16,000 disappearances
Like theories regarding the Bermuda Triangle, the Alaska Triangle has been linked to thousands of missing persons. This also includes the disappearances of planes and boats. Many of the cases cannot be explained. According to some, the Alaska Triangle is a cursed place.
Theories gained traction in 1972 when a private plane, carrying U.S. House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, Alaska Congressman Nick Begich, an aide, Russell Brown, and pilot, Don Jonz, vanished during a route from Anchorage to Juneau.
According to multiple outlets, authorities utilized dozens of military and civilian planes and boats to search over 32,000 square miles. They couldn’t locate the downed plane or debris. It wasn’t the first or the last.
Over the years, more planes and people disappeared — over 16,000 to date. The area alone is responsible for more than twice the missing person’s rate of the nation as a whole.
The mysteries are so bizarre, the Travel Channel developed a docuseries about various cases within the area. Much of the disappearances are blamed on a multitude of phenomenons such as UFOs, energy vortexes, and the shape-shifting demon Tlingit Indian lore called Kushtak (mentioned in The Blacklist).
Those who don’t buy into the conspiracies say the environment is to blame. The Alaska Triangle is filled with dense forestry, mountains, glaciers, and snow. Explanations include avalanches and wild animal attacks to argue no signs of life. Either way, The Blacklist didn’t dive too deeply into the “what-ifs.”
What a ‘Blacklist’ writer revealed about the episode
Arguments about whether the Alaska Triangle will likely never end. In the meantime, The Blacklist writer, Daniel Cerone, live-tweeted the episode, filling fans in on a few behind-the-scenes details.
Naturally, a few viewers with their own Alaskan ties had a few concerns over the accuracy of the episode.
“We were so excited to shoot an episode with snow and then wouldn’t you know it New York wouldn’t cooperate. Had to create most of the snow you see. #TheBlacklist,” he wrote.
“That lake was supposed to be frozen. But, again, New York wouldn’t cooperate, weather-wise. #TheBlacklist,” he continued, adding that they filmed some scenes on a sound stage in New York — not on location in the Alaskan wilderness.
None of this solves whether there’s any truth to the theories surrounding the Alaska Triangle mysteries. Nonetheless, this episode of The Blacklist did what it was supposed to do — entertain.
