#imposter theory

[alyblacklist]

Why do you think reddington whoever he may really be cares so much about liz but not jennifer? Was reddington with katarina before naomi? I've always been very confused about that whole thing....Why did jennifer recognize reddington if its not really him?

I think you may want to go back and watch the S5 finale, Sutton Ross 5.22, anon. That may help clear up some of this. That episode revealed that the bones in the suitcase that were the subject of that season were those of the original Raymond Reddington - the father of Liz and Jennifer - and that our Red, the character played by James Spader, is an imposter who has assumed that man’s identity for decades.  If you accept that imposter reveal as true (as I do and as the writers have repeatedly confirmed) then the rest of it makes sense as follows: 

- Red doesn’t care about Jennifer in any meaningful way because he’s not her father and has no connection to her and was never involved in her life. The real Raymond Reddington (who I will refer to as RR), the dead man in the suitcase, was Jennifer’s father and he died the night of the fire. Red cared about her being safe and protected, but there’s no deeper emotional bond there.

-Red’s actual connection to Liz, and why he cares so much about her, remains the core mystery of the show. We know he is not her biological father, but otherwise no explanation has yet been given for why he entered her life and why he cares so much about her.

-Our Red was never with Naomi romantically.  Only the real RR - the man who fathered Jennifer - was married to Naomi. Once our Red took on that man’s identity he clearly forged some sort of arrangement with Naomi where she cooperated in the ruse but how and why that came to be remains unknown. Hence why he refers to her as more like an “estranged sister” in S2.

-The real RR had an affair with Katarina while married to Naomi and that is how Jennifer and Liz are biological half sisters. Same father, different mothers. We do not know concretely whether our Red ever had a romantic relationship with Katarina himself, but from what we’ve seen in the more recent seasons of Katarina, I doubt it. Either way, he’s not Liz’s father.

-It’s been strongly suggested that as part of taking over the identity of the real RR, our Red had plastic surgery to change his face (the Dr. Hans Koehler and Marko Jankowicz episodes in S6 explain this). Jennifer may have recognized Red more by circumstance than by actually recognizing his face, but to the extent he resembled the father she last saw 30 years ago as a child, it’s because of the surgery.  

[miss-musings]

Blacklist Bingo: Season 6 edition

The unofficial rules:

If you fill a slot, take a sip.

If you get a BINGO, take a shot.

However, I would caution everyone to play at their own pace (or not play at all). After all, given the S6 promos, it looks like we’d all get alcohol poisoning just from watching the premiere.

[humanxbeing]

"Perhaps her life isn't worth your revealing your precious secret for. After all, what is she to you really?"

► fandom: the blacklist ► character(s): raymond 'red' reddington; elizabeth keen; dembe zuma ► song: waiting between worlds (zack hemsey)

Blocked? Watch it here: https://vimeo.com/272020256.

This music video explores the imposter theory through the prism of Red's devotion to Lizzie, what she represents to him, and the support he receives from the few he keeps close - Dembe in particular.

I own neither the footage nor music and make no profit.

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Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.

[dreamchaser40]

CALLED IT!

[meetmeatthecoda]

Okay just bear with me

Though the whole child marriage thing was very squicky and uncalled for, I think it was very interesting for Lizzington. We know that usually the Blacklister case of the week has parallels to a relationship on the show and this one was all about paternal vs. romantic relationships. So, for us Lizzington peeps who want to see certain reveal in the season finale (that the bones are Liz’s real dad, the imposter theory is a go, and Red is head over heels in romantic af love with Liz), I think this ep bodes well! I shall explain.

Firstly, and most importantly, I don’t AT ALL want the gross connotations of child marriage tarnishing our precious Lizzington and I don’t think this ep was meant to represent that in any way. In fact, I think it’s exactly the opposite. I think this ep was meant to contrast everything that Lizzington would be in several ways:

Liz is in no way a child in high school. Liz was aghast by these poor girls in the ep and the actors were obviously a lot younger than her. Even though Megan looks very youthful, it was made very clear by differentiation that Liz is a grown-ass woman in comparison to them, in her thirties while these girls aren’t even 18. 

The concept of age gaps was mentioned several times in the ep, as in “three and four times her age.” Red isn’t even twice Liz’s age. (Close but no cigar). And with the way Samar in particular continually said this, I feel like it shows how close Red and Liz’s ages are in comparison. 

The husbands in the ep were consistently mistaken for and portrayed as fathers before the audience knew the truth about them. Sound familiar? (Not that I personally believe Red has been fatherly towards Liz for a second in his life but whatever.) I think Red and Liz’s interactions in the ep were meant to be in stark contrast to that behavior. The “husbands” checked up on their “wives” homework and chastised them for staying out too late. Red doesn’t (and has never done) any of this with Liz. In this ep especially, he is not patronizing or controlling towards Liz the way those “husbands” were to their “wives”. He asks Liz’s opinion on things and talks to her like an adult (as he always has), making a point to have mature conversations with her, answer her questions, and apologize to her. Even at his most “patronizing” (if you can even call it that, which I don’t think you can), when she asks about Garvey’s motivation for attacking her, he simply says, “Think like a criminal, Lizzie.” which shows encouragement and confidence in her ability to figure things out for herself, not an infuriating urge to coddle, protect, or make excuses for her (”I’ll write you a note for school.” “Need help with that? I’m pretty good with numbers.” Ew.) 

Red was also shown to loathe the men who married these young girls and sympathized with their plight. He is by no means an offender himself. He assured the first girl victim that her savior would not be harmed, she simply has something that he wants. He wants retribution for them just as much as they do.

Lastly, and this is a bit of a stretch, I admit, but Red is a lot more attentive to and observant of Liz’s feelings than those ridiculous husbands. “Tara’s happy in our marriage, we’re happy!” Yeah, right. Anyone could see that girl was tortured and miserable. She was crying next to him in bed for God’s sake. Red is much more attuned to Liz’s feelings than that. He often knows when something is wrong with her before she does and he always tries to help her in a mature and caring way.

So, I don’t know, I feel like everything we saw in this ep with the dynamics of a child marriage directly contrast what we see with Red and Liz’s relationship. And I feel like these differences were only accentuated in the ep, even though, granted, I was looking for it. But, I think if they’re going to reveal that Red is not Liz’s dad and he is actually in love with her in the season finale, this is maybe their way of showing that it’s not gross. Because, let’s face it, there will be cries of incest if they get together. They’ve had Liz and the audience believe that Red is her dad for far too long for the general, non-Lizzington audience to be okay with it. But, with this ep, they show that Lizzington is by no means a child marriage because Liz is a grown woman and Red respects her as a person. I mean, come on, when it was first revealed that this was about child marriage, the “wife” answered the door and said, “No, Jerry wasn’t my father, he was my husband.” I feel like that’s a clear parallel to a future Red and Liz relationship. I’m probably seeing what I want to see (what’s new?) but all I saw tonight was that if they’re going to tell the truth in the finale, this was a great way to preface it with “it’s not gross, see, Liz isn’t 17 and he’s not her father!” I don’t know, that’s just what I got from this ep. What did you guys think? I’m totally open to conversation, as always :) Much love!

[myfortuneandterrorandrapture]

Our Red truly lost his own daughter in the story he told Madeline. When Real Red or Katarina died, they either had our Red promise to protect her, or our Red took it upon himself to protect Liz as a surrogate daughter to atone for his failing to protect his own daughter.

[red-is-the-new-blackington]

Just a friendly reminder in case anyone is confused or feels mislead about what Liz said here: There is no universe in which she was old enough to have been the Mako Tanida ballerina. However, if you believe the dancer gossip backstage, then that girl IS Red's daughter.

[immegod]

Ok but what if RED IS OLEANDER