The Backlist Season 10 Ending Explained

The Blacklist has ended at NBC after ten years, several crooks apprehended, and countless Raymond Reddington rants.
On Thursday, the long-running criminal thriller came to an end with a two-hour series finale in which Red was fleeing away from the FBI agents he had been working with for the previous ten years. But was Red able to elude the law once more?
#blacklist #endingexplained #MediaBreakdown

[rickmcdonald]

Red wanted to go out on his own terms and He had successfully completed what he set out to do with his life and Elizabeth passing away left him with nothing to pursue in the future. This was the finest series I ever saw on Television during my 77 yrs. on This Earth ~!!! James is the best there is.

[randrews]

No problem with him dying. Just horrible how they did it. Was hoping for him just to walk off and lay under a tree and die

[vandaken]

The ending sucked. They never truly revealed who he was to Elizabeth and being killed by the bull, nonsense

[bilL_atk]

Reddington didn't want to make it hard for his friends, so he died by the bull. He didn't want to see his friends be in a hard position to have to arrest/kill him.

He also made sure that since the senator is dead, there is no evidence of Red's involvement to the FBI task force, as he deleted every trace of his name in the FBI database with that powerful hacking tool he stole some episodes ago.

This shows (as we saw in several occasions through the series) that he deeply cares for the ones he loves and in this situation were the people in the task force. He saved them.

Truly a magnificent character for a villain that was depicted by an extremely talented actor James Spader.

[hmcclendon]

RIP Raymond Red Reddington and salute to 10 years of the blacklist its a sad day but a fitting farewell nevertheless. To James the Goat Spader you are such a revelation and true meaning of the something special, you will always have a special place in our hearts & minds. Hopefully this isn't the end just the conclusion of your brightness still to come. Thank you for your service, may you continue to be bless.

[greggenito]

I fell on my seat laughing 😅😂😅 after finishing season 10 finale. Red, FBI’s greatest contractor killed by a bull? So dumb! What an insult to warriors such as soldiers, agents et al. It was like being killed after swallowing a toothpick! 😅

[uberlord]

At the very end of the show, Reddington made 2 important choices.
First, he chose to go out on his own terms, his own way, as opposed to letting his terminal illness rot him away in some dark, remote prison cell after his arrest.
Second, he wanted to go out as a mythic legend, a fairy tale that has 0 tangible evidence to prove it exists except for the word-of-mouth from those who witnessed it firsthand. That's why he spent the last several episodes of the final season dismantling his own operation, not just so it could be proven to exist, but so nobody else could step in after he died, & muddle up the legacy he wanted to leave behind.
The way the show ends, with Ressler chasing Reddington alone, is also symbolic, to the fact that he was originally chasing Red alone during the Golden Age of his crime syndicate. Hence why the episode cuts after Ressler says "Cooper, I got him.", becauss those were words that he wanted to say every individual day for the last 20+ years he was both chasing after & working with Reddington.

[kevint]

Red died the way he always wanted to die... Om the ground surrounded by grass like he said once. He knew what he wanted in Spain... Just how calm he was when he realized the end was staring at him...

[africperspective]

I came to the comments hoping I would at least get one person saying Red was not dead . Worst ending for my favorite show

[thomasoaxaca]

Dembe had witnessed so many murders by Reddington.
If they were going to bring Reddington in and prosecute him, Dembe would have been an accessory before and after the fact.
The writers really lost their minds the last few years.

[thomasoaxaca]

Herbie and his loyalty was the only scene that was in line with the original theme.

[baseryalpha]

There was so many ways to prevent his death. The team that asked favors from red is the one who hunts him down? Herbie is the only logical person in this scenario. I was truly disappointed in dembe helping the FBI after all red did for him. He did warn red but for the federal agents. Such a disrespectful death for a character that developed in 10 whole years. The writers couldn't have don't a worse job with the ending. Plus red leaving Agnes behind is definitely a horrible thing to. Should have ended in one pf 2 ways. 1, red is escaping from the fbi and maintaining contact with the team which were on his side plus a full identity because things gone wrong and they are wanted fugitives. 2, red stays as the most wanted criminal by the fbi and still in control of his empire. I think the main reason of red death is Agnes reminding him of Elizabeth. Selling his fortune for nothing? Giving the fbi his assets? Why would he do that? He should have found someone worthy of continuing his empire. Such an amazing character with such horrific and disgusting end.

[michelley]

Raymond Reddington was not killed by police, his enemies or his illness. I think this was perfect ending to this series. Looking forward to Mr Spader’s next project.

[harryjones]

My question is who is redd to Elizabeth

[JordanDille]

Almost exclusively, the most popular opinion when a long-lasting, loved show ends, people hate the ending. Just because it doesn’t end how you want it to, doesn’t mean it was bad.

[BobbieLoafman-voxi]

I think this was the perfect ending..Reddington was slowly dying and he was killed fast, by an animal he had admired in his past. The skull of the bull in question he went back to get and was hanging on a chain in Lobo. Neither his friends or enemies got to him, which was great! And the song was perfect….”My Way”.

[brennanhughes]

When Tom left the show it went down hill, when Liz left the show that was the nail on the coffin. What a great show it was seasons 1-6

[leas]

I’m crying that he went out the way he did

[megnott]

😢I started this show as soon as it started while back couple years with my ex and now I’m married and have kids and I still went back and continued I watch it when I wash dishes and cook and all I’m so attached to it and now that it ended it kind of became part of me like oh no now what should I watch lol I stay up late even having kids and it’s so addicting, I love red he made me start to care for him his character is just great he wore it best I feel like no other person could have played his part, he’s so great and he’s deep a caring loving person you can see that he’s a nice person it’s just the life he’s in makes him be the person he has to be. Oh so much to say but so sad it ended and I definitely understand why he died the way he did and shows how love is so important for him for the ones he cares for. Thank you guys for the best show ever!!!

[raymondrossberg]

What’s needed is a summation of how all the major characters over the last 10 years related to Reddington and others. For example, how did Alan Alda’s figure into all this. It seems like a lot of story lines either came to a dead end or were dropped. This was a 10 year investment for loyal viewers with little payback for them.