#like. that’s not a flaw that’s the fulcrum on which stories have always turned it’s the emotions

[visenyaism]

you know i really really hate it more than anything when people call character actions in stories especially within a tragedies irrational or hypocritical. like girl that’s the human condition

[aboveallarescuer]

Dany asserting her identity, titles and achievements (to others or herself) and/or moments of pride in general

As I was rereading ASOIAF, I made it my goal to compile all* the book passages demonstrating either certain key attributes of Daenerys Targaryen (e.g. that she's compassionate and smart) or aspects of hers that are usually overstated (e.g. that she's ambitious and prophecy-driven).  Doing such a task may seem exaggerated, but I'd argue it's not, for many, many misconceptions about Dany have become widespread in light of the show's final season's events (and even before).

It must be acknowledged that it can be tricky to reference, say, ADWD passages to counter-argument how she was depicted in season eight (which allegedly follows ADOS events). Dany will have had plenty of character development in the span of two books. However, whatever happens to Dany in the next two books, I would argue that there is more than enough material to conclude that her show counterpart was made to fall for flaws that she (for the most part) never had and actions that she (for the most part) would never take. (and that's not even considering the double standards and the contradictions with what had been shown from show!Dany up until then, but that's obviously out of the scope of these lists)

Another objection to the purpose of these lists is that Game of Thrones is different from A Song of Ice and Fire and should be analyzed on its own, which is a fair point. However, the show is also an adaptation of these books, which begs the questions: why did they change Dany's character? Why did they overfocus on negative traits of hers or depicted them as negative when they weren't supposed to be or gave her negative traits that were never hers to begin with? Another fact that undermines the show=/=books argument is that most people think that the show's ending will be the books', albeit only in broad strokes and in different circumstances. As a result, people's perception of Dany is inevitably influenced by the show, which is a shame.

I hope these lists can be useful for whoever wants to find book passages to defend (or even simply explore different facets of) Dany's character in metas or conversations.

*Well, at least all the passages that I could find in her chapters, which is no guarantee that the effort was perfectly executed, but I did my best.

Also, people could interpret certain passages differently and then come up with a different collection of passages if they ever attempted to make one, so I'm not saying that this list is completely objective (nor that there could ever be one).

Also, some passages have been cut short according to whether they were, IMO, relevant to the specific topic of the list they're in, so the context surrounding them may not always be clear (always read the books and use asearchoficeandfire). Many of them appear in different lists, sometimes fully referenced, sometimes not.

I listed the passages back to front because I felt doing so highlighted Dany's evolution better.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To justify the existence of this list, let's see examples of widespread opinions that I feel misrepresent Daenerys Targaryen:

Demanding respect simply because she is the “rightful heir” to the Iron Throne is in her Signature Moves list right up there with Yelling and Burning. As Machiavelli might say: “she trippin". A ruler only gets real power through taking and earning and keeping it, not through inheritance. (Wisecrack)

~

But even Daenerys’ sense of altruism has diminished considerably of late, and she’s been relying on her reputation rather than a desire to inspire love and loyalty. Tywin once told Joffrey that any man who must say “I am the king” is no true king. Meanwhile, Daenerys’ first course of action is always to intimidate with her endless list of titles, even when they can’t possibly help her, as when she’s brought before Khal Moro in “The Red Woman.” (x)

~

Her arc is honest and real and logical. It is a coherent response to her given circumstances and follows her narrative thread coupled with her inherent lust for her own destiny. It both pushes against her gender and is inherently shaped by how others have treated her due to her gender. It is both a result of her victimization and in spite of her trials. She is self-absorbed and self-servicing, and the human tension between ego and selflessness is a huge fulcrum for the story thematically across the board. (x)

~

But the character has been obsessed with the Iron Throne, right from her youth. While, time and again, she has admitted that her father was a homicidal maniac, but that has never discouraged her from leaving her claim to the throne. (x)

~

We are supposed to forget that she is fighting for nothing more than her own sense of entitlement to the throne, like some upper-class brat who loses her family’s fortune and eventually manages to become CEO of her own corporation. (x)

I would argue that her assertion of her titles does not stem from "sense of entitlement to the throne" or from being "self-absorbed" and "self-servicing" or simply for the sake of "intimidating". 

She asserts them when she needs to show other people why she deserves respect (which is, of course, all the more necessary for the sake of her gender) like in ASOS Dany IV; 

She asserts them when she needs to control her fear or emotional pain (AGOT Dany II, ASOS Dany III, ADWD Dany I);

She asserts them to motivate herself (ADWD Dany X); 

She asserts them to take responsibility for carrying them in the first place (ADWD Dany V, ADWD Dany VI, ADWD Dany VIII); 

She even acknowledges their potential negative side (ADWD Dany II, ADWD Dany VIII). 

And let's not forget that, in ADWD Dany IV, when the Green Grace argues for a Dany-Hizdahr marriage by mentioning some of their ancestors, Dany replies that "His forebears are as dead as mine. Will Hizdahr raise their shades to defend Meereen against its enemies? I need a man with ships and swords. You offer me ancestors." 

And these are only examples off the top of my head. My point is that her relationship with power is complex.

IMO, claims like the ones I've linked to certainly cannot be made after reading the books (some can't even after watching the show's first 71 episodes, but the show can be all over the place and ... I digress), so take a look at these passages.

A Dance with Dragons

ADWD Daenerys X

The sun grew hotter as it rose, and before long her head was pounding. Dany’s hair was growing out again, but slowly. “I need a hat,” she said aloud. Up on Dragonstone she had tried to make one for herself, weaving stalks of grass together as she had seen Dothraki women do during her time with Drogo, but either she was using the wrong sort of grass or she simply lacked the necessary skill. Her hats all fell to pieces in her hands. Try again, she told herself. You will do better the next time. You are the blood of the dragon, you can make a hat. She tried and tried, but her last attempt had been no more successful than her first.

~

No, Dany told herself. If I look back I am lost. She might live for years amongst the sunbaked rocks of Dragonstone, riding Drogon by day and gnawing at his leavings every evenfall as the great grass sea turned from gold to orange, but that was not the life she had been born to.

~

Am I dying? Then she saw the pale crescent moon, floating high above the grass, and it came to her that this was no more than her moon blood.

If she had not been so sick and scared, that might have come as a relief. Instead she began to shiver violently. She rubbed her fingers through the dirt, and grabbed a handful of grass to wipe between her legs. The dragon does not weep. She was bleeding, but it was only woman’s blood. The moon is still a crescent, though. How can that be? She tried to remember the last time she had bled. The last full moon? The one before? The one before that? No, it cannot have been so long as that. “I am the blood of the dragon,” she told the grass, aloud.

~

“...I am only a young girl.���

No. You are the blood of the dragon. The whispering was growing fainter, as if Ser Jorah were falling farther behind. Dragons plant no trees. Remember that. Remember who you are, what you were made to be. Remember your words.

“Fire and Blood,” Daenerys told the swaying grass.

ADWD Daenerys IX

When his mouth opened, she could see bits of broken bone and charred flesh between his black teeth. His eyes were molten. I am looking into hell, but I dare not look away. She had never been so certain of anything. If I run from him, he will burn me and devour me.

[...] He is fire made flesh, she thought, and so am I.

ADWD Daenerys VIII

No queen has clean hands, Dany told herself. She thought of Doreah, of Quaro, of Eroeh … of a little girl she had never met, whose name had been Hazzea. Better a few should die in the pit than thousands at the gates. This is the price of peace, I pay it willingly. If I look back, I am lost.

~

You saw me as defeated, Dany thought, and who am I to say that you were wrong?

“...Never trust a sellsword.”

Or a queen, thought Dany.

~

“The dragon has three heads,” Dany said when they were on the final flight. “My marriage need not be the end of all your hopes. I know why you are here.”

“For you,” said Quentyn, all awkward gallantry.

“No,” said Dany. “For fire and blood.”

~

“They are … they are fearsome creatures.”

“They are dragons, Quentyn.” Dany stood on her toes and kissed him lightly, once on each cheek. “And so am I.”

ADWD Daenerys VII

It was close to sunset before Daario Naharis appeared with his new Stormcrows, the Westerosi who had come over to him from the Windblown. Dany found herself glancing at them as yet another petitioner droned on and on. These are my people. I am their rightful queen.

~

“Come back to bed and kiss me.” No one had ever kissed her like Daario Naharis. “I am your queen, and I command you to fuck me.”

She had meant it playfully[.]

~

“...This match will save our city, you will see.”

“So we pray. I want to plant my olive trees and see them fruit.” Does it matter that Hizdahr’s kisses do not please me? Peace will please me. Am I a queen or just a woman?

ADWD Daenerys VI

“Your Grace should not be here, breathing these black humors.”

“I am the blood of the dragon,” Dany reminded him. “Have you ever seen a dragon with the flux?” Viserys had oft claimed that Targaryens were untroubled by the pestilences that afflicted common men, and so far as she could tell, it was true. She could remember being cold and hungry and afraid, but never sick.

ADWD Daenerys V

“Your Grace could not have known—”

“I am the queen. It was my place to know.”

~

“I may be a young girl innocent of war, but I am not a lamb to walk bleating into the harpy’s den. I still have my Unsullied. I have the Stormcrows and the Second Sons. I have three companies of freedmen.”

~

“What of these Astapori?”

My children. “They are coming here for help. For succor and protection. We cannot turn our backs on them.”

Ser Barristan frowned. “Your Grace, I have known the bloody flux to destroy whole armies when left to spread unchecked. The seneschal is right. We cannot have the Astapori in Meereen.”

Dany looked at him helplessly. It was good that dragons did not cry.

ADWD Daenerys IV

"Most queens have no purpose but to warm some king's bed and pop out sons for him. If that's the sort of queen you mean to be, best marry Hizdahr."

Her anger flashed. "Have you forgotten who I am?"

"No. Have you?"

Viserys would have his head off for that insolence. “I am the blood of the dragon. Do not presume to teach me lessons.” When Dany stood, the lion pelt slipped from her shoulders and tumbled to the ground. “Leave me.”

ADWD Daenerys III

“...A child departed Qarth, as lost as she was lovely. I feared she was sailing to her doom, yet now I find her here enthroned, mistress of an ancient city, surrounded by a mighty host that she raised up out of dreams.”

No, she thought, out of blood and fire.

~

“You have grown suspicious, Daenerys.”

Always. “I have grown wise, Xaro.”

~

“Is that meant to frighten me? I lived in fear for fourteen years, my lord. I woke afraid each morning and went to sleep afraid each night … but my fears were burned away the day I came forth from the fire. Only one thing frightens me now.”

“And what is it that you fear, sweet queen?”

“I am only a foolish young girl.” Dany rose on her toes and kissed his cheek. “But not so foolish as to tell you that.

~

If I were a dragon, I could fly to Westeros, she thought when he was gone. I would have no need of Xaro or his ships.

ADWD Daenerys II

Safe. The word made Dany’s eyes fill up with tears. “I want to keep you safe.” Missandei was only a child. With her, she felt as if she could be a child too. “No one ever kept me safe when I was little. Well, Ser Willem did, but then he died, and Viserys … I want to protect you but … it is so hard. To be strong. I don’t always know what I should do. I must know, though. I am all they have. I am the queen … the … the …”

“… mother,” whispered Missandei.

“Mother to dragons.” Dany shivered.

~

She squeezed the water from her silvery hair. “I am half-sick of riddling. In Qarth I was a beggar, but here I am a queen. I command you—”

~

A shadow. A memory. No one. She was the blood of the dragon, but Ser Barristan had warned her that in that blood there was a taint. Could I be going mad? They had called her father mad, once. “I was praying,” she told the Naathi girl. “It will be light soon. I had best eat something, before court.”

~

“I would give Hazzea back to you if I could,” she told the father, “but some things are beyond the power of even a queen. Her bones shall be laid to rest in the Temple of the Graces, and a hundred candles shall burn day and night in her memory. Come back to me each year upon her nameday, and your other children shall not want … but this tale must never pass your lips again.”

~

Mother of dragons, Daenerys thought. Mother of monsters. What have I unleashed upon the world? A queen I am, but my throne is made of burned bones, and it rests on quicksand. Without dragons, how could she hope to hold Meereen, much less win back Westeros? I am the blood of the dragon, she thought. If they are monsters, so am I.

ADWD Daenerys I

“This one has been told that your servant Stalwart Shield sometimes gave coin to the women of the brothels to lie with him and hold him.”

The blood of the dragon does not weep.

~

Daenerys pushed her hair back. “Find these cowards for me. Find them, so that I might teach the Harpy’s Sons what it means to wake the dragon.”

A Storm of Swords

ASOS Daenerys VI

No one was calling her Daenerys the Conqueror yet, but perhaps they would. Aegon the Conqueror had won Westeros with three dragons, but she had taken Meereen with sewer rats and a wooden cock, in less than a day.

~

Yet the thought of seeing Jorah Mormont again made her feel as if she’d swallowed a spoonful of flies; angry, agitated, sick. She could almost feel them buzzing round her belly. I am the blood of the dragon. I must be strong. I must have fire in my eyes when I face them, not tears.

~

She was Daenerys Stormborn, the Unburnt, khaleesi and queen, Mother of Dragons, slayer of warlocks, breaker of chains, and there was no one in the world that she could trust.

ASOS Daenerys V

Worst of all, they had nailed a slave child up on every milepost along the coast road from Yunkai, nailed them up still living with their entrails hanging out and one arm always outstretched to point the way to Meereen. Leading her van, Daario had given orders for the children to be taken down before Dany had to see them, but she had countermanded him as soon as she was told. “I will see them,” she said. “I will see every one, and count them, and look upon their faces. And I will remember.”

By the time they came to Meereen sitting on the salt coast beside her river, the count stood at one hundred and sixty-three. I will have this city, Dany pledged to herself once more.

~

They watched Oznak zo Pahl dismount his white charger, undo his robes, pull out his manhood, and direct a stream of urine in the general direction of the olive grove where Dany’s gold pavilion stood among the burnt trees. He was still pissing when Daario Naharis rode up, arakh in hand. “Shall I cut that off for you and stuff it down his mouth, Your Grace?” His tooth shone gold amidst the blue of his forked beard.

“It’s his city I want, not his meager manhood.” She was growing angry, however. If I ignore this any longer, my own people will think me weak. [...]

High on the walls of Meereen, the jeers had grown louder, and now hundreds of the defenders were taking their lead from the hero and pissing down through the ramparts to show their contempt for the besiegers. They are pissing on slaves, to show how little they fear us, she thought. They would never dare such a thing if it were a Dothraki khalasar outside their gates.

~

Could I love Daario? What would it mean, if I took him into my bed? Would that make him one of the heads of the dragon? Ser Jorah would be angry, she knew, but he was the one who’d said she had to take two husbands. Perhaps I should marry them both and be done with it.

But these were foolish thoughts. She had a city to take, and dreaming of kisses and some sellsword’s bright blue eyes would not help her breach the walls of Meereen. I am the blood of the dragon, Dany reminded herself. Her thoughts were spinning in circles, like a rat chasing its tail.

~

When the horses had been saddled, Dany and her companions set out along the shoreline, away from the city. Even so, she could feel Meereen at her back, mocking her. When she looked over one shoulder, there it stood, the afternoon sun blazing off the bronze harpy atop the Great Pyramid. Inside Meereen the slavers would soon be reclining in their fringed tokars to feast on lamb and olives, unborn puppies, honeyed dormice and other such delicacies, whilst outside her children went hungry. A sudden wild anger filled her. I will bring you down, she swore.

ASOS Daenerys IV

“Woman, you bray like an ass, and make no more sense.”

“Woman?” She chuckled. “Is that meant to insult me? I would return the slap, if I took you for a man.” Dany met his stare. “I am Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen, the Unburnt, Mother of Dragons, khaleesi to Drogo’s riders, and queen of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros.”

~

The man on the white camel named himself Grazdan mo Eraz. Lean and hard, he had a white smile such as Kraznys had worn until Drogon burned off his face.

~

When he was gone, Dany threw herself down on her pillows beside her dragons. She had not meant to be so sharp with Ser Jorah, but his endless suspicion had finally woken her dragon.

He will forgive me, she told herself. I am his liege. Dany found herself wondering whether he was right about Daario. She felt very lonely all of a sudden. Mirri Maz Duur had promised that she would never bear a living child. House Targaryen will end with me. That made her sad. “You must be my children,” she told the dragons, “my three fierce children. Arstan says dragons live longer than men, so you will go on after I am dead.”

ASOS Daenerys III

“I am not a child,” she told him. “I am a queen.”

“Yet even queens can err. The Astapori have cheated you, Your Grace. A dragon is worth more than any army. Aegon proved that three hundred years ago, upon the Field of Fire.”

“I know what Aegon proved. I mean to prove a few things of my own.”

~

She stood in her stirrups and raised the harpy’s fingers above her head for all the Unsullied to see. “IT IS DONE!” she cried at the top of her lungs. “YOU ARE MINE!” She gave the mare her heels and galloped along the first rank, holding the fingers high. “YOU ARE THE DRAGON’S NOW! YOU’RE BOUGHT AND PAID FOR! IT IS DONE! IT IS DONE!”

ASOS Daenerys II

Kraznys had commanded them to lay down their spears and shields, and doff their swordbelts and quilted tunics, so the Queen of Westeros might better inspect the lean hardness of their bodies.

~

“Remind your Good Master of who I am. Remind him that I am Daenerys Stormborn, Mother of Dragons, the Unburnt, trueborn queen of the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. My blood is the blood of Aegon the Conqueror, and of old Valyria before him.”

~

“When Aegon the Dragon stepped ashore in Westeros, the kings of Vale and Rock and Reach did not rush to hand him their crowns. If you mean to sit his Iron Throne, you must win it as he did, with steel and dragonfire. And that will mean blood on your hands before the thing is done.”

Blood and fire, thought Dany. The words of House Targaryen. She had known them all her life.

ASOS Daenerys I

No squall could frighten Dany, though. Daenerys Stormborn, she was called, for she had come howling into the world on distant Dragonstone as the greatest storm in the memory of Westeros howled outside, a storm so fierce that it ripped gargoyles from the castle walls and smashed her father’s fleet to kindling.

~

“I ... that was not fitting. I am your queen.”

“My queen,” he said, “and the bravest, sweetest, and most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Daenerys—”

“Your Grace!”

A Clash of Kings

ACOK Daenerys V

She was breaking her fast on a bowl of cold shrimp-and-persimmon soup when Irri brought her a Qartheen gown, an airy confection of ivory samite patterned with seed pearls. “Take it away,” Dany said. “The docks are no place for lady’s finery.”

If the Milk Men thought her such a savage, she would dress the part for them. When she went to the stables, she wore faded sandsilk pants and woven grass sandals. Her small breasts moved freely beneath a painted Dothraki vest, and a curved dagger hung from her medallion belt. Jhiqui had braided her hair Dothraki-fashion, and fastened a silver bell to the end of the braid.

~

When she told a Lyseni on the Trumpeteer that she was Daenerys Stormborn, Queen of the Seven Kingdoms, he gave her a deadface look and said, “Aye, and I’m Lord Tywin Lannister and shit gold every night.”

~

She turned back as he reached for his coins, intending to put an end to this mummer’s farce. The blood of the dragon would not be herded through the bazaar by an old man and a fat eunuch.

~

“The great cog Saduleon is berthed at the end of the quay, and the galleys Summer Sun and Joso’s Prank are anchored beyond the breakwater.”

Three heads has the dragon, Dany thought, wondering. “I shall tell my people to make ready to depart at once. But the ships that bring me home must bear different names.”

“As you wish,” said Arstan. “What names would you prefer?”

“Vhagar,” Daenerys told him. “Meraxes. And Balerion. Paint the names on their hulls in golden letters three feet high, Arstan. I want every man who sees them to know the dragons are returned.”

ACOK Daenerys IV

Ser Jorah Mormont gave the merchant prince a sour look. “Your Grace, remember Mirri Maz Duur.”

“I do,” Dany said, suddenly decided. “I remember that she had knowledge. And she was only a maegi.”

Pyat Pree smiled thinly. “The child speaks as sagely as a crone. Take my arm, and let me lead you.”

“I am no child.” Dany took his arm nonetheless.

~

The blood of the dragon must not be afraid. Dany said a quick prayer, begging the Warrior for courage and the Dothraki horse god for strength. She made herself walk forward.

ACOK Daenerys III

“Did you weep?”

“The blood of the dragon does not weep,” she said testily.

Xaro sighed. “You ought to have wept.” The Qartheen wept often and easily; it was considered a mark of the civilized man.

~

Part of her would have liked nothing more than to lead her people back to Vaes Tolorro, and make the dead city bloom. No, that is defeat. I have something Viserys never had. I have the dragons. The dragons are all the difference.

~

Even so, it would be years before they were large enough to take to war. And they must be trained as well, or they will lay my kingdom waste. For all her Targaryen blood, Dany had not the least idea of how to train a dragon.

~

“If you go west, you risk your life.”

“House Targaryen has friends in the Free Cities,” she reminded him. “Truer friends than Xaro or the Pureborn.”

~

“Illyrio believes in no cause but Illyrio. Gluttons are greedy men as a rule, and magisters are devious. Illyrio Mopatis is both. What do you truly know of him?”

“I know that he gave me my dragon eggs.”

He snorted. “If he’d known they were like to hatch, he would have sat on them himself.”

That made her smile despite herself. “Oh, I have no doubt of that, ser. I know Illyrio better than you think. I was a child when I left his manse in Pentos to wed my sun-and-stars, but I was neither deaf nor blind. And I am no child now.”

~

“Sellswords have their uses,” Ser Jorah admitted, “but you will not win your father’s throne with sweepings from the Free Cities. Nothing knits a broken realm together so quick as an invading army on its soil.”

“I am their rightful queen,” Dany protested.

“You are a stranger who means to land on their shores with an army of outlanders who cannot even speak the Common Tongue. The lords of Westeros do not know you, and have every reason to fear and mistrust you. You must win them over before you sail. A few at least.”

~

I am afraid, she realized, but I must be brave.

ACOK Daenerys II

“The only palace I desire is the red castle at King’s Landing, my lord Pyat.” Dany was wary of the warlock; the maegi Mirri Maz Duur had soured her on those who played at sorcery. “And if the great of Qarth would give me gifts, Xaro, let them give me ships and swords to win back what is rightfully mine.”

~

“I am not the frightened girl you met in Pentos. I have counted only fifteen name days, true ... but I am as old as the crones in the dosh khaleen and as young as my dragons, Jorah. I have borne a child, burned a khal, and crossed the red waste and the Dothraki sea. Mine is the blood of the dragon.”

“As was your brother’s,” he said stubbornly.

“I am not Viserys.”

“No,” he admitted. “There is more of Rhaegar in you, I think, but even Rhaegar could be slain. Robert proved that on the Trident, with no more than a warhammer. Even dragons can die.”

“Dragons die.” She stood on her toes to kiss him lightly on an unshaven cheek. “But so do dragonslayers.”

ACOK Daenerys I

A living dragon is beyond price. In all the world, there are only three. Every man who sees them will want them, my queen.”

“They are mine,” she said fiercely. They had been born from her faith and her need, given life by the deaths of her husband and unborn son and the maegi Mirri Maz Duur. Dany had walked into the flames as they came forth, and they had drunk milk from her swollen breasts. “No man will take them from me while I live.”

~

“We follow the comet,” Dany told her khalasar. Once it was said, no word was raised against it. They had been Drogo’s people, but they were hers now. The Unburnt, they called her, and Mother of Dragons. Her word was their law.

~

Dany kissed him lightly on the cheek. It heartened her to see him smile. I must be strong for him as well, she thought grimly. A knight he may be, but I am the blood of the dragon.

A Game of Thrones

AGOT Daenerys X

“Princess ...” he began.

“Why do you call me that?” Dany challenged him. “My brother Viserys was your king, was he not?”

“He was, my lady.”

“Viserys is dead. I am his heir, the last blood of House Targaryen. Whatever was his is mine now.”

“My ... queen,” Ser Jorah said, going to one knee.

~

“You do not mean to die with him? You swear it, my queen?”

“I swear it,” she said in the Common Tongue of the Seven Kingdoms that by rights were hers.

~

Dany called the Dothraki around her. Fewer than a hundred were left. How many had Aegon started with? she wondered. It did not matter.

~

Her bath was scalding hot when Irri helped her into the tub, but Dany did not flinch or cry aloud. She liked the heat. It made her feel clean. Jhiqui had scented the water with the oils she had found in the market in Vaes Dothrak; the steam rose moist and fragrant. [...] Dany closed her eyes and let the smell and the warmth enfold her. She could feel the heat soaking through the soreness between her thighs. She shuddered when it entered her, and her pain and stiffness seemed to dissolve. She floated.

~

The heat beat at the air with great red wings, driving the Dothraki back, driving off even Mormont, but Dany stood her ground. She was the blood of the dragon, and the fire was in her.

~

No, she wanted to shout to him, no, my good knight, do not fear for me. The fire is mine. I am Daenerys Stormborn, daughter of dragons, bride of dragons, mother of dragons, don’t you see? Don’t you SEE?

AGOT Daenerys IX

“Eroeh?” asked Dany, remembering the frightened child she had saved outside the city of the Lamb Men.

“Mago seized her, who is Khal Jhaqo’s bloodrider now,” said Jhogo. “He mounted her high and low and gave her to his khal, and Jhaqo gave her to his other bloodriders. They were six. When they were done with her, they cut her throat.”

“It was her fate, Khaleesi,” said Aggo.


If I look back I am lost. “It was a cruel fate,” Dany said, “yet not so cruel as Mago’s will be. I promise you that, by the old gods and the new, by the lamb god and the horse god and every god that lives. I swear it by the Mother of Mountains and the Womb of the World. Before I am done with them, Mago and Ko Jhaqo will plead for the mercy they showed Eroeh.”

The Dothraki exchanged uncertain glances. “Khaleesi,” the handmaid Irri explained, as if to a child, “Jhaqo is a khal now, with twenty thousand riders at his back.”

She lifted her head. “And I am Daenerys Stormhorn, Daenerys of House Targaryen, of the blood of Aegon the Conqueror and Maegor the Cruel and old Valyria before them. I am the dragon’s daughter, and I swear to you, these men will die screaming. Now bring me to Khal Drogo.”

AGOT Daenerys VIII

[“]Do you trust your khas? Will they come with us?”

“Khal Drogo commanded them to keep me safe,” Dany replied uncertainly, “but if he dies ...” She touched the swell of her belly. “I don’t understand. Why should we flee? I am khaleesi. I carry Drogo’s heir. He will be khal after Drogo ...”

~

“Rein in your tongue, bloodrider. The princess is still your khaleesi.”

“Only while the blood-of-my-blood still lives,” Qotho told the knight. “When he dies, she is nothing.”


Dany felt a tightness inside her. “Before I was khaleesi, I was the blood of the dragon. Ser Jorah, summon my khas.”


~

“Is there no other way?”

“No other.”

Khal Drogo gave a shuddering gasp.

“Do it,” Dany blurted. She must not be afraid; she was the blood of the dragon. “Save him.”

“There is a price,” the godswife warned her.

“You’ll have gold, horses, whatever you like.”

“It is not a matter of gold or horses. This is bloodmagic, lady. Only death may pay for life.”

“Death?” Dany wrapped her arms around herself protectively, rocked back and forth on her heels. “My death?” She told herself she would die for him, if she must. She was the blood of the dragon, she would not be afraid. Her brother Rhaegar had died for the woman he loved.

~

“Khaleesi,” he pleaded, “you must not do this thing. Let me kill this maegi.”

“Kill her and you kill your khal,” Dany said.

“This is bloodmagic,” he said. “It is forbidden.”

“I am khaleesi, and I say it is not forbidden. In Vaes Dothrak, Khal Drogo slew a stallion and I ate his heart, to give our son strength and courage. This is the same. The same.”

AGOT Daenerys VII

“You cannot claim them all, child,” Ser Jorah said, the fourth time they stopped, while the warriors of her khas herded her new slaves behind her.

“I am khaleesi, heir to the Seven Kingdoms, the blood of the dragon,” Dany reminded him. “It is not for you to tell me what I cannot do.” Across the city, a building collapsed in a great gout of fire and smoke, and she heard distant screams and the wailing of frightened children.

~

“If your warriors would mount these women, let them take them gently and keep them for wives. Give them places in the khalasar and let them bear you sons.”

Qotho was ever the cruelest of the bloodriders. It was he who laughed. “Does the horse breed with the sheep?”

Something in his tone reminded her of Viserys. Dany turned on him angrily. “The dragon feeds on horse and sheep alike.”

AGOT Daenerys VI

If I were not the blood of the dragon, she thought wistfully, this could be my home. She was khaleesi, she had a strong man and a swift horse, handmaids to serve her, warriors to keep her safe, an honored place in the dosh khaleen awaiting her when she grew old ... and in her womb grew a son who would one day bestride the world. That should be enough for any woman ... but not for the dragon. With Viserys gone, Daenerys was the last, the very last. She was the seed of kings and conquerors, and so too the child inside her. She must not forget.

~

Dany was near tears as they carried her back. The taste in her mouth was one she had known before: fear. For years she had lived in terror of Viserys, afraid of waking the dragon. This was even worse. It was not just for herself that she feared now, but for her baby. He must have sensed her fright, for he moved restlessly inside her. Dany stroked the swell of her belly gently, wishing she could reach him, touch him, soothe him. “You are the blood of the dragon, little one,” she whispered as her litter swayed along, curtains drawn tight. “You are the blood of the dragon, and the dragon does not fear.”

~

“Was it the Usurper?”

“Yes.” The knight drew out a folded parchment. “A letter to Viserys, from Magister Illyrio. Robert Baratheon offers lands and lordships for your death, or your brother’s.”

“My brother?” Her sob was half a laugh. “He does not know yet, does he? The Usurper owes Drogo a lordship.” This time her laugh was half a sob. She hugged herself protectively. “And me, you said. Only me?”

“You and the child,” Ser Jorah said, grim.

“No. He cannot have my son.” She would not weep, she decided. She would not shiver with fear. The Usurper has woken the dragon now, she told herself ... and her eyes went to the dragon’s eggs resting in their nest of dark velvet.

AGOT Daenerys V

She must not flinch or look afraid. I am the blood of the dragon, she told herself as she took the stallion’s heart in both hands, lifted it to her mouth, and plunged her teeth into the tough, stringy flesh.

Warm blood filled her mouth and ran down over her chin. The taste threatened to gag her, but she made herself chew and swallow. The heart of a stallion would make her son strong and swift and fearless, or so the Dothraki believed, but only if the mother could eat it all. If she choked on the blood or retched up the flesh, the omens were less favorable; the child might be stillborn, or come forth weak, deformed, or female.

~

And finally it was done. Her cheeks and fingers were sticky as she forced down the last of it. Only then did she turn her eyes back to the old women, the crones of the dosh khaleen.

“Khalakka dothrae mr’anha!” she proclaimed in her best Dothraki. A prince rides inside me! She had practiced the phrase for days with her handmaid Jhiqui.

AGOT Daenerys IV

The water was scalding hot, as she liked it.

~

The Dothraki would respect him more if he looked less a beggar, she hoped, and perhaps he would forgive her for shaming him that day in the grass. He was still her king, after all, and her brother. They were both blood of the dragon.

~

“Next you’ll want to braid my hair.”

“I’d never ... ” Why was he always so cruel? She had only wanted to help. “You have no right to a braid, you have won no victories yet.”

It was the wrong thing to say. Fury shone from his lilac eyes, yet he dared not strike her, not with her handmaids watching and the warriors of her khas outside. Viserys picked up the cloak and sniffed at it. “This stinks of manure. Perhaps I shall use it as a horse blanket.”

“I had Doreah sew it specially for you,” she told him, wounded. “These are garments fit for a khal.” “I am the Lord of the Seven Kingdoms, not some grass-stained savage with bells in his hair,” Viserys spat back at her. He grabbed her arm. “You forget yourself, slut. Do you think that big belly will protect you if you wake the dragon?”

His fingers dug into her arm painfully and for an instant Dany felt like a child again, quailing in the face of his rage. She reached out with her other hand and grabbed the first thing she touched, the belt she’d hoped to give him, a heavy chain of ornate bronze medallions. She swung it with all her strength.

It caught him full in the face. Viserys let go of her. Blood ran down his cheek where the edge of one of the medallions had sliced it open. “You are the one who forgets himself,” Dany said to him. “Didn’t you learn anything that day in the grass? Leave me now, before I summon my khas to drag you out. And pray that Khal Drogo does not hear of this, or he will cut open your belly and feed you your own entrails.”

AGOT Daenerys III

“Wait here,” Dany told Ser Jorah. “Tell them all to stay. Tell them I command it.”

The knight smiled. Ser Jorah was not a handsome man. He had a neck and shoulders like a bull, and coarse black hair covered his arms and chest so thickly that there was none left for his head. Yet his smiles gave Dany comfort. “You are learning to talk like a queen, Daenerys.”

“Not a queen,” said Dany. “A khaleesi.” She wheeled her horse about and galloped down the ridge alone.

The descent was steep and rocky, but Dany rode fearlessly, and the joy and the danger of it were a song in her heart. All her life Viserys had told her she was a princess, but not until she rode her silver had Daenerys Targaryen ever felt like one.

~

“What do you pray for, Ser Jorah?” she asked him.

“Home,” he said. His voice was thick with longing.

“I pray for home too,” she told him, believing it.

Ser Jorah laughed. “Look around you then, Khaleesi.”

But it was not the plains Dany saw then. It was King’s Landing and the great Red Keep that Aegon the Conqueror had built. It was Dragonstone where she had been born. In her mind’s eye they burned with a thousand lights, a fire blazing in every window. In her mind’s eye, all the doors were red.

~

“He could not lead an army even if my lord husband gave him one,” Dany said. “He has no coin and the only knight who follows him reviles him as less than a snake. The Dothraki make mock of his weakness. He will never take us home.”

“Wise child.” The knight smiled.

“I am no child,” she told him fiercely. Her heels pressed into the sides of her mount, rousing the silver to a gallop. Faster and faster she raced, leaving Jorah and Irri and the others far behind, the warm wind in her hair and the setting sun red on her face. By the time she reached the khalasar, it was dusk.

~

There is no privacy in the heart of the khalasar. Dany felt the eyes on her as she undressed him, heard the soft voices as she did the things that Doreah had told her to do. It was nothing to her. Was she not khaleesi? His were the only eyes that mattered, and when she mounted him she saw something there that she had never seen before. She rode him as fiercely as ever she had ridden her silver, and when the moment of his pleasure came, Khal Drogo called out her name.

AGOT Daenerys II

Dany had never felt so alone as she did seated in the midst of that vast horde. Her brother had told her to smile, and so she smiled until her face ached and the tears came unbidden to her eyes. She did her best to hide them, knowing how angry Viserys would be if he saw her crying, terrified of how Khal Drogo might react. [...]

There was no one to talk to. Khal Drogo shouted commands and jests down to his bloodriders, and laughed at their replies, but he scarcely glanced at Dany beside him. They had no common language. Dothraki was incomprehensible to her, and the khal knew only a few words of the bastard Valyrian of the Free Cities, and none at all of the Common Tongue of the Seven Kingdoms. She would even have welcomed the conversation of Illyrio and her brother, but they were too far below to hear her.

So she sat in her wedding silks, nursing a cup of honeyed wine, afraid to eat, talking silently to herself. I am blood of the dragon, she told herself. I am Daenerys Stormborn, Princess of Dragonstone, of the blood and seed of Aegon the Conqueror.

~

She was afraid of her brother, of what he might do if she failed him. Most of all, she was afraid of what would happen tonight under the stars, when her brother gave her up to the hulking giant who sat drinking beside her with a face as still and cruel as a bronze mask. I am the blood of the dragon, she told herself again.

~

“Please him, sweet sister, or I swear, you will see the dragon wake as it has never woken before.”

The fear came back to her then, with her brother’s words. She felt like a child once more, only thirteen and all alone, not ready for what was about to happen to her.

They rode out together as the stars came out, leaving the khalasar and the grass palaces behind. Khal Drogo spoke no word to her, but drove his stallion at a hard trot through the gathering dusk. The tiny silver bells in his long braid rang softly as he rode. “I am the blood of the dragon,” she whispered aloud as she followed, trying to keep her courage up. “I am the blood of the dragon. I am the blood of the dragon.” The dragon was never afraid.

AGOT Daenerys I

The girl pulled the rough cotton tunic over Dany’s head and helped her into the tub. The water was scalding hot, but Daenerys did not flinch or cry out. She liked the heat. It made her feel clean. Besides, her brother had often told her that it was never too hot for a Targaryen. “Ours is the house of the dragon,” he would say. “The fire is in our blood.”

[alyblacklist]

I have always felt from episode 1 this season that the woman Liz now believes is her mother is not her mother. She has zero maternal feelings for Liz and there's no father-daughter relationship between her and Dom. One of the Johns also said in an interview that they were planning on killing Katarina twice (last season finale and , but decided to stretch the arc, which sounds like she is not a very important character in the bigger scheme of things. Is there another way of reading that?

I do think there is another way of reading it, anon, and here’s why.  I hope you don’t mind a long response because you’re about to get one.

First, in terms of the recent JE comments that they considered killing Katarina in 6.22 and again in the midseason finale, the writers have entertained a number of scenarios over the years for various characters that they later concluded were bad ideas for one reason or another. Tom Keen is the main example who springs to mind – they planned to kill him in the Pilot and then again at the end of season 1 and changed their minds both times. His character went on to play an outsized role for 4.5 more seasons and a spinoff despite evidently not being very important to the ultimate endgame (and to much controversy). JE’s comments about how they loved Laila so much that they just wanted to write more for her really reminded me of how he used to talk about Ryan. Liz’s mother was supposedly dead in the Pilot, Red turned himself in “because of your father,” and Katarina wasn’t mentioned by name until near the end of S2. She first appeared in Cape May – an episode the writers didn’t even plan for but got pushed into writing by Sony and NBC – and gradually her role and legend have grown. But I guess I’ve never expected Katarina necessarily to be a critical player in the ultimate endgame of the series (though of course she could be, if they want her to be). They also considered killing Cooper at the end of S1 along with Meera, making Ressler an amputee after Anslo - the list goes on. So I read JE’s interview as simply talking through some of the ideas that they batted around in the room (including an early death in 6.22 that might have had greater shock value) and I don’t take any of this as a definitive clue on whether this is a real Katarina or not or her ultimate importance to the story.

Turning to the character herself, I’m not sure that Katarina has ever had what most would consider typical maternal feelings for Liz. Everything we know about Katarina’s feelings for Liz has largely come through the memories of others – Red, Kirk, Mr. Kaplan, Dom – so how much was true and how much was distorted reality or a tale told to Liz to make her feel better?

Red tells Liz from the beginning that her mother died of “weakness and shame.” By season 3, she’s the “cleverest, most resourceful woman” he has ever known. “The secret-keeper who disappeared.” A woman who “dreaded having a child. Almost aborted it,” but who supposedly had a change of heart after Liz was born and thereafter never thought she was “anything but a blessing.” She’s also a woman who was “never the same” after the fire, who found it “too much” that “[t]he man she loved [was] killed by the child she adored.” Red allows Liz to believe she basically killed both her parents by pulling the trigger on her father the night of the fire. By Season 6, we learn through Red’s trial that Katarina framed Liz’s father in March 1990 for the deaths of 134 sailors aboard the USS Gideon. Red assures Liz that her parents “loved you very much,” and tries to explain that things were “complicated.” Liz is not convinced.

Kirk in season 4 paints a rosier picture – that Liz was his “entire life,” that she was “all your mother and I ever cared about.” All while holding her hostage and ultimately dangling Agnes off a roof. At the same time, Liz reads her mother’s journal, recovered from Kirk’s house where her mother waxes about how Masha is her “entire life. She’s everything.” Truth? Or carefully planted fiction?

And then Kate’s memories (which Liz isn’t even aware of) portray a mixed picture. A Katarina who tells Kate she’s not allowed to love Masha, who kills a Russian operative in the kitchen with her daughter asleep upstairs (and who admits to Kate she considered killing her too), who continues an affair on the property of home she lives in with her family without concern for what Masha sees, who later drops her with a grifter in Nebraska who never wanted to raise a child and then fakes her own death and vanishes. Is she truly maternal or self-sacrificing? Or is she simply selfish?  

Dom’s Katarina is desperate and out of options. She vanishes because it’s the only choice after the unspecified things that she’s done. Dom’s memories show little concern for her daughter other than Katarina asking Ilya to care for her if “they” take her, if they get to her and a quick phone call to tell Masha she’s not coming for her anytime soon right before she fakes her death for the world.  

And then we have the distorted fire memories complete with all the questions about their reliability in terms of who was who and who did what. Katarina was there – we know that much – she may have come for the fulcrum, may have come for Masha, may have fought with Reddington. There’s a lot there that we just haven’t had confirmed yet.

So – bottom line – I’m not sure if it was fair for us to expect this hardened spy who has been living underground for over 30 years to be any more maternal than she was when she finally showed up in Liz’s kitchen. Laila did portray what I felt was some genuine emotion towards Liz and Agnes. And, for all her flaws, treated both of them better than Kirk did despite his apparent belief up until 4.08 that he was in fact Liz’s father. How else would a hunted but resourceful spy be expected to get close enough to her daughter - who currently works with her greatest enemy and is employed by the FBI - without arousing suspicion other than by a ruse?

And as far as Katarina not having a father-daughter relationship with Dom – if the story we have been shown is even partially or mostly true, we are clearly missing key events in between Rassvet and Belgrade that explain how we got from one to the other. What changed in between the time that Katarina said goodbye to her father in Rassvet and the moment that Dom and Ilya tried to blow up that car in Belgrade? Supporting the narrative that there are key events we are missing are Dembe’s statement to Red that “I’m not sure Elizabeth will ever be ready to learn about what you did to Katarina,” Dom’s statement to Red that “She’s gone because of choices you made for both of them. First Katarina and then Masha. As far as I’m concerned, you killed my entire family,” Red’s statement to Dom that “[s]he knows you tried to kill her, Dom. She wants answers, but she also wants revenge. You set her up, betrayed her–.” So there seem to be explanations for why things changed between Dom and Katarina that we are not fully privy to yet.

Bottom line: There are definitely inconsistencies between the Katarina we have seen as portrayed by Lotte and the Katarina we currently see as portrayed by Laila that constantly cause me to reevaluate my position on whether she is real or not real. This Katarina doesn’t seem to remember things we think she should know. She behaves at least somewhat differently than the Katarina of memory. Not to mention the show continues to avoid the one on screen moment that would likely resolve the mystery once and for all for most viewers: Red in a room with both women confirming to Liz that Laila’s character is her mother, Katarina Rostova.

But while you come down on the side of Fakerina, I still fall on the side of Katarina being real. If she’s not, it’s a terrible waste of time for the #3 slot on the Blacklist and what will probably end up being a full season by the time the arc resolves. If she’s not, it’s a story that should have been resolved at the mid-season finale at the latest and not dragged into the back half of the season. Not to mention I’ve yet to see a plausible explanation for why some other random woman would also have such a close relationship with Ilya such that she would drop everything in Belgrade to help him, and also be intimately familiar with relatively unknown details like Masha shooting her father. Was Red pretty dispassionate about her death? Yes. But was that in part him testing Liz to see how much she had learned from the woman? He saw the signs of struggle in her apartment. He said Aram told him the woman was her neighbor and had been watching Agnes. If he’s not connecting the dots that Katarina had her hands on Liz for some period of time (which he articulated to Dembe was the case in 7.10), he’s worse off than I thought.

I’m not sure what the explanations will ultimately be for all these disconnects, but I certainly hope we’re not spinning on wheels on another fake parent just to avoid killing certain parental theories that certain podcast hosts have managed to popularize in certain writers’ minds. Thanks for the ask.  

[miss-musings]

“THE BLACKLIST” & WHY PEOPLE HATE LIZ SO MUCH

I’ve discussed on here several times how much I’ve been annoyed with the way TPTB have written Liz’s character over the course of the show. But, I tried to keep my frustration and annoyance directed more so at the writers/showrunners and less on the character herself or the actress Megan Boone.

However, after watching 6x10 “The Cryptobanker,” I think I may have finally hit the point where I really started to hate Liz in and of herself. So, I started writing this post, which I’ve added to and edited over the past few weeks, but I still stand by my original point.

Now, I follow the Blacklist on Facebook, and almost every single time there’s a new post, the top-voted comments are always praising Spader/Red and hating on Liz. I’ve seen people say she’s annoying, that they didn’t like this S6 plotline with her and her sister, that they hoped the show kills her off for real soon, etc.

I always thought that most of the comments were somewhat valid but maybe a little overblown (especially the ones about wanting her off the show). But, it really made me wonder why so many people hate -- and I mean HATE -- Liz so much.

While I admit that her character is starting to really get on my nerves, I’m going to try to put my personal feelings aside and tackle this objectively. I want to really look at what reasons within the show, its writing, its format, etc., Liz receives so much more hate -- vastly more than any other character on this show. As I said, Red/Spader is always highly praised along with Dembe, and I rarely if ever see comments complaining about Samar, Aram, Cooper and Ressler. I would guestimate that 95 percent of complaints about any one character are directed at Liz.

A THEORETICAL POSSIBILITY

Now, I will theorize -- and keep in mind that this is only a theory -- that part of the reason for this hatred toward Liz has to do with some male fans being misogynistic/sexist and some female fans’ annoyance at what a crappy avatar Liz makes for. (I’m talking about straight viewers, FYI.)

With regard to male fans, I think they look at Liz -- who at times has been terse, mean-spirited and vindictive -- and see her as a giant bitch. After all, that was the whole idea that Liz herself sets up in the pilot. She is not who her male colleagues expect her to be. She doesn’t play into the traditional feminine role of simpering, smiling and content to sit on the sidelines and let the men sort things out. (And, I’m really generalizing here.) So, I think it’s a fair assumption that some male fans have the same sentiments about Liz that her colleagues canonically have too.

As for the female fans, I think Liz might come off as a poor avatar. When you’re plunged into a fictional universe, usually there’s a character who’s plunged into the story along with you, and you learn as they do, to the point where you start to project yourself onto them. Think Neo in “The Matrix” or Harry Potter or Luke Skywalker. It’s every person’s fantasy to discover some great power within, harness it to defeat the bad guy and win the heart of the beautiful woman/handsome man in the process.

Liz was clearly meant to be our avatar into this universe. We were brought into the world along with her, saw her learn about Red, begin the Task Force, and plunge into this world of the FBI and the Blacklist.

Now, I imagine that for older women, especially, the fantasy is to be the kind of gal that a guy like James Spader would absolutely devote himself to. And that’s exactly how Red treats Liz -- like a woman he would do anything for. However, unlike many viewers, Liz is ungrateful for Red’s devotion and continual sacrifices for her benefit. Instead of seeing him as a savior and white knight, she often sees him as a nuisance and a terror in her life. I personally think she’s often justified in that, but I’d guess that 80 percent of the current audience is watching it simply for Spader’s performance alone. So, when the favorite actor’s character is not appreciated and is continually hated on by his co-lead character, it makes for uncompelling television from a “I want to project myself onto this character” kind of way.

But, with the theoretical discussion out of the way, let’s examine some more concrete reasons as to why people hate Liz.

LIZ IS OFTEN WISHY-WASHY (ie, has little conviction) WHEN IT COMES TO HER FEELINGS AND DESIRES.

This is what I’ve often described as the “Liz loves Red, Liz hates Red, Liz forgives Red” song-and-dance routine. But, there’s much more to it than simply Liz’s relationship with Red.

Liz was first introduced to us as a woman who wanted to start a family, and yet she thought about giving up her baby for adoption and then later gave Agnes away to her mother-in-law so she could spend more time on her revenge plans. The entire pilot goes out of its way to show Liz struggling with the demands of being an FBI agent and a prospective parent, and drives home the whole “Mommy Liz” vibe with the admiral’s daughter.

Yet, when she finds out she’s pregnant, she hesitates and thinks about giving it up for adoption. Then, when she has Agnes, she agrees to Kaplan’s plan to fake her death so she and Tom and Agnes can be happy and safe away from his world. And, later when Agnes gets kidnapped, she frets and worries about her constantly.

But, the minute she wakes up after being in a coma, she’s totally cool with pawning Agnes off to someone she’s never really met. Cool.

I realize there are mitigating circumstances, but this is a woman who made all her loved ones -- Red, Cooper, Ressler, Samar, Aram, any family members she had left (except Tom) -- believe she was dead so she could live with her daughter in a safe location!!!

The idea that Liz wouldn’t just drop everything and give up the Task Force indefinitely to heal and spend time with her daughter after losing 10 months of time with her is absurd, IMO.

But, no, revenge is far more important.

It’s also really annoying that after finding out Tom had betrayed her, she was able to give him a second chance and continued to love him despite all sorts of stuff in Seasons 2-5, but the minute Red does anything, she wants to drop him like heavy airline luggage.

So, in case you forgot: in S1, she found out that Tom had been lying to her, manipulating her, and abusing her. So, after shooting him in the S1 finale, she chains him up on a boat for several months in an effort to make him useful to the Task Force. However, the minute that she hits the “hates Red” part of her “love Red, hate Red, forgive Red” cycle, she runs right back to Tom and very quickly forgives him. And, while her positive feelings for Tom continue from late S2b until his death in 5x08, her feelings about Red are all over the place, as mentioned.

Now, in her defense, her feelings about him seem to waver whenever a crucial piece of information about his involvement in her life is discovered. When Tom’s fake passports were traced back to Red in 1x06, she blamed him and said she didn’t want to work with him anymore. But, then the very next episode, when he offers to leave the Task Force completely, she doesn’t tell him to do so.

And, when Red admitted to killing Sam toward the end of S1, she was again ready to let him leave. But then at the end of the episode, she stops him.

In S2, when Liz believes that Red was only interested in her for the Fulcrum, and never really cared about her, she gives him the cold shoulder. And then when he admits that he did hire Tom to be in her life, her coldness toward him again grows.

While they’re on the run together in S3, their relationship is at its best, arguably. Until she finds out she’s pregnant and he tells her that the fight is not over, and she doesn’t want her child to be in Red’s world. (Which is understandable)

And on and on it goes through S4 and S5 and now S6. The minute Liz realizes  that he stole her father’s identity, she’s ready to burn him to the ground. But then only a few episodes later, she’s teary-eyed and regretting that she turned him into the authorities.

AS OPPOSED TO RED’S ... 

But, what really makes this all so annoying is the fact that while Liz’s feelings toward Red are cyclical, his feelings for her are constant, enduring, and never wavering. I mean, he’s basically Garth Brooks’ “Shameless” in human form. He is completely devoted to her, would give his life for hers without hesitation, and has loved her (in some form or another) far longer and far deeper than she has seemingly ever loved him.

If both of them liked each other, or if both of them disliked each other initially but then grew closer over time, the show would be much better. For instance, ABC’s Castle -- while it definitely has its flaws -- started off with the two leads liking each other from the start. Yeah, maybe they’re trying to get used to each because he’s a goofball and she’s kind of a hard ass, but it seems like by the end of the pilot, they both generally like each other as acquaintances.

Or NBC’s “The Enemy Within” -- which is eerily similar to TBL and I’ll have to do a whole post on their similarities some other time -- which starts off with the two leads being tenuous with each other. He hates her, and she is kind of neutral toward him, but the two of them need to cooperate to accomplish a shared goal.

This was never the case with Liz and Red on TBL. In the pilot, Liz is very wary of Red, as she should be. However, he -- according to Zamani -- is obsessed with her, and it’s clear that he cares about her far more than he should. To our knowledge, Red has never met adult Liz. He’s seen her from afar and kept tabs on her, of course, but this was the first time he’d met her (presumably) since The Night of the Fire. And from that meeting, his love has only grown, while hers -- as discussed -- has been all over the place.

THE TWO ARE NOT EQUAL

As I’ve said in previous posts, while the show wants Red and Liz to be partners, they are really so unequal on multiple levels. The same could be said of the two leads on “The Enemy Within, but their inadequacies tend balance each other out. She has all the know-how, but he has the freedom and jurisdiction to do things, and he is the one who ultimately makes the decision on what his team should tackle and how. She has some of the power in their dynamic, and he has some as well. Thus, their advantages tend to cancel each other out.

This is not the case with Red and Liz. All this time, Red has withheld crucial pieces of information from her, which he gives to her in piecemeal and only when she demands them. I won’t judge whether that’s the right or wrong thing to do, but it puts her at a disadvantage as far as their dynamic goes. And while Liz should be given some advantage of her own, she really doesn’t have one. Red has an immunity agreement and gets to do pretty much whatever he wants, unlike on “The Enemy Within” where the male FBI agent has some say over what privileges the female CI has because she’s still in custody.

I guess the one advantage that Liz has over Red is that he’s told her he will never lie to her. And she has confronted him and asked him direct questions before because she knows he *has* to tell her to truth if she does. But, that doesn’t stop him from stalling, changing the subject, or trying to do a verbal workaround.

And then, when the show was promoting S6, they made it seem like the power was finally in Liz’s hands -- she knows he’s an impostor and he doesn’t know that she knows.

But, while the show tried to give Liz a bit of an edge over Red, it ultimately fizzled out. She knows he’s an impostor, but she no longer has an interest in pursuing it. Which goes back to my previous point about her not having conviction. She wanted to destroy Red, and betrayed him to ensure that he wouldn’t get in the way of her and Jennifer’s quest to find out his true identity. But then, she drops it.

Again, I realize there was a lot going on -- Jennifer was kidnapped; Red was almost executed. And while I think the fact that, right now, she’s fine with not having all the answers is a sign a maturity, it’s also incredibly frustrating to see how she went from 0 to 100 in such a short span of time.

Anyway... moving on to my next major point:

LIZ DOESN’T FEEL LIKE A REAL PERSON

Relative to the screentime she’s received, Liz does not feel like a real person, but merely a plot device or a vehicle for Red’s schemes and/or the Task Force’s missions.

Very rarely do we get to see her on her own, doing her own things, outside of Red/the Task Force -- going to the store, doing chores at home, hanging out with her kid, etc. The only times we do are when it’s relevant to the overall plot. Like when she gets beat up in the parking lot in 3x11 or when she brings that Lady Ambrosia kid over to her house, tries to cook him something, and then the fire alarm goes off.

She seems solely to exist within Red’s/the Task Force’s orbit.

I feel like the fact that Liz doesn’t have any friends or family outside of the Task Force, Red and Tom (when he was alive), really speaks to how she seems to exist more as a character, not as a person within a fictional universe.

She doesn’t seem to have any hobbies, and outside of her mentioning the Wizard of Oz and a few other things, she doesn’t really seem to have any interests in anything.

By comparison, we have lots of scenes with Red and Dembe, doing puzzles, playing cards and board games. We know Red enjoys art and food/alcohol and traveling, and he has a penchant for some types of drugs -- his favorite being sex.

And even Aram enjoys Doctor Who, biking and cooking.

I’m not saying that Liz needs to start chatting with Ressler about Monday Night Football or playing pool at some local dive bar, but something! Just a line about how she Skyped with Agnes last night, or her talking to Samar or Aram about her trying to decide whether she should download Tinder and try to get back into the dating scene, or a scene of her running around a park but she’s disturbed by memories from her past. Just something. Something to make her feel like a real person, who does things outside of the Task Force.

Again, I always hate the fact that Liz was supposed to have all these friends in S1 (the house party at the end of 1x03 and the vow renewal later in S1), and yet, they seemed to have vanished. I hate the fact that Liz doesn’t have any support system outside of Red and the Task Force. The girl needs friends! Hobbies! Interests! Something!!!

LIZ TRIES TOO HARD TO PROVE HERSELF, GETS IN TROUBLE, AND OFTEN NEEDS TO BE RESCUED BY RED AND/OR THE TASK FORCE AS A RESULT

This gets into a personal pet peeve of mine where Liz reassures people that she can do things. In the most recent case, she told her sister that she was definitely capable of deceiving Red and keeping him from finding out that she knows.

But then within the episode or two, Red definitely knows that Liz is up to something because she has been acting weird around him. And, before she begs Dembe not to tell Red that she was the one who betrayed him, Red was pretty certain that she was the one who did. I would suggest that the minute he was arrested, he had a good suspicion it was her. Hence why he said that what he would do to his betrayer would depend on who they were. He was hedging his bets, in case it was Liz.

Liz and Jennifer kept going back and forth on trying to convince the other that they could pull off this “Find Red’s true identity” side-plot, but ultimately, Jennifer got kidnapped, Liz killed a dude, and ended up having to recruit Ressler and Red to help her find Jennifer and confront the people who took her.

This type of situation happens A LOT on the show. Liz will try to do her own thing (finding Red’s true identity, etc.) and it ultimately gets her into trouble. It seemed to happen more often in S1-3. One example I can think of was when she didn’t kill Tom, but instead captured and imprisoned him, and then he killed the Harbormaster and forced Liz to face charges for murder. Red and the Task Force and even Tom had to come to her rescue to make sure she didn’t face the consequences of her choices. Yes, Tom did kill the Harbormaster, but Liz was the one who had decided to chain him up on the boat in the first place. The murder is on him, but the imprisoning is on her.

Liz also killed the Attorney General, and Red and the Task Force (and Tom, once again) were ultimately responsible for saving her from the Director’s plot while she was trapped in The Box, bringing the Cabal’s actions to light, using the Director as the scapegoat for Hitchen and then getting Liz out of the murder charges by bringing in Karakurt. And then, later, Red was responsible for leveraging the President into pardoning her so that she could become an agent again.

Now, there have been a few occasions where Liz was kidnapped simply because she was an FBI agent, not because of her connection to Red or anything else. For instance, in 1x04 “The Stewmaker,” she’s kidnapped and almost killed because she had her own personal history with that Lorca guy.

But, again, too many times Liz is put in the “damsel in distress” position where either she’s in trouble or her life is threatened and others have to be the ones to save her, either by saving her life or by saving her from legal repercussions, etc.

In a way, this whole S6a has been the consequence of Liz’s actions, which she regretted and then was looking for any and all help to make sure Red wasn’t executed after she’d turned him in. Yes, Red was the one who insisted on the death penalty, but he never would’ve been in that situation if she hadn’t betrayed him. And ultimately, it was Cooper who came through and pressured the President into staying Red’s execution.

Going back to the “Red and Liz aren’t equals” thing, very rarely is Red the one who needs saving. And, even when he is, it isn’t always Liz who’s rescuing him. Again, Cooper was the one who saved Red from execution. Liz has saved him a few times that I can recall -- she stopped that guy from shooting him in 2x14 and she leveraged the Director into calling off the hit in 2x19.

But, again, Liz seems to be in trouble far more often than Red is, and she very rarely is able to save herself (with the solo-Liz episode being one of the few times she does). Meanwhile, Red is able to get out of jams on his own much more often, such as when he escapes Anslo in 1x10. And, he and the Task Force save her far more often than Liz and the Task Force save him. And, even then, sometimes Red saves her single-handedly (like in the S2 Super Bowl episode) while she usually has to work with others to save him.

Once again, I realize there are a lot of mitigating circumstances. Red has a vast criminal empire and more knowledge and resources than Liz does, most of the time. But, I do wish that 1) Liz wouldn’t be kidnapped or have her life/livelihood threatened so often and 2) that Red’s would be a tiny bit more frequently, so that *she* can save *him.*

It also doesn’t help that she was sidelined in S3b partly because she was a felon who was no longer able to be an agent on the Task Force and because both Liz the character and Megan Boone the actress were pregnant. And then she was sidelined again in S4a because of the whole felon thing / trying to get Agnes back.

TL;DR

I believe the reasons why people hate Liz  are similar to why people hate Sakura from the “Naruto” Universe (as YouTube channel SwagKage describes in this video):

Liz doesn’t get the character development she should relative to her screentime; and any development she does get seems to be cyclical and inconsistent. (ie, she acts however the writers need her to for the given arc/episode)

Liz often tries to do her own thing, despite warnings not to; and while she’s by no means useless to Red or the Task Force, she often has to be rescued (either directly or indirectly) far more than she does the rescuing.

Liz often acts demanding, ungrateful, and selfish -- or at least relative to how the audience might want her to act, especially with regard to Red. And, jumping off the second point, also has a bit of an ego and can be proud and willful, which as I theorized, might be a turn-off for some male viewers.

Also, the Lizzington shipper in me could point out the parallels between Sakura liking Sasuke (who was a giant dick to her) and hating Naruto (who was constantly helping her out) and Liz’s dynamics with Tom and Red, respectively, but I’ll leave you all to watch the video for yourself.

Overall, I think some of the reasons for hating Liz are valid, but as I said, I *try* not to direct my annoyance toward the character of Liz herself or Megan Boone, the actress, but rather the writers, who I feel need to take responsibility for what they’ve done and continue to do with this character.

Don’t take this to say that I hate the writers, but rather that I want them to do better. I want to see this show succeed and I want to see Megan have some amazing material to work with the same way that James seems to with Red.

I’ll say it again: I don’t hate this show; I merely want to offer up my criticisms and objective-ish insights into why I think people hate Liz so much. In that way, we fans can have a discussion and perhaps maybe the writers will take some of our points to heart.

For my next major TBL post, I’ll try to tackle the similarities between TBL and The Enemy Within. :D

[kiss-my-freckle]

A truth. I want the whole truth.

Characters that have learned Raymond Reddington’s real identity. 

The Director. 

A truth: Raymond Reddington and the Fulcrum.  The whole truth: Katarina Rostova and the Fulcrum.

An affair between two people on opposite sides of the Cold War. 

At first, believed Red is her father. 

Solomon: What is the deal with you two anyways? It’s what everybody wants to know. Some say it’s a daddy-daughter thing. Others swear it’s May-September. I prefer to believe it’s a little of both.

Liz: He’ll come for you. The Director: Reddington? Yes, I expect he will, now that his prima ballerina is trapped in a jewelry box. Did you ever find out? Liz: Find out what? The Director: His connection to you. It’s always been curious to me. Follows you around like a faithful bloodhound. But you still don’t know. Well, that’s too bad. It’s - it’s a very unsatisfying way to go out, don’t you think?

Never believed Red had the Fuclrum. 

-- Do we have confirmation on what it is they’re looking for? The Director: Yes, we do. The Fulcrum. -- So Reddington does not have it. The Director: I never believed he did, actually, and his efforts to stop Braxton only confirmed my suspicions. 

-- What’s our collateral exposure? The Director: Honestly? None. We are mirroring Braxton’s search algorithms, and if the Fulcrum comes into play, we will find it. -- So, Mr. Braxton is a liability? The Director: Oh, yes, and Mr. Reddington may no longer be a threat. We haven’t touched him for fear that he’d use the Fulcrum as a– Well, to expose us, but he’s bluffing. -- You can’t be sure of that. Alan Fitch did not think so. The Director: Whether he is or not, it’s a moot point. He needs to be eliminated.

The Director: Where is it? Braxton: I’ll have it to you by 9:00. The Director: I thought you said you had it already. Braxton: And I do. I wanted that Fulcrum in my hands before I negotiated with you.  

Red: I don’t think you have any real comprehension of the depth and breadth of your vulnerability. But only the one who possesses the Fulcrum could possibly fathom that. The Director: I think you’re bluffing. I don’t think you have it. I don’t think you ever did. Red: Try me. Call my bluff. Please. Call my bluff.

The Director: I admire your nerve, Agent Keen, barging in here like this. But I’m afraid it’s too late. Liz: Well, then you’re gonna have to read about this in tomorrow’s New York Times. The Fulcrum. You didn’t think Reddington had it. Well, here it is, and it tells quite a story. Political assassinations, terrorism. We know who you are, what you’ve done. You called Reddington’s bluff, and you lost. 

The Director: Matias, I didn’t expect to see you here. Solomon: Peter. You said Mr. Reddington did not have the Fulcrum in his possession. You said it was a bluff. A ploy. You were wrong. And now our plans have been sorely compromised.

Realized who Red is during Laurel Hitchin’s press conference. 

Interrogator: You were born in Moscow. Your mother was a KGB agent named Katarina Rostova. 

The Director: I never saw it before. Liz: Saw what? The Director: How much you look like your mother.

The Director: The daughter of a notorious KGB spy, Keen is a wanted terrorist.

Liz: Everyone talks as if she was a terrible person. Was she?

Liz: He’s been turned. The Cabal framed me. Who better than the daughter of a KGB agent? Raskovich: Hmm. Katarina Rostova.

The Director: I know who you really are, Raymond. Who you are to her. And I know why you did this. Does she? Red: I can’t think of even one set of circumstances in which that would be any of your business.

He did the gender-jump, stressing gender pronouns.  

Hitchin: The United States Government has confirmed that the alleged criminal conspiracy known as The Cabal is real. This conspiracy has as its goal one key objective - to inflame tensions with Russia and return the world to a Cold War posture. In an effort to accomplish this, members of the conspiracy framed FBI Agent Elizabeth Keen, making it appear as if she were a Russian sleeper agent. These crimes were actually committed by an assassin known only by his code name, Karakurt. And I am proud to announce that due to outstanding work by some of this country’s best and brightest, led by Special Agent Donald Ressler - Karakurt is now in federal custody. Journalist: What about the Attorney General? Hitchin: It saddens me greatly to say this, but the evidence overwhelmingly shows that Tom Connolly, the Former Attorney General, was a key member of this Cabal. And while Ms. Keen did fire the shot that killed him, earlier today a judge accepted her plea to the charge of involuntary manslaughter, approved by us, along with mandatory probation. And Tom Connolly wasn’t alone. We have to now face the hard truth there are enemies of America within our own ranks. In fact, just a short time ago, I learned that the Director of the Clandestine Services of the CIA, Mr. Peter Kotsiopulos, is also part of this conspiracy and has apparently fled the country.

Tom Keen.

A truth: Constantin Rostov, Liz’s stepfather. The whole truth: Raymond Reddington, Liz’s biological father. 

A mother stuck between two men, a husband and a lover.  

*My theories are based on dialogue and body language* 

Tom didn’t know Reddington was Liz’s father. 

Red: Tell me about your husband. Does he know you as well as you know him? Does he know about you as a child? Does he know about the fire?

As Red questioned her, he pointed to the scar on her palm. It only makes sense for him to question this because the mark is engraved in his go-box.  

Tom: What is his obsession with you? You guys got like a uh - daddy-daughter thing going on?

This was pure snark. 

Tom: Your father's alive.

Tom had no reason to tell Liz her father is alive unless she told him her father died in the fire. The only reason he’d tell her that her father is alive, is in the hope she’d seek out her father. He knew she was seeking answers about her past. 

Tom: That mean Reddington’s your dad? Liz: No. My father died when I was 4, in a fire. Reddington was there. I think she may have been too.

The first time they had Liz inform Tom that her father died in the fire. 

Tom: I have some news. Liz: You’ve got news? I’ve got news. It’s about Reddington. Tom: What about him? Liz: He’s my father. Tom: He’s your father? Tom was shocked to hear this. 

Nik: Reddington’s her father? I can’t say I’m surprised. I’m sad for her. That sucks, but what does this have to do with me? Tom: Nothing. That mystery has been solved. 

Tom considered her father a mystery. Solved when Liz told him. 

Tom believed Rostov was her father. 

Tom: He’ll come for her, for Agnes. Red: Yes.

Enough to know Alexander Kirk would come for Agnes. 

Liz: I don’t think he’ll hurt her. Tom: Of course he will. She’s his last chance of survival. Liz: If he hurts her, he loses me. Tom: Yeah, and lives. 

Enough to believe Agnes could save his life through genetic donation. 

Liz: It doesn’t make any sense. I saw the DNA test. Tom: From 30 years ago. Clearly, it was flawed. Liz: And the things he knows about me, he wasn’t pretending. He believed he was my father. So did I. Tom: I didn’t want you to do it in the first place. But I admire you for wanting to. Liz: This whole time, Reddington was right. Tom: Yeah, but he was wrong about one thing. Kirk is never getting out of here alive.

And a DNA report that wouldn’t have been in Kirk’s SVR file because he wasn’t Kirk, but Rostov 30 years ago. For Tom, “clearly” it was flawed, despite knowing documention can be fabricated. Surely, since he passed himself off as a teacher while married to Liz. 

Liz: I got your SVR file. Your DNA profile was in it. I know you’re my father.

Body language from Kirk and Red. 

The coincidence of dialogues. 

Kirk: For a time, I thought maybe he was the father, but I have proof that he’s not.

Tom: This, um - SVR report, when I talked to you earlier, I hadn’t finished reading it. Liz: Did you find something about Agnes? Tom: No. Liz: Then what difference does it make? Tom: It’s about you. And your father. Liz: What’s this? Tom: It’s a DNA report.

--

Kirk: He’s just a spiteful, evil man.

Tom: Reddington’s a bad man, Liz.

--

Kirk: Reddington, he was in love with your mother and he’s obsessed with you.

Tom: What is his obsession with you? You guys got like a uh - daddy-daughter thing going on?

--

Kirk: You’ll see in time that the normal life you want, I’m the only one who can give that to you.

Tom: That? Having to hide, that’s gonna end. You’re gonna have a normal life, Liz. A family, kids, everything you always wanted.

Tom: You have nothing to apologize for. You tried to help us find a normal life. I’d take that risk again.

--

Kirk: Reddington lied to you, Masha. He told you your father was dead, but thanks to you - what you did on the water - I’m very much alive.

Tom: Your father's alive.

--

Kirk: All the stories Reddington’s told you about who he is and his connection to you - he knew you were looking for answers and he took advantage of that to re-enter your life.

Tom: Reddington. He’s not who you think.

Liz: But he has a moral code. I don’t like it, but at least I know what it is, and it does not include lying to me. Tom: Whatever you say.

--

Kirk: But the answers you’ve been looking for are here.

Liz: I had the photo enhanced. It’s a rough extrapolation of features since the face was almost entirely blown out. I ran it through every FBI database from facial recognition, mug shots, surveillance feeds. Tom: Or I could just buy this boat, and we could disappear. Liz: Do you know how many images are in the NGI database? Tom: If we go away, none of that matters.

--

Kirk: Then you know Reddington lied to you from the beginning.

Tom: You are using her. You have been using her from the very beginning.

Tom: A secret you’ve been keeping from Liz, like you always do. Like you have from the very beginning.

--

The difference between knowing “Kirk” and knowing "Rostov”

Tom: Did the same thing last month. It’s probably why you don’t recognize me. Constantin. Berlin, man, he’s tough. I had to get away for a while, go to Germany, figure a few things out.

--

Reddington and Rostov in Red’s 5x8 dialogue. He answered Tom's question. 

Red: I’ll say this for you - you’ve always believed that you were acting in her best interest. Selling me out to Berlin, faking her death - you always thought you were helping her.

Tom knew him as Rostov rather than Kirk. That’s why Tom said he didn’t know him when Red first dished out his identity. The DNA report wasn’t under his Kirk identity. I believe he hired Tom to find his daughter, Masha Rostova, while giving Tom reason to turn against Raymond. Handing that DNA report to Tom would’ve hidden his current identity, only revealed his dead identity, and Tom would’ve believed in the report just as Kirk did. I believe this is where Gina Zanetakos ties into the story, acting as Tom’s handler for Kirk. Basically pulling from his mission for Kirk when he told Gina he wanted out. This then gave Kirk reason to hire Scottie, who then hired Solomon. I don’t know how anyone can buy a DNA report being kept in Kirk’s SVR file for either Elizabeth Keen or Masha Rostova.  

Red’s bones in a bag in the back seat, pumping Kirk’s gas in the car. 

Ian Garvey.

A truth: Jennifer is the daughter of Raymond and Carla. The whole truth: Liz is the daughter of Raymond and Katarina.

Two half-sisters, having different mothers.

Garvey relied on the DNA search through CODIS.

Garvey: The last thing he’d want is for you to ID these bones. But you couldn’t resist, could you, Tom? So you and your friends ran a DNA search through CODIS. Thank you for that, by the way.  

He also knows the identity of the bones were that of the real Reddington.

Garvey: I’ll make this simple. I have the suitcase. And because I have the suitcase, I need to speak with Raymond Reddington.

Garvey: Whatever you imagine the answer might be, it’s better than that. Reddington’s power is legendary. With this, I control that power.

Garvey: Everything you believed for the last 30 years has been a lie. You’ve spent a lifetime hiding for no reason.

Garvey knew about Jennifer.

Jennifer: What I know about Ian is he’s a good man. He’s looked after me since I was a kid. Been like a father to me. Jennifer: Look, Ian isn’t my father. He protected me from my father. Got me into Witness Protection to keep my father away from me. Liz: Wait I’m - you were in WITSEC? Jennifer: For most of my life, yeah. And now I know why. It’s because the FBI spends more time looking for good people like my surrogate father rather than bad people like my real one. Jennifer: Ian is my surrogate father. He taught me to drive. He showed up to my graduation. He was there after my real father abandoned me. And you want me to help you arrest him. Garvey: Everything you believed for the last 30 years has been a lie. You’ve spent a lifetime hiding for no reason. Jennifer: I don’t know what he’s done to you or what’s in the duffel bag, and I don’t care. All I know is that my entire life, he’s protected me from you, and it’s about time that I started protecting him.

Red didn't know about Jennifer. It leveled the Red-Garvey war. 

Garvey: I could take the bones public. Red: You could, but you haven’t. And you won’t. I’m not sure why. There’s something I’m missing. Something holding you back. I won’t kill you until I have the bones, and for some inexplicable reason, you won’t go public until you know this whole truth.

Garvey: You have no idea who I am or why I want the truth. Aren’t you curious? Don’t you have any questions? Red: Oh, I have plenty of questions, but none I’d pose to you. The answers will have to wait for me to find out on my own. Garvey: Good luck with that.

Jennifer: I don’t know what he’s done to you or what’s in the duffel bag, and I don’t care. All I know is that my entire life, he’s protected me from you, and it’s about time that I started protecting him. Look at me. Anything? I’m your daughter. The one you abandoned 28 years ago on Christmas Eve. Red: Jennifer.

Ross: Garvey didn’t reach out to me because I hate Reddington. He did it because he wanted me to help him get the truth to the person he cares about most. Liz: You. Of course it’s you. Ross: Garvey gave me the bag in Costa Rica so I could get it to your sister.

Red: We came all this way to find the duffel has been handed from one enemy of mine to another. Dembe: And yet, neither chose to make its contents public. Smokey: If what you’re looking for is as valuable as you say, why- why- why- why didn’t they put it up for auction? Red: I have no idea.

Garvey didn't know about Liz. Again, this leveled the Red-Garvey war.

Tom: I’m not lying. I got a wife and a kid. I’m not dying here. Not from you, not for him, and certainly not for whatever the hell’s in that case.

Wife and kid.

Garvey: You must be the wife. What’s your name, darling?

Navarro: Found it! In the kid’s room. It’s all here.

Garvey: Let’s start with the truth. Red: You have the bones. You already know the truth. Garvey: A truth. I want the whole truth.

Garvey: What about Keen? She’s a witness. You gonna put her outta my reach, too? Red: I don’t have to because, where she is concerned, you have no leverage. Secret or no secret, if you reach out to her, I’ll cut off your hands. If you look in her direction, I’ll cut out your eyes. And if you ever utter her name again in my presence, I’ll cut out your tongue.

Garvey: He owns her. She’s an FBI agent in the pocket of the FBI’s most-wanted criminal. Jennifer: He doesn’t own her. He is her. And she is him. She’s acting like a criminal because she is the daughter of one. Garvey: Reddington’s her father. Jennifer: Yeah, and I’m her sister - who I wish I could’ve gotten to know.

Garvey: Now I get it. Reddington and your husband - how they knew each other. Reddington didn’t know you through him. He knew him through you. But the duffel bag - how did your husband come by it? And why didn’t he tell you what was in it? Red: Because you killed him before he could. And if you try and tell it now, I’ll do the same to you. Utter one word. One article “A” - “An” - “The” - and I’ll shoot you.

Jennifer’s dialogue in parallel with Liz’s, further proof of their connection. 

Red: What if I were to tell you that all the things you've come to believe about yourself are a lie? 

Garvey: Everything you believed for the last 30 years has been a lie. You’ve spent a lifetime hiding for no reason.

Continued through Jennifer’s dialogue to Red before Garvey was shot.

Constantin Rostov.

A truth: Raymond Reddington's sins. The whole truth: Katarina Rostova's sins.

Death and rebirth. The double identity.

Liz: Two years wasted. Two years we spent. On what? Do you care at all what you’ve done to me. What you’ve done to my life?

Kirk: I don’t really know how we got here, Raymond. I remember being an honest businessman in a happy marriage until you came along. Seduced my wife. To her credit, Katarina broke it off, but you couldn’t let go. I came home one night and they were gone - my wife, my child.

--

Tom: I was doing my job. Liz: Your job? That was our life! We were going to have a baby to - You begged me to have a baby!

Kirk: My girl who’s not even my girl.

Kirk: I had proof that she was my daughter. A DNA test.

Kirk: All that matters is that we had a family, and you destroyed it. We had a daughter, and you took her from us. Why?

--

Tom: I was doing my job. Liz: Stop talking about your job!

Red: KGB trained her to seduce ... foreign diplomats, intel ... intelligence personnel ... into ... believ ... revealing secrets. You always thought I was the interloper. The truth is that I was an assignment. I’m ... I’m sure you were too. Kirk: That’s a lie. Red: A cover then. You were wealthy and powerful. Gave her access.

Red: The Major runs a finishing school of sorts. The most reputable of its kind. He recruits wayward children, orphans, delinquents, outcasts, but only boys and girls of superior intelligence who exhibit very specific sociopathic tendencies. He then cultivates them into charming, well-educated, cultured, attractive adults who are capable of dangerous and horrible things.

--

Liz: You, this. Everything was a lie! My life was a lie! Every feeling, every memory. Say something to your wife, who’s dying in front of you. Say something.

Red: You saw what Katarina wanted you to see. She lied to you about everything.

--

Liz: Who do you work for? Tom: I have nothing to say. Liz: Who do you work for? [Liz breaks his thumb]

Kirk: Are you her father? [Kirk injects Red in the neck] Kirk: Are you her father? Answer me.

--

Tom: It was the shoes. Liz: What does that mean?

Ilya: It is a mystery, right? So, we give them the answer. Katarina: What does that mean?

Dom: Purposely stepping into the shoes of a man destined to be condemned as a traitor.

--

Liz: What has it done to you? Who could do such a thing? Finding you, stopping you. You’d think I’d be happy you’re gonna spend the rest of your life in prison. You’d think I’d get some satisfaction out of that, but I don’t because nothing. No sentence, no punishment, no revenge, could ever come close to making up for what you’ve done.

Red: You don’t have to do this. Kirk: Raymond, there’s nothing in this world you can tell me to change my mind.

--

Tom: He is not who you think he is. Goodbye, Liz.

♪ ‘Cause these are words we use To say goodbye ♪

--

Liz: He’s gone. My husband is gone. Red: Your husband never existed.

Liz: Kirk? Red: Gone. Liz: Dead? Red: Gone.

I decided to list these parallels between 4x8 and 1x19. Liz runs parallel with Kirk. Tom runs parallel with Katarina. Cover spouses. Red removed his mask for Kirk, whispering his real identity, and that identity is endgame. 

Quick summary with my lengthy prediction on Wicked Wolf.

All characters learned Raymond Reddington's true identity. That identity is Katarina Rostova. Their learning of this truth fits within the half-whole concept.

1. The Director. An affair between two people on opposite sides of the Cold War. 2. Tom Keen. A mother stuck between two men, a husband and a lover.   3. Ian Garvey. Two half-sisters, having different mothers. 4. Alexander Kirk. Red living a double life. Who’s your daddy arc. 

My prediction.

“He told you not to trust him.”

A truth: Elizabeth Keen’s sins. The whole truth: Tom Keen’s sins.

“Will you be able to forgive yourself?” Liz in opposite timeline to her mother. Stuck between two men (Ressler and Tom), this is hidden within her second memory manipulation. Liz in opposite timeline to her father. Framed by the Cabal with the assistance of her spy husband. Add in Agnes’ death and rebirth. 

I’ve stood by my belief that S7′s tagline is for Tom Keen’s character. They have a choice among several characters they coud lead with, but I’ve eliminated several due to their likeliness. I unchecked Howard because he’s in prison. I unchecked Scottie because that alignment would be too powerful. Kirk is possible, but I feel him less likely, and he wouldn’t offer much intel for Tom Keen. Matias Solomon is too close to Scottie. This leaves Gina.

Reasons why Gina would be perfect:

1. She fits the half truth - whole truth concept that runs through the series. Add in the double go-box. If the mark is tied to the Townsend Directive, which I’ve been considering, definitely. 

2. The triple parallel. Wicked Wolf having lost her husband, Liz having lost her husband, Gina having lost the man she fell in love with. She may have moved on from Tom by now, but she’d still be a great source for intel. 

3. Dialogue parallel, 6x22 back to 3x17.

Agnes: Mommy, who’s that funny-looking man? Liz: It’s a long story. But we finally have time to tell it. 

Liz: You killed him? Tom: Uh, no. Actually, Gina did, but that’s a long story. 

4. The Tom - Wicked Wolf opposite parallel. 

Tom: I want out. Gina, I never thought I would, but I do. We don’t save people, Gina. We watch them drown. And I’m tired of hurting people. I want to start pulling people up instead of holding them down. And I can’t think of a better place to start than right here with you. So, I could end this right now. I could go find the Major, and I could end him too. Or we can just agree to just walk away. I don’t come after you, and you don’t come after me or my family. Gina: I should have said yes that night in Budapest. Tom: No, Gina. Listen to me. I’m asking you to help me walk away. Please. Someday, maybe someone will do the same thing for you. 

Tom: Look, what I want you to know is that it happened because I made it clear that I’m out. I’m done with those people and that life. But there are things that I did, and - and - and I might be done with those things, but I can’t promise you that those things are done with me. And I can’t promise you that it’s not gonna happen tomorrow or next week or - or five years from now. And I would understand, frankly, if you didn’t want to deal with any of -

Woman: Early in the morning. Still dark. You’d called me. It was a simple assignment. I was to drive a couple of miles into the city. I was to meet Dominic at Vukov Station. Give him a package. I was to sneak out.

Woman: I had to bring him in. Pyotr was so suspicious. He knew what my old life had cost me. But I couldn’t let you down. By the time Pyotr woke up, I planned to be back in bed as if nothing happened. But I was wrong. He knew if I was slipping out at 4:00 a.m. that I was back in the game. He kept screaming, “You were done! You were out!” I insisted it was my last job. An old friend had asked me for a favor. A desperate friend, someone who I trusted - someone I could never turn down. But you weren’t really my friend. Were you?

5. The frame parallel, back to Minister D’s episode. My Tom-domino for Liz's Cabal frame parallels Katarina framing the real Red. I believe Ilya and Wicked Wolf parallel Gina and Tom - two spies that were in a romantic relationship. Gina willing to take the fall for Fokin’s murder. Wicked Wolf willing to do one last job for Ilya. I believe Tom and Liz parallel Ilya and the real Rostova - our Red. Not true love, true friendship. Ilya putting them in danger with Dom’s Belgrade plan. Tom putting them in danger, and often. I could add plenty more parallels, but it would take a while for me to find them. Perhaps another time. 

6. The letter, deposit box, and photograph parallel. 

Ted King: Near the end, Virginia wrote her a letter. Uh, I don’t know if she wrote any other letters. But by that time, she was in hospice, so she asked me to mail it. It was her way of clearing the air, I guess. Get some closure before she - 

Liz: We have looked through all of Zanetakos’ phone messages, all her records. There wasn’t a single message from Tom. Red: Perhaps they exchanged letters. Liz: There’s nothing between them. My husband is innocent. 

--

Ted King: Well, anyway. She gave me the address, and I mailed it. Ressler: Mailed it where? Ted King: Post Office box. Upstate New York. Ressler: Do you remember the address? 

Tom: The key in the lamp I know you found it. Take it to Radford Bank. Box number 3929. 

--

Agent: Guys, you might want to check this out. Found this by her bed.  [Photo of Tom Keen] Ressler: Give us a minute ... This is evidence. Listen. Keen, whatever you think this may mean, I admire what you’re doing, standing up for your husband. But I think we both know it’s time for you to protect yourself. 

Tom: He had a lot of family photos in his office, but only one placed where he could always see it. And I didn’t think there was anything special about it until I realized that it was taken by someone very special to him. Lena: It’s not what you think. I can’t help you.

Ted King: I found a photograph between the pages of a book in the bedroom. She said it was the only photo she had of her daughter, and that they’d had a falling-out and that she hoped that they would reconnect at some point. 

7. The Keen glasses. Back to the glasses in the suitcase Tom stole in 5x8, and Garvey’s glasses in 5x19. Gina reintroduced the Keen glasses in S3 when they pulled their diamond heist. 

8. Her lead-in to their final big bad, which I’ve been predicting for quite a while now. Furthered by Kat dropping Agnes off in the S6 finale. Gina could easily pull Scottie in as the next big bad just as she pulled her in for Liz’s 3x17 wedding. 

Add in Matias Solomon. 

9. My Tom domino theory. Gina could (quite literally) reveal all of them:

Understand, these are my theories. 

Gina and Tom were lovers. I believe their affair could’ve continued after Tom and Liz married in 2011. Tom worked for “Constantin Rostov.” I believe Gina acted as his handler or intermediary. Rostov issued Tom’s three passports through Red’s trusted forger when he claimed they were issued by Red. Tom murdered Victor Fokin, a kill commissioned by Rostov. He framed Red and Gina for this murder in an effort to protect Rostov as well as himself. As a result, Red framed Tom for the murder of Diane Fowler by planting his record brush. Gina revealing the truth about Fokin’s murder would lead to the Fowler frame. 

Tom was hired by Rostov to locate and safely return the woman he believed was his long-lost child, Masha Rostova. Tom believed Rostov was Liz’s father. His 1x22 “Your father’s alive” whisper was in reference to Rostov. Tom had Rostov’s fabricated DNA report all along, while claiming to have found it in Kirk’s SVR file. He trusted in this report as Rostov had, which gave him reason to turn against Red. Tom’s attempt to rescue Agnes in Gaia’s episode pushed Rostov to take stem cells from her. Tom gave Liz the DNA report to exchange her as a donor. An effort to save Agnes from the dangers of a stem cell donation. Incompatibility caused Rostov to collapse in the orange box. 

The Cabal targeted Tom when he turned himself in for killing the Harbormaster, Eugene Ames. They preyed on his desire to protect Liz, which led him to reveal her born identity. This reveal caused The Director to advance the timeline for his plan to return the world to a Cold War posture. They continued their con, having Tom take part in Red’s assassination attempt. I believe they told him about the Fulcrum, led him to believe Red was using Liz to get it, so he pulled her into his warehouse to inform her of this. I then believe he signalled for Gina to follow Liz from his warehouse to her meeting with Red, and it was she who took the shot, putting a bullet in Red’s chest rather than his head.

I believe Tom took Liz to Dr. Krilov to hide his involvement in Red’s shooting, and Liz pulled his gun on Connolly while under the influence of Krilov-administered drugs. I believe Ressler is the father of Agnes, and her conception is hidden within this second memory manipulation. I basically believe Tom played the fool, helping The Director frame Liz, which set her on the run for her life - when all he wanted to do was protect her. I believe he tried to confess this to Ressler, twice. Upon his initial return in S3, and again at the cabin before Solomon and his men lit it up. 

10. All these dominoes in mind, I end with Constantin Rostov/Alexander Kirk. The biggest piece of intel that would be of use to Wicked Wolf. She could either return with this little bit of information, or reach out to Kirk for more. Reaching out to Kirk for more would get her killed. Even moreso because I believe Kirk would inform Red of this. Returning if she learns anything of the Red-Rostov war. Kirk let him go because he’s Katarina Rostova. 

Tom’s whisper back to Red’s whisper. Keenler baby to Rederina.