#ilya koslov

[allmyandroids]

These two make me so emotional, I can't explain it 😭💕

[katarinas-redemption]

[glowstar826]

@falle-ness @cesar-hoe

So in regards to Red being Ressler’s dad, it’s decided: he’s gonna be his bio dad.

It would be really interesting to incorporate in the AU I have where Ilya and Kat are Liz’s parents and Red is Liz’s godfather. For this, I’ll set Lisa Ressler’s birthday to be sometime in late 1958, since Red would have been 19 the year Donald Ressler is born (basing this off of Diego Klattenhoff’s real birthday, Nov. 30, 1979, and the birthday provided for Red on his Most Wanted Poster, Feb. 7, 1960).

Perhaps Red is away somewhere, away from Kat and Ilya, because he needs time to grieve his mother’s death alone. He could somehow find Ressler’s mother, Lisa, and sleep with her in a moment of grief and need for someone’s company. I imagine that they’d be in New York, and that Lisa could be sort of like an Anne to Red. They could be together for a while after that because Ressler’s mother, I feel, is the sort to understand things other women like her don’t seem to.

Just before Red leaves New York to return to wherever Ilya and Kat are, however, Lisa can reveal that she’s married and has a son. This can break Red’s heart into a million pieces, so he demands why she didn’t say that before, stating how he wouldn’t have ever slept with her had he known she was already with someone. She could say that it’s because she’s having a troubled marriage with her husband, Robert, and needed to get away for a while. She tells Red that she does love him, and she’ll find a way to get to him. A naïve Red agrees, and they part on good terms.

When Lisa never contacts Red after that, he feels even more heartbroken, and he grows bitter because he can’t believe how stupid he was to believe her. Ilya and Kat have no idea that Red is upset over a lost love, and Red never intends to tell them. Many years later, when Red ends up saving Ressler using a blood transfusion, he wonders how that could be since there aren’t many of them in the world. Maybe, out of curiosity, he could look into Ressler’s birth records, and he’s shocked when he sees who his mother is.

“No…not her,” Red thinks when he sees the name, his eyes widening in shock. He’s even more shocked when he sees Ressler’s birthdate, for Red knows that’s not long after the time he slept with Lisa.

Putting two and two together, Red could go to Cooper’s office and have him conduct a paternity test on Ressler. Cooper could be confused as to why Red would want anything to do with the agent the criminal seems to hate most, so he asks. Red is his usual cryptic self and says, “I have my reasons, Harold. Even a man such as I is entitled to his privacy. When you get the results, you’ll hopefully see why I asked.”

When the DNA results come back, Cooper can be shocked out of his mind. He quickly asks Reddington to come to his office after the task force throws another Blacklister behind bars. Behind closed doors, Cooper can say shakily, “Agent Ressler…is your son.” I imagine if this were an episode it would end there and go to the credits.

Even though Red had a hunch, he still takes the news as though the thought never crossed his mind. He realizes he needs to contact Lisa and tell her they have a son together, but he doesn’t know how because he has no idea that Lisa’s husband is dead.

Without that knowledge, he decides to be nicer to Ressler first and slowly gain his trust. The Mako Tanida episode where Audrey dies will have new meaning, for now Red is giving Ressler the advice to not go to the dark side as a father, not as a colleague. He still delivers Tanida’s severed head to Ressler because that’s just how Red is, and the note is the same but with more emotional thought.

After the Mako Tanida episode, I think Red would start to seriously consider revealing himself to Ressler. Out of options, he’d ask Dembe for advice. Dembe would tell him, “Talk to Lisa. That’s the best thing you can do for Agent Ressler now.”

Sighing, Red decides that Dembe is right and talking to Lisa is in order. So, he uses his contacts to find that a lady named Lisa Ressler is living alone in Detroit. Red is shocked to find that her husband that Lisa had spoken of is dead. That fact makes Red decide once and for all to travel to Detroit and talk to Lisa.

When in Detroit, he contacts her landline. When Lisa picks up, Red says, “Hello, Lisa.”

Some crashing noise can occur in the background as Lisa demands, “Who am I speaking to?”

Letting out a long breath, Red says, “It’s me, Ray. I haven’t heard your lovely voice in years, and I still remember it as if it was only yesterday we said goodbye.”

“No…is this a prank call? That’s the only thing it can be.”

“I assure you, Lisa, it’s not. There’s something important I need to discuss with you, something regarding your second son.”

After a long silence, Lisa asks with a quaver, “How can I be sure? How do I know you’re not some hacker?”

“I’ll send proof through a letter. You haven’t forgotten my handwriting, I hope?”

“No…I don’t think so.”

“Good. We’ll speak again soon.”

At this point, Red is panicking inside, not believing he had just been speaking to Lisa after so many years, and he haphazardly places the pay phone back on its hanger before Lisa can say anything back.

Later, after flying back to D.C., he asks Kat if he can take Ilya out to dinner, saying he needs to speak to his friend—alone. It’s because he isn’t comfortable telling Kat about his discovery that Ressler is his son yet, for he doesn’t know how she’ll react. However, he knows that Ilya would be willing to listen as he’s his oldest friend.

When they get to the restaurant, Ilya jokes, “So, you’ve finally taken an interest in me after all?” as he throws an arm around Red’s shoulders.

“Absolutely not,” Red replies. “You are married, first of all. Second, you’re not my type.”

“Well, that hurt,” Ilya says back.

“Says the man who was head over heels for Katarina Smirnoff and nearly ended his friendship with Raymond Reddington because he thought Ray and Kat were into each other,” Red counters swiftly with a smirk as they head inside.

“I did not nearly end our friendship!” Ilya fires back with a laugh as Red states his reservation under the alias Richard Walters.

Red doesn’t say anything back, bringing his mind back to the reason he took Ilya here. After they find their seats and place their order, Red says, “I’m going to tell you a story. Whether you want to or not, you’ll hear it.”

Ilya raises an eyebrow. “Ray, I don’t like where this is going.”

Red throws his hands up. “I only said I’m going to tell you a story. Now listen carefully, for I won’t tell it again.”

Ilya leans forward and places his elbows on the table.

“Go on, then.”

Closing his eyes, Red tells the story.

“Once, there was an ordinary man who lived an extraordinary life. He had everything, but at the same time, he had nothing. Though there were two people in his life who wanted the very best for him, he still felt desolation and emptiness inside his very soul. He felt lonely and lost. That is, until he met a woman. A beautiful, kind, simple woman who knew more than most. Her intelligence was unmatched. Her grace? Unforgettable. The man was drawn to her instantly, introducing himself and striking conversation.”

“What happened?” asks Ilya, intrigued.

“They connected—in mind and in body. In the days following, they grew closer and closer until one day, the man had to leave and return to his companions. It was then that the woman revealed there was another man she was tethered to and a boy she needed to look after. The man’s heart broke, but the woman assured him he was hers, always.”

“And then?”

“It was never meant to be. Many, many years later, however, he found that a child had been borne of his connection with that woman.“

At this point, Ilya has sat back in his seat. He says, “And how exactly does this relate to why we came here?”

Red smiles a watery smile.

“That man is me, Ilya. And the child? None other than Special Agent Donald Ressler.”

If feels as though the entire room goes silent as Ilya registers Red’s words.

“Wh-what?”

“I asked Harold to conduct a paternity test on Donald after seeing who his mother was. I couldn’t believe it when the results came back, though I had a strong feeling.” Adjusting his fedora, he says, “I’m telling you because I know you, as my oldest friend, will listen to me.”

At this point, the server could give them their food. After saying their customary thank-you’s, Ilya asks while knitting his eyebrows, “Have you done anything about it?”

“I contacted his mother today,” Red replies. “I’ve also been trying to be nicer to Donald.” Sighing, he asks, “Should I reveal myself to him?”

Ilya is shocked that Red is asking him advice like this, for Red never usually asks for advice.

“You know my answer, Ray. The only thing is, how will Agent Ressler take it? You do realize he was obsessed with hunting you down and throwing you in jail before you turned yourself in? He hates you. You need to gain his full, unconditional trust before you drop this on him, no? Spend some time with him. Open yourself up. There’s nothing unsavory for you to hide. The only thing you’re hiding from him is your humanity.”

The last sentence strikes a deep chord within Red, who takes a bite of his food as he contemplates Ilya’s advice. At this point, he has only recently revealed his connection with Elizabeth to her. He needs to get everything settled regarding his goddaughter first before he can do anything about his newfound son. With that thought in mind, Red says, “All right, then. I’ll wait.”

Some days later, after Red has sent a letter to Lisa, she calls on the number he’s provided.

“I can’t believe I’m actually speaking to you, Ray,” Lisa says when Red picks up. “It’s been so long.”

“It has,” Red replies. “Please understand that I have no ill intentions when I say I have your address, but the matter is extremely urgent.”

“Wait—how did you get it?”

“That’s for me to know and for you to wonder, my dear,” he says cryptically. “I’ll be coming to your house sometime tomorrow morning, so I ask that you be prepared. But for now, I bid you goodnight.”

For the second time, Red hangs up before she can say anything back. This time, it’s out of bitterness that she never contacted him when she said he would. But now isn’t the time to stew in his anger, he resolves.

When he tells Lisa the next day that Donald Ressler is their son, she is surprisingly not very shocked.

“I had a feeling it was you, Ray,” she says, elaborating that her son had none of her husband’s features, that he looked almost like a clone of herself. “Though he didn’t look much like you,” she adds, “I knew.”

Red goes on to ask that she keep it a secret for now and that he wants to be the one to tell him.

Lisa understands and agrees, saying that’s the best course of action.

They end their meeting when Red says, “You never called like you said you would. I’ll never forget that.”

Lisa can look down and say, “I don’t know what came over me when I said that back then. I had no money, no job. I was supported completely by Robert. But when he was killed, my two boys were all I had left. I couldn’t uproot them.”

“I understand, Lisa,” Red replies, meaning every word, shocked that Robert Ressler was killed. “Perhaps we can be friends?”

Lisa smiles. “I’d like that very much.” Then, she sends him off with a friendly peck on his cheek, and they part, once again, on good terms.

Fast forward to when Ressler asks for Henry Prescott/Mitchell Hatley’s services after accidentally killing Laurel Hitchin, the relationship between Red and Ressler has improved significantly. It’s been very hard for Red to keep the secret, but he has tried revealing himself through bits and pieces by praising him, commending his hard work, and teasing him less.

However, when he learns that Ressler has backed himself into a corner by contacting Prescott to fix the problem, he grows very angry at his son’s foolishness. This makes Red realize that now is the time he must reveal himself as Donald’s father, for his son has now crossed the line and he needs to pull him out before anything worse happens to him.

He visits Ressler’s apartment after retrieving the paternity test results from five years before. He’s very apprehensive at this point, for he still doesn’t know how his son will take the news.

When Ressler returns, he’s confused as to why Reddington is sitting in his apartment, uninvited, with only the kitchen light on. The illumination makes Red look pretty menacing, showcasing his true power as a criminal mastermind.

“What are you doing in my apartment, Reddington?” asks Ressler.

“There is something of utmost urgency that I need to discuss with you, Donald. Please, sit down.”

He gestures to the empty seat and pushes a glass of whiskey to him. Ressler raises an eyebrow.

“You’ll need it, I think, once you’ve heard what I have to say,” Red elaborates.

Red immediately gets to business by opening the files. As he does so, he begins telling one of his signature stories.

“Many years ago, I met a lovely woman named Lisa. She was…perfect. In every sense of the word. At least, that’s what I thought at the time. I was a young man. Very young. Too young to even be thinking of sex. But I was also a grieving man.”

Ressler isn’t impressed. “I can see where this is going, Red.”

“Good,” Red replies, which momentarily catches Ressler off guard. “That is my intention.”

Red continues, “I met her in the Metropolitan Museum. She was looking at one of my favorite paintings, Autumn Rhythm (Number 30). I walked over and struck a conversation, commenting on her good taste. I must admit I was surprised when I asked for her interpretation of the painting, for it was strikingly similar to my own. We began spending lots of time together, and it led to a night I’d never forget.”

At this point, Ressler is half-captivated, half-impatient. “Why are you giving me a romance novel?”

Red, ignoring him, pushes the files towards him.

“Look at these,” Red implores, standing up from his chair. “I’ll be waiting in the living room once you’ve finished.”

He gives an uncharacteristic fatherly pat on Ressler’s shoulder and leaves the room. Donald, now nervous, registers the odd, warm feeling that passes through before opening up the files.

When he’s done, his emotions are a mixture of anger at his mother, shock at Reddington, and confusion at his identity. He thinks that perhaps this is why he has to try so hard to live by-the-book: he has criminal blood coursing through his veins.

Suddenly, Donald wants to throw something, break something. How the hell did Reddington run into his mother? Why didn’t his mother ever tell his father that she cheated on him? Does this mean that Robby is…his half-brother?

He bursts out of the kitchen and says in his red anger, “I hate you. I fucking hate you!”

Then, he slams the door on his way out.

Red sighs, seeing that he failed colossally in revealing himself as Donald’s father. Now, he won’t be able to pull him out. Now, it’ll be so much harder to.

I’ll end this portion here and write another to complete this arc. Tell me what you think so far!

[alyblacklist]

Additional promo pics from Ep. 821 "Nachalo" (Part 1 of 2)

[whothehellami5473]

They should’ve stuck with Ilya.

That’s not to say I haven’t enjoyed Brett Cullen’s present-day portrayal of him. Just saying-- If the garbage outcome we just got in 8.22 really had to be the sole alternative, I’m kinda wishing now that the answer to “Who’s impersonating Reddington” had remained Ilya Koslov. ‘Cause I liked that answer. I enjoyed our introduction to him. And while at the time we as an audience certainly still had questions as to what would compel him to step in and help the way he did (to THAT incredible extent, anyway), what led him to continue being Red after the money withdrawal, his full history with Katarina, etc., I figured at the time that such elaboration we could return to later. With the “who” figured out, we could now actually go into the “why.” To that end, the Townsend Directive could’ve still factored in. And on a side note lemme just say, personally, that Neville Townsend was one of the few reasons I kept tuning in as long as I did throughout Liz’s bullshit quest this season. As far as villains are concerned, I thought his was a fun performance to watch, and somebody I wanted to see more of (same with Matias Solomon, Berlin, and Ian Garvey-- those have been my Top 3 major Blacklist villains for some time; now Townsend’s up there with them, and I’m PISSED he’s already gone... without even a number on the blacklist itself, no less!). So whatever could have led us to him still. Maybe he and others like him being the explanation for why Ilya had to stay in the role of Reddington, in order to keep Katarina several steps ahead of it all. But the reason I bring up Townsend is to stress that so much of what ultimately played out the last two seasons could’ve still happened (preferably NOT Liz’s ridiculous “kill Red” mission, but hey, one rage-inducing story point at a time) without doubling back on the “who” so many goddamn times. Sikorsky, N-13... Hell, even Blonde Kat to some degree might’ve come into play still, if one were to insist on that. Whatever else factored into the “why,” and how it informs current relationships in the present. Brett Cullen could’ve been playing somebody from Ilya’s past-- childhood, even, from how it sounded-- who had to take up Ilya’s role in life now that he was playing Red (maybe not another extensive surgery, but simply adopting a name), which could have paved the way for discovering more about Ilya from his pre-Red days. Ivan Stepanov could very likely have still played the part he did, given his importance on Dom’s side of things. And the real Katarina could have remained hidden-- hence Townsend’s ongoing search-- until such time that she and Liz could safely reunite (I really thought that was where certain remarks at the end of episode 8.20 would lead to. But I guess not). Or perhaps for all their efforts Katarina did ultimately die in the process of all this, making for another possible reason Liz’s survival holds such importance. I know, conjecture after conjecture. None of that necessarily would’ve HAD to play out the way I described. But if now ain’t a time to imagine other paths for the show to have taken when it had the chance... Bottom line, there was really no need to prolong the “imposter identity” question for all the time that they did. We HAD an answer, dammit, and it was a pretty solid setup for more to come. In light of recent events, I maintain that that would have been a far more interesting story. Just really wish we could’ve gotten that progression rather than backtracking fifty times on it all only to arrive at an answer that blows holes in so much of what was previously portrayed, established, etc. (which I realize is its own huge-muthalovin’-can-of-worms-esque debate, but just the same) Maybe then Liz’s story wouldn’t have had to meet its god-awful end the way it did, either, for the sake of a mere last-second realization. Megan Boone could have still left the show at her leisure, absolutely. That’s her prerogative. The issue for me simply was how her character got written out, and how ridiculously little payoff there was for it. The result just wasn’t worth it, and we all know it could have been. (Lot of “could have”s in this post. I apologize)

[forevermytom]

Day 2: “Damn Your Eyes”

[world-of-ryan]

Day 2: “Damn Your Eyes”

Ilya: Katarina! Stop! Katarina, stop! Katarina: You said we’d figure a way out of this, and I have. You tracked me down here. We fought. I went over the edge. You’ll be a hero. You’ll get your life back. Ilya: Katarina, please, I have a way to get your life back, a way for me to get my life back, a way to escape the Cabal, the KGB, the Americans, and no one has to die. The world doesn’t know what happened to Raymond Reddington, Katarina. It is a mystery, right? So, we give them the answer. Katarina: What does that mean? [ Ilya comes up behind her and grabs her around the waist ] Ilya: Will you let me explain? Let me explain. Katarina: No. Ilya: Please, let me explain.

[fancycaroline]

From the Precipice: Then and Now...

“We?”