The Blacklist was a crime thriller series that debuted on NBC in 2013 and ended in 2023. For its 10-year run, the show kept audiences on the edge of their seats as they watched the main character – Raymond Reddington – use his brilliant criminal insight and morally questionable methods to help the FBI capture their most wanted criminals, those on the titular Blacklist. The show starred James Spader as Reddington, Megan Boone as Liz Keen, Amir Arison as Aram Mojtabai, Hisham Tawfiq as Dembe Zuma, Harry Lennix as Harold Cooper, and Ryan Eggold as Tom Keen.
The incredible mystery behind the main character, Ray, and his compelling relationships with the other characters on the task force is a large part of what kept viewers watching. Those who didn’t keep up with the show for the entire run, or even those who just haven’t thought about it since the finale, may be left wondering what became of all these characters, however. Here’s a breakdown of how The Blacklist ended, including where each of the main characters ended up in the series finale.
What Happened to Liz Keen?
A large portion of the show’s premise rested not only on the FBI bringing in Ray, a criminal mastermind, to help them catch the criminals on the blacklist, but also on his intriguing relationship with FBI profiler Liz. From the very start, it was one of Ray’s conditions for working with the FBI that he would be able to work with Liz, leading the audience to wonder what connection he could possibly have to her and why he cared so much about her. Although the mystery of their connection was never definitively answered, the writers planted countless clues and hints about it throughout the 10 seasons.
Unfortunately, before Liz herself could unravel the truth of why Ray was so interested in her, she was killed by a hitman as revenge for someone Ray had killed earlier on. Her story came to a close at the end of Season 8, two seasons before the show itself would end. Dangerous criminals trying to use Liz to get revenge on Ray was something that audiences had seen happen frequently throughout the show, so the way she died wasn’t necessarily surprising – but the fact of a main character being killed off, especially one as significant to the story as Liz, was probably disappointing for a lot of fans. Liz’s death was what led to the task force that Ray had worked with disbanding, meaning that when the show picked up in Season 9, Ray was no longer tethered to the FBI.
The End for Raymond “Red” Reddington
The last two seasons of The Blacklist take place two years after Liz’s death, with Ray being pulled back into the FBI and the Blacklist when his former bodyguard and current FBI agent, Dembe Zuma, contacts him in need of his help. Without Liz, Ray’s relationship with her and the questions of his identity took a backseat, and the focus became entirely about the task force in charge of capturing the criminals on the Blacklist and the list itself. A new threat emerges as well, in the form of a ruthless Congressman who wants to expose the task force for its unsanctioned and ethically questionable methods.
When an official investigation is launched against the agents in charge of hunting down the criminals on the Blacklist, Ray is arrested for his crimes and is essentially made to be a scapegoat for the team. Ray, unsurprisingly, manages to escape and evade capture – he was, after all, one of the FBI’s most wanted and hardest to catch criminals prior to the show. In the end, however, he ends up being attacked by a bull in Andalusia and dies from his injuries. It was, perhaps, a bit of an underwhelming end to the show and to the character, but it was a definitive one.
What Happened to the rest of the Task Force?
Tom Keen, Liz’s husband and fellow agent, was only a part of the main cast for the first half of the show. In the 5th season, he met his end when he was stabbed in the stomach by Ian Garvey, who planned to not only kill Tom, but also Liz. Even with his injury, Tom manages to fight Garvey off until Ray and Dembe are able to arrive, ensuring that she will at least survive.
Aram Mojtabai was a main character throughout most of the show, but the character left the show right before the final season. In the 9th season, fans watch as he struggles with the job and all the loss that comes with it, until he finally decides to take some time off from this work with the FBI and focus on himself and healing. He’s last seen at the beginning of season 10, living in New York City, seemingly happy and doing well since his decision to take some time.
Dembe Zuma, who started the show as Ray’s bodyguard and went on to become an FBI agent and a member of the task force separate from his dealings with Ray, was a popular and central character throughout the series. Dembe is another character who is arrested and essentially sacrificed in order to save the team as a whole, but Ray’s first order of business upon escaping is to also get Dembe out. He succeeds, but Dembe ends up being shot in the neck. Though his injuries are severe, Ray gets him to a nursing home, and Dembe is saved by a blood transfusion from Ray. In the end, though he is stripped of his status as an active agent, he isn’t arrested for his work with Ray, and he looks forward to a future free from dealing with criminals.
Finally, Harold Cooper, the head of the task force in charge of the Blacklist, is seen at the end of the 10th season reminiscing with Dembe over their time with Ray. Although his future is unsure at the end, it’s clear that the task force is over, and though he may continue to work at the FBI, he’s not likely to ever get another assignment like the one of working with Ray or hunting down the Blacklist criminals.
