With every passing week, the end is nigh.
We are three weeks away from the series finale, and The Blacklist Season 10 has taken us on a surprise ride. The season has seen Raymond do a complete turn and become a do-gooder without expecting anything in return.
As the finale approaches, so does Raymond’s fate.
Yet, we have seen him remain unbothered, moving on with his life as if everything is okay. It has been hinted that Raymond is planning something, and based on some of the actions he has taken, it is something big.
Most of the time, we, as the viewers, fail to see the bigger picture because the writers intend it so, but all will be revealed in time.
The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 18 saw Raymond continue his good work by helping two warring families reunite. We also learned of a blacklister called Wormwood.
Wormwood was a regular doctor before he was corrupted by greed. He felt like he was not advancing fast enough in his career, which resulted in using his knowledge for bad.
Even if he was evil, he was still smart and accomplished.
What could Raymond possibly want with him?
Spoilers for The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 19 tease another one of Raymond’s secret plans as he directs the Task Force towards the United States government.
Raymond has been on a mission to rid the world of bad players — people hiding behind noble institutions for their benefit.
The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 15 was a big one for the cause when he exposed three people who had betrayed the trust placed in them.
We also saw him give away valuable belongings.
Governments, like any other institution, are prone to a myriad of things. Corruption is usually at the top, but something else quite dangerous is a security breach.
A security breach can expose sensitive information about the government or its citizens, putting them in danger or compromising the government entirely.
In this episode, Raymond redirects the Task Force’s efforts to the US government because he learns of something amiss.
This has to be something significant because instead of having someone come to him in New York or making a phone call, he personally goes to the Task Force.
That would mean returning to the crime scene in the war room at The Post Office, where he killed Wujing and his associates on The Blacklist Season 10 Episode 14.
We haven’t seen him here as much as we did in the first half of The Blacklist Season 10. Maybe he had been avoiding going there because he felt guilty about what he did to the Task Force in their home.
In his true fashion, Raymond does not give Task Force the necessary information. He merely hints at something, and the Task Force must decide what to do with it.
Sometimes it annoys some members of the Task Force how Raymond operates, but what fun would it be if he spoon-fed them everything?
Sometimes he does it to keep them busy, other times to insulate himself, but more times than most, he does it because the information they need can only be attained legally, and the Task Force has the vast intelligence and law enforcement network of all the fifty states and beyond a phone call away.
When investigating Raymond’s message, the Task Force uncovers a security breach within the government.
Elsewhere, the Arthur Hudson threat escalates.
Arthur convinced Jonathan Pritchard to work with Arthur because he was looking to destroy the Task Force.
After doing his research, Jonathan concluded that Arthur’s cause was good to join, and then one became two. What’s worse than one internal threat? It’s two internal threats.
Arthur has the freedom afforded him by being part of the US political class, while Jonathan is a law enforcement officer. They are a dangerous combination.
Even more concerning is that they are not looking to rehabilitate the Task Force.
Arthur is convinced that the Task Force is a malignant growth in the FBI, and Reddington has corrupted them beyond saving. The only thing he can do it to destroy that task forcefully.
Viewers who watch The Blacklist online know he made a connection with various members of the Task Force, and that only fuelled him more. Adding the fact that he is politically motivated, the Task Force is in real trouble.
With Jonathan’s backing, Arthur begins to make his moves.
Before presenting a winnable case to law enforcement, a judge, or the people, he has to be sure of what the task force does.
So far, all his discoveries have been through deductions and inferences, but the courts deal with facts. He must know how the Task Force operates if he has to present a winnable case.
This episode sees him make a major play in uncovering how they work.
Raymond is aware of Arthur’s work, but after he investigated Arthur himself, he found Arthur to be clean. Yet clean or not, he presents a real threat to Raymond and the people he loves.
Based on the case Raymond has the Task Force working on, there seems to be a connection. The US government is the connection. Has Raymond finally decided to tackle the Arthur Hudson threat head-on?
Arthur is not a simple thug like Wujing or Marvin Gerrard, so threats might not work on him.
Is Arthur Hudson ripe for getting the good ol’ Blacklist treatment?
Catch the episode this Thursday at 8 p.m. on NBC and a review after that on TV Fanatic.
Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on Twitter.