#talk to me raymond reddington nation!

[allmyandroids]

hiiii i recently joined spader nation!! I’ve seen crash, sex lies and videotape, and secretary and I don’t know where to let him take me next!! any advice for a newbie spader appreciator? <3 your blog is amazing btw!

Heyaaa~!

And welcome to the Spader Fandom! I hope you will have a lot of fun here but I am *very* sure about that! Jimmy is just the best and most handsome man on this planet, I'm obsessed with him <3

The movies you mentioned were already great, all faves of mine!

But my fave role of our beloved Spader is him as Raymond Reddington. If you want to start watching a realy good show with amazingly written characters which go thru a lot and you love crime, mysteries and suspensefull scenes and amazing actors, watch 'The Blacklist'!!!! It became quickly one of my fav shows!

If you want to watch some more Spader movies I recommend the Stargate movie from 1994, he plays a super awkward but cute, beautiful and very loveable and highly intelligent Egyptologist! I loved the movie a lot and his character is in my heart!

Then there is 'The New Kids'  from 1985. It's a thriller and he plays Eddie Dutra. He may be the bad guy in the movie but GOD do I have a crush on this chaotic boy and his looks. I liked the movie too!

If you want to watch something super funny you NEED to watch Speaking of Sex! I absolutly loved how Jimmy portrayed his character of Dr. Roger Klink, a therapist. How he moves and the way he talks, sooo awkward, sooo blorbo coded but damn he is fucking hot👀 A fave movie of mine!

And here are some more movies I deeply recommend to watch: Dream Lover (god the sex scenes in this one are top), The Stickup (a must watch!!), Wolf (loved his character very much ❤️‍🔥), Tuff Turf (havent watched that one yet but I heard he looks damn amazing in it), Pretty in Pink, Jack's Back (another fave of mine), Bad Influence (this one was goood!), 2 Days in the Valley (loooved his character <33), The Watcher (It has Spader and Keanu Reeves so ofc its one of my faves), Shorts (its a childrens movie but GOD DAMN did I fall in love with Jimmy's character in that one)

I also recommend another Show called Boston Legal. I havent started watching it but I know that I will completly ADORE his character Alan Shore 💖

So, basically, WATCH ALL OF HIS MOVIES AND SHOWS gdsfhfs but I hope I could give you some choices you can look over and then decide what you wanna watch next!

Have a lovely day, dear anon! And thank you so much for your words, I realy appreciate! ✨️

[iseethedead-blog1]

"oh tsk tsk, Red." Part 1

\This will be a crossover fanfic with Sherlock BBC and The blacklist from NBC and dear god set in s1 ep1 of the blacklist, and in Sherlock when Jim was arrested by MI6, the Sherlock EP that Jim was tortured. I hope the Irish is right if not we'll the translation of the English version is going to be next to it

Jim hums he was transferred to the FBI as MI6 found out that he also did crimes in another nation, since mato and all that rot, as he is sitting in a FBI prison he looked at the FBI agent standing looking at him he laughed "Oooh, scary."

Moriarty lifted an eyebrow analyzing the agent and chuckles "do go on, please, tell me have you found out why this new taskforce is asking for my help?" The FBI agent put there badge away which said agent Donald Ressler

Not asking directly as the other prisoners are just as bad as himself "oh well." Jim shrugs with a smile on his lips not even giving a change for the blonde man to respond "why do I care, let's go." He's hyper to meet his old friend and boss Reddington and probably get shot by the man

Jim at first froze at the thought then just laughs and shrugs if he does he's getting his hands on an agents gun and shooting himself in the head before Reddington can do it or pushing something into his own brain but he shakes his own head he put his hand into the slot

Agent Ressler puts the cuffs on Moriarty's wrists "back away from the bars, Moriarty." James Moriarty nods as he moves away from the bars of his own cell "So who is the spooky bad we're meeting, and I thought I was the only one that was scary, I see my friend is scary."

Agent Ressler looks at Moriarty with a lifted eyebrow and they both know who Jim is talking about mostly Jim knows because Mycroft Holmes told him what happened, Jim makes a face as he realized why Holmes told him the information and chuckles "I can't believe that bastard, would do that, to me and I fell for it."

Agent Ressler looks at him confused "what?" Jim stayed silent, The guards unlocked the cell door as agent Ressler entered the cell and got Moriarty and led him to the agency car and puts the burlap sack over James Moriarty's head as Jim just allows himself to be taken to where his oldest friend and mentor is located at

James groans as he waited in the back of the FBI government vehicle with his eyes open he can't see through the burlap sack as he falls asleep from the abuse that MI6 put his body through he's surprised that MI6 would hand him over to America with bruise's all over his body and sleep deprived

Agent Ressler looks in the backseat from the mirror and looks confused at how the man can sleep anywhere from what he knows that man was a professor not in the military

Agent Ressler parked the government vehicle in the parking lot and he spoke "get up, Moriarty." James gets up startled from the gruff voice and hides his own flinch not well he knows agent Ressler saw it but he is walked into the task-force 836 building and sat down in a cold metal chair the burlap sack is removed by someone else

Jim blink's at the bright lights "at least there is lights here." He froze and looks at Reddington "Oh. . ." Jim "me. . . . ." He looks at the agents near by himself "What do you want, Reddington from moi?"

Raymond is amused by his mentee who almost called him mentor that would've given the relationship away then laughs at James Moriarty's 'natural' arrogance coming out "What did MI6 do to you?"

Jim falls silent as he glares at his mentor "Bring that up and I will crush you under what remains of my own empire, Reddington." Jim smiles as if he didn't just threaten his own mentor who is laughing at the threat of danger "why did you even want to talk to me i'd thought you'd want to talk to that girl of your's, not to me."

Raymond laugh's "because, why not." James started speaking in Irish "Ó ar son fuck." (Oh for fuck sake) "bloody hell, you know what you're fucking insane, you America devil, I'm now stuck in the American system at least in England they'd beat me, but they would've released me." Jim's browns eyes has anger just pure unadultered anger in his eyes

[kawaiichibicharactors]

Raymond Reddington X Black!reader

Raymond “Red” Reddington, Number Four on the FBI’s Most Wanted list and underground for 20 years, offers to turn over criminals one by one from “The Blacklist,” his personal list of under-the-radar criminal “politicians, mobsters, hackers, spies.” He has a single demand: that he speaks only with Elizabeth Keen, an FBI profiler fresh out of Quantico. Y/N’s pov This morning started like another me and Raymond had our usually breakfast of croissants a quiche. Something felt off.

Y/N: Ray baby are you okay you’re acting weird.

Red: I’m okay mon petit fleur.

Y/n: Do you promise?

I say as I put my pinkie out like I’m a child. Ray rolled his eyes and put his pinkie out.

Red: I pinkie promise. Ahh but I need to go I have important meeting that I can’t be late to.

I kiss him before he goes, and I hug him. I love being in his arms.

Y/n: I love you. Be safe! I say it even though he doesn’t say it back. I know he loves me. He may not say it words but he does show it though his actions.

RED’S POV

Y/n: Do you promise?

She says as she put her pinkie finger out like a child. I rolled my eyes and put his pinkie out. Man do I love her. She is a weakness I don’t mind having.

Red: I pinkie promise. Ahh but I need to go I have important meeting that I can’t be late to.

I kiss her before i go, and I hug her.I love having her in my arms.

Y/n: I love you. Be safe!

I can tell its hurts her when I don’t say it back, but I can’t have anybody knowing they use her against me. Newton Philips: Must be good to be home again, sir. Red: Yeah. Well, we’ll see about that.

This is gonna be hell of a story to tell Y/N when I get home

No one’s POV

At the FBI headquarters Red: Good afternoon. I’m here to see Assistant Director Harold Cooper. Clerk: Do you have an appointment? Red: I do not. Tell him it’s Raymond Reddington. (Red puts down his briefcase alongside the FBI seal emblazoned in the floor. He takes off his coat, folds it and places it on top of his briefcase.)

She quickly hits the alarm, which begins to blare loudly. Red places his hat on top of his folded jacket, then drops to his knees on the FBI seal, hands clasped behind his head, as he is quickly surrounded by armed guards with rifles aimed at his head

Time skip

Ressler: Ressler. Washington field office. I’m the case agent on Reddington. Cooper: Assistant FBI Director Cooper: When did this happen? Ressler: Under an hour ago. Cooper: We confirm it’s actually him? Ressler: It’s him all right. Prints match. Tattoos. He even volunteered classified details about a Brussels Mission in ’08. Cooper: What happened in Brussels? Ressler: Sir? We tried to kill him, sir. Cooper: [ Looking at video monitor8It really is him. Ressler: Came in with a briefcase containing every alias he’s ever used. Most of ’me we’ve never even heard of. Cooper: What does he want? Ressler: Don’t know. Won’t talk. He’s a stone. Cooper: Call lab services. Have them fit him with an AlphaChip RFID tag. Assemble a full intel review. NSA. CIA. Ressler: What exactly do you want to know? Cooper: Everything.

  Time skip

. [ An RFID tracking chip is injected into Red’s arm ] Red: Ouch. Ressler: He has no country. He has no political agenda. Reddington’s only allegiance is to the highest bidder. Tech: They call him something in the papers. Cooper: “The concierge of crime.” Tech: He’s online. Red: Evidently someone with the authority to make decisions has arrived. I think I smell the stench of your cologne, Agent Cooper. Smells like hubris. Cooper: Get these feeds fixed. I want him up here. Come on. Red: You must have many questions, so let’s begin with the most important one. Why I’m here. Remember the 1986 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, the abduction of the six foreign nationals from the French consulate in Algiers in ’97, or the 2002 breach of the Krungthai Bank in Bangkok? You see these events as unrelated. I can tell you one man is responsible for all three. His name is Ranko Zamani. You want him. I want him. So let’s say for the moment our interests are aligned. Tech: Ranko Sinisa Zamani. Serbian national educated in the U.S. Cooper: Ranko Zamani’s been dead for six years. He’s a non–existent threat. Red: Then a dead man just stepped off United 283 from Munich to Dulles. Tech: He entered the country under the name Sacha M. Chacko. Cleared customs at 10:56 a.m. Ressler: Listen up, people. The lab just pulled a latent print from the airline arm rest. Nine points of comparison. Zamani’s alive. Cooper: You have my attention. Red: Were you wrong? Cooper: I was wrong. Red: Yes, you were wrong. At least it’s not the first time. Familiar territory. Now, I’ll give you Zamani, but first – Cooper: No “but firsts.” You don’t decide anything. Red: Agent Cooper, you’ve overestimated your authority. I said I’ll help you find Zamani, and I will. But from this point forward, there’s one very important rule: I speak only with Elizabeth Keen. Ressler: Who the hell’s Elizabeth Keen?

 Y/N POV

I’m worried about Ray. He hasn’t answered any of my calls.  I decided to ease my stress I’m going to go to the nice café down the street.

Y/N: can I have a large hot chocolate with extra whipped cream. (you can change the drink if you don’t like it)

Clerk:  That will be $2.15.

I pass the him a 5-dollar bill.

Y/N: keep the change.

Clerk: Thanks ma’am

Y/N: *laughs* no problem. Have a good day.

Clerk: You, too

As I get my hot chocolate a man bumps into me.

Y/n: I’m sorry. are you okay?

Man: Y/N Cooper?

Oh no. this can’t be happening. This is why Raymond doesn’t want me going out by myself. Play it cool.

Y/N:  I’m sorry sir. I don’t know who that is. My name is Amelia. (If this your name changes this as well)

Man: I’m sorry you just look like someone I used to know.

Y/N: it’s okay. Have a good day.

That was a close one. Thank goodness I’ve been working lying about who I am. I hate lying but I know it’s what keeps me safe.

[takadasaiko]

Love Me Twice: Chapter Eleven

FFN II AO3

Summary: When Tom's search for Ilya continues to run into dead ends, Liz takes matters into her own hands.

Chapter Eleven

It had been three days since they had parted ways. Nearly twenty-four hours into the first day she had finally worked up the courage to try the number he'd left for her. It was silly to think he'd give her a fake number. There was no point in it, but every night since she had walked into that warehouse to find him strung up by his wrists with Tolliver's man beating the hell out of him, Liz had wondered if maybe she had finally cracked. If her mind was so tired of fighting it all alone that it had worked up a way to convince her she didn't have to. If the man that had shown up at her door drenched from the rain was nothing more than a ghost. The longer that she went without seeing him or speaking to him, the more the irrational fear crept in.

Tom had answered though. He'd been distracted and a little snippy - clear signs that he was deep into whatever he was doing - but he had answered. They hadn't spoken long, but the sound of his voice had helped to ease some of those darker fears back into the shadows. She slept that night. Not well, but at least she slept.

Liz tried to focus on her own case. The situation with Petrov was worse than they'd thought. Reddington believed that he was linked to the Cabal as well as the KGB. He was tight-lipped about the details, but whatever he'd told Cooper was enough to convince their boss that it should be top priority. He wasn't saying that who Tolliver was or what had happened to Tom's memories weren't important questions to ask, nor was he telling them to drop the research into the Sikorsky Archive, but national security came first, and when the Cabal was involved they all knew how dangerous life could get.

"I think Tolliver can be useful."

She could almost feel Ressler swivel to give her the have-you-lost-it look. "She's not who you thought she was."

"So? Neither was Reddington and he's pretty damn useful most days."

"You're not playing Reddington," Park stated and Ressler turned the quirked eyebrow on her. He was going to get stuck that way if he wasn't careful. Park held her hands up in mock surrender. "Okay, but there's a difference in not telling him everything and letting Tolliver think she still has you fooled."

"She lied first," Liz argued.

"I'm not saying it's wrong, I'm just saying it's dangerous. I mean, I may not have been here nearly as long as the two of you, but I know the name Katarina Rostova. I knew the kind of stuff that they say she was responsible for. If Tolliver is Rostova, but isn't your mom, then you're playing with fire."

"Just another day in the life," Liz sighed. "She knows about this man though. More than Cooper does and more than Reddington will admit to. I'm in her confidence, and if I read her further into this -"

"You may end up jeopardizing the case," Ressler pointed out.

"You think she's Cabal?"

"I think we don't know what she is," Ressler grumbled as he took a heavy seat into a chair at an unoccupied desk in the War Room where they'd gathered around. "Park's got a point."

"Thank you." She turned to look directly at Liz, the levity of her tone sliding out of her expression. "I'm just saying, maybe you shouldn't go alone."

"She doesn't know either of you. I'm not sure I want her to."

"So take your husband," Park offered with a shrug. "She knows his face, knows his connection, and he's less of a threat legally."

"It would make it easier to explain," Ressler agreed, almost like he hated admitting it.

Liz sighed. "He's tracking down Ilya."

Ressler pushed a frustrated sounding breath out through his nose. "It'd give you an excuse, Keen. Call him."

She looked over to find both partners staring at her expectantly. "I can't. I promised him that I'd help him get his memories back, but Orchard hasn't even called me back. I can't leave her another message, but if I ask Tom to help me with another thing that has nothing to do with that…."

"He'll do it," Aram said from his place a desk over, not bothering to look up from his screen. Well, obviously he wasn't funneling music through his earbuds like he looked like he was. Finally he turned to look at her, and Liz couldn't help but see some of the heartbreak behind the mask he was trying to wear, and while part of it had to do with the whole Elodie debacle, she'd put money that Elodie wasn't the one at the forefront of his mind right then. "He loves you. Any idiot can see it, even without his memories. He can't stop looking at you when you look away and he just…. He'll do it if you ask."

"Do you trust him?"

Liz turned back to Ressler. "You know I do."

"Then if we can't be there, have some backup you trust. Play it smart."

She looked between the three of them for a long moment, at war with herself. She shouldn't be though. She knew she shouldn't be. They were right. She reached for the phone and hit the speed dial.

  -------

He didn't like it. It wasn't the fact that Liz had called. Strange as it was, he lit up every time he received a message from her. It was like a weight he hadn't realized was pressing down on him was lifted and he could breathe again. Her voice soothed him. It cleared his head. It was funny. He'd always thought love was a lie that people told each other to keep some weird hope alive that it was true. They'd describe it and someone else would say that that was exactly how they felt, and somehow the lie would keep going a little while longer. Maybe it wasn't all a lie, though, because while Jacob couldn't remember this woman, she stirred up the strangest feelings in him that he wasn't aware he was capable of. Hell, he'd been told he wasn't capable for more years than he could remember.

It wasn't the fact that she'd called that put him on edge, it was why. Tolliver. The woman had found his surveillance far too quickly and they didn't know what kind of reach she had or intel she could have gathered. Before her connection with Liz might have protected them both, but the instant that she knew that Liz knew the truth - that this woman wasn't her mother - their usefulness would dry up and they'd be targets.

There were too many unknowns and they were walking straight into them. He wasn't going to let her do it alone though.

"Usually she has me meet her in some remote location or another," Liz murmured as they entered the highrise office building and started for the elevator. "This is weird."

Jacob shrugged. "Not really. There are a lot of vacant office spaces right now. Play your cards right and no one knows you're there."

She turned, a small smirk tugging at her lips. "You know from experience?"

"I really shouldn't admit that to a fed," he murmured, echoing her smile.

Liz leaned in as the elevator doors closed, her fingers brushing his. On an instinct he couldn't explain he took her hand, their fingers closing around each other. It was a strange feeling that swept through him. One that told him he wasn't alone in this chaos anymore. He didn't want to leave her alone in it either.

The doors opened on an upper level and they took the stairs the rest of the way up to the top level. The door to the floor was locked and Liz knocked a pattern and took a step back to wait. After a long moment the door opened to reveal the man that Liz referred to as Simms on the other side. His distrustful gaze swept Jacob up and down, his lips tilting down at a little as it did. "She told you to come alone."

"He's good." Simms didn't look convinced and Liz squared her shoulders. "She may not know him, but I do. He's my husband. My family. If she trusts me, she trusts him."

Jacob kept his expression even, but he couldn't ignore the strange, fluttering feeling inside his chest. While Tolliver shouldn't trust either of them any more than they trusted her at that moment, he believed the rest of it. He wasn't sure he knew how to be someone's family or to be deserving of the trust she'd already shown in him.

"Let them in, Simms," Tolliver called from inside. "You know that I trust Elizabeth's judgement. She's proven that she's on my side."

There was something eerie about the way she said it, and as they moved further into the open office space where she'd set up her research, the way she looked at them only intensified his initial reaction. It was like there was an unspoken warning at the end of it. No, not a warning. A threat. She knows what will happen if she's not.

"I'm keeping my team away from you," Liz lied, "but I need your help. We're hitting a dead end with the Collector. All we have is the name."

"Petrov," Tolliver confirmed and Liz nodded.

"What do you know about him? Did you ever run across him in the KGB? Connected with the Cabal…?"

Tolliver's eyes narrowed and Jacob resisted the urge to step closer to Liz. "Why do you think he's connected with the Cabal? Something Raymond said?" She tilted her chin up and gave a short, mirthless laugh. "He does know how to pull the FBI's strings, doesn't he? Is that why he's saying he had him killed?"

"I think we both know why he had him killed," Liz said.

Jacob watched Liz as she held the older woman's gaze, and as she spoke he had to admit he was impressed. She was subtle in the way she steered the direction, using information they'd clearly talked about - information the other woman wanted - to get Tolliver where she wanted her to go.

"His secret. Whatever it is… my guess is that it has to do with the Archive. I know you don't trust my team, and I get that, but if you know anything that can help us get out in front of Reddington on this we can use it to find who really stole the intel."

And if Jacob were to put money on it, his bet was that Tolliver bought it. It was the best sign he could have spotted that she wasn't onto them. Nothing had changed for her. It looked like Liz still thought she was helping her mother, even as she was funnelling all of those feelings of betrayal that he'd seen overwhelm her a few days before into the act. Liz was the one in control.

Tolliver's gaze slid over to Jacob. "You've been looking for someone. Who?"

"You following me?"

"You're in my daughter's life and she wants to trust you without any proof that you're still the man she knew. Of course I'm having you followed."

"He's looking for Ilya. For me," Liz stated firmly, drawing the woman's attention back around.

"You said he was gone."

"That doesn't mean we can't find him. If he knows something about the Archive, he could be our best lead." She squared her shoulders a little. "But if you know something, we can use that."

"Petrov helped piece together part of the Archive. He..." Her voice trailed off as one of her people entered the alcove they were standing in and spoke quietly in her ear. "Really? Well then."

Jacob shot Liz a questioning look and she returned it with a small shrug. "What were you saying about Petrov?"

"Petrov will have to wait," Tolliver answered, her expression unreadable. "Someone's continued where you left off, Mr Keen."

He didn't like the sound of that, but Tolliver motioned for them to follow. He looked to Liz who gave the barest of nods. They had to risk it. If they didn't, they would tip their hand.

 -------

Tolliver liked playing things close to the chest, but this didn't feel right. If the look Tom was giving her was anything to go by, he felt the same way. The good thing was that they were in an office building. Presumably there were other tenants that would hear a gunshot or the shouts that would accompany a fight.

Or not.

They followed Tolliver into an adjacent office to see a man bound to a chair. He was beaten and bloodied, but Liz recognized the man that Tom had called Fitz. The man he'd tasked to run Tolliver's DNA. This was not good.

One of Tolliver's men moved to block their exit the way they had come in and Sims reached a hand out for their weapons, his gun trained on Tom.

"Do as he asks, Elizabeth, and you won't make me put you through watching your husband bleed out in front of you all over again," Tolliver said, her voice calm.

"You shoot one of us, someone's going to hear," Tom pointed out.

Tolliver huffed. "Seven full floors below us are empty. So is the building across the way there. No one will see you and no one will hear you, so I would suggest you provide Simms with your weapons and be on your best behaviour." Her gaze remained cold as she watched both of them surrender their guns. "Mr Fitz here provided some very interesting information to my people. He ran my DNA. That much I knew until just a few moments ago when he gave up the name."

"I'm sorry, Jake. It was you or me," Fitz managed from where he was and gave an audible shutter as Tolliver laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Still might be you," Tom growled, his voice low and dangerous.

"Or you," Tolliver answered him. "That really depends on Elizabeth." Her gaze shifted to Liz and the younger woman straightened, tilting her chin up. "I thought we had trust between us. What changed?"

"You used me," Liz said lowly.

"Like you were about to use me. Like Reddington used me. Like she did." Tolliver was calm for all the venom in her voice.

"Your trust has obviously run out. What now? You gonna kill a fed? You think it's bad having the Townsend Directive after you, you'll have the full weight of the FBI and Reddington on top of that if you touch either of us."

"Tom will depend on you, but as for you, you're no good to me dead," Tolliver said thoughtfully. "She'll come for you. I thought I'd need Raymond to lure her out, but she's already setting the board. Not for him. For you. She'll come."

"What are you talking about?" Liz asked, her tone uncertain. "Who?"

Tolliver's response, if they could expect one, was cut short by the sound of something small breaking through the thick, floor-to-wall windows at the far side of the room. Sims crumbled instantly and before Tolliver's other goon could do anything, a second shot took him out, leaving only the Keens, the trembling Fitz, and Tolliver who slowly raised her hands up in surrender.

Tom's cell phone buzzed loudly in his jeans.

"I'd suggest you get that," Tolliver said, her tone more resolved than anything else.

Liz's eyes narrowed and she started for the window to find the holes that had been punched through the glass. Behind her she heard Tom answer, his voice gruff and then surprised as he said, "It's for you," and handed the phone over to Tolliver. Liz saw the reflection behind her, but focused on the general trajectory that the bullets would have had to follow to hit their targets.

"I knew it was you. You're the only one he'd protect. That they'd all protect," Tolliver hissed into the phone and Liz finally saw the figure two stories above their own in the building across the way. She could make out a woman there dressed in all black with her hair either cropped short or pulled back. She was set up with a sniper rifle. If she was the one on the other end of the phone, she must have been on bluetooth.

"And now you're exposed," Tolliver continued. "It doesn't matter if you -"

Liz saw the signal - a flash of a light on top of the rifle - and she lunged away from the window, hitting the ground as the bullet broke through the window at a new angle. She rolled, looking to Tolliver who was standing there. Crimson quickly blossomed across her beige blouse from the wound in her chest and the phone slipped from her fingers. She looked to Liz. "She'll never give you the answers you need."

The second shot struck her again and she fell to the floor, blue eyes wide and unseeing. Liz was on her feet, diving for the dropped phone and somewhere behind her she heard Tom call out her name. No further shots were fired, but when she got to the phone the line was already dead.

Liz knelt there for a long moment next to Tolliver's dead body, phone in hand, and trembling. She squeezed her eyes closed and struggled to breathe. Everything was folding in itself and a single thought broke through:

You missed your chance.

Tolliver was dead. She had had answers and now she was dead.

"Liz?" She jumped as Tom's hand gently touched her arm. "We gotta go. We can't be here when they find the bodies."

She nodded, desperately still trying to get enough breath into her lungs to be useful. "What about…" Her voice trailed off as she looked over to see Fitz. One of the bullets must have passed straight through Tolliver and struck him. He was slumped to the side, still bound to the chair and dead.

"Not our problem anymore," Tom said quietly and pressed her firearm into her hand. "C'mon."

Liz let him help her up. There was nothing to tie them to this. No cameras in the stairwells or the elevator, no one left to point fingers. All that was left were questions. So many questions. They were in the car before Tom loosed a long breath and she noticed his hands were shaking too. "You okay?"

"It was her."

"Who?"

"The voice. On the phone. It was the woman that hired me. Brigitte Tremblay. She killed Tolliver."

 -------

TBC

Notes: And again with the need for dramatic music. It's like I like cliffhangers or something.

Well that was a wild ride, huh? Blonde Kat is gone and the woman that hired Tom to inch him back into Liz's life is responsible. Thoughts? Theories? Concerns for chaos ahead? ;)

Next Time: Tom and Ressler end up on a stakeout with Aram and Tom comes face-to-face with Brigitte Tremblay.

[kiss-my-freckle]

Raymond Reddington dialogues.

The real Raymond Reddington is dead.

1x22 - Red: The way Sam told the story was that one night - an old friend showed up at his door, scared. The friend told Sam he was leaving town, that he was in danger, and that he needed someone to care for a little girl - that her father had died that night in a fire. So Sam took the little girl in, and he raised her as his own - always sheltering her from the truth about her biological father. Liz: And that’s why you killed him. Red: I killed Sam because he was in pain and he wanted to die, and because I had to protect you from the truth. Liz: What truth? The only memory I have of my real father is from the night of the fire. I remember him pulling me out of the flames, saving me. Red: Yes. And knowing his identity would put you in grave danger. Liz: Why? Because he’s a fugitive on the “Most Wanted” list? Red: I loved Sam, Lizzy. Taking his life was of all the difficult things that I’ve done, that may - may be the most. But I did it to keep you from learning the name of your real father, to protect you. And you must understand - having done that, I’m certainly not going to tell you who he was now.

1x22 -

Liz: Tom told me something right before he died. Red: What was that? Liz: “Your father’s alive.” Red: Lizzy, look at me. I’m telling you, with no uncertainty, your father is dead. He died in that fire.

2x22 -

Liz: I remember. I remember everything. Red: Remember what? Liz: The night of the fire. I know what happened, and I understand why you didn’t want me to find out. When I pulled the trigger - when I shot Connolly, I - it came back to me. It was like I was there. I could hear them arguing. He was hurting her. And I know why my father died that night. I shot him. That’s why you blocked my memory - not to protect yourself. To protect me. Red: Yeah. 

3x14 -

Red: Your parents loved each other very much. The Cold War was hard - too hard for your father. When the Soviet Union was collapsing, he took you from her. She gave up everything to follow him, to follow you. Liz: The night of the fire - that’s what they were arguing about? Red: Your mother, despite what he’d done, she wanted him back. She wanted them to be a family. As much as it pains me to say it, he was probably the only man she ever really loved. Liz: And I shot him. Red: It was an accident. Liz: Tell me. I need to know. Red: Your mother was never the same after that. The man she loved killed by the child she adored - it was just too much. Two months later, she went to Cape May and left her clothes on the beach, walked into the ocean and was never seen again. Liz: So that night, I killed both my parents. Red: You were a child. There should never have been a gun for you to grab.

4x8 -

Liz: You know, I really believed he was my father. Red: You had every reason to. Liz: Except for one. You. You told me my father died when I was a little girl. I just - I guess I didn’t want to believe it. I really wanted my dad here to see her grow up. Red: He would’ve wanted that too.

4x17 -

Katarina: There was a fire. Too many people. There was shouting and fighting. And Masha -

4x19 -

Liz: I understand suppressing memories, helping someone to mute out a traumatic experience, but manipulating them? Red: The memory of an accident, a tragedy, a fire in which a 4-year-old girl killed her father. Liz: This man, is he the one who erased my memory of that night? Red: That’s how Kaplan knows him.

Red: She’s using him to pull at threads to continue to unravel my life. He sidelined Ressler. He’s trying to do the same to you. Liz: You did it once. Red: Yes. When you were a child, to protect you from the memory of killing your father. I hired Krilov once. Never again.

Liz: I know now that those bones in that bag are Raymond Reddington’s - the real Raymond Reddington. My father.

Red: Agent Ressler, was I a good intelligence officer? Ressler: Raymond Reddington was one of the best. Red: Sorry? Raymond Reddington was? Ressler: Yes.

6x19 -

Katarina: We did the right thing, right? Ilya: What thing? Katarina: Pulling him from the fire, trying to save his life? I can’t stop thinking about those firefighters, what might have happened if we’d left him there - if they found him, maybe they could’ve gotten him help, saved Raymond’s life. Ilya: He would’ve burned to death. We did everything we could, and we got him out. Katarina: And yet, he died.

Ilya: Reddington’s dead. Katarina: You and I know that, but the Cabal think he’s on the run, a liability. They’ll discredit him to undermine his proof of their existence. Ilya: Okay, so, you destroy the reputation of a dead man. Katarina: He had a wife and a daughter. She’s nearly the same age as Masha. Jennifer’s her name. They’ll be told that he was a criminal and a traitor -

Katarina: It’s clever. But it’s absurd. Ilya: No one knows that Reddington’s dead.

Katarina: It was easy to get those funds wired in, but Raymond would have to show up in person to access that money. And since he died in my arms, he won’t be able to.

Ilya: What if Raymond Reddington were alive and able to walk into those banks? Of course, we couldn’t pull it off alone. We’d need help.

7x9 -

Young Ilya: No one knows. ⋘⋙ Impossible. [Typewriter slams out loudly: “R” “e” “d”] Young Ilya: A fugitive and traitor to his country. Voice of Young Ilya: [Echoing softly] Reddington’s dead. Reddington’s -

Our Raymond Reddington is an imposter. 

1x1 -

Red: Everything about me is a lie.

1x9 -

Red: We become who we are. We can’t judge a book by its cover. But you can by its first few chapters. And, most certainly by its last.

1x10 -

Red: What is the question, Lizzy? Liz: Are you my father? Red: ... No. 

2x4 -

Naomi: I’ll tell you this, though. He’s not who you think he is.

3x19 -

Katarina: You’ve been here before. Red: Once, a long time ago. I was a very different person then.

4x22 -

Liz: Why didn’t you just tell me who you were? Why keep it a secret? Come into my life, give up everything, go broke trying to protect me, and not tell me you’re my father? Red: Broke is such a harsh word. I prefer illiquid. Liz: What was so awful that you withheld the answer to a question I’ve been wondering my entire life?  -- Dembe: You didn’t deny it? Red: I didn’t. Dembe: And she thinks that’s Kate secret? Red: Yes. Dembe: So she doesn’t know about the suitcase? Red: Not yet. Red: It is gone. Dembe: Raymond, I’m not sure Elizabeth will ever be ready to learn about what you did to Katarina. Red: We gotta find that goddamn suitcase.

5x14 -

Liz: You’ve been to therapy? Red: God, yes. Therapy helped me become - an entirely different person.

5x19 -

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

5x20 -

Red: In 1990, the KGB and the CIA had almost nothing in common except the mutual determination to hunt down one individual. Being a fugitive from American law enforcement is a lot easier than being a fugitive from the two most powerful nations on Earth. 

5x22 -

Liz: I know that this man is an imposter. Why he came into my life, why he took your life, why he spent the last 30 years pretending to be Raymond Reddington. I’m gonna figure all that out, and then I’m going to destroy him.

6x1 -

Mrs. Koehler: Why are you doing this? Red: As I said, Hans was a friend of mine. I wouldn’t be the person I am if it weren’t for him. 

Liz: This isn’t the complete list, is it? Red: No, it’s not. One file has been deleted. Liz: Yours. Red: I prefer to keep my nips and tucks to myself. Forgive an old man his vanity.

6x2 -

Red: Good for you, Archie. I’m a great fan of reinvention. Liz: Of keeping your true self hidden. Red: Or of becoming your true self, even if you have to take on a new identity to achieve it.

6x8 -

Sandoval: French lady. Fancy French name. Margor - Red: Marguerite. Marguerite what? Sandoval: Rennerd? Renard. Red: What else did you find out? Sandoval: If I solve your problem, how do I know you’re gonna solve mine? Red: Because based on what you’ve already told me, I’m deeper in your debt than you could ever be in mine. - Red: Elizabeth knows. She knows I was once someone else. She doesn’t know who, but she is looking for someone who can tell her. Marguerite Renard. We need to get to Renard before she does. Dembe: How does she learn about Renard? Red: I don’t know. And we don’t have time to find out because after I tell you how to locate Renard, I’m also gonna tell Elizabeth. Dembe: Why would you do that? Red: Because she’s looking for her sister, Jennifer, who was kidnapped and possibly taken to a place where Renard is located. Telling Elizabeth may be the only way to save Jennifer’s life. - Red: Did she say anything before you got there? To Jennifer? Dembe: Yes. That Katarina arranged the procedure. Nothing more. Red: That’s more than enough. You know what needs to be done. Dembe: There are alternatives. Red: There were before, not now. Not when she mentioned Katarina. Now Elizabeth will stop at nothing. Wherever we put Renard, she’ll be found, and she’ll talk. I’d do it myself if I could, but I can’t, and it must be done.

6x9 -

Red: Someone identified me to the caller. We both know who and why. Dembe: You have no proof it was Elizabeth. Red: No. And I hope I’m wrong, but she’s hunting for my past. And putting me here makes it more likely she’ll find it.

6x9 -

Red: Mr. Sima asked you if I was a traitor. You hesitated with your answer. Why? Ressler: What difference does it make? Red: Is it because you’re uncertain? Or aware of mitigating circumstances that have given you a different opinion of me? About who I am today as opposed to who I once was? Ressler: I don’t think you want me to answer that.

Red: As a result, the Cabal remained in the shadows, Rostova disappeared, and Raymond Reddington became a completely different person. A man who has done many brutal, scary, illegal things. But not a single one - ever - that was treasonous.

6x18 -

Red: One day I’m captured, the next, you’re looking for someone who knows I was once someone else? I knew that wasn’t a coincidence, but I let my hopes convince me that you’d never betray me like that. Liz: If I had - Red: That neither of you would. Liz: If I’d known what was gonna happen - Red: That they’d put me on trial, sentence me to death? Liz: Yes. Red: That surprised you? Liz: No! The only thing I knew is - you aren’t who you say you are. Red: And you think you deserve to know the truth. Liz: I do. Red: That you’re entitled to that? Liz: Yes! Red: That entitlement justified risking my life? Liz: I thought it justified anything, yes!

7x4 -

Cooper: How do you even know about Hutton? The real Reddington was there. He was part of an oversight panel and testified about it later. But you’re not him. How do you know anything about it if you weren’t there? Red: I know because - I know. Because whoever I once was, I am now and will continue to be Raymond Reddington.

Cooper: How do you do it? Wake up each morning, content to live a lie? How do you put on a face for the world? Red: I don’t live a lie. I may once have had another identity, but that identity no longer exists. I am exactly who I am. And I can assure you, I’m a far more interesting Raymond Reddington than Raymond Reddington ever was. Cooper: And what about Ilya Koslov? Red: I’ve always believed who you are should define you, not who you were. 

Red: Did you tell Panabaker the truth about me? Cooper: I did. I told her your true identity. Who you are, not who you were. I told her you’re Raymond Reddington.

7x9 -

Young Ilya: I don’t think you’re entirely grasping what I’m suggesting. Young Katarina: What are you suggesting? Young Ilya: Becoming Reddington. Purposefully stepping into into the shoes of a man -

Ilya: - into the shoes of a man destined to be condemned as a traitor. Woman: But how?

Young Katarina: That would be impossible. Young Ilya: What if it’s not?

Ilya: We devised a plan to steal the money used to frame Reddington and disappear. Woman: But the plan, it didn’t work. Ilya: Not like we thought. Woman: No. Help me to remember. The plan. Who did it involve? Ilya: It was myself - Katarina - Dr. Koehler. Woman: And the person under the knife - the man who walked into the banks and impersonated Reddington - tell me what you remember about him. Skovic: He’s guarding the memory. Even in this state, he knows there is a secret he should not reveal. Woman: Who was impersonating him, Ilya? Skovic: Stop! I need to bring him out. Woman: No! Not yet. Skovic: No. His blood pressure’s through the roof! I need to push Lidocaine. Woman: Then stop! Let him rest. But we are not bringing him out.

Young Dom: Listen to me. Your ruse with Reddington didn’t work. All it managed to do was anger the people who want her dead.

Young Ilya: I should tell him. Young Dom: We’re not telling him anything. Young Ilya: Oh. I know how you feel, but Reddington deserves to know what we’ve done.

Skovic: Why? Why does Reddington deserve to know anything? Ilya: Because he’s a part of this. Woman: You’re protecting him. Ilya: I made a promise. Woman: But you cared about me. Ilya: Yes, and I do, but I c - Woman: I had everything taken from me that night. I can’t show my face, use my name - Ilya: I’m so sorry. Woman: - I’ve been hunted like an animal! Skovic: We need to stop. Woman: And Reddington? Whoever he is, he’s still out there! The benefactor to all of this. Why?! Skovic: Stop! Woman: You’re protecting him, but people are trying to kill me. They’re hunting me! Answer me! Why?! Skovic: We need to stop! Get back! We need to keep his airway clear. Woman: I only want the truth. Skovic: You won’t get it if he’s dead.

7x10 -

Liz: If Reddington isn’t Koslov, then who is he? Woman: That’s just one of the mysteries I intend to pull from Ilya’s head.

[ventingblacklist]

Red: I think you know what I’m about to ask for. Beck: What’s he talking about?  Red: You never told him? Beck: Told me what? Red: Where is it? Pepper: Please. Don’t. Beck: Never told me what?

(since Beck is a big anti everything radical and Pepper is his devoted girlfriend, it’s a pretty safe assumption that she never told him about perhaps being one of those fat cats he despises so much. The daughter of a politician or business person or something. She has the key. She knows who Red is and what he’s asking for.)

Justin Kenyon. Head of...a polygamist cult located on a 15,000-acre reserve in the Smoky Mountains...

Kenyon declared it a nation-state and petitioned to secede in US District Court three decades ago. (1985)

According to Reddington, Kenyon has dozens of shipping containers buried on his property. Terrorists, cartels, and criminals contract with him to store cargo, no questions asked. 

I know all the stories, Red. I know where it was and I know when it disappeared. I know about the house, the fire, the girl....

In Bethesda, there’s a small second-story flat. In the flat, you will find a desk. The middle drawer has a false front. Remove it, and you will find a silver case along with a key..... This flat, Raymond can never know you were there.

Caul: Is that the Interface?....He gave you a key.... There’s a device – it’s called a “bubble module.” It’s the size of a quarter. Liz: Smartest person I know couldn’t figure out how to read this. Caul: That’s because he didn’t have the ciphertext. Liz: How did you get it? Caul: I didn’t get it. I wrote it. 

Liz: You worked for Fitch. Caul: He was part of it. He’d been cut out of the loop. Director didn’t trust him. That’s why Fitch reached out to me. Liz: The Director? Caul: Yes. Clandestine Services. Liz: Wait– are you telling me the director of Clandestine Serv– Caul: Yes.

The Director never believed that Reddington had the Fulcrum. The moment Fitch died, it was only a matter of time before the Director called his bluff.

[tatianareddington]

Fire Night: The fulcrum, the dialogue, confirmation of roles

The fulcrum actually is the lynchpin upon which links the two sides of the whole. For who Raymond Reddington is. For who Katarina Rostova really is.

I’m more certain now that the dialogue from Fire Night is in the proper roles, woman/man; mother/father; Katarina/Reddington. The people Liz remembers and the sequence of events are probably not correct however.

Mother (to Father): They’ll kill you if you don’t give it back. Father (to Mother): They’ll kill me if I do.

They are talking about the Fulcrum. Raymond Reddington stole the Fulcrum. It is ‘the only thing keeping [him] alive’.

Stealing the Fulcrum is HUGE. However, the Red we know admits theft is not his strong suit:

Madeline Pratt What you do have is an opportunity, which brings us back to the effigy of Atargatis. Madeline feels her profile is too high right now to steal it herself, so she's asked for my help. Cooper: I'm not sanctioning an op in support of you going in to steal anything, let alone something that may affect national security.

Red: I'm flattered that you think I'm up to it, but thieving is not my strongest suit. Luckily, we have an ace of spades among us. Isn't that right, Agent Keen? 

Cooper: What is he talking about? Is there something you want to tell us?  

Liz: No, sir....I don't have a criminal record.

Red: Because you never committed a crime, or because you were never caught?

The Raymond Reddington we know admits he is not a good thief;

The man/father/Raymond Reddington of Fire Night stole the Fulcrum and is in possession of it* (more further down);

The Fulcrum was as heavily guarded as the effigy of Atargatis;

It would take a very clever and skilled thief to nab the effigy, just as it would take a very clever and skilled thief to nab the Fulcrum;

The real Raymond Reddington was a skilled thief;

The Raymond Reddington we know does not trust his thieving abilities, therefore he enlisted a pro: Elizabeth Keen;

This ‘Raymond Reddington’ is an imposter;

This Raymond Reddington is somehow intimately linked to Elizabeth Keen and Katarina Rostova. How do we know this?

Interrogator: Have you ever been convicted of a crime.

Red: Convicted? Not yet.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Liz is Red’s daughter alright. Neither have ever been convicted of a crime. Doesn’t mean they haven’t committed them. And we know for a fact, they both have.

Have you ever been convicted of a crime? Convicted? No.

Liz to Cooper: I don’t have a criminal record. 

Red to Liz: Is that because you never committed a crime or because you never got caught?

Liz never got caught. But proves she’s an excellent thief by swiping Madeline’s phone to get the SIM card and stealing AND replacing Dirwar Marwan’s ID, embassy official with the right credentials to get them in. I mean, she’s not just good, she’s really, really good.

This is confirmation Red and Liz are parent and child. 

And the thieving skill-set is from father to daughter, not mother to child. 

That leaves only the mother-daughter relationship.

Luther Braxton

The boiler room. Liz and Red have to work together closely.

Liz: So, when are you gonna tell me the truth? 

Red: What truth? 

Liz: About why you came here-- the blackmail file, the Fulcrum.

Red: I can't allow Braxton to get it.

Liz: Why? What difference does it make to you if he gets it and exposes this Cabal? 

Red: The Group believes I have it. (the Fulcrum) It's one of the reasons I'm still alive.

Luther Braxton, conclusion Memory extraction

Doctor (to Lizzie): What are they arguing about?

Lizzie (to doctor): The Fulcrum.  Man (to woman): (garbled) …is the only thing keeping me alive.

Raymond Reddington tells Katarina that the fulcrum is the only thing keeping him alive. Our Red tells Liz the same thing. Our Red was there the night of the fire and he was part of that dialogue between Raymond and Katarina. 

[donaldresslerfanfic]

Cake Pop Lady.

Rating: M

Warnings: Strong Language, Sexual Content.

Word Count: 2322

Donald Ressler X OC Maggie Waters.

Chapter: Thirty Five.

Chapter Index

Story on Wattpad

Maggie.

I didn't wanted to get up as early as Don had gotten up to. I knew why his Mondays started suspiciously early, and this one wasn't any different. He had the commission thing at 9 but he was up and at it at six. Again, I knew why. His NA meetings were Mondays.

I don't know if he knew I knew he still went, because even I thought he had stopped going, that he thought he was too good for them. That wasn't the case, he'd been clean for almost two years now and ever since I detoxed him he attended the meetings.

I felt the bed sink in next to me, then Don's hand crawl up from my waist to the side of it. He leaned in and gave me a kiss on my jaw, then moved down to my neck.

"Remember the commission is at 9, hopefully I'll be done before lunch, I don't know how long it's going to take but I'll take a taxi now and you can come pick me up then"

"Okay" I groggily replied, feeling another kiss on my neck, then the bed move again as Don got off it and walked out.

I was about to drift to sleep for another hour or so when I heard my coffee machine start, it was an expresso machine and thus, it needed to be manually handled, meaning: someone was in my kitchen.

I stood up and walked down, thinking maybe Don was going to miss the meeting to get in time to the commission.

Donald wasn't in my kitchen, it was Raymond. Drinking from a little cup the coffee from the expresso machine and eating some croissants Don knew I liked, which I why he always brought them for me on the way back from his morning run.

He slid a cup to me as I fixed my hair a little.

"I'm planning on going back to bed, thank you" I said humorlessly "and yes, Ray, you can totally eat one of my croissants"

He chuckled and cleaned his fingers with a tissue.

"I need to speak with Agent Ressler"

"Too bad, he's not here"

"Then where?"

"Why do you want to talk to him?" I sat down in the stools near him.

"Agent Keen is being targeted by an assassin I'm sure the bureau would like to have behind bars"

I just sighed and crossed my arms over the table.

"He's in a meeting, NA meeting. It's a few blocks away from the White House, in Cardozo I think" I said reluctantly.

"Thank you" he replied shortly, then searched in his jacket and pulled out a  piece of paper. "There's a building in downtown DC that I need you to check out." He took a little piece of paper and handed it to me "it's an office building, it's the sixth floor I'm interested in. I need you to go there and inspect it thoroughly. Walls, floor tiles, accomodations, even the brand of tea the secretary drinks"

I just took the paper and sighed.

"We're close from finishing Maggie, I appreciate your help"

I nodded again and felt a tap on my shoulder as Raymond walked behind me and exited my house from the French doors of my back yard.

I took a shower and dressed up to go out and do this thing for Raymond. Might as well get it all over with before having to go and pick up Don.

The office building wasn't tall compared to the ones around, 20 stories, quiet side of town. Clearly old since the lobby was really marmoly. I climbed up the elevator to floor six with a purse to my wrist and my phone in my hand, opened on the camera app and taking photos of everything.

Senior year Drama Class don't fail me now.

"Hello" I leaned into the desk, measuring it's height with mine. "I need an appointment with Dr. Huffnaggel please"

The desk was made out of refined light brown wood, PVC exterior, on the other side there was a computer, the usual office supplies, no personal effects which was good, a chair in which the secretary was sitting on.

She looked up at me and gave me a warm smile.

"Yes of course, what's the motive of the consultation?"

"My uh" I pretended to sutter. The walls were pale white, the letters of the office behind the secretary read "Dr. Oren Huffnaggel, marital therapy and counselment." I had to get a good look at those to make out the font.

"My husband has just been admitted to the army and-" I still had it, I covered my mouth while tears striked down my eyes. "I'm just so anxious and I can't stoop thinking he's going to die" I whispered at the end. I quickly cleaned up my tears and gave her a weak smile "sorry, it's just been too hard for me, I haven't slept a full night in days and-" thank God she interrupted me, because I was running out of things to say

"Why don't you take a seat and I'll get you some water"

I nodded while she motioned and the seats behind me. As soon as she was out of sight I shamelessly took pictures of the place, the doors, the lights, the floor tiles, the couch, taking a closer one to get the fabric right, the decorations and such.

I sat down when I heard the click of heels coming back to the reception area and waited for the secretary to hand me a glass of water. I gave her a thankful nod as I took a little sip, then watched her go around the desk and write something down a paper. She doubled back and handed me a little card

"Given the urgency of the situation in can set up an emergency appointment at 10, how does that sound?"

I let out a little sigh of relief and took the paper

"Yes, that sounds amazing, thank you so much..." I waited until she told me her name

"Dorothy, and it's no problem. I'll see you tomorrow" she gave me a sweet smile and returned to the desk when another person came in. I left the glass in a side table and stood up.

Perfect, I could review the pictures today and tomorrow I could come back and settle some things if I'm not sure.

It was still early for me to go back home so I got to work. I printed the pictures, then headed to one of the providers Gina had when it came to costume made furniture. I spent maybe an hour looking through samples of fabric to get the one in the couches look the same, then I headed to the paint shop and got the colors for the walls outside and inside, the tiles were difficult because they were this hideous green and I didn't know if I'll be able to get the right pattern.

While moving from a shop to another I got a call from Don, saying that he was good to go. It was well pass lunch time but I was still hungry.

I drove down to the White House and parked a few blocks ahead, switching seats while I waited. Don liked to drive.

He came around a few minutes later, opening the door and handing me a little bag while he took a seat.

"What's this?" I said peaking inside.

"I don't know, it's one of those YOLO bags"

I laughed, throwing my head back a little, he chuckled a bit too. He could be really funny when he wanted to.

"You mean a swag bag?" I said between chuckles.

"Yeah one of those" he cut the corner and began driving "don't eat anything of it though, it might be poisoned" he playfully warned.

"Well, I'm hungry so might as well" I fished something out of the bag and gasped "I freaking love cake pops, you have no idea." I unwrapped the cake pop and gave it a bite. I hummed in content and looked at Don. He looked a little upset "you okay?" I said, touching his arm.

"We'll see. For now, Hamilton, Equinox? Where do you want to eat?"

"Au Bon Pain" I named, digging in the bag again.

There was only one spot in a side high table which we took, I ordered a César salad and Don ordered a turkey sandwich, and since it was lunchtime rush hour, we got served fast.

"So, how did it go at the thing?"

"I don't know, the Director and I stated out cases and-"

"The director of what?" I asked, stirring my salad around.

"The Director of Clandestine Services, who is also a member of the Cabal. I think he's the one Reddington has been targeting this whole time"

"Mmm" I hummed and nodded "and then what?"

"And then, Laurel Hitchin will take the case to the President and give us his decision"

"And she's what of the President?"

"She's the National Security Advisor"

"Is she the cake pop lady? Is that why you said they might be poisoned?" I joked, he smiled and looked up at the TV. Frowning, he took his phone out of his inner pocket and dialed.

I looked up and watched the screen above us. The Breaking News were about Liz Keen being shot and killed during an FBI raid that clearly hadn't happened under Don's approval. He said a few words on the phone, then hung up and turned back to his meal.

"That's not true right?" I asked, referring to Agent Keen.

"No, it's not. Navabi has been trying to reach me to get my opinion on how we will handle this new case Reddington gave us, seems like they did a good job."

"You've got a good team A.D Ressler" I teased, making him smile and finally look at me.

He'd been really distraught today and I had gotten so used to having him over me all the time, now that I had gotten nothing all day, I missed it.

I reached out and ran the back of my hand on his cheek, making him lean his head to the side and place a kiss on my hand.

"Hi" I said with a smile. He took my hand and gave it another kiss.

"I have a lot on my plate today" he said in an apologetic way. I gave him a little smile and nodded

"I know" I replied. He leaned in to give me one short kiss before standing up and clearing our bill.

While we walked out, hand in hand, I spoke up, making noise over the little uncomfortable silence.

"I was thinking to invite my sister this weekend, you know, I have to set up the guest bedrooms and such. I'm trying to keep myself occupied you know, since my boyfriend is never home"

When we were getting close to the car he pulled me by the hand and made my chest bump up to his, leading his hands to my waist.

"Your boyfriend is never home? Sounds like a real douchebag" I chuckled and led my hands to his neck

"He might, but he catches baddies for a living and looks very hot doing so. He's a keeper"

He smiled again, looking down at my lips and leaning in to kiss me slowly. He finished off with another kiss on my forehead and unlocked the door of the car.

"Want me to drop you off somewhere?" He asked. I climbed on the passenger seat and twisted my eyebrows at him.

"It's my car, so I'm dropping you off somewhere and move along with my business. I have a lot on my plate as well"

He snorted a little laugh and turned the engine on.

I knew he knew I was working with Raymond, and it was a little weird that he didn't ask. But I was relieved as well, I really didn't like lying to him.

That night he was not at all happy. As soon as I saw him walk to the kitchen where I was and tore off his tie, I worded myself carefully.

"Cake pop lady screwed you over?"

"Damn right she screwed me over, he set me up to work with the Director. Share Intel. He wants Liz and Reddington dead, and having him there while we're still in touch with them is going to make me give explanations I don't want to give. Everything Reddington is doing-"

"I'm going to stop you right there" I rudely interrupted "I'll listen, but first. Have you ever seen anything like this?" I pulled out a picture from a Manila folder and showed it to him. It was a statue of a stupid horse I had to get.

"No" he said a little upset "Maggie this is-"

"Important, I know, which is why I got the unimportant stuff out of the way. Now sit, I'll listen" I motioned at the stool next to me

While he sat down I turned off the computer and closed it, watching as how he unbuttoned  his shirt and sighed.

I stood up and placed my hand on his forehead, moving it sideways and messing up his hair a little. He pulled my by the waist while I rounded his shoulders with my hands.

"You've been doing great. And you're being forced to work and to trust people you don't want to. I'm confident in you Donnie, I know you'll pull through this"

I hugged him and made him rest his head on my shoulder as I ran my hand on his neck, putting a little pressure on the side of his spine, he was really tense and knotted up all over.

After a while he placed a kiss on my neck and pulled the computer closer to him.

"Here, I'll help you find that stupid horse"

[eaglechica19]

THEORY: DID RED STAGE LIZZIE’S KIDNAPPING FROM THE SUMMER PALACE AS A CHILD?

AND IS HER TRUE MEMORY OF THE FIGHT THE NIGHT OF THE FIRE ACTUALLY BETWEEN RED AND HER FATHER, AND NOT BETWEEN HER PARENTS, AS WE’VE BEEN LED TO BELIEVE?... 

(THUS MAKING RED PARTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATHS OF LIZZIE’S PARENTS AND FORCING HIM TO TAKE ON HER DEAD FATHER’S IDENTITY TO PROTECT HER?)

For the last few seasons I have been trying to figure out exactly who kidnapped Lizzie as a child and took her to the United States. I have always gone back and forth between thinking it was Red who took her from Katerina and the idea that it was her father who took her. But after learning the story of Hans Van Houser in last week’s episode, I have come to believe that they were both somehow part of the abduction.

This theory, like all of my other ones, is based on information from Red himself, stories from side characters connected to Red, as well as from various Blacklister plots that parallel the overall myth arc of the series.

If you’re interested in my ramblings, please continue reading and like always, if you can dispute it, or have questions, or something to add, please don’t hesitate to join the discussion!

Fair warning again... this may crash your tumblr phone app, so I advice opening it on a tablet or computer...

If you’re here, then thank you for humoring me. This theory is not completely written out and explained, as we still do not have all of the facts to fill in the blanks, but I believe it has enough substance to at least be considered as plausible. So before we begin, I will lay out exactly what I believe in regards to this theory, and then attempt to provide ‘evidence’ to back up my claims. And here they are...

MY BELIEFS

Red and Lizzie’s father may have worked together to steal little Lizzie away from Katerina while she was at the Summer Palace.

The kidnapping was possibly staged by Red in order to ‘create a problem’ for Katerina that he could then help ‘fix.’ (I believe it was also staged in the hopes that it would draw Katerina to America and expose her as a double agent.)

Red was working for Katerina, and unbeknownst to her, he was undercover for the United States government during that time and was spying on her, and possibly Lizzie’s father.

Red and Katerina had a close working relationship, filled with respect, empathy, and and even a type of trust for one another, even if they were in actuality enemies due to their respective nationalities given the time period in history.

Red’s real daughter is dead, and her name was Elizabeth. I think her name was given to Lizzie at some point before the night of the fire, and that this is possibly what led to her death.

The memory Lizzie has of her parents fighting the night of the fire is fraudulent and was planted by Dr. Krilov and Red over twenty years ago. The real memory is the one we were first shown in ‘Luther Braxton, Part II,’ of her father and Red fighting in the hallway. (I believe this fight was staged by Red and her father in order to accomplish something, perhaps to help Red gain Katerina’s trust.)

The fight went horribly wrong and led to Lizzie killing her father.

Red then carried Lizzie out of the fire before Katerina then whisked her away to Kate and Sam.

Red has felt guilt over the fact that Lizzie killed her father because of the staged fight and has been trying to make it up to her ever since. That is why he made it his mission to ‘become’ Raymond Reddington after Lizzie’s father died.

Lizzie’s real father’s remains just may be the ones inside the suitcase that Tom is now in possession of.

RED AND LIZZIE’S FATHER PLOTTED TOGETHER TO ABDUCT LIZZIE

I believe that at the very least, Lizzie’s father was involved in her abduction, just like we’re told in the show. I also believe that it’s possible that Red may have had something to do with it as well, but this remains to be seen.

The first indication that Red was involved in Lizzie’s abduction as a child came about during 'The Cyprus Agency.' In that episode, Red talks to Lizzie about abducted children and how difficult it is to physically transport them and reestablish them somewhere else with a new identity. He is talking about the actual logistics of accomplishing something like that.

He tells Lizzie, “The Cyprus Agency is in the abduction business. The don't locate kids for adoption. They steal them and adopt them out to new parents. And moving stolen children is difficult. There's copious amounts of paperwork.” Lizzie surmises, “They're using a forger.” Red confirms this, stating, “One of the best, but I'm biased. He's one of my best.”

So in this exchange we learned that Red apparently has had experience in the past with the relocation of children. And since most of the Blacklisters have an underlying parallel story that is similar to the overall myth arc of the show, it seems safe to assume that Red's experience dealt specifically with stolen children.

The next clue that either Red or Lizzie’s father (or both) were possibly involved in Lizzie's abduction as a child came during the episode 'The Caretaker.' In this episode, we learn about a man who kidnapped a young girl from her father after witnessing the man physically assaulting the child.

At the end of the episode, we see Red burn a letter that he had intended to go to Lizzie upon his death. 

The letter contained a secret that Red wanted Lizzie to know, but was apparently too afraid to tell her while he was still alive. After Lizzie tells Red near the end of the episode that some things are beyond forgiveness, he becomes scared and burns the letter. Thus Red's plan for Lizzie to ever find out the truth seems all but abandoned at this point.

It just seems too purposeful that we hear the story of a man kidnapping a child (with the child then finding out the truth about her abduction) and then shortly afterwards see Red burning a letter that contains some sort of secret he intended for Lizzie for it to be a coincidence.

A less obvious clue that Red was possibly involved in Lizzie’s abduction could be construed from the entire story arc of Kate helping Lizzie, Agnes, (and Tom) run away from Red during the Alexander Kirk story line.

Kate tells Red that her decision to help Lizzie fake her death and run away was made with the very best of intentions, fully believing that she was helping to keep Lizzie safe. Kate explained to Red that she viewed him as the biggest threat to Lizzie’s safety and life, and hence took it upon herself to make the ultimate decision of what was best for Lizzie... without considering the consequences.

And for those that argue that ultimately it was Lizzie who decided to fake her death and run away, I would argue that that is only half true. Kate only approached Lizzie with the idea of faking her death once the situation was completely spiraling out of control. Instead of bringing this idea up to Lizzie months earlier, as she easily could have, she waited until Lizzie had been attacked at the church, hurt in a car accident, and her baby was in a possible medical emergency. Feeling out of options, scared, and more than likely willing to listen to any advice coming her way, Lizzie would have been much more susceptible to listening to Kate’s plan than she probably would have been at any other time. Kate took complete advantage of that knowledge and used it to sway Lizzie towards what she thought was best for her.

On the plane back from Cuba after losing both Lizzie and Agnes, Tom tells Kate that she has nothing to apologize for, that she was trying “to help us [Lizzie, Tom, and Agnes] find a normal life.” He continues, telling Red, “I don’t regret trying to get away from you.” Red snidely retorts back, “Of course you don’t. Regret requires age or wisdom.” Tom explains that, “we were trying to protect Agnes.” And again, Red dryly remarks, “I guess that didn’t work out.”

Once back on the main land, Kate again tries to explain her decision to Red, stating yet again that she believed that Red’s “existence in their [Lizzie and Agnes] lives puts them in constant danger.”

She also tells Tom in the car that she ultimately betrayed Red to help Agnes, and no one else, including him.

At the end of the episode, Red tells Kate her biggest mistake was in “presum[ing] to decide what was best for me. And yet, I know you believe what you did was best for Elizabeth.”

Red again states that he knows Kate’s intentions, however misguided, were pure, in ‘The Debt Collector’ while talking to Dembe. Red tells Dembe on the ship, “She was wrong to think Elizabeth and her child were safer without me in their lives. But in the end, she was... she did what she did out of love for the little girl she swore to protect what seems like a lifetime ago.”

I think this entire story is simply one big easter egg in regards to Lizzie’s original abduction as a child. Red’s comments to Tom about him lacking the wisdom or age to have made the correct choice sounds like it is coming from his own past experiences in a similar situation. His comments to Kate about understanding her belief that she was doing the right thing for Lizzie also speaks volumes. Kate’s ultimate plan to rescue Lizzie away from the perceived threat - Red - ended in complete disaster, as we saw. The fact that she made the decision for Lizzie only worsens the blow. 

I believe this is exactly what Red did all those years ago - I think he was hired by Katerina (in some capacity) to keep Lizzie safe while she was a little girl, just like Kate was. (This would explain Red’s comment to Kate in ‘Requiem’ about their shared bond and interest in Lizzie.)

But I think he viewed Katerina as too dangerous of a threat to Lizzie’s life, and decided for her to take her away to her father in America. His decision to abduct Lizzie from the perceived threat - Katerina - ended with a similar disastrous outcome to this present day version of those events.

His comments to Dembe on the ship in ‘The Debt Collector’ seem to back this belief up, as Red seems to be talking about himself in the above scene just as much as he is talking about Kate. Red even looks up and away, like he is looking into his own past during his speech and the camera lingers on Red for several moments.

Then there is the evidence that Lizzie’s father was involved in her abduction that we hear from both Red and Katerina...

Red tells Lizzie in ‘Lady Ambrosia’ that her “parents loved each other very much. The Cold War was hard. Too hard for your father. When the Soviet Union was collapsing, he took you from her. She gave up everything to follow him. To follow you.”

Katerina confirms this statement in ‘Requiem’ when she tells Kate that a blonde haired man was seen carrying Lizzie off the grounds at the Summer Palace. She believes the man to be her lover, ‘Raymond,’ and states, “I started pulling away. We couldn't continue the way we were. He didn't take it well... He thinks she's his... I know where he's taking her. Home to America.”

Now it’s important to note that just because Katerina refers to her lover as ‘Raymond,’ I do not believe this is Red. If you believe either of the imposter theories - that either Lizzie’s father was Raymond Reddington and Red took his identity the night of the fire, or that Lizzie’s father took Red’s identity at some point before the night of the fire - then the person Katerina knows as her lover ‘Raymond’ simply cannot be the man we know as Red.

It’s also important to know that at this point in the story, we don’t know if it was Lizzie’s father or Red who took her off the grounds. Both Red and Lizzie’s father were apparently blonde, both were married and had a child, and both were American. We also know that Red was at the Summer Palace at this time in some capacity - more than likely in an undercover role and spying on Katerina. Katerina never actually saw Lizzie get abducted. She was simply informed that it was by a blonde man. So it could have been done by either one.

More evidence pointing to Lizzie’s father being the culprit can be seen in the flashback scenes from the night of the fire in ‘Luther Braxton, Part II.’ In that episode we see a man put Lizzie in the closet and hide her with her ‘stuffed’ bunny, telling her not to come out and to remain hidden.

We also have the snippets of conversation between Katerina and Lizzie’s father from those same flashbacks:

Flashback #1

Katerina: “Where is she?” Father: “You should’t be here!  You can’t - (garbled)” Katerina: “I’m not leaving without Masha.” Father: “Her name is Elizabeth.” Katerina: “MASHA!” Father: “She’s not going back with you!” Katerina: “You can’t take her (garbled)” Katerina: “…opt to steal her though! (garbled)” Father: “YOU WOULDN’T LET ME SEE HER!” Katerina: “Masha!” Father: “Get out!”

Flashback #2

Katerina: “Did you think you could get away with it? That I wouldn’t find you?!” Father: “Okay, you’re not here for her.”

Flashback #3

Father: “She’s not here.” Katerina: “Did you really think I’d let this happen?  That I wouldn’t come for her?” Father: “Hey!” Katerina: “That I wouldn’t find you?”

From these conversations, it seems apparent that at the very least, Lizzie’s father was somehow involved in her abduction.

Then there is the strange ‘tangent’ memory that Lizzie has, of a mysterious man calling out to her at the Christmas tree farm. We never see the man’s face, but he does call her ‘Lizzie,’ the nickname that Red uses for her.

Is this possibly a memory Lizzie has of a short time she had with Red after he helped bring her to America?

All of this ‘evidence’ makes it seem very clear that Lizzie’s father did indeed take her from Katerina and that Red may have been involved as well. Perhaps they believed Katerina and her life was too dangerous for Lizzie to be a part of it. Just like in ‘The Caretaker,’ they took it upon themselves to rescue Lizzie from the situation and brought her to America.

RED CREATED A ‘PROBLEM’  FOR KATERINA IN ORDER TO ‘FIX’ IT

I believe Red helped Lizzie’s father abduct her from the Summer Palace in order to create a problem for Katerina, only to then swoop in and save the day. This may have also been a grand scheme designed with the intent of tricking Katerina into coming to the United States in order to take her into custody and expose her as a double agent.

If Red was working for Katerina somehow, (most likely in an undercover capacity unbeknownst to her) it is possible that he was a trusted advisor/guard/confidant to her. When Lizzie then went missing, a scared and distraught Katerina would have probably turned to Red for help, thus making him invaluable to her.

Red even stated in ‘Philomena’ that the best way to get close to someone and gain their trust is to become a close friend. He explains how Philomena does it: “After studying her subject for weeks, or even months, and acquiring whatever skills she might need along the way, Philomena enters her target’s life as if by mere coincidence, or accident. Philomela’s patience and subtlety are what maker her so credible.”

He also tells the Task Force that Philomena has “elevated the rickety practice of bounty hunting to a sort of, performance art.” And that “one of the most effective ways to retrieve an unwilling target is to slip in under their radar, get close, make a friend...” (The camera is on Red during this scene.)

Is this possibly what Red did? Was he secretly working for the Cabal and was somehow sent in ‘under the radar’ to spy on her?

We know that Katerina and Red went to America to go after Lizzie, her father, and the Fulcrum after she was taken, culminating in the night of the fire. Red admits this to Lizzie in ‘Luther Braxton, Part II’ at the end of the episode. Lizzie asks Red, “You were there, weren’t you?” Red answers her with a simple, “Yes.” Lizzie continues, “There were people with the woman, looking for it. The Fulcrum. You were one of them.” Again, Red admits as much, but warns Lizzie, “It’s not that simple.”

So obviously if Red did help plan Lizzie’s abduction, his scheme worked, as he was present that night with Katerina, meaning she decided to bring him along.

When Lizzie tells Red, “Everyone talks as if she [Katerina] was a terrible person,” in ‘The Troll Farmer,’ and then asks, “Was she?” Red refuses to answer her. I think this is very telling for the mere fact that whenever Red does not want to tell Lizzie the truth about something in fear that it will hurt her emotionally, he always opts simply not to answer.

We know Katerina had something to do with the Fulcrum and she also admitted to spying on Lizzie’s father in the flashback scenes:

Katerina: “Listen, you’re in trouble.” Father: “Because of you!” Katerina: “Yes!” Father: “You told them!” Katerina: “Yes, I did.  I told them.”

Katerina: “It was my job.” Father: “To spy on me?” Katerina: “Yes, yes.  No, I didn’t want to.  I-I tried to protect you.” Father: “Is that what you call it?”

Katerina: “They’ll kill you if you don’t give it back to them.” Father: “They’ll kill me if I do!”

In those same scenes, Lizzie’s father accuses her of being the reason why some unknown entity (probably the Cabal) was after not only him, but Lizzie as well.

Katerina: “Did they threaten Masha?” Father: “That’s what I just… (garbled)”

Red also accuses her of being a traitor to two countries in ‘Requiem’ while he is talking to Kate, and he seems bitter by the fact. When Kate accuses him of being a hypocrite, he confidently tells her that [he] “makes no apologies for who I am or what I do.” 

Through his words here, it sounds as if Red has full confidence in his choices and actions and still see himself as honorable, loyal, and righteous to his country and/or his cause, (despite rumors to the contrary) while he viewed Katerina in a much less favorable light.

Another interesting thing to consider is a quote from Red to Lizzie from ‘The Cyprus Agency.’ Red tells Lizzie that “not every missing child is on the back of a milk carton.” When Lizzie asks what kind of parents wouldn’t go to the police when their child is taken, Red tells her “People who won't, or can't, go to the police.” Lizzie surmises, “Criminals.” This idea comes into play in ‘Requiem’ after Lizzie is abducted. 

In that scene, Katerina tells Kate that a blonde haired man - possibly ‘Raymond’ or the man she knows as Raymond - was seen carrying Lizzie off of the property. Kate asks her if she told this to the police. Katerina tells her, “Never. It would put Masha in danger, even more danger.” 

Katerina then continues, saying that she knows where ‘Raymond’ is heading and that she is “going to have to go find her [Masha] on my own.”

If we look closer at this entire scene, we are given no evidence that Katerina ever actually told the police that her daughter was missing. We aren’t even sure that it was actually her who called the police. For all we know, it could have been Alexander Kirk who called them, as he is still unaware at this point that his wife is a spy. Katerina could have then pulled him aside and informed him of the truth (that she was a spy), told him it was too dangerous to go to the police, and then found an excuse to send them away, possibly stating that there wasn’t even a child on the grounds.

A piece of ‘evidence’ that could back up this idea is the fact that a mysterious man can be seen removing a framed photo of Lizzie from the front entrance while the police are still outside. 

It looks like the police have just arrived on scene and are still waiting for someone to come to the front door, as we can see the officer pacing on the front porch. 

And as this is my own field of work, even though the front door is open, police never just enter a house unless exigent and extreme circumstances are present, and in this case they are not. (An already presumed missing child would not fit that criteria whereas a child believed to be in the process of being taken would.)

Also take note that we never see the man’s face. Was this man possibly Red, who was going around the house and removing all evidence of Lizzie’s existence in order to give credence to the idea that it was all just a misunderstanding and that there never even was a child involved?

In summary, if Red knew that Katerina couldn’t go to the police about her missing daughter, he could have used this to his advantage by stepping in (like Kate did in this scene) and offering to help her find Lizzie, all the while knowing exactly where she was and who she was with - her father.

We have seen Red create these ‘problems’ before in the show, typically tricking a Blacklister into believing only he can help them, thus making sure they are indebted to him. Kate tells us he has been doing this for years, and it is one of his main tactics. Red admits as much to Lizzie, telling her that the best way to get information or services out of someone is “not because [they have] to, but because [they want] to.” 

Red did it in ‘Ivan,’ when he told the FBI the location of the supposed Blacklister they were chasing, only to then enter the very restaurant where said Blacklister was dining, tell him of the impending raid and, (after a hefty service fee to recoup the money that was stolen from him by the Blacklister) agree to help him escape, on his private jet no less. Red even staged a fake shootout with Ressler and Meera to make it more convincing.

Another example of Red creating a ‘problem’ in order to gain trust of a possible business associate was shown in ‘Dr. Bogdam Krilov,’ with the story of Hans Van Houser. 

In that episode, we learned that Red staged for the man to be kidnapped in order to create an alliance with the father, Werner. As we quickly learned though, things went horribly wrong for both Hans and Red. We’ll explore more of this later.

RED POSSIBLY WORKED FOR KATERINA AT THE SUMMER PALACE

We know that at the very least Red was keeping tabs on Katerina and Lizzie's father well before the night of the fire, and therefore Lizzie as well. He even knows information about Kirk, like the fact that his real name is Constantine Rostov. It is possible he had so much intel on them because he was literally around them during these years while spying on them in an undercover capacity.

He tells Lizzie in 'Quon Zhang' that he “knew her as Katerina Rostova. One of her many names.” So right there, we learn that Red is aware that Katerina used aliases. He continues, “She was a KGB agent.” He also knows Lizzie's original name of Masha, and that she was born in Moscow. He tells her, “Your parents – father and mother – they were both in foreign intelligence.”

Red also knows extremely personal details about Lizzie, stuff that the FBI, possibly Sam, and even Lizzie are unaware of. One example of this is the fact that Red knows that Lizzie carries the ‘Warrior Gene,’ something that is not present in her medical file. 

Samar finds it more than a little curious that Red gave them that particular case in ‘Dr. Linus Creel,’ stating, “Do you think Reddington could have known? That when he gave you this case, you’d find out?” Knowing she’s probably overstepped her bounds, Samar then backs down, saying, “What do I know?”

More evidence that Red is more than aware of Lizzie’s apparent trigger mechanism can be seen in ‘Marvin Gerard.’ In that episode, we see Lizzie ‘lose it’ after being attacked by the man in the diner. Lizzie flips out and breaks the man’s ribs, causing his lung to collapse. Lizzie’s eyes are wild and unfocused and she seems to be unable to calm down. Red then gently and unthreateningly approaches Lizzie and manages to bring her ‘back’ from the brink. It is almost as if he knows exactly what just happened.

This may be something that Red either knew about since at least the night of the fire if not before, or something that he suspected after the events of that night. 

In ‘Tom Connolly’ Lizzie shoots the Attorney General only after he threatens to kill Red. We know from ‘Dr. Linus Creel’ that stressful situations can trigger the gene into activation. In the case of ‘Marvin Gerard,’ Lizzie being on the run as a fugitive, and then being attacked by a man in the diner, would certainly be cause for a trigger. (Apparently threats to Red’s life have the same effect.) 

This may not have actually been the first time this has happened to Lizzie in regards to threats made against people she cares about. When Lizzie shot Connolly at the end of the episode for threatening Red, she had a sudden flashback to the night of the fire. Lizzie suddenly remembered shooting her father in the belief that she was protecting her mother from harm. 

Keep this in mind for later...

As @lynnblacklist pointed out after ‘Requiem’ aired, it appears as if Red might have been Katerina’s chauffeur - as well as possibly holding other job titles as well - during the years leading up to the night of the fire.

When we see Kate in the backseat of the town car while it is pulling up to the main house at the beginning of the episode, she glances up at the driver via the rearview mirror. Kate, as well as the audience, are only given a very brief glance of the man. But in that quick glance, screengrabs have shown him to have possibly green eyes, light hair, and sideburns. This could very well be a young version of Red.

(UPDATE: TBL Writer Daniel Cerone answered questions regarding the show via Twitter recently and stated that Red is NOT the driver in the car here... could this then possibly be the REAL Raymond Reddington we’re  seeing?)

Red even tells Kate at the end of ‘Requiem’ that she is actually more familiar with him than she realizes. When Kate ‘first’ meets Red in the warehouse after she is approached by Sam, Kate tells Red, “I don't know you.” Red replies, “I’m not as unknown as you might like to believe, Miss Nemec.”

Red is shown here in the dark, in shadows. If Red was the driver at the Summer Palace, and remained unnoticed in the background of the activities going on around him, Kate probably never took notice of him, and therefore wouldn’t realize that she perhaps already does know him despite what she says here.

When Mato tells Red that Kirk has taken Lizzie to the Summer Palace, Red states that he is familiar with the place, and he looks like he’s seen a ghost. 

He calls Cooper and tells him, “Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. Kirk owns a cottage there where he would go to escape the dreary summers of Novosibirsk.”

More evidence that Red possibly worked at the Summer Palace is the fact that he is fully aware of the ‘comings’ and ‘goings’ of Kirk during those years, specifically at that location. In ‘Dr. Adrian Shaw, Part II’ Red tells Kirk, “She [Lizzie] lived at your house, as your daughter, on and off for four years. Sometimes you were there, sometimes you weren’t.”

Red told Lizzie repeatedly that Alexander Kirk was not her father, even when Kirk himself believed that he was and had a DNA test proving it. In that instance, Red told Kirk, “You saw what Katerina wanted you to see. She lied to you. About everything.” 

He is even aware that Katerina targeted multiple men and seduced then in order to gain valuable information.

And yet Red has told Lizzie repeatedly that her father is dead, that he died that night in the fire by Lizzie’s own hand. Meaning he knows exactly who her father was. 

For Red to have such intimate knowledge of this information while everyone else seems to be completely in the dark on the topic lends more plausibility to the idea that Red was intricately involved in the everyday affairs of Katerina and Lizzie’s father.

RED’S RELATIONSHIP WITH KATERINA WAS STRICTLY PLATONIC

Besides believing that the man Katerina had an affair with was not Red, I also believe there was never any romantic involvement between her and Red either.

Lizzie seems to believe that Red had an affair with her mother. This idea builds momentum after she finds a photo of her mother and herself in Red's Bethesda apartment in 'Leonard Caul.' 

She even sounds a little disgusted by the idea, telling him in 'Quon Zhang,' “You have a picture of her in your weird little apartment. Were you in love with her? Is that why my father died? You killed him because you were in love with my mother?”

Red doesn't answer her, but not answering is not an admission of guilt, nor is it a confirmation in her beliefs.

Lizzie puts more stock in the idea that her mother and Red had an affair after she finds her mother's journal. In 'Miles McGrath' Red asks her if she found anything interesting in her reading, and Lizzie replies, “She talks about you. About the affair. I'm up to the part where she writes about you pressuring her to leave her husband.” Red doesn't take the bait, and instead simply continues his conversation about the upcoming plan to get the Blacklister.

Lizzie continues to read the journal in the episode, learning that her mother was “In love with the man I was sent to seduce and betray. An American. Raymond wants me to run, take Masha and disappear with him, but how could I do that to her? She's my entire life. She's everything.”

But again, there is no actual proof that she is talking about Red here. It simply could be the man she knew as 'Raymond.' 

Think about it - we’re told by Red that ‘Katerina’ was more than likely an alias, and many people, even Russian agents of the old regime who were ordered to find her, as well at the agents at the OREA complex, weren’t even sure she was a real person, but instead could have been a series of stories put together to ‘create’ Katerina. Now obviously from the show we know that Katerina was a real person - but it lends to the idea that perhaps she wasn’t truly who everyone thought she was. And if that can be true for her, why not Red?)

Personally, I do not see any actual evidence in 'Cape May' that Red and Katerina were ever romantically involved. They obviously had a close working relationship, as they are able to work together as a team flawlessly, to the point of not even needing words to communicate their plans or actions.

Red also tells Lizzie in 'The Troll Farmer' that her mother “was the cleverest, most resourceful woman I have ever known. No matter how dark the moment, she could always find her way through.”

It appears he even had great empathy and understanding for her as we saw in the scene between the two of them in the garage when she tells Red she needs to leave her daughter in order to keep her safe.

He obviously had a high regard for her, and respected her abilities greatly, and possibly even admired her, but I think it ended there in terms of their relationship.

In 'Cape May,' when Katerina is taking a bath, Red remains outside the bathroom respectively, giving her privacy. If they were lovers, why would he do that?

He also keeps their clothes on when he rescues her from the ocean and places the both of them in front of the fire.

Katerina even tells Red in that instant, “It’s not that he died. It’s not even the way he died. It’s that the things I said to him... just... before he died.” So by her own words, the man she loved and that Lizzie shot - Lizzie’s father - was not Red, but another 'Raymond.'

Katerina confirms this yet again for us in ‘Requiem’ after she brings Lizzie to Kate at the motel, telling Lizzie that she shouldn’t blame herself for what happened. As we know, Lizzie shot and killed her father that night.

So I think it's safe to say that Katerina and Red did not have a sexual relationship, even though Lizzie believes that they did at this point in the story.

RED'S REAL DAUGHTER WAS NAMED ELIZABETH AND WAS KILLED

Despite what the writers are trying to make us believe, and despite what the Taskforce believes, I still do not think Carla and Jennifer were Red's real family, but instead think Red lost his family that night on Christmas Eve just like he told Madeline Pratt in the episode bearing the same name.

I am not going to put all of that evidence here however, as that would be enough to be it's own post. If you're interested in that fan theory, it can be found in my 'Imposter Red' theory linked at the top of my page.

Going with that idea, I do believe Red's real daughter's name was Elizabeth. I believe this because of the admission Red gave to Kirk in 'Dr. Adrian Shaw, Part II' when asked if Lizzie - or as Kirk says, ‘Masha’ – was his daughter. Red answered that yes, “Elizabeth is my daughter.”

Notice how Red stated 'Elizabeth' is his daughter. He purposefully didn't say 'Masha,' or even 'Lizzie.' He used 'Elizabeth.'

Now we were told that night by the writer of that episode, Daniel Cerone, that Red was telling the truth to Kirk in that statement. Cerone also then told us via social media that it still remains true that Red has never lied to Lizzie and that it’ll all make sense in the end.

So how can it be true that Elizabeth is apparently Red's daughter, and yet at the same time be false? The only logical explanation is that either Red and/or Lizzie is an imposter. Putting the 'Red Is An Imposter’ theory on the back burner for now, let's look at the possibility that Lizzie is an imposter.

We know that Lizzie's real name is Masha.

We know that Lizzie's father likely abducted her away from Katerina and was attempting to hide her in America.

We also know that by the night of the fire, Lizzie's father apparently has been calling Masha 'Elizabeth' for some time, even compelling Katerina to call her that as we witnessed in the flashback scenes.

Now given those facts, along with the knowledge that Red apparently lost a young child, and his admission to Kirk that he had a daughter named Elizabeth (but not the Lizzie we are familiar with as we have been told continuously that Red is not her father), isn't it possible that at some point, and for and by reasons yet still unknown to us, Lizzie was given Red's daughter's identity? 

This would allow Daniel Cerone's seemingly contradictory statements - that Elizabeth is Red's daughter and that Red is not Lizzie's father - to both remain true.

The name 'Elizabeth' itself is important in the show, as the writers have used it eleven times so far in addition to it being Lizzie's name:

The little girl that is kidnapped in the ‘Pilot’ episode is named ‘Beth.’

Dembe’s daughter is named ‘Isabella.’

His granddaughter is named ‘Elle’ or ‘Ellie.’

The friend/teacher/nurse that helps Liz after she shot Tom is named ‘Ellie.’

The alias Red gives Lizzie when she goes undercover in ‘The Mombasa Cartel’ is ‘Elsa.’

The niece of the building inspector that Red bribes in��‘Sir Crispin Crandall’ is named ‘Lisa.’ (She also resembles Lizzie with her dark brown hair, blue eyes, and pale complexion. She is also her uncle’s emotional weakness, just as Lizzie is to Red.)

Aram’s spy girlfriend Kate goes by the alias of ‘Elise’ while she is dating him.

The Blacklister Judith Pruitt goes by the alias of ‘Isabella’ Stone.

The name of the young girl who Frederick Barnes gets his son’s experimental antidote from is named ‘Elysa.’

The little girl who finds one of the Deer Hunter’s victims hanging from a tree is named ‘Elsa.’  

The ballet company where Red’s daughter used to attend was named ‘Elise Le Blanc.’

The back story of Dembe also lends a significant parallel to that of Red’s own history and the idea that his daughter was possibly named ‘Elizabeth.’

In ‘The Mombasa Cartel’ we learn that Dembe lost his family when he was young after his father decided to stand by his beliefs (in regards to animal poachers.)

After that, Dembe became a criminal even though his deeds are typically far from nefarious.

In ‘The Troll Farmer,’ the two most important women in his life - his daughter and granddaughter - are threatened by the Cabal.

All of this parallels the story we are told of Red. Like Dembe, Red seems to have lost his family when he was a young man, specifically, the two most important women in his life - his wife and daughter. After the events that led to the destruction of his family, he too became a criminal. If all of this resembles the story we know of Red, and Dembe’s own daughter’s name - and granddaughter’s - is a variation of ‘Elizabeth,’ isn’t it possible that Red’s own daughter shared that name as well?

If it is true that Red had a daughter named Elizabeth and that she was killed, the question then becomes, when did she die? Did she die some time before the events leading up to the night of the fire, (in which case Lizzie was given the identity of a corpse in hopes that no one would realize the switch?) Or did she die possibly right around the same time as the night of the fire, possibly after being mistaken for being ‘Masha?’

‘Evidence’ pointing to the former idea comes into play if you look at the story from the episode entitled ‘The Caretaker.’ In that episode, the Caretaker tells Harold that his “wife and unborn child died a few months before,” with ‘before’ referring to the day that he kidnapped the little girl from her father.

While not matching the Caretaker’s story perfectly, as Red’s daughter was obviously older at the time of her assumed demise, it does make it possible that Lizzie was perhaps given his dead daughter’s identity as a cover well before the events leading up to the fire.

Another clue that Lizzie possibly used the identity of Red’s dead daughter as a cover could be seen in the fact that the last time we see a flashback of her (if this is in fact his daughter) is from 1987 at her ballet recital of ‘Swan Lake,’ three years before the night of the fire.

The other possibility is that Red’s wife and daughter died around the same time as the night of the fire. We know from the flashback scenes that the fire occurred somewhere around Christmas time in 1990. We also know that Red came home to a house of blood after running out of gas on his way home for the holidays. Red’s account is backed up by Ressler who states that Red’s car was found abandoned along the side of the highway with presents in the backseat on Christmas Eve in 1990.

Red told Diane Fowler in ‘The Cyprus Agency’ that he does not know what happened to his family that night when he came home to the house of blood. Fowler teases that she does.

And while it seems unlikely Fowler was ever actually a part of the Cabal, she most definitely was involved in nefarious schemes within the United States intelligence agencies, probably including not only the massacre of Red’s family, but also with events regarding the night of the fire.

Diane made it perfectly clear in that scene that she knew Red and his personal history. She probably even knew his job within the government, as well as his assignments. Diane being privy to all of this personal information about Red, information that Red doesn’t even know, makes me wonder if his family was killed because of a case of mistaken identity. 

If Red helped smuggle Lizzie to the United States, is it possible that he callously opted to use his own daughter’s identity to help hide her? In addition, going with the ‘Imposter Theory,’ is it also possible that Red was somehow mistaken for the ‘Raymond Reddington’ that was involved with the theft of the Fulcrum and who was also the father of Masha? 

If the Cabal, or whoever was after Lizzie and her father, found out that Lizzie -Masha at that time - was using the alias of ‘Elizabeth’ as a cover, and also erroneously believed that Red was the same ‘Raymond Reddington’ that they were hunting, did they perhaps go to the wrong house - Red’s house in Tacoma Park that he blew up - and mistakenly kill his family thinking that they were Masha and Katerina who were using false names?

Is it also possible that Red was perhaps completely unaware that Masha had been given the alias of ‘Elizabeth’ until the night of the fire? 

At this time, there is no way of knowing which man - either Red or Lizzie’s father - was the original ‘Raymond Reddington.’ It is also unclear when Lizzie was given the name ‘Elizabeth’ and whether Red knew about this. But if something like this did occur, it could mean that his family was killed simply by being mistaken for someone else.

LIZZIE’S FALSE MEMORY VS HER REAL MEMORY

This is where things get tricky. In the original flashback scenes from the night of the fire in 'Luther Braxton, Part II,' we are shown Lizzie walking down a hallway where she sees two men fighting in front of an open window.

If you slow the footage down, you can clearly see that the man on the left is wearing what appears to be a fedora. 

We can hear yelling and fighting, as well as Lizzie's subconscious version of herself pleading with Lizzie to turn around and go back down the hall. 

At the same time, we hear Katerina yelling in the background, shouting, “Raymond let go!”

Present day Lizzie tries to continue down the hall, but it stopped by someone blocking her path. 

Lizzie physically tries to push her way through, but is again stopped by the individual. The slowed down version shows that the person holding her back is a woman, and is more than likely Katerina.

We then hear a gunshot go off, followed by the man with the fedora walking away as little Lizzie runs back down the hall screaming.

Lizzie then wakes up from her hypnosis session and exclaims that she just saw her father.

However, when Lizzie shoots the Attorney General in ‘Tom Connolly,’ she sees a slightly different version of that memory.

In that version, everything remains quite similar to the memory sequence above, including Katerina yelling, “Raymond let go!”

However, there is one very noticeable difference - it is now her father fighting with her mother instead of with who we can safely assume was Red in the original flashback.

When Red meets Lizzie in the park after she shoots Connolly, Lizzie tells Red that she remembers the events of night of the fire.

At this statement, Red looks as pale as a ghost.

Lizzie continues, stating, “I remember what happened, and I understand why you didn’t want me to find out.”

At this, Red grimaces, and even takes a physical step backwards, as if bracing for the worst. The entire time Lizzie recounts her memory, Red remains quiet and anxious.

Lizzie tells Red that when she pulled the trigger and shot Connolly, she suddenly remembered that she shot her father that night because he was physically hurting her mother. Lizzie then surmises, “That’s why you blocked my memory. Not to protect yourself... to protect me.”

Red, now looking ashamed and crestfallen, suddenly looks down before mumbling a quiet and simple, “Yeah.”

I believe Red is not being entirely truthful with Lizzie here. While I still think Lizzie did in fact shoot and kill her father while he was fighting with someone that night in front of the open window, I think Lizzie is remembering a false memory in this case. I believe the real memory of that night is the one that includes her father fighting with Red, and not the one where he was fighting with her mother.

And technically again, Red isn’t lying, because as far as Lizzie is concerned, this memory is real, so he is just agreeing with it. But I admit he’s definitely pushing the boundaries of honesty on this one.

We know that Red hired Dr. Krilov all those years ago, as he admitted it to Lizzie twice, first in ‘Quong Zang,’ and again in ‘Dr. Bogdan Krilov.’ But there’s a catch. Lizzie states that Dr. Orchard told her in ‘Luther Braxton, Part II’ that someone blocked her memory.

In ‘Dr. Krilov,’ we learned that this is not exactly the truth. Dr Krilov specializes in something much more specific than simply blocking memories - he actually distorts them, replacing intact real memories with seemingly real new and falsified information. We saw a prime example of this when he distorted Ressler’s memory of the supposed kidnapping of the witness to Reven Wright’s murder.

Red himself even slips up at the beginning of the episode when he gives Lizzie the Blacklister’s name while in the record store, stating that Dr. Krilov is “one of the few people who have mastered the science of memory manipulation.”

Lizzie seems less than convinced, joking, “Science, or science fiction?”

But Red persists, telling her, “You of all people should know the answer to that.” Lizzie continues, saying, “I understand suppressing memories, helping someone to mute out a traumatic experience. But manipulating them?”

And here he basically admits it: “The memory of an accident, a tragedy, a fire in which a four year old killed her father?”

Lizzie then asks Red, “This man... Is he the one who erased my memory of that night?” (Notice how yet again Lizzie uses the word ‘erased’ when referring to her own memories, instead of the more accurate, and completely different definition of ‘manipulation.’) 

At this question, Red does not answer Lizzie, at least not completely and without a catch. In answer to Lizzie’s question, Red states that this is how Kate knows about Dr. Krilov. But that is technically not what Lizzie asked. She asked Red if Dr. Krilov was the one who ERASED her memory. As we know that Red refuses to lie to Lizzie, he instead discreetly skirts this issue by giving her ‘something,’ as an answer which still remains truthful to a degree. In this case, Dr. Krilov’s connection to Kate. But he never corrects Lizzie when she mistakenly uses the word ‘erased,’ in regards to her memory instead of ‘manipulated.’ Yet again Red seems to have lucked out by Lizzie unknowingly asking the wrong question.

More evidence that Red actually manipulated Lizzie’s memory from that night instead of just suppressing it comes from the fact that Dr. Orchard warned Lizzie in ‘Luther Braxton, Part II’ that “the people and events may have been there, but in different roles.”

Which brings us back to the original idea that Lizzie’s memory of it being her parents that had been fighting is false.

I believe the real memory is that of Red and her father fighting in front of the open window while her mother attempted to hold her back, just as she ‘somewhat’ remembered in ‘Luther Braxton, Part II.’ Ashamed that he is ultimately to blame for Lizzie picking up the dropped gun and killing her father, Red then had her memory of the event altered, replacing himself with a vision of her mother in his stead.

If this ends up being the case, it would explain Red’s remorseful behavior at the end of ‘Tom Connolly.’ When the episode first aired, it appears as if Red is simply devastated by the fact that Lizzie apparently now remembers killing her own father, something that he tried desperately to keep from her for all of these years.

But working under the assumption that Red altered Lizzie’s memory to remove himself from the event, if you look at that scene again with this idea in mind, the scene can be read in an entirely different way.

As stated earlier in the post, when Red approaches Lizzie in the park and she cryptically states that she now remembers everything from the night of the fire, Red looks fearful. As she continues her recount of that night, Red seems to get more and more tense, as if he realizes Lizzie is about to accuse him of being a horrible monster again. He even winces, gulps, and backs up at one point.

But to his surprise, relief, and more than likely guilt, Lizzie surprises him by stating that she remembers her parents fighting right before she shot her father. Red then visibly relaxes, but he also looks ashamed. He bows his head, and agrees with her version of events, simply stating quietly, “Yeah.”

Now as for the fact that Red does not lie to Lizzie, again, he skates by on a technicality. Even if Lizzie’s version of that night is false, it is the version SHE remembers, thus in her mind, making it truthful. So technically, at least in Red’s mind, he is not lying to her when he agrees with her assumptions about that night. He simply is not correcting her on the one slight, yet significantly wrong detail.

Removing himself from the fight with her father would have allowed Red two favorable outcomes in regards to Lizzie: 

Firstly, I think Red’s more honorable reason for altering her memory remain intact - he did not want Lizzie to have to remember the fact that she shot and killed her own father. That would be a devastating memory for anyone to have to lie with what with all of the guilt involved.

Along those same lines, by replacing himself with Katerina in the fight, should Lizzie ever figure out the truth that she killed her own father, it would be much easier for her to accept that guilt if she was living under the false assumption that she had been protecting her mother when she pulled the trigger than if she remembered killing her father while he was fighting another seemingly random person instead.

And now for the less than honorable reasons, I believe Red selfishly removed himself from Lizzie’s original memory simply to allow himself to stay in her good graces and keep up his own false illusion that he was less to blame for her father’s death than he truly was.

You can tell that Red feels guilty over allowing Lizzie to continue to wrongly assume that she killed her father by the fact that he is constantly reminding her that she was just a child and did not know any better.

He first does this in ‘Lady Ambrosia,’ after Lizzie learns that her mother supposedly committed suicide after Lizzie killed her father. Seeing how devastated she becomes, Red hurries to remind her, saying, “It was an accident,” and “Lizzie, you were a CHILD.”

He even goes as far as telling her that “There never should have been a gun for you to grab.” 

Red does it again in ‘Dr. Krilov’ when he reminds her that her memory was blocked in order to protect her from the fact that she killed her father when she was a child. He pointedly uses the word “accident” again to describe the event.

THE ABDUCTION AND FIGHT WENT HORRIBLY WRONG

The reason Red may feel so much guilt over being an accessory in the death of Lizzie’s dad may be because the entire situation was simply a farce taken too far. If the abduction of Lizzie was planned by Red in order to get to Katerina somehow, and a fight somehow broke out (or was staged), Lizzie would have had no way of knowing that, or have truly understood at that age what she was about to do. She simply believed she saw her father fighting a man and tried to intervene.

As stated above, “there never should have been a gun involved.”

Someone decided to bring a gun that night, possibly to make the threat seem more authentic, and as we know, that loaded gun then fell lose and dropped to the floor where little Lizzie managed to scoop it right up.

The theme of kidnapping children is one of the most prevalent themes in the show. The vast majority of the episodes deal with the abduction or exploitation of children in some way. Most of time in the episodes, these abductions do not end well, even for those that had good intentions.

In ‘Marvin Gerard,’ Red explains to Lizzie that Marvin was upset with the way his son was being treated by his ex and decided to intervene. He kidnapped the boy, but was brutally hounded by the mother and her family. Red tells Lizzie that  Marvin’s wife “was the princess in a very prominent and powerful legal dynasty... They tracked him down of course. Returned the child to his mother. Marvin was disbarred, convicted and incarcerated. A year later Timothy [Marvin’s son] hung himself.”

And like ‘Raymond Reddington,’ Marvin was a man on the ‘up and up...’ 

Red states, “Marvin Gerard was one of the most respected defense attorneys on the eastern seaboard. Perfect wife, perfect job. Perfect.”

Ressler adds to the accolades, telling his fellow agents Marvin “graduated magna cum laude from Harvard, where, at the tender age of thirty one, was the third youngest full professor in the institution’s history. He served as a prosecutor for three years, New York. Later, joined his father-in-law’s criminal defense firm as full partner. He was on the short list for the federal bench...”

Besides a few minor details, this sounds extremely similar to the story regarding Lizzie’s abduction as a child.

Throughout the series, we have learned that Tom was abducted as a child as well. He was presumed dead by his family (or so they claim) and spent his entire childhood fending for himself and becoming a man that he is now less than happy to be. 

And like Lizzie, he was taken from his home in the middle of the night by an abduction. An abduction that we later learn was staged in hopes of getting him away from perceived dangerous parents.

Because of his circumstances and subsequent military like spy upbringing under the ‘care’ of the Major, (which were no fault of his own as a child) he lacks certain characteristics and emotions that allow a person to be genuine and ‘normal.’ 

He has been struggling to become a better man and ‘redeem’ himself ever since coming back to Lizzie, if that is even realistically within the realm of possibility for him. Even when his intentions seem genuine, he often falls miserably short of achieving a positive outcome in any given scenario.

Alexander Kirk abducted Lizzie and Agnes multiple times in his attempt to ‘save’ who he thought to be his family, leading the the deaths of numerous individuals, both from guilty parties involved, as well as several unassuming civilian casualties.

Kirk’s plan to try to ‘save’ Lizzie from Red almost led to the death of Agnes and himself when he was willing to jump off the roof with her in his arms, and ultimately led to the death of his girlfriend Odette before learning that Lizzie was not his biological daughter.

Kirk’s attempts to kidnap Lizzie also led to Kate’s fateful decision to try to help Lizzie fake her death in order to escape from Red (and Kirk) as well. And we know how that turned out...

Scottie Hargrave was originally hired to kidnap Lizzie - not to kill him.

She ends up sending Matias Solomon to the church where Lizzie was getting married, leading to the shoot out and car chase which ended with what appeared to be the death of Lizzie. Again, uninvolved civilians were killed in the all of these situations.

Scottie’s brash plan also led to the emotional downfall of Red, possibly almost ending in a suicide attempt at Cape May, and added to the already harsh strain coming over first the relationship between Red and Kate, and then between Red and Lizzie herself upon her return from her supposed death.

Scottie even admits plans went awry, telling Red, “I couldn’t foresee what happened to that poor girl [Lizzie] any more than you. I told you , I was hired to abduct her, not take her life.”

Alan Fitch also helped a child escape a parent when he helped bring Berlin’s daughter Zoe to the United States during the Cold War. Berlin ended up in prison for several years. During this time, he was given various body parts of a young girl, and was told that they belonged to his murdered daughter.

Mistakenly believing that Red was behind the death of his daughter thanks to a frame job by Fitch, Berlin then came to the United States for retribution. In his misguided quest for vengeance, Berlin ended up killing and hurting several people close to Red and the Taskforce, including Carla, Harold, and of course, Meera Malik.

Fitch himself could not outrun Berlin’s attack and ended up dead by the end of the story arc. 

As for Berlin’s daughter - she ended up being alive, but wanting nothing to do with her father after learning the type of man that he’d become. Berlin eventually gave up his quest for revenge, and was killed by Red at the end of the episode.

As bad as Fitch may have seemed, he did in fact seem to care about the men and women under his charge. He told the bomb tech that “on my order, 763 men and women have died in service to their country. And there wasn’t a grieving wife, or mother or husband I didn’t either call or visit personally. Thank them for their sacrifice. That’s what makes it the hardest, the families.”

Despite the things Fitch admitted to doing to Red in the past, I believe his attempt to get Zoe away from her father was a genuine act of good intentions. But like we’ve seen, those intentions often end up with horrible repercussions.

In ‘The Alchemist,’ Eric Trettle attempted to reunite with his estranged wife and daughter after faking their deaths and kidnapping them.

Trettle was basically a fraud who became an expert in his field, despite having no accolades to back up his claims. During a murder trial, Trettle testified on behalf of a soldier in a notorious crime family and used falsified evidence to help acquit the client. Meera explains, “Trettle was outed as a fraud and disgraced. Two weeks later he disappeared. It was believed either the D’Angelo family had him killed or he fled to avoid indictment.”

When Lizzie goes to visit the wife, the wife tells her, “You shouldn’t be here. Eric is a very dangerous man. In his head, he thinks we’re still together, a family.”

When Eric believes the FBI is getting close to him, he murders a woman and young girl that resemble his wife and daughter in order to kidnap his still very much alive family and flee with them. The crime lab technician tells Lizzie, “Two victims. Gunshots at close range. It’s not pretty.”

This story gives credence to Red’s account in ‘Madeline Pratt’ of his arrival home on Christmas Eve to find a house of blood when talking about his own wife and daughter.

Trettle is eventually cornered by the FBI at a gas station and in the chaos, his daughter ends up shot in the abdomen. Trettle then tries to make a deal, stating he will “get them [the FBI] the names [of his victims and clients] and I get full immunity. With WITSEC and relocation for the three of us.”

While Trettle is talking to the FBI, his wife picks up a gun and shoots her husband dead in order to save her daughter. Again, several elements in this story mimic those of both Red and Lizzie’s father. Red in the fact that he lost his family possibly as a way to steal their identities, and Lizzie’s father in the fact that he was ultimately killed by a family member after he attempted to abduct them.

As shown earlier, Kate’s decision to help Lizzie fake her death and escape from Red also ultimately ended badly for everyone involved. Just like with every other case mentioned here, numerous innocent people were killed along the way, loyalties and friendships were destroyed, and in the end, everyone ended up worse off than when they started.

In the end, Red takes Kate out into the woods with the intention of killing her. 

He basically explains to her that he allowed her to continue helping him try to rescue Lizzie and Agnes as he knows that in her mind, her intentions were pure honorable. But he follows that up with the lamentation that he can no longer trust her, and therefore she is a threat to him. He then shoots her in the head and leaves her for dead.

The story of Hans Van Houser is what ultimately led to this theory post. In ‘Dr. Bogdam Krilov’ we are told the story of one of Red’s earliest attempts to ‘create a problem, and then solve it.’

In this case, Red was an up and coming criminal in the underworld and was trying to become a trusted associate of a much more powerful crime lord named Werner Von Houser. In order to gain not only future deals with Werner, but trust as well, Red planned a staged abducted of Werner’s son Hans, with the intent to them swoop in and rescue the man, thus gaining the gratitude from Werner while improving his own reputation at the same time.

However, the team that Red hired to abduct Hans botched the job, and the young man suffocated while in transport. Dismayed and sickened, Red nevertheless kept this information from Werner for over twenty five years, instead choosing to mislead Werner into believing Red was completely unrelated (and innocent) to the kidnapping of his son in order to continue benefiting from his gratitude and friendship.

Once Kate tells Werner the truth, Red feels he has no choice but to kill his old friend, if for no other reason than to keep his involvement in the son’s death secret from other associates, thus protecting his enterprise.

Before killing him, Red tells Werner that he never underestimated how much Werner loved his son, lamenting that this was a fact that he used to his advantage. He also told him that he knew that the day would eventually come where the truth would come out, and one of them - either Red or Werner - would not recover.

I think this story is a direct clue that Red was involved in the abduction of Lizzie all those years ago. Red used the closeness between himself and Katerina to his advantage and staged Lizzie’s kidnapping for personal gain, possibly for intelligence gathering or to locate the Fulcrum. Just as Red told Werner he understood the depth of love between himself and his son, I think Red understood the love between Katerina and her daughter (as well as her love of ‘Raymond’) and used that against her in a similar fashion. Similar to Hans’ death during the botched staged abduction, I believe Red’s plan to steal Lizzie away led to the death of her father, and eventually her mother as well.

A less obvious example of a botched staged abduction occurred in the same episode as the story of Hans Van Houser. 

In ‘Dr. Bogdam Krilov,’ Ressler goes to Philadelphia to meet with a supposed witness involved in the murder of Reven Wright. While at her house, a tactical team raids the location, knocking Ressler out and ‘kidnapping’ the witness. Ressler is then taken to Dr. Krilov where his memories are altered to make him believe Laurel Hitchens was involved in the witness’ abduction.

Ressler then goes to Hitchens’ house to try to locate the missing witness and confronts her, even shooting an agent in the process. Lizzie and the Task Force arrive on scene and tell him that the abduction was all staged, that there never even was a witness. Ressler is then taken into custody for shooting the agent and threatening Hitchens’ life. It can be argued that he almost pulled the trigger, in which case he would have been arrested for murder.

Yet again, we have innocent people hurt and in this case, almost killed, because of a staged kidnapping. And Ressler’s reputation, job, and life, would have ended if he had pulled that trigger.

In ‘Philomena,’ we have another simplified version of a staged abduction. The Blacklister, after managing to get herself hit by a car while riding her bicycle, is contacted by the woman who hit her. Philomena then begins crying into the phone, claiming that her ex husband is trying to take her son away from her, saying, “He’s trying to steal my little girl.” The driver of the car feels guilty and empathizes with her, even going so far as to put her in contact with her lawyer brother in hopes of helping her out with regards to the custody of her ‘daughter.’

Viewers soon learn that the driver of the car’s brother is Marvin Gerard, and that Philomena staged not only the car accident, but made up the custody story as well in order to get close to Marvin to take him down.

One of the biggest - and most similar - parallel stories to Lizzie’s abduction can be seen in ‘The Caretaker.’

In this episode, we learn the story of a young man who came to the aid of a small girl after he witnessed the father hitting her. A confrontation occurred, with the young girl’s father accidentally dying. The man then took the the little girl with him and raised her as his own without the child’s knowledge.

Years later, the Caretaker’s daughter is seemingly kidnapped by two men demanding that the secrets that the Caretaker is responsible for maintaining be released to the public. Feeling blackmailed and fearful for his daughter’s safety, the Caretaker releases one of the secrets, leading to a man’s death.

The FBI, prior to learning this truth, tell him, “The video that was released, a man died because of it. We're told other people will die when other secrets are released. Is this a deliberate leak or negligence? A flaw in your security? Who penetrated your system?”

The Caretaker answers, “No one. The system is perfect. I released the video.” He goes on to state that, “For three generations my family has guarded the secrets of presidents, corporations, criminals. The traditions, the pride of my fathers, is nothing compared to the love I hold for Rose. She's all I have. They know that. They took her and the ledger. They have the names of my clients, and the locations of the secrets I keep for them. They've ordered me to betray a second secret by midnight or Rose will die.”

The kidnappers next demand was that he had “twenty four hours to release ledger item number 2156,” which was a secret contract between Luftreiber Airlines and the German government.

The Task Force learns from Red that the Luftreiber passenger plane that crashed on take off in 2007 was not actually an avionic malfunction, but was actually caused by a lack of action taken by the German government in regards to a terrorist threat. Red tells them that terrorists were behind the plane crash, and that they warned the German government of the threat in an attempt to blackmail them. But the German government failed to take the threat seriously, and also failed to warn the German public and airline of the impending attack.

When the terrorists’ demands were not met, they destroyed the plane. 

Red explains, “Luftreiber claims responsibility shielding bureaucrats from a scandal in exchange for remuneration for the inevitable blizzard of lawsuits. One hand washes the other.”

Samar guesses “So the airline places the contract in escrow with the Caretaker as leverage against exposure.”

Red warns the Task Force not to release the secret, as it will humiliate and expose the German government, who is a strong ally (and possible future adversary if humiliated) to the United States. He tells them, “I warn you, do not expose the Germans.” 

Samar argues that if they don’t, a young girl will die. (In many ways Samar is the female version of Red in my opinion.)

The Task Force eventually decides to go against Red’s advice and releases the secret to the public. This ends up being a mistake, as soon afterwards, an unrelated terroristic threat to the United States is uncovered, and the only ones able to provide intelligence and support on the matter are the Germans. 

Panabaker then informs Harold that the German government is angry by the exposure of their secret scandal and are now unwilling to share their intel on the two suspected terrorists.

Red finds out that the Task Force released the secret and warns them that “now many more will die.” 

However, Red is able to use his multitude of contacts and manages to locate the Caretaker’s daughter.

They end up raiding a motel and ‘rescue’ Rose. During the raid, a young man ends up dead, shot by Ressler after seeing the man reach for a gun. 

Samar later asks the daughter if she is aware of the fact that the men who took her were former Marines. Rose claims that she didn't know, but this is a lie.

Samar continues, “Nothing in their file suggests that the men who took you had the ability to penetrate your father's operation. Do you have any idea who they might be working for? Someone they met overseas?”

Rose continues to plead ignorance, until the ruse becomes too much for her and she admits that she staged the whole thing with the help of her long lost brother.

Ressler, meanwhile, unaware of this new development, is interrogating her brother, Van Zandt, saying, “We know you and your partner were just the muscle... We know how close the two of you were. What we don't know is why you're protecting the man responsible for his death.”

Van Zandt tries to put the blame on Ressler instead of on himself, saying, “YOU shot him.” 

Ressler says, “Yeah, I'm angry about that. I'm angry that somebody turned a war hero into a kidnapper... put him into a position where I had to shoot him. I'm angry at his friend for not giving up the son of a bitch that made that happen.”

Van Zandt continues, “This wasn't supposed to happen. I TOLD HIM WE DIDN’T NEED GUNS. He thought it would help sell it... That we were trying to hurt her when all we were trying to do was help her.”

Rose explains that she ‘kidnapped’ herself to get away from her ‘father.’ She found out one day what her ‘father’ did to her all those years ago. Cooper tells the Caretaker, “She knows what you did, Mr. Janus. She's known for months. Imagine how she felt finding herself on a missing-children's website. Her real name is Jessica van Zandt. Did you know?” 

He goes on to tell Mr. Janus that Rose not only felt betrayed by her ‘father’ lying to her all those years about her past, but that she felt that what he did for a living should be stopped.

The Caretaker tries to explain to Harold that no one understands how delicate and important his work is, stating that if Rose released the ledger, she's done more damage than she realizes. 

Harold says he thinks Rose knows exactly what she's done. “For generations, you and your ancestors kept other people's secrets. But it was your secret, her, that put an end to it all.”

The Caretaker, defeated and upset, solemnly agrees, stating, “Yes.”

The story of the Caretaker has several pieces to it - many of which seem to directly tie to the overall myth arc of the show.

First of all, the idea of a person being formally in charge of delicate secrets that could tip the balance of power in the world sounds strikingly similar to those in possession of the Fulcrum. Is it possible that either Red or Lizzie’s father had a similar job in regards to the secrets of the Cabal?

Secondly, the story of the German government and the airline cover up also sounds similar to the Cabal and their secrets. Red warned the Task Force, “Do not EXPOSE the Germans.” In this case, the Germans represent the Cabal. Of course, the Task Force does just that, and the German government immediately turns on them.

It’s curious too that Samar questions whether Roses’ abductees were working for someone they met overseas. Why would she think that? Is this again a clue that Red helped Lizzie’s father abduct her?

Roses’ brother admits to Ressler that he never thought a gun should have been used in the staged abduction. This is an almost identical reference to what Red told Lizzie in ‘Quong Zang’ when she finds out she was indirectly involved in both of her parents’ deaths. In that instance, Red told her, “There never should have been a gun for you to grab.” And like Lizzie’s father and/or Red, the men involved in Roses’ ‘abduction’ were decorated military men.

Also similar to Red and Lizzie’s shared past is the fact that both Rose’s brother and Red try to put the blame on someone else for the loss of life that occurred in their respective staged kidnappings. In the case of Roses’ brother, he blames Ressler. In the case of Red, he blames Lizzie by constantly reminding her that SHE ultimately pulled the trigger that killed her father.

Along those same lines, Ressler became angry when he found out he killed a man under false pretenses. I’m sure when Lizzie finds out that the same thing possibly happened to her, she will be angry at Red as well.

During one point in the episode, Red asks the Task Force, “Have you got leads on who abducted his daughter?” The camera is specifically on Red during this scene. (Is this another clue that Red was in on young Lizzie’s abduction?)

Red’s statement regarding his opinion to not release the German’s secret is also an intriguing one...

If you relate this story to the Cabal and the Fulcrum, is it possible that Red was accused of having it while he really didn't, and thus when he could not return something he was never in possession of, they murdered his family?

He also believed that they should have sacrificed the daughter to save potentially many more people. 

Is that truly what he believes though? Is that what he did in regards to his own family? Did he somehow sacrifice them to save others? Was he supposed to sacrifice Lizzie to save others all those years ago? Or possibly sacrifice Katerina or Lizzie’s father instead? Or possibly sacrifice HIMSELF to save others?

By the time Rose figured out the truth about her childhood abduction, she only had one biological family member still alive - her brother. In relation, Lizzie only has one living relative that we know about - her grandfather, Dom.

Another parallel story to the myth arc can be seen in the fact that the Caretaker released the secrets in order to protect his daughter which he believed had been kidnapped. Is this what Katerina or Lizzie’s father felt they had to do in regards to Lizzie? 

Was Katerina working as a double agent, and trying to get the Fulcrum, in order to protect Lizzie? Or perhaps it was the other way around, and her father was using the Fulcrum as leverage against his ‘enemies’ to keep both himself as well as Lizzie alive, as we witnessed in the flashback scenes from the fire?

Lastly, the secret agreement that the German government made with the airlines is also reminiscent of the pact that Red has with the Cabal. They agree not to harm him, as long as he stays in ‘line’ and does not use the Fulcrum against them or expose them in any other way. As Red said, “One hand washes the other.”

RED RESCUSED LIZZIE FROM THE FIRE

After Lizzie’s father was killed by her hand, I believe Red was the one who pulled her from the closet that night and at least helped get her to relative safety before Katerina managed to get her to Kate at the motel.

The first clue that this is what happened occurred in ‘Luther Braxton, Part II.’ During Lizzie’s memory sequence, she ‘sees’ a figure grab her hand and pull her from the closet. 

In the present day, Red is holding Lizzie’s hand.

 He is looking at her intently, almost willing her to remember.

Lizzie then opens her eyes and looks right at Red, saying, “You were there.”

In that same episode, there is a short, (and very dark) scene of what looks to be a man carrying Lizzie through the house. If you slow the footage down and lighten it, you can see what appears to be a man’s face right above what appears to be a red nightgown with white trim. Now this can’t be Lizzie’s father, as he has just been killed. We also know that Lizzie was wearing a red nightgown with white trim the night of the fire.

This would also explain why in the earliest versions of the flashbacks why we see the silhouette of a man holding a stuffed bunny, but do not see the figure’s hand. It is more than likely because the man had Lizzie under his coat to protect her from the flames and her arm was too short to reach to cuff of the coat.

Another clue that Red was the one who pulled Lizzie from the closet that night can be taken from a similar scene that we witnessed with Ressler. 

In ‘The Kenyon Family’ it was Ressler who found the sole survivor of the church massacre hiding in the closet. 

The little girl bears a striking resemblance to young Lizzie, right down to the dark brown hair and blue eyes, while Ressler has always appeared to be our example of the man Red was before turning into a criminal.

From what we now know, Katerina then helped get Lizzie out of the house and to Kate, who was hiding out at the motel.

RED THEN MADE IT HIS MISSION TO PROTECT LIZZIE

Note: This is where the ‘Imposter Red’ theory comes into play. If you want to read that post, it can be found at the top of my tumblr page... Without accepting this theory, the next part of this post will be confusing for readers...

Viewers can see clear as day that Red holds some sort of guilt over what happened the night of the fire. Through his various speeches to both Lizzie and others, some of which are explicitly related to the subject of her parents while others are hidden amongst related stories going on in the episodes, we know that Red was somehow involved in the death of her parents and feels a great sense of responsibility for the life that Lizzie has had to live because of that loss. I believe it is around this time that Red took on the identity of Lizzie’s dead father.

In ‘Wujing,’ Red tells Lizzie that he is in her life “because of [her] father.” (It was unclear at the time what exactly he meant by that statement. But as the series progressed, and we learned that Lizzie’s father was dead, it seems more apparent that Red is looking after Lizzie out of a sense of some type of loyalty and debt to her father.)

Lizzie persists, asking, “What does that mean? Did you know my father? Have the two of you met somehow?” At this remark, Red visibly winces. He goes on to give some cryptic explanation that doesn’t really answer anything, and frustrated, Lizzie leaves the car. (Remember, this is before Lizzie knows her father is dead.)

We see Red lament about Lizzie’s father again in ‘Dr. Adrian Shaw, Part II’ when Lizzie states that she wishes her father could be there to see his granddaughter grow up. Red tells her, “He would have wanted that too.”

Red also tells Sam in ‘General Ludd’ that he will try to love and care for Lizzie as well as Sam did. He acknowledges the amazing job Sam did in raising Lizzie, especially given the circumstances, and hopes he can do the same. 

In ‘Tom Connolly’ Red tells Lizzie that he is a “sin eater,” and that he tries to protect people by taking their burdens as his own.

By the end of the episode, Lizzie realizes that he is her sin eater. Red admits it, saying, “Tried to be. But I failed.”

After the death of the Harbormaster, Red finds out that Lizzie is trying to financially take care of the man’s daughter in order to lessen her own guilt in her involvement in his death. He warns Lizzie that there is really nothing she can do to accomplish this, telling her, “Be careful Lizzie. Because the truth of it is, once you start down this road, there’s no logical place to stop. You can see to her education, health insurance, housing. You can watch her... Or have her watched. Keep her safe. Try to ascertain her hopes, dreams, desires. Pull strings, call in favors to discreetly smooth the path. And for the first few years it may work. You’ll draw some measure of virtue from being her invisible benefactor. But that won’t last. It’s all a fraud. That it’s really not about her at all. That it’s all about you. And you’re just going through the motions to salve your own guilt. Look, all the money, all the time and effort, all the favors in the world, cannot possibly equal what you took away from her. Everything else is... Just a nice gesture.”

It is more than obvious to both Lizzie and the audience that Red is talking about himself here, and everything that he has tried to do for Lizzie over the years since her parent’s deaths.

Evidence of this can be seen by all of the gifts Red has bestowed on Lizzie, and then Agnes, even in just the last few years.

Red bought Lizzie an apartment overlooking the Potomac River, he bought her a couch for her new apartment (after she sold the one Red bought her), he made a coocoo clock for Agnes, and set up a trust fund for Agnes (which again Lizzie turned down).

In ‘Mr. Kaplan, Part I,’ we find out that Red even has a 96 acre private island estate set aside for Lizzie, complete with a full service staff and protection.

Red tells others as well that he feels responsible in some way for the loss of Lizzie’s parents.

In ‘Natalie Luca’ Red tells Baldur Magnussen that “for the longest time I’ve been perfectly comfortable knowing I could die at any moment. I could walk out of this room and be shot in the street. I’ve always been fine with that. But lately I can smell it in the air around me. Like death is slouching towards me from the corners of the room. And I cannot tell if it’s here for me, or just an echo of the past.”

I think this is again evidence that Red knows that one day he will have to pay the price for what he did to Lizzie and her parents.

Red again allows his guilt to come forward in ‘The Caretaker,’ when Red tells Lizzie he's happy she is looking forward again, instead of dwelling on the past. “What you said about forgiveness changing the future... It comforts me to know you're looking forward again. The future holds such promise. The past... so many regrets.”

In his first meeting with Kate in ‘Requiem,’ Red tells her that he feels a certain responsibility for Lizzie, saying, “After Katerina’s sudden departure, I felt a responsibility to watch over the girl from a distance. I’ve provided for her and Sam financially.”

When Red goes to see Lizzie’s grandfather Dom in ‘The Artax Network’ he apologizes to him for the apparent death of Lizzie. He tells Dom that he “thought [he] could protect her. I DID protect her. All these years, I’ve anticipated almost every threat. But this one... A medical complication in childbirth...” 

Dom argues that even so, Red ultimately failed her, dooming Lizzie by the choices he made for her years ago, stating, “She’s gone because of choices you made for both of them. First Katerina, then Masha. As far as I’m concerned, you killed my entire family.”

In ‘Cape May,’ Red tells his subconscious version of Katerina that he was faced with a ‘Hobson’s Choice’ and had to choose between saving Lizzie or her, stating, “They were both doomed. Both would die. I could either save one, or lose both. I chose the child. It was the worst thing I’ve ever had to do in my life. Worst thing by far.” ‘Katerina’ tells him, “You didn’t have a choice.” He disagrees, saying, “There’s always a choice. I was arrogant. I presumed that there was an order to things. That there was - That if I nourished and protected and taught the child, that she would safe... and happy. No matter what I tried to do, all I brought her was misery and violence.”  

He is clearly guilt ridden over that fact, but by the end of the episode, ‘Katerina’ tells him yet again that there was never a choice to make - that it would always have been Lizzie - and that he chose correctly.

Red apologizes to her again, but ‘Katerina’ brushes it off, saying, “Raymond, you DID save me, through her. It was the only way. You chose well.”

Red has been trying to make things right for Lizzie ever since that fateful night, stating that it is literally his mission to keep her safe.

He tells Lizzie in ‘Wujing’ that he “believe(s) I will always do whatever I feel I have to do to keep you safe.” 

When Lizzie asks Red in the next episode how he can live with being such a monster (after he threw the Blacklister into a chemical bath of death), Red tells her “By saving your life.”

He demonstrates this objective time after time in the series. He came out of the DARPA containment box for her in ‘Anglso Garrick, Part II,’ he risked his immunity deal when he went on the run with her in Season 3, risked being locked in a CIA black site for the rest of his life just to find the Fulcrum to keep her safe, he traded places with her during the Alexander Kirk story arc, and so on. Even turning himself in to the FBI in the ‘Pilot’ episode was done simply to keep Lizzie safe.

Dembe also makes references to Red’s ‘mission’ to keep Lizzie safe. In ‘The Debt Collector,’ he tells Red not to lose focus on the ultimate goal they are striving towards, stating, “Remember why you surrendered yourself to the FBI in the first place. Remember what all of this was about. You can’t give up now. You can’t let Kate destroy everything that gives you purpose. Our work is not yet done.”

Red tells us that his ‘choice’ to become a criminal and sacrifice his freedom and essentially any chance at a normal life was made in order to protect Lizzie. In ‘Requiem,’ he tells Kate, “if anyone learns her [Lizzie’s] identity, the only way I can stop the threats from rising is to rise up as a greater threat than all of them.”

He reiterates this again at the end of the episode right before he turns himself in to the FBI. Kate warns Red that turning himself in will put into motion a set of events that cannot be stopped and that he’ll potentially destroy all of their efforts to keep her safe. Red agrees with part of it, stating, “Indeed, I need to control the danger to Elizabeth. I’ve built a vast criminal network predicated on that very principle. It’s time to live up to my mission statement.”

He even finally admits to Lizzie in ‘The Debt Collector,’ that the entire reason he became a criminal was to keep her safe, saying, “I’ve spent thirty years building an intelligence network of spies, informants, patriots, traitors. I’ve used it to build an empire that exists for only two reasons - to keep me free, and you safe.”

RED IS TERRIFIED THAT LIZZIE WILL FIND OUT THE TRUTH ABOUT HER FATHER

In the season finale, Kate tries to tell Lizzie an important truth about her past. Fortunately for Red, she kills herself before ever revealing what that secret was. 

By the end of the episode, Lizzie has received the DNA results from the paternity test Harold ran for her, (which were based off of a thirty year old sample taken from who we can now surmise was the ‘real’ Raymond Reddington.) 

Of course this being the case, the results naturally showed a positive match between herself and this man. However, if Red did in fact take over Lizzie’s dead father’s identity, this means that the man we know as Red (and who everyone else knows as Red) is still not her biological father.

I say that to say this...

In the very next scene, Dembe asks Red, “You didn’t deny it?” Red answers, “I didn’t.” Dembe continues, “And she thinks that’s Kate’s secret?” To which Red responds, “Yes.”

Remember what Red told Lizzie in ‘Berlin, Part II,’ about knowing the identity of her father...

“I loved Sam Lizzie. Of all the difficult things that I’ve done, that may - may be the most (referring to when Red killed Sam in the hospital.) But I did it to keep you from learning the name of your real father... To protect you. And you must understand, having done that, I’m certainly not going to tell you who he was now.”

So basically Lizzie now is under the false assumption that that was the secret Kate was trying to tell her. And Red allows her to believe this, because it is much safer for Lizzie to continue believing Red is her dad than for her to find out the true identity of her father. 

(And if Red really was her father - which he isn’t - then according to his own logic, he should have found a way to deny that he was anyway, but I digress.)

The real secret that Kate wanted to tell Lizzie involved the suitcase that we saw at the end of the episode. 

The suitcase that contains a skeleton.

When Red and Dembe go to the location where the skeleton should be, it has already been dug up and is missing. We soon learn that Kate left instructions for Tom, and he is now in possession of the remains. I believe those remains are of Lizzie’s real father, the original ‘Raymond Reddington’ and I think that Kate helped him dispose of the body.

We know that this is the secret that Kate was referring to because she brings it up to Red during their confrontation on the bridge. Kate tells Red that it suddenly occurred to her that she didn’t have to physically try to get Lizzie away from Red. Instead, all she had to do was tell Lizzie the ‘truth,’ and that that would drive a wedge in between Red and Lizzie just as well. 

Kate tells Red that she has a contingency plan to release the truth to Lizzie even if she is gone. She tells tells that upon her death, her “confidante will be alerted, and Elizabeth will be given our secret from Tansi Farms.”  

I believe Kate found out the truth about Red at some point during her years by his side, possibly even being told by Red himself the moment she agreed to work for him in ‘Requiem.’

This can be argued by the fact that in ‘Requiem,’ upon meeting Red for the first time, she still fully considers him a traitor to his country, a horrible father/husband who left his family, and also believes him to be the father of Lizzie. But by the events taking place in the present day she admits to loving him like family, is fully committed to his cause, and most importantly, she refers to Lizzie as “A” child when talking to him, instead of saying “HIS” child...

She tells him in the woods at the end of ‘Mato’ before he ‘kills’ her, “You entrusted me with everything you valued - your freedom, your life, a child...”

Kate then agreed to go along with his scheme of pretending to be ‘Raymond Reddington’ over the past few decades, up until recently when she begin to believe that Red was more of a threat than a help to Lizzie (and Agnes’) safety. As one last effort to tell Lizzie the truth and possibly convince her to leave Red’s side, it appears as if Kate has dug up those mysterious remains in an effort to destroy everything that Red holds dear.

I believe that was the point the writers were trying to make when they showed Kate uncovering all of those bodies at the end of the season. 

When Red tells Kate that she cannot hurt him, she reminds him that “Our stories are written in flesh. And I’m going to use that lesson to render you powerless. You forget that I was by your side the WHOLE time. I know what was required to amass your power. Who you hurt, who you betrayed, who you killed. More importantly, as your cleaner, I know where the bodies are buried. WERE buried, dearie.”

I don’t think the writers were simply referring to the eighty six bodies that she turned over to the FBI. I think her speech to Red here, is more specifically referring to ONE body - the one that is in the suitcase.

Kate knows who is in that suitcase because she more than likely put him in there all those years ago after the night of the fire. Now even in death, she holds that information over Red’s head as a sword. Red even tells Dembe, “We have to find that god damn suitcase.”

More evidence that the body in the suitcase is that of Lizzie’s real father may be found again in ‘Dr. Bogdam Krilov.’ When Kate recounts the true story of the death of Werner’s son to him, Werner asks if she has any proof to back this up. Kate tells him, “I can do better than that, Mr. Von Hauser. I can return your son’s body. So you can give him the burial he was so wrongly denied.”

According to Red, Kate was the one who disposed of Hans’ body all those years ago, probably just like she did with Lizzie’s father. Like Hans, the body in the suitcase was never given a proper burial, much to probably the guilt, (but necessity) of both Kate and Red.

This guilt of Red’s can be seen in the parallel story of Hans while Red is talking to Dembe. He tells Dembe “In a rage, I obliterated the Taddicken Brothers. It remains one of my most profound regrets, but of course, I never told Werner the truth.”

Like the truth surrounding the death of Hans, I believe not only was Red at least partially responsible for the death of Lizzie’s dad, but he then killed anyone involved in that night who knew the truth, and then hid Lizzie’s father’s remains before then taking his identity. Red is now terrified that those remains will be discovered by Lizzie and she will think the worst of him. 

This is not the first time that the writers have shown Red fearful of Lizzie learning the truth about her father and that night.

In the ‘Pilot’ Red asks Lizzie about her scar and how she got it. He is trying to figure out if Lizzie remembers what actually happened the night of the fire.

In ‘The Freelancer,’ Red asks Lizzie to tell him about her job as a profiler, bluntly asking, ”How close to the truth do you think you can really get?”

He then tells her, “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?”

At this point in the show, Red was trying to accomplish two things here. He was trying to figure out if Lizzie truly knew who he was - an imposter - and also trying to find out exactly how much her spy ‘husband’ Tom had figured out about her and Red’s shared past. Remember, at this point Red does not know who Tom was now working for.

We don't really see Red concerned again until ‘Luther Braxton, Part II.’ In that episode, Red seems extremely concerned with knowing what Lizzie was ‘seeing’ in her flashbacks. 

He even asked Dr. Orchard during one particularly dramatic outburst, “What is it? What did she see?” He tells her repeatedly in that scene to only look for the Fulcrum, and not to focus on anything else in her memories. He even tells her, “You don’t want to see this. Go back. Go back Lizzie.”

And as we saw in ‘Tom Connolly,’ Red was terrified when Lizzie told him she remembered what happened the night of the fire.

As stated earlier in this post, Red burned the letter that was supposed to explain everything to Lizzie upon his death, with him saying, “Now I’m not sure I ever want her to know.” 

Also in ‘The Caretaker,’ while Red is talking to Harold about the Caretaker’s ledger, Harold tells him, “If it were up to me I’d burn it. I’ve learned the hard way that some secrets are best left in the dark.”  Red cryptically replies, “Mine certainly is.”

Now even Dembe has changed his tune. At first pleading with Red to come clean to Lizzie, he now states that he is unsure if Lizzie will ever be ready for the truth concerning Red and her father.

In conclusion, I believe Red ultimately feels guilty for the deaths of Lizzie’s parents, as well as responsible for the darkness and danger that is in her life due to his involvement in both Katerina and her father’s lives.

His honor and duty to his nation, cause, or original mission, destroyed not only his life, but in many ways, Lizzie’s as well. It will be interesting to see how all of this plays out, and how much of this turns from theory to fact.

Only time will tell, as more secrets are slowly revealed. But until then, it’s fun to theorize and have a ‘go’ at it ourselves.

If you’re still reading this, kudos to you, and as always, thank you. And please feel free to discuss or debate this, adding your own thoughts and ideas. Until next time... ;-)

[magneticflower]

RULES - answer 15-20 questions and tag 15-20 followers you would like to get to know better

Thank you @jimins-crooked-tooth for tagging me~! (Love seeing you on my dash btw! We’ve talked a couple time before quite a while back and definitely would love to chat again sometime haha)

• NAME: Sarah

• NICKNAME: TSI, witch, mom 

• ZODIAC SIGN: Aquarius

• HEIGHT: 5′1

• LANGUAGES SPOKEN: English and any attempt at learning a new one has been proven futile 

• NATIONALITY: American

• FAVORITE FRUIT: Apples, bananas, blueberries

• COFFEE, TEA, HOT CHOCOLATE: Iced Coffee, mostly iced tea but like hot tea too, and hot chocolate on occasion but not often. I drink Iced Coffee and Iced Tea a lot

• FAVORITE SEASON(S): Autumn and Winter.

• FAVORITE FLOWER(S): Birds of Paradise

• FAVORITE SCENT(S): The smell of coffee and kind of like fruity scents too, but fave smell is coffee.

• FAVORITE COLOR(S): Dark purple, black, dark red, and teal.

• FAVORITE ANIMAL(S): Horses, dolphins, all types of bird probably (owls in particular though they’re evil)

• AVERAGE HOURS OF SLEEP: 5 to 6 but sometimes less than pfft. 

• DOG OR CAT PERSON: I think I like both equally, but maybe lean towards dogs more? Dunno.

• FAVORITE FICTIONAL CHARACTER(S):  Toph Bei Fong (A:TLA), Ino Yamanaka (Naruto), Raymond Reddington (The Blacklist), and the list goes on and on but those are my most recent ult faves probably. Well, Toph Bei Fong is my ultimate favorite of all time. OH JO AND LAURIE FROM LITTLE WOMEN TOO.

• NUMBER OF BLANKETS YOU SLEEP WITH: 1

• DREAM TRIP: Disney World (or any of the Disney amusement parks across the world really, a dream trip right there but so expensive I’m sure hA) , Ireland, or South Korea (maybe)

• BLOG ESTABLISHED: Feb 2013

• FOLLOWERS COUNT: 425

• RANDOM FACT: Uhhh I used to figure skate for an accumulative but not consecutive 7 yrs. It’s my favorite sport for sure and I loved every minute of skating.

Tagging: anyone who wants to do it since I am too lame and awkward to outright tag anyone haha. Please feel free to do it though, love to learn more about people I follow/who follow me!

[toyfrog]

Did Donald say this in Esteban too?

Cooper: The meeting is set for the National Museum.

In 04-09 there’s another museum location

You’ll be going to Cuba undercover, as tourists.

Samar: He’ll be going. Not me. You may be fine with doing this job, no matter how you feel. I can’t.

“No matter how you feel.”

That’s the emphasis.

Ressler: How you feel? How about how Keen feels? Forget about what she did and try to figure out why she did it.

“Try to figure out why she did it.”

Liz is his partner. Liz comes first before the job. The job is the excuse to defend Liz.

Even though she lied to him. Used him. Took advantage of him the man is joyous and livid all at the same time.

Is he still livid now? Or might he do something to prevent Keen from ever leaving him again?

Samar: I have, and someday, maybe I’ll be okay with it.

That’s Thursday.

But right now I’m not.

What? You’re okay with this?

No. But for now, I accept it. You’ll be going alone.

Till he gets his real partner back.

Esteban: The Americans want me dead, so our relationship dies with me, so I get embarrassed.

Ressler: Look, I’m not here to kill you, pal, I’m here to tell you that Raymond Reddington wants to see you.

Stewmaker: “I’m not the guy you kill I’m the guy you pay.”

Esteban: Oh, so now the US government is Reddington’s messenger.

Yes.

Ressler: Oh, you know how it works. The American government has deals with all kinds of scumbags.

Plot point.

Liz: I faked my death to have a normal life. There’s nothing normal about being held prisoner.

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

Did this play out? Is he talking about the house and money?

Ressler: We have an ETA on that plane? There it's is! Go back to 318 what did "Tom" say after Liz water broke? "What's our ETA?" This is Bokenkamp and Eisendrath this is what Ressler says for the past 4 years in dialogue. Not Tom and not last season until THAT episode whenLiz gave birth.?

Red: Your job here is done, Donald.

Ressler: Like hell it is. [there it is again. In 3/18 only Tom said it.] [the cruelty and deliberate how should I say it, endless water boarding to a faithful audience is sick. And they really don't deserve the amazing cast they have, fans, and writers.] of 3B I came here to get Keen. I’m not leaving without her.

Red: You think I’m gonna let you tag along so you can inform the people who kidnapped Elizabeth they have the right to remain silent? I appreciate your assistance, but I’m not interested in having an ethical debate with you about whether they have the right to consult with an attorney before I put a bullet in their head. Excuse me. [ Door bell jingles ]

He didn’t kill Kirk.

What about that dirtball? I suppose you think, uh, I should be okay with letting him walk. It’s entirely up to you. You made a deal with him. Yes, in order to save Elizabeth, I made a deal with the devil of the day. I did you didn’t.

It was a charade, Aram.

Or as Red stated in 3/17 to Donald, an elaborate feint.

So Agent Keen is alive?

“Agent”

Reddington. Where are you? Tell me you have Agent Keen.

“Agent”

Red: You spent a lifetime bouncing from one authoritarian regime to the next. But this is the last stop. You’re a relic. The detente between America and Cuba makes you a man without a country. Sooner or later, both sides will want you dead. My money’s on sooner. [Red has no country]

Panabaker: You told them he worked for us? Do you have any idea what kind of blowback I’m dealing with here? And it doesn’t take long to find out who told the Cubans.

Ressler: I heard it was an anonymous tip.

Agent Ressler… Are you a traitor or– or just a moron?

You’ll find out on Thursday. Notice the red parallels? A man without a country.

Ressler: Look, the Agency was gonna assassinate Esteban… I have no direct knowledge– …so the Cubans wouldn’t find out who was feeding secrets to the CIA. [whos feeding???]

Ressler: Whoever this anonymous source is, he just saved a lot of lives. [Reddington]

Panabaker??? What are you talking about? Now that America knows about Esteban’s little torture chamber, the Cubans are going to want plausible deniability.

Panabaker: Let’s not mince words. You took it upon yourself to tell the Cubans about our–

Ressler: No, I took it upon myself to stop what Esteban was doing. Do you have any idea what that was? No, because all you care about is what Esteban was doing for you. [Ressler broke the rules]

Panabaker: There are bigger issues, Agent Ressler.

Ressler: Torture, abuse, murder. I don’t see any bigger issues than that. [Foreshadowing.]

Aram: Excuse me. Navabi: Have you heard from Reddington? No. Uh, last time I spoke to him, he was on his way to the location where Agent Keen was being held. I’m sure he’ll call. I’m sure they’re okay

Aram: . I think you were wrong not going to Cuba. I’m not saying what Agent Keen did was right, but as long as her life is in danger, as long as Agnes’s life is in danger, I think we have to put our feelings aside.

Samar: What’s happening to Liz is her own fault. I know that sounds harsh, but it’s true.

Hell yes! Audience took Samar’s side in this too.

Oh Donald Donald…

Let’s see what JR Orci wrote in Mato:

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

I will guess here this led to the Keen 2 screamfest? Trust me. He’s going to be stupid again. And liz will go off again.

Liz is a fugitive?

If you don’t mind me asking, who’s on the plane? Ressler: Friend.

Samar: A fugitive.

Daly: Sounds complicated.

Sounds like their ONS is coming out.

Aram I guess??? I know this is not about me, it is about Agent Keen, but I don’t know if I have the strength to lose her again.

Who said this? None of us do.

It’s plot point.

Okay go back to lady Ambrosia and the story about liz’ parents collapse of the Soviet Union (Red took Liz after she was born. Cape May “there was a man. He wouldn’t let me see her.”

Now this:

Kate: I betrayed you for the same reason I just betrayed Nikos– to keep Elizabeth safe, just like you asked me to all those years ago, when you first put her in my arms as a baby girl, only now she has a baby girl of her own, and your existence in their lives puts them in constant danger.

Liz was an infant. Red stole his child because legally he could not claim her as his own. (I knew this was what went down! Who is reading slowburn fix? I’m revealing this now! Carla Reddington, and Jennifer and Elizabeth.

Then it was Katarina Red and Masha.

After that it was Katarina Kirk and Masha because red was married to Carla with Jennifer.

Red has two daughters. They need to go back to this. Red had two wives two families one in Moscow one in the states. Two identities. The Fulcrum was to keep him safe so he wouldn’t be a double agent–he’d have protection. Treason a man without country.

Kate helped him through all of it. Now is Kate a colleague or a relative?

Kate: Everyone wants me to make things easier for them. Cleaner. That’s what I am, after all, the Cleaner.

Tom: Just forget I brought it up. Typical selfish prick

Kate: In my desire to make life easier for your baby, I betrayed Raymond, and now he doesn’t know what to do with me. Well, he knows what he has to do, and he wants me to make it easier for him. But I won’t. I’m not here to make him feel better, and I’m not here to make you feel better, Tom.

Unforgiving dialogue. Accountability for actions.

Kirk said they’re going to the Summer Palace. That’s all I know.

Red: Yes. I know the Summer Palace.

Sure he does. He used to play house with Katarina when Constantin was gone. That’s why Liz stuff is there. But that’s not the house he was shot in. He blew up that house in S1.

Kirk: It’s yours. It belongs to you and Agnes, of course. It’s a lovely location to raise a little girl, don’t you think?

Liz gonna get to keep this house?

The armed goons don’t do much for the landscape. Well, the coercion was necessary and temporary. All I ever intended to do was show you, prove to you who you are, who I am. And then you can choose for yourself. Like a Russian fairy tale.

That’s right. Excuse me, Elizabeth. I have much more to show you, but my physician is waiting for me. Hello, Elizabeth. My name is Katja. You can think of me as the Palace Keeper. Palace? The Summer Palace. It’s what Mr. Kirk calls the cottage. Anything you need during your stay, let me know. [ Telephone rings, beeps ] Director Cooper. Red: I know where Elizabeth is, Harold, where Kirk is taking Agnes.

And Ressler is at this house. Rescuing Liz not Tom Ressler. The same house she lived in for the summers (back nine) that Red also knows.

And it’s all Liz’ and Agnes.

Got it.

Liz: How long have you known him?

I have worked here for nine years. I took over from my mother. She worked my entire childhood maintaining the Summer Palace.

[Foreshadowing for clues in back nine]

So you know him well?

No, actually, I don’t. He hasn’t visited here in years. It’s been… too painful for him. Until now. ♪

This was my bedroom. Welcome home, Masha. ♪ I promised you the truth.

Liz: But… there was a fire. I… I shot my father. I remember.

Yes you shot Red in *his* house. Not this one. Liz lived with Red too.

Kirk: What’s the memory of a small child? You didn’t remember me or your mother or this room.

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. 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.

True to protect her from Red’s reality. He’s a man with no country. A spy master, killer, who gave up his career for one woman.

Know anyone else who’s on the verge of doing the same thing?

Kirk: Do you know why I call this cottage the Summer Palace? We came here for a vacation one July, and my little princess loved it. It’s been a palace ever since.

One summer that changed everything. She was four-leading up to the horrible fire in December.

She wasn’t at the Summer Palace. She was with her “papa” in the states.

Tom: I’m gonna find her.

No you’re not. Red did. And Orci eliminated Tom from the Summer Palace. Huge deal.

So um do ppl see where the arc is going? Expect a few drop in scenes if they hadn’t happened already.

Read more at: http://transcripts.foreverdreaming.org/viewtopic.php?f=194&t=28691

[kiss-my-freckle]

Their plot wasn’t to bomb the U.N. That was The Corsican’s choice. They made a move against the U.S. government and failed. That failure left a witness, so they hired The Corsican to kill that witness. An act made to look like it fit with his agenda. Max foiled that plan, so the witness survived. So the U.N. bombing attempt was unimportant. Ava Ziegler and the MI-6 agent were mere witnesses to the plot.

The Corsican and Black Fist. "You think a terrorist group hired you to kill Ava Ziegler because she uncovered a plot to resurrect German nationalism. I think someone in the US government hired you to kill her because she uncovered a plot against this country.”

The Pharmacist was for Red's agenda. The Pawnbrokers were for Red's agenda. Alter Ego was for Red's agenda. The Ethicist was for Liz's agenda. General Shiro was simply The Corsican's means to kill Ava Ziegler. Marko Jankowics was our goodbye to Jennifer. Minister D was to clear Raymond Reddington of treason. Robert Vesco was for Red’s agenda. The Osterman Umbrella Company was Samar’s goodbye.

All of these blacklisters are unimportant to the plot against the U.S. 

I believe The Cryptobanker is important. 

A drug cartel spends $70 million on airplanes. A Serbian sex trafficker drops $40 million on ships to smuggle victims across the Mediterranean. How did the people brokering these deals keep them hidden? They took payment in Bitcoin.

Illegal activity accounts for half of all Bitcoin transactions. 36 million annual transactions with a value of approximately $72 billion. And where do they go to launder their ill-gotten Bitcoin gains? To a man known as the Cryptobanker. 

You are going to liquidate a few assets for me. Start with your Union Bank pension and your shares in the company stock. 

Please don’t tell anyone we spoke, Matt. Talk to the authorities and Jamie pays the price. I will be in touch. Until then, your daughter can have her heart back.

As well as Olivia Olson's attack on the Alta Hotel. 

We’ve been over this I don’t know how many times - their leadership structure, their greenmail plan, the staggered board - they’re not vulnerable to activist investors. And her personal life? Clean. Squeaky. Church on Sunday.  Eikendoll’s untouchable. I did have one other idea. Eikendoll just completed a new sky deck at the Alta Hotel. What if there was an incident? You wanna target public opinion. The deck is cantilevered from the building on the 72nd floor using light gauge steel beams. My engineers insist that framing’s more than sufficient as long as they’re held in a vertical orientation. However, they also pointed out there’s a mechanical chase with gas and utility lines here on the 71st floor if, for some reason, that gas line were not properly installed - If corners were cut during construction, fumes would get trapped in that chase, all it would take is a pilot light from a furnace, an errant elevator spark any sort of combustion would blow the living hell out of that mechanical chase and comprise the bridging. Without proper support, the stress would cause the channels to twist and fall like dominoes. You wanna collapse the deck. Make it appear Eikendoll cut corners and crater public opinion. Force her to sell. Guys, these are peoples’ lives we’re talking about. Is this contract really worth that? The Third Estate comes with a catch. 

McMahon: I knew they’d check to see if I withheld anything, so I did. Sandquist: You held their file from Main Justice because you wanted to put the Third Estate on the FBI’s radar screen? McMahon: As a result, the FBI now knows about an organization hell-bent on domestic terrorism, on taking down the rich and powerful. Sandquist: So when we put our plan into effect - McMahon: Like I said, it’s under control.

When they put their plan into effect, they’ve got the Task Force looking in the wrong direction. Similar storyline to the Cryptobanker - using the kids to get what they want from their parents, only the kids were in on it. And that flashdrive remains under the child’s bed. 

[kiss-my-freckle]

Timeline notes

1x1 -

Ressler: Raymond “Red” Reddington attended the Naval Academy. Top of his class. Graduated by the time he was 24. He was being groomed for admiral. Then in 1990, Reddington’s coming home to see his wife and his daughter for Christmas. He never arrives. This highly respected officer up and disappears from the face of the earth until four years later when classified NOFORN documents start showing up in Maghreb, Islamabad, Beijing. These leaks were traced to Reddington. This guy’s an equal opportunity offender, a facilitator of sorts, who’s built an enterprise brokering deals for fellow criminals. He has no country. He has no political agenda. Reddington’s only allegiance is to the highest bidder. Tech: They call him something in the papers. Cooper: “The Concierge of Crime.”

2x1 -

Aram: So he’s looking for someone who lived in D.C. before 1990, has a prescription for Lipitor through Medco, downloads World War II documentaries on Netflix not Amazon and has a digital subscription to both the Wall Street Journal and CatFanatic.

Naomi: I had a life, you know? My daughter had a life with a house and a dog. And then I woke up one day. You can’t imagine what it’s like to have a man like Raymond Reddington turn your life upside down. They accused me of being a part of it? Somehow, I was a suspect. Put my life under a - a microscope every call, every charge. My assets were - I finally convinced them I was innocent. They said I had to go, give up everything. I remember it was a Wednesday afternoon. My daughter wasn’t even out of school yet. And by Thursday, we were in Philadelphia, fending for ourselves.

2x2 -

Liz: I confirmed your daughter was placed in protective custody with her mother in 1990. The Marshal service lost contact seven years ago. She is unaccounted for.

2x8 -

Berlin/Kirchhoff: It was in ’91. The Soviet union was falling apart. A small group of us. Members of the Politburo, the military, KGB, Stasi. Had a plan to push back the progressives, to stem the tide. We were meeting and discussing strategy when a bomb. Red: The Kursk Bombing. Berlin/Kirchhoff: Fifteen died. And with them, our resistance. Rumors began that the Americans were involved. One name emerged. Yours. You came after my daughter. You exposed her as a dissident. She went to jail. After that, my loyalty was questioned. I was exiled to the Gulag, where, one by one, her bones were sent to me.

Liz: You’re working with Berlin? Red: I need to talk to you about a bombing in the Soviet union Kursk, 1991.

2x10 -

Several TV news people: We are just now getting word of a story developing out of Hong Kong. Sources say authorities there have apprehended legendary criminal Raymond Reddington. He’s been on the FBI’s Most Wanted list longer than any other fugitive, but tonight, sources are confirming Reddington was arrested in Hong Kong just hours ago. Reddington was once a rising star at the Pentagon. Sources say he was being groomed for admiral when, on Christmas Eve, 1990, while on his way home to visit his wife and daughter, Reddington vanished. Reporter: Four years later, Reddington resurfaced and was charged with treason in absentia for selling top-secret American intelligence to foreign states.

3x4 -

Red: I was completely swept up in the idealism of the theatre owner - a pipe-smoking cream puff of a German named Gerta. She read “Mother Courage” to me aloud - the whole play in one sitting. A brilliant exploration of the politics of war and those who profit from it. Sadly, it was 1991, and audiences were going in droves to see “Cats.”

3x11 -

Liz. Who is this guy? He claims he’s Reddington? Samar: Yes, and we can’t disprove it with DNA because there’s nothing on file from 1990 when Reddington disappeared.

Devry: March 8, 1985, I ran point on an attack on the Beirut home of Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah. June 1989, I coordinated Operation Minesweep, which provided back office support and oversight for Naval Intelligence operations in Kuwait carried out by the 160th SOAR.

3x16 -

Red: Velov is the one who lied to you, Lizzy, not me. Katarina Rostova committed suicide in 1990.

4x13 -

Red: I first met Stratos Sarantos when he was running guns to Cypriot resistance fighters in 1987. For more than 20 years, he’s overseen my shipping concerns from the Bosphorus to the Suez Canal.

4x16 -

Cooper: Kathryn Nemec is missing? Aram: Yeah, she disappeared in 1991, just dropped off the grid.

Aram: Kathryn Nemec. But she’s been missing since 1991.

5x19 -

Red: In 1990, the KGB and the CIA had almost nothing in common except the mutual determination to hunt down one individual. Jennifer: You. Red: Being a fugitive from American law enforcement is a lot easier than being a fugitive from the two most powerful nations on Earth. And anyone close to a target of theirs becomes a target themselves. Jennifer: Family. Red: Especially family. Unless they’re abandoned on the side of a road on Christmas Eve. Jennifer: After you left, we went into Witness Protection. Red: Put where the Cabal wouldn’t find you.

6x1 -

Liz: Raymond Reddington is a fraud. An imposter who took our father’s place over 30 years ago. The FBI can trace this Reddington forward from ’95. And I know for a fact that our father died five years before that.

6x5 -

Jennifer: It’s not the data, but it turns out the file names were coded using patient-intake dates. October 3, 1991. Liz: The date Reddington was admitted?

6x9 -

Sima: As the ranking officer on that Reddington Task Force, were you familiar with an incident that occurred involving the U.S.S. Gideon in March of 1990? Ressler: I was. Yes. The U.S.S. Gideon was an Ohio-class submarine sunk by the Soviet Navy while on a secret mission in the Barents Sea. 134 men were on board. They all died.

Red: If you found his archives, I need the tape of a phone call he recorded on December 7, 1990.

Cooper: Reddington told us to look for a very specific needle in this haystack. A recording taken on December 7, 1990.

Cooper: We’ll start over. Samar: Uh, I don’t think we have to. December 7, 1990.

Samar: It can’t be a coincidence that Reddington is looking for a recording made on December 7th, and, on December 11th, an assassin injures Bailey and murders a man who appears to have been his lover. Liz: Maybe he used the tape to try and blackmail someone who didn’t take kindly to being blackmailed.

Nuss: A month before the incident, a corporate account was opened in a Cypriot bank known to work with Soviet intelligence. The only person with the power to withdraw funds was the company president. Sima: And who was that? Nuss: Raymond Reddington. Sima: I’m sure many accounts were opened in the weeks prior to the tragedy of the Gideon. What makes you think the activity in this account was connected to it? Nuss: Because a front company for the KGB wired $3 million into the account a day before the incident, and another $3 million the day after it. One week later, the entire amount was withdrawn. Sima: By Reddington? Nuss: Yes. Using fingerprints and a password.

Red: You said the withdrawal required fingerprints and a password. Nuss: It was done remotely. Red: So if someone had a copy of my fingerprints and knew the password, they could have made the withdrawal, and no one at the bank, nor yourself, would have known the difference? Nuss: I, uh - suppose that’s possible. Red: Yes. You know what else is possible? That I was framed by Katarina Rostova, which I could prove if Your Honor would grant me even the shortest - Judge Wilkins: All right, the court will stand in recess.

20, 25, 30 years

Cooper: Remember, he’s been off the grid for over 20 years. (1x2) Cooper: Reddington has brokered some of the most comprehensive international criminal activity in the past 20 years. (1x2) Red: I’ve been moving comfortably through the world for the past 20 years without a trace, and now some two-bit spy killer is gonna put my life and business in jeopardy? (1x3) Fitch: Ray. It’s been, what - 20 years? (1x10) Red: No traffic. No cars to come help. Just me and a car full of gifts. It was more than 20 years ago. (Christmas Eve, 1x14) Tom: Best I can tell, their paths have crossed at key moments in the past 20 years. Quantico, Baltimore. (1x16) Naomi: If you’re looking for him, I can’t help you. You have to listen to me. Reddington - I haven’t I haven’t seen him in 20 years. (2x1) Samar: He’s been on the run for 25 years. His arrest was bound to happen. (2x10) Liz: They put a bullet in your chest, and you have no idea how. You’re the most cautious person I know. The FBI couldn’t find you for 20 years, but they did. (2x21) Aram: Because it was listed in the Fulcrum. 25 years ago, Hanover was a low-level staffer on the Hill. (3x3) Hitchin: I know about the Fulcrum. I’ve seen the list. It’s 25 years old. (3x5) Red: Your past three months have been what my life has been like for the past 25 years. I’m often exhausted. (3x11) Cooper: He disappeared 25 years ago. Could’ve had surgery. (3x11) Dom: I could’ve spent the last 30 years just being her grandfather - you selfish prick. (3x20) Kirk: I’ve been imagining this moment for the last 25 years. (3x23) Red: I know what it’s like to be hunted. I’ve protected myself for 30 years. (4x1) Red: I’ve been disappearing for over 25 years. I don’t need your help to disappear. (4x7) Tom: From 30 years ago. Clearly, it was flawed. (Kirk's DNA test, 4x7) Cooper: But she’s been missing for 25 years. (Kate, 4x16) Liz: He stole it from me 25 years ago. That’s why we needed you to get it back. (Fire memory, 4x19) Red: Understand this was 25 years ago now. I was younger, myself. Intent on building an empire, intent on becoming the powerful criminal the world had been told I already was. (4x19) Red: Nikolaus has been on my payroll since I introduced him to you 25 years ago. (4x19) Liz: From 25 years ago? No. But then, you wouldn’t be very good at your job if I did. (4x19) Red: I’ve spent 30 years building an intelligence network of spies, informants, patriots, traitors. (4x20) Liz: Kaplan spent 30 years tending to his messes while Reddington built his criminal empire, and it took her five months to surgically dismantle it. (4x21) Kate: I’ve been his cleaner, keeper, and confessor for 30 years, and I’m prepared to tell you everything you need to know in open court. (4x21) Dom: My own granddaughter three feet away after almost 30 years, I couldn’t say a damn thing to her. (5x13) Jennifer: Perhaps you’ve heard of him. His name’s Raymond Reddington. He’s been on the FBI’s Most Wanted List for 20 years. (5x18) Garvey: Everything you believed for the last 30 years has been a lie. You’ve spent a lifetime hiding for no reason. (5x19) Sutton Ross: For 30 years, I’ve wanted to be in the same room as Raymond Reddington, the bastard who tricked me into selling the Chinese a dodo bird when they were looking for an eagle. (5x22) Liz: Why he came into my life, why he took your life, why he spent the last 30 years pretending to be Raymond Reddington. I’m gonna figure all that out, and then I’m going to destroy him. (5x22) Liz: Raymond Reddington is a fraud. An imposter who took our father’s place over 30 years ago. (6x1) Liz: We haven’t seen him in over 30 years. He became a fugitive when we were kids. (6x1) Liz: Raymond Reddington. Not the real one, the reinvented one. The one who’s been Raymond Reddington for 30 years, longer than anyone else. (6x2) Aram: 30 years on the run, and a beat cop picks him up at a pretzel cart. (6x2) Sima: You’re aware that, for almost 30 years, he’s maintained a vast criminal empire - (6x3) Red: Getting caught after 30 years? The odds were, I’d be caught after three. (6x4) Red: Officer Baldwin, I’ve been evading the police and law enforcement for almost 30 years. (6x5)

[kiss-my-freckle]

Rederina Rewatch: Madeline Pratt

More Liz-Intuition in this episode, Red knowing of Liz’s suffering. 

Red: It was the right decision not to have the baby. Liz: What did she take from you? Red: I’m sorry for your suffering.

Pratt hit at the right time, such a nice distraction for Liz. A small time thief admiring a master thief. It’s adorable, so this is one of my favorite episodes for Lizzy.

They handed us the Kungur Six story. 

Novak: The Kungur Six are still active and are said to be responsible for some of the most damaging intelligence breaches in the past 30 years. Find the effigy, and you find them. Finding them would be the Holy Grail of US counterintelligence.

US counterintelligence. Exactly what the real Reddington was. 

Cooper: During the Cold War, there were rumors that Russia was able to hide several nuclear weapons in America. Ressler: Those weren’t rumors. Cooper: Pratt was hired to steal the effigy because inside it are directions to those weapons. The Kungur Six are not Russian agents. Liz: They’re nuclear bombs. Hidden all across the country.

Red knew about Liz's abilities as a thief -

Cooper: I’m not sanctioning an op in support of you going in to steal anything, let alone something that may affect national security. Red: I’m flattered that you think I’m up to it, but thieving is not my strongest suit. Luckily, we have an ace of spades among us. Isn’t that right, Agent Keen?

He knew of her stories about Frank and Omaha -

Red: Nicole here is as calm as a Hindu cow. Tell her that story about Frank.

Red: Tell her about Omaha.

He also knew that the night manager in the alley part of her story was a lie -

Red: And lived happily ever after. The end. Madeleine: I thought you didn’t believe in happily ever after.

Liz: How did you know about Omaha? Red: I didn’t. Liz: You’re the one who brought it up. Red: Well, it was a heartwarming story. The night manager and the alley. Liz: I made it up.

He seems to know a great deal about Liz, and I'm guessing he learned it through Sam. Probably given stories along with the photographs he received throughout the years. 

Madeline: The girl - tell me about her. Red: What would you like to know? Madeline: How did you pick her? Red: Fate.

"Picking" someone isn't fate. Fate is chance, not choice. Giving birth to someone is. Especially when fate would have it she was born a girl.

Red confirms Pratt’s statement, Liz is a little young for him -

Madeline: She’s a little young for you. Red: You think?

Ashear's story plays well to the real Reddington and the Fulcrum -

Ashear: As I told Ms. Pratt, my father only possessed the effigy for a few months until the Americans raided our compound. Ressler: What were they looking for? Ashear: All I remember, is opening a door and seeing him holding the statue. He slipped something inside it, a piece of paper. Ressler: What did it say? Ahead: I don’t know. But he placed the effigy in my arms and told me to run and protect it. I was 7. When the Americans found me, they took the statue as a trophy. They let me go, but my father - Liz: What happened to your father? Ashear: I never saw him again. For me, that was the day he died.

Liz ended up with the Fulcrum, slipped inside of her plush bunny. 

A sexual relationship between Red and Pratt was never confirmed -

"I had a little talk with Rasil. We had a few laughs, compared notes about you. He told me all about that delightful thing you do with a trouser belt, which was a bit hurtful, since I was pretty sure it was our thing.”

“It’s over. You were played. Go home. You really want to know why I brought you into this? Florence. Because you didn’t show. Florence was everything, our way out, a fresh start. But to you, it’s all just a job. Tegucigalpa? Honestly? If I was interested in having an affair, I’d find a man with hair.”

Her mention of their “fresh start” takes me back to her statement regarding happily ever after.

Red: And lived happily ever after. The end. Madeleine: I thought you didn’t believe in happily ever after.

Red’s story to Pratt, and my belief that it’s true -

Red: I can I can still smell the nape of her neck, feel her little fingers on my cheek, her whisper in my ear. That’s why I didn’t show up in Florence. It’s why I haven’t shown up in a lot of places over the years. “Over the years”

Red’s been building a criminal empire for the past thirty years, and doing so with two sole purposes in mind - keeping him free and Liz safe. This basically ties Liz directly to whatever happened at the Tacoma Park house. And Rederina furthers this, since she was the one running after the fire. Raymond Reddington wasn’t running at all, and not a single other person was shown to be running from two countries. That’s why Anton Velov was searching for Katarina. That’s why the CIA was interrogating Dom to see if he was Oleander. Because he’s her father. “Raymond Reddington” wasn’t placed on the FBI’s most wanted list until they traced those leaks to him in 1994. 

"Until, four years later - when classified NOFORN documents start showing up in Maghreb, Islamabad, Beijing. These leaks were traced to Reddington.”

Rederina fits into Madeline Pratt’s episode. 

[kiss-my-freckle]

Everything actually stacks up right. My memory wipe theory and my third employer theory. It all falls in what’s left out. The things Red mentions, yet the things he doesn’t. I actually believe my third employer theory is gonna play, along with just about everything I’ve been saying of Tom Keen.

Look at the big bads. They’re all related to Katarina Rostova. Why are they all releated to Katarina Rostova? Because Red IS Katarina Rostova. 

Season one was Berlin.

Doesn’t matter that he was Russian, or that he had a ring with the same Russian inspection stamp. What actually matters with his arc has to do with what Tom whispered to Liz in the season one finale.

“Your father’s alive.”

Season two was the Cabal. 

These are the very people who framed Katarina Rostova. We got the reveal of Liz’s born identity, Masha Rostova. We take that to Red’s dialogue in S5.

Jennifer: So, you’re saying you were framed? Red: I’m saying a perfectly plausible narrative was created. Jennifer: By some shadow government called the Cabal. Red: Secret societies exist. The Cabal, the Trilateral Commission – private organizations that harness powerful forces to tip the scales in their favor – military engagements, UN interventions, treaties. The Cabal is the one I stumbled across – and tried to destroy. To prevent that, they tried to destroy me. Jennifer: How does you getting targeted by a scary group of people who think they rule the world explain why you abandoned us? Red: You weren’t abandoned. You were protected. Jennifer: Yes. So, you forget my ground rules, which is I take you to Naomi in exchange for honest answers. Red: In 1990, the KGB and the CIA had almost nothing in common except the mutual determination to hunt down one individual. Jennifer: You. Red: Being a fugitive from American law enforcement is a lot easier than being a fugitive from the two most powerful nations on Earth. And anyone close to a target of theirs becomes a target themselves. Jennifer: Family. Red: Especially family.

Only a Russian or double agent working with Russia would be considered a fugitive of Russia. Raymond Reddington was known as their greatest enemy.

Season three was Alexander Kirk. 

Formerly known as Constantin Rostov. The husband of Katarina Rostova, who was led to believe Masha Rostova was his daughter because our Rederina fabricated the DNA report. A man who wanted to kill Tom Keen just as badly as our Red did. Why? lmao... yeah. 

Season four was Mr. Kaplan. 

The very person Katarina Rostova hired, twice. Her first hire as Masha’s nanny back before Katarina Rostova became Raymond Reddington. Her second, when our Red hired her to assist him in building a criminal empire for the sake of protecting Elizabeth. 

Season five was the suitcase.

In it, the body of her dead lover and father of her child. The identity in which she took over in order to remain alive and protect her daughter. 

Then look at what Red said prior to turning himself in -

“As I feared would happen, elements from Katarina’s past are circling Elizabeth like a pack of wolves in the night. I put Tom Keen in her life to keep an eye on her, and he married her.”

Then what he said to Tom in the car in 5x8 -

“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.” 

Then what he said to Liz himself - 

“Four years ago, I surrendered to protect you. From Tom, Berlin, Cabal. And now you may go to jail because of me. It appears Kate may be right after all. Maybe I am the person you need protection from.”

And that reference Tom made back in Quon Zhang -

“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.”

The one person Red always leaves out, and as he’s talking to Tom in the car, they’re sitting under a damn NexacoGas sign. Alexander Kirk, a name Tom didn’t recognize. What “element” from Katarina’s past could Tom have been involved with? Constantin Rostov. 

Go back to that claim in the S1 finale because while you may think it was the Cabal, the Cabal had no flipping idea who Liz was until her name got revealed during the harbormaster trial. 

Then you take the death of Berlin and feed that to the Cabal. Because who would hand them Liz’s born identity? Sure as hell wouldn’t be Red or Kirk. **Insert my identity reveal theory here... lmao. Because Tom had absolutely no protection once Berlin died, and he was looking at federal crimes beyond that murder of Eugene Ames. 

Back to that statement when Red turned himself in -

“As I feared would happen, elements from Katarina’s past are circling Elizabeth like a pack of wolves in the night. I put Tom Keen in her life to keep an eye on her, and he married her.”

Why would Red mention Tom marrying Liz when he spoke of elements from Katarina’s past? Because Katarina Rostova did the same to Constantin Rostov. She married him to gain access to Raymond Reddington, which was exactly why Tom married Liz. And because he was after Raymond Reddington, it put Katarina Rostova at risk all the same as her daughter. 

“A confluence of peril had entered your life … “

[kiss-my-freckle]

2x17.

Ressler: See, I called the restaurant. I thought I’d send you and your friends a bottle of wine.  Red: You said The Peppermill didn’t deliver the champagne?

Ressler: Turns out, there wasn’t a reservation. Dembe: They said there were no reservations under Farwell or Campbell.

Ressler: So, I figured since you weren’t going to Wing Yee, I was bringing Wing Yee to you. Liz: He said he wants you. Whatever you said or did, he really wants you.

2x18.

Liz: He was being tracked. They both were.

Liz: They put a bullet in your chest, and you have no idea how.

Half truth vs whole truth.

Dembe: You took the chip out of Raymond’s neck. Red: Yes, out of my neck. But not out of her own.

Tom: The passports - the passports came from Reddington. Liz, there’s more.

Tom gave Liz half the truth. Reddington didn’t issue those passports.

The inside man. 

Red: Steinhil. Francesca: He created the illusion. Was part of it too. “Inspector Oban.”

Hidden in plain sight.

Jasper: I was aware we had someone on the inside, but I just didn’t know who. Samar: Well, I’m not on the inside anymore. I just blew my cover to save you. It took me nine months to get Reddington and that damn task force to trust me.

Red: Connolly made the Harbormaster investigation go away.

2x22.

Steinhil: What is it? Red: Ketamine. The same tonic used to knock me out on the street.

Tom: What? What? Liz: Today. In the alley. Tom: What about the alley? Liz: It’s the weirdest thing.

Liz: We know the hospital is fake. Aram: We assume the injuries were too.

Red: I assume Tom is the father.

Abigail: If we could make him think he couldn’t run anymore - Busson: She thought he’d talk.

Liz: No! Oh, God! Stay with me! Come on! My mother - he’s the only one who knew about her. Tom: Liz - Liz, he’s gone.

Ressler: He got inside my head, planted a false memory, tried to convince me to kill the national-security advisor.

Liz: I need your help. I killed Tom Connolly.

Red: Dr. Bogdan Krilov is the underworld’s foremost expert in accessing the subconscious. The man can get anyone to talk.

Liz: I remember. I remember everything. 

Ilya: She needed to disappear. Needed a plan. Tom: I can keep her safe. I can help her disappear.

Skovic: Tell me about that plan.

Tom: Alright, dream scenario ...

Red: Harold, see if you can round up Dr. Krilov. Donald and I have some catching up to do with the dreamweaver.