The latest episode of The Blacklist, Luther Braxton: Conclusion, aired a couple of days ago and it was a doozy! Guys, you have to watch it! There are things that text just can’t do justice to, such as the emotion in Reddington’s face when something ‘gets him’. James Spader can tell a lifetime of feeling in one facial expression and make you feel it with him! Be warned I will spoil the episode in this post and I plan to jump right into it.
Ron Perlman played Luther Braxton and knocked it out of the park! I wish we could see more of him, really, because I found him to be completely believable, embodying the character in every way imaginable. He may have been a thief but I found him to be a great foe for Red, making Red think, stay on his toes, figure things out as he went along. It usually feels as if Red is always one step ahead but when Lizzie showed up on the secret prison site to help rescue Red, it threw his whole game off.
Because Red knew she was the key to finding the fulcrum, the very thing Braxton was there to steal.
This put Liz in immediate danger and we saw the most determined Red we’ve ever seen, and I well remember his killing spree from last season when he had to get his house in order. That was intense but still didn’t come close to Red trying to rescue Liz from Braxton.
The previous episode tossed out a new question that had to be explored. A running theory on Red and Liz has always been that he’s her father and that he’s back in her life to protect his daughter. The first Luther Braxton episode brought up a possibility that Red was actually trying to either protect OR get the fulcrum and because he knew Liz was the key to the fulcrum, he was protecting her. Or, in other words, he wasn’t in LIz’s life because he loved her but to use her.
This possibility did not sit well with me. It went against everything I’ve come to believe about Red. It did have to be entertained but, no, it didn’t feel right. He’s gone above and beyond trying to coax himself into her goodwill to not be her father. He’s far to protective. On the other hand, Tom was working for Red. We still don’t know for how long and for what purpose, just that he was in Red’s hire. I think he either gave Tom a better deal, one that would make him go ‘double agent’ or he put Tom with her to begin with to try to keep her safe. With Tom working for Berlin as well he’d be more apt to know when Liz was in danger and able to keep her safe, no?
Liz was given drugs to force her to remember the night of the fire 26 years ago. She remembered arguing, bad people in the house, Christmas lights, a bunny, she remembered Red being there. Red found Braxton and was able to get to Liz before she could give details of the fulcrum to the people who’d hired Braxton to find it. Liz, having seen Red in those memories accused him of leaving her father to die in the fire and not caring about her, only caring about the fulcrum. She felt betrayed and used, telling Red all his pretending to care about her was for nothing because she didn’t remember the fulcrum. When she stormed out of the room afterwards the look on Red’s face was excruciating. As he watched Liz walk away the doctor Braxton brought in for the memory session with Liz was being reunited with her son. I don’t think this was by happenstance. He was heart-broken at Liz’s accusation while watching a child run into the arms of his parent.
When Liz said Red had forced her to leave her father to burn to death in the fire I immediately thought about the burn scars on Red’s back. He could have gotten them any number of ways but I think he was burned rescuing Liz from that fire. I think he’s her father. When Liz told the young Liz to start screaming as loudly as she could, I wonder if that was because she remembered being trapped in the fire and wanted to make sure she was rescued.
She remembered hearing someone arguing, yelling something like, ‘… That’s the only thing keeping me alive!” The voice sounded like Red and, although it wasn’t stated, it felt, to me, that Red was arguing with whoever had entered the house. She remembered Christmas lights. When Red told Madeline Pratt the story of running out of gas and having to walk home on Christmas Eve, finding blood everywhere once he’d gotten home, I thought then that was a story ground in truth. I think the story was from the fire. He lost his family that night, having to give Liz to Sam to protect her because the people who wanted the fulcrum would go through his family to get it. Liz wasn’t safe with him so he asked Sam to raise her.
Liz has asked Red before if he’s her father and he said no, but not before a long and thoughtful pause. I think he decided that part of his life was over the night of the fire because his being her dad nearly killed her. Sam raised her and he attributes Sam as her father and uses that for justification when saying he’s never lied to her. It’s a technicality that likely wouldn’t hold up in court but if she ever finds out the full truth, I think it’s one she’ll accept.
The Doctor told Liz she believes someone has tampered with Liz’s memory in the past. I think that was Red and he did so to protect her, keep her from remembering about the fulcrum and the events of that night. Now that she’s found the fulcrum in her stuffed bunny will she use that to get information from Red after she unsuccessfully tries to access its data? Will she get into the data and find out Red’s her father? Will she turn it over to the Feds? So many possibilities!
I’ve read a lot of comments from folks who believe Red isn’t her father, that the Luther Braxton episodes confirmed it. I think they proved he IS her father. My husband said he wasn’t sure either way. What do you think? Let me know in the comments!