Will The Show Ever Reveal Who Raymond Reddington Is?

NBC’s The Blacklist has had a lot of fun teasing the answer, but will it ever reveal who Raymond Reddington is? The Blacklist is an NBC thriller that opens with notorious wanted criminal Raymond Reddington (James Spader) handing himself over to the FBI. Red offers to help them track down other wanted criminals that he’s compiled on his own “blacklist.” Raymond Reddington’s rather odd condition is that he will only work with rookie Liz Keen (Megan Boone), with his connection to her being mysterious.

The Blacklist has run for 9 seasons thus far, with The Blacklist season 10 already confirmed for renewal as announced by actor James Spader on February 22, 2022. The Blacklist has proven to be a highly entertaining procedural. This is largely down to James Spader’s performance as The Blacklist‘s Raymond Reddington and he shares great chemistry with Boone up until Liz’s season 8 death. The Blacklist positively revels in shocking twists and reveals, and proved popular enough to spawn a spinoff in the form of The Blacklist: Redemption. This latter series focused on Liz’s spy husband Tom Keen (Ryan Eggold) and his mother Scottie (Famke Janssen), a private contractor.

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The primary question for much of The Blacklist has been who exactly is Raymond Reddington, and is he Liz’s father? The Blacklist‘s Raymond Reddington has taken the FBI and Liz on a wild goose chase before, and it’s no different when it comes to the mysterious character’s identity. Here’s everyone who James Spader’s Raymond Reddington could be, and who The Blacklist‘s character didn’t turn out to be.

Liz’s Father Is The Real Raymond Reddington

The Blacklist season 6 seemingly revealed the truth, revealing that yes, Raymond Reddington IS Liz’s father — but the man Liz knows isn’t Reddington. The Blacklist‘s real Raymond Reddington was in a relationship with Liz’s mother Katarina Rostova, who was really a KGB agent sent to seduce and enter into a relationship with him. When Liz was only four she shot Reddington while he was attacking Katarina and then a fire broke out. Though Katarina and Ilya saved Reddington from the fire, The Blacklist‘s Raymond Reddington died as a result of Liz’s fatal shot.

Ilya Koslov Is Another Raymond Reddington Imposter

James Spader as Red and Brett Cullen as Ilya in The Blacklist

The Blacklist then revealed Katarina’s friend and sometime lover Ilya Koslov — a KGB agent — took Raymond Reddington’s place following his demise, changing his face with extensive plastic surgery. The Blacklist season 6 revealed Katarina is also alive after she supposedly committed suicide by walking into the sea following Reddington’s death. Rostova once again casts doubt on Reddington’s real identity as Koslov in The Blacklist season 7, and it’s revealed he isn’t actually Ilya either. Instead, Ilya appears in the form of actor Brett Cullen, from Joker fame, who is a good friend of the Reddington “impostor.” Hopes are dashed for Liz once again when in The Blacklist season 8, the woman who Liz thought was her mother reveals that she’s actually just a spy named Tatiana Petrova (Laila Robins).

The True Identity of James Spader’s Reddington – Every Theory

With The Blacklist season 9 working its way down the pipeline, and with the confirmed season 10 renewal, audiences are left to speculate the true identity of The Blacklist‘s Raymond Reddington, aka Red. Two major theories are gaining traction as of now, one being that James Spader‘s Red is the real Raymond Reddington who faked his own death. It’s not impossible that Raymond Reddington was able to get away. Gunshot wounds aren’t always fatal, and it’s possible that the young Liz could’ve missed his vital organs by a millimeter.

Another theory is that The Blacklist‘s Raymond Reddington is actually Liz Keen’s mother who underwent extensive surgery. This theory was always in circulation; however, it didn’t become wildly popular until the end of season 8 for two reasons. The first comes from a conversation in The Blacklist season 8 between Red and Liz when she asks him if he knew her mother, to which Red responds that he knew Katarina “very well” with a knowing smile. The second clue is the letter that Red gives to Liz before she dies in The Blacklist season 8. The Blacklist‘s Raymond Reddington tells Liz that the note is written by Katarina and will “explain everything”. Considering that Katarina Rostov’s whereabouts are unknown it’s entirely possible that The Blacklist‘s Raymond Reddington is actually Liz’s mother.

So The Blacklist fans are back to square one when it comes to the truth of Red’s identity and his relationship with Liz. The prevailing theory is that he IS the real Reddington, who survived his apparent death and burning. He also doesn’t consider himself to be the old Raymond, and hence doesn’t see himself as Liz’s true father. If The Blacklist season 9 or season 10 does reveal the truth about his identity, it probably won’t be until it’s coming to an end. Even then, The Blacklist is pretty amazing at subverting expectations, so even the “truth” may have an air of ambiguity to it.

Next: The Blacklist Season 10 Renewed At NBC

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About The Author

Padraig Cotter
(3423 Articles Published)

It’s pronounced Paw-rick, not Pad-raig. Now that’s out of the way, a brief introduction. Padraig has been writing about film online since 2012, when a friend asked if he’d like to contribute the occasional review or feature to their site.
A part-time hobby soon blossomed into a career when he discovered he really loved writing about movies, TV and video games – he even (arguably) had a little bit of talent for it. He has written words for Den of Geek, Collider, The Irish Times and Screen Rant over the years, and can discuss anything from the MCU – where Hawkeye is clearly the best character – to the most obscure cult b-movie gem, and his hot takes often require heat resistant gloves to handle.
He’s super modern too, so his favorite movies include Jaws, Die Hard, The Thing, Ghostbusters and Batman. He can be found as i_Padds on Twitter making bad puns.