The series finale confirms what we’ve suspected for the last 2 years

Warning, spoilers for The Blacklist.

Is Reddington Liz’s father? This is one of the most frequently asked questions about The Blacklist on Google. We’ll tell you why he isn’t Liz’s father – he is her mother have to be. We explain:

Reddington isn’t Liz’s father – that’s been clarified since Season 1 of The Blacklist

What Reymond Reddington (James Spader) perfected is Diversion. He rambles, beats around the bush, asks counter-questions and irritates his counterpart with his rhetorical superiority instead of giving answers.

However, what Red doesn’t do is lie. Red never lies. When Liz asks him in season 1 if he is her father, he says no. This is made more concrete in later seasons during a private conversation with Dembe when Reddington emphasizes that he is not her father.

What makes this even more confusing: Our beloved Red is an “intruder” who assumed the identity of the real Reymond Reddington some 30 years ago. And this real Reddington, a US Navy officer, is Liz’s biological father. However, we are concerned with the main character played by James Spader.

The James Spader-Reddington isn’t Liz’s father. After the series end of The Blacklist there is only one more theory that makes sense: the Redarina theory.

The Redarina Theory explains: Raymond Reddington is Liz’s mother and Agnes’ grandmother

As the name suggests, “Redarina” features both Reddington and Katarina. Then the Redarina theory is actually quite simple: If Red isn’t Liz’s father, then he must be Red the mother of Liz be.

This is the only logical explanation for everything that happened and for all the scattered clues, which we will break down logically for you below.

Reddington loves Liz – and wants to protect her at all costs

Katarina Rostova (Lotte Verbeek) was a Russian secret agent. In the early 1990s, she was hired to spy on the then real Raymond Reddington. This turned into an affair that resulted in a child: Elizabeth Keen.

Katarina Rostova and the real Raymond Reddington are Liz’s biological parents. So clue number 1 is the emotional component. The only explanation for Liz being Reddington’s one major flaw is the love a mother has for her child.

Why else was he building his empire just to protect Liz? Why else would he want to hand his empire over to Liz? Why else would he even die for Liz as the only person in the world?

For years, we got hints about the Redarina theory in The Blacklist

The popular fan theory has been fed more and more over the past ten years. A few of dozens of examples can be found here:

In the season 8 finale of The Blacklist, the clues about Redarina finally become concrete

In the penultimate episode of Season 8, Nachalo, shortly before her death, Liz learns what the Blacklist really is. Reddington takes her to a secret bunker – his blacklist’s “office” and tells his story. The highlight: Red tells his story as the story of Katarina Rostova.

Not only do the current Reddington and Katarina Rostova complete their respective sentences in flashbacks, Red also makes it clear that he created by Rostova became. It is never spelled out how Rostova became Reddington, but throughout the episode it is suggested in the visual and audio montage.

In Season 9 and much of Season 10, the mystery surrounding Reddington’s identity is once again left aside. There’s one final clue in the series finale — an appreciative nod for fans without saying it.

Final Note: How The Blacklist Confirms Red’s True Identity in the Series FinaleIf you haven’t seen it and don’t want to, you can read all about The Blacklist finale here. We are particularly interested in Reddington’s final conversation with his granddaughter Agnes, Liz and Tom’s daughter.

Agnes nags her Grandpa Red act like a mother and he answers:

I suppose there’s nothing I can do about it.

We spell out the unspoken: There’s nothing he can do about it because he’s actually Liz’s mother. It’s the only nod to any theory of who Reddington really is in The Blacklist finale.

Those responsible for the series remain true to themselves. They’ve thrown at us dozens of vague and specific clues for ten seasons, and we’re going to have to piece them together ourselves. In the meantime, they give a coherent and fairly clear picture: Red is Liz’s mother.

Podcast tip: Why The Blacklist is so popular

The Blacklist is a phenomenon. Amidst the prestige series Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead, the crime series kicks off on September 23, 2013 with a compelling prelude. That was the beginning of an impressive success story.

My colleague Jenny Jecke and I ask ourselves two questions in the podcast that have been on our mind for a long time: Why is The Blacklist so popular? And is a satisfying ending even possible after Season 8’s twist?

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