The Black List. SPOILER

[Baitball Blogger]

Season finale.

The last scene of the season, Red takes his shirt of and his back is scarred with burn marks. So, we now know that he HAS to be Lizzy's father. Why does he keep denying it?

[First Speaker]

1. I know...it's frustrating...

..."your father is dead". Something in Reddington died in that fire. And if he wasn't her father, why is she so important to him? Lots of questions...many concerning Tom. What were his motives, anyway? Why was he connected to Berlin at all? Why was that woman he killed involved in all this? Who the hell *is* Berlin? And finally--is Tom really dead? We didn't see his body... Damn. Can't wait for next fall...

[Chan790]

3. Answers, of a sort.

..."your father is dead". Something in Reddington died in that fire. And if he wasn't her father, why is she so important to him?

It's a two-way oddity. He also tells several people that his wife and daughter died in a fire. So not only is he denying he's her father to her; if he's her father, he's told several people including members of the task-force that she's dead.

Lots of questions...many concerning Tom. What were his motives, anyway?

Unknown. I doubt he's dead, as opposed to Lizzy lying and saying he's dead so Red won't spend time to track him down and have him killed.

Why was he connected to Berlin at all?

Berlin hires criminals of useful skillsets and gives them new identities in exchange for their loyalty. Probably no reason needed beyond that.

Why was that woman he killed involved in all this?

Berlin hires criminals of useful skillsets and gives them new identities in exchange for their loyalty. Probably no reason needed beyond that.

Who the hell *is* Berlin?

Berlin himself told us this. He's a former Spetsnaz-45th division (Russian Airborne Special Operations Unit...think less "Airborne" in the US/"Band of Brothers" sense and more "assassins that parachute in, complete their mission and escape without ongoing logistical support.&quot and Soviet Red Army officer imprisoned in Siberia for helping his daughter escape. His daughter was killed and mailed back to him until he fashioned a knife from her bone and used it to escape.

What's his tie to Reddington? Considering that Red is carrying around a Polaroid of Berlin's daughter identical to the one in the watch, I'd speculate that the person who helped track her down (and possibly her murderer) is Raymond Reddington.

And finally--is Tom really dead?

I doubt it. The actor who plays Tom did a media tour to promote the finale and promised that in the development of Tom's arc as the series went on, we'd get some clarity on his motives and why Tom feels that he is on the side of the good guys. Do you feel like we're there?

We didn't see his body... Damn. Can't wait for next fall...

[First Speaker]

4. I guess I was hoping for something more off-the-wall...

...I mean, Berlin has been such a lurking menace for so long, I was kind of hoping he'd turn out to be Hitler, or Lee Harvey Oswald, or something similarly jaw-dropping. Or even played by an actor you weren't expecting, like Kevin Spacey's cameo in *Seven*. And speaking of Spacey--Berlin, in the guise of somebody else, explaining his origin is rather like Kaiser Soze...LOL...
And as for Tom and what's-her-name...I dunno. It just seemed to me that their roles, the length of time they spent playing them, reeked of some sort of dedication to a cause--of something more than just hired criminals. That "Berlin" had some kind of deep meaning...well, we'll learn more next season. And I agree, on reflection, that Reddington must be the one who killed Berlin's daughter, though it makes him the biggest bastard imaginable...I mean--sending Berlin pieces of her, one at a time? If he *was* responsible for that, how can we ever feel any sympathy for him again? And he *is* a sympathetic figure, despite the fact that he's a monster...