Warning: spoilers ahead for the latest episode of The Blacklist on NBC.
While The Blacklist has been lighter and more fun in many ways in Season 5 so far, there has been one very dark plot twist hanging over everything. The Season 5 premiere ended on a flash forward that seemed to reveal a bloodied and beaten Tom Keen being shot and killed by none other than Red. While Tom and Red have never been the best of friends, the flash forward of Red seemingly executing Tom was a shocker. The odds have been that the mysterious suitcase containing remains was going to come between them and lead to the final terrible confrontation, but there are still a lot of dots that need to be connected to get the story to a place where Red could actually kill Tom. Now, the latest episode may have revealed how Red could be convinced that the time had come to end Tom.
Tom and Red were on the same side in the latest episode, although Tom was secretly working to figure out the identity of the remains in the suitcase. The two men's antagonism toward each other was actually somewhat amusing, and might have been downright funny if not for Tom's possible death hanging over all of their interactions. Red finally came out and said that he would have killed Tom a long time ago if not for Liz's affection for him, and therein might lie the answer to the question of what could motivate Red to actually try to kill Tom. If Liz gets angry at Tom to the point of cutting ties and leaving him, Red might feel entitled to finally get rid of him.
The mysterious suitcase could play into both an angry split between Liz and Tom and Red seemingly murdering Tom. When Liz inevitably discovers that Tom has been hiding the suitcase that was technically supposed to go to her, she'll likely be pretty mad at him. If the circumstances are just right--or just wrong, really--Red might catch Liz at a moment when she's totally worked up against Tom. If that moment coincides with Red's realization that Tom has the briefcase, he might decide to go ahead and knock Tom off.
We'll have to wait and see. An awful lot can still happen between all the main players before the story gets to the point of the flash forward, and The Blacklist hasn't actually confirmed that Tom really does die after his injuries in that flash forward. The entire bloody sequence might be very different than it seemed when the Season 5 premiere first aired. Hopefully we can enjoy the ride before whatever happens between Red and Tom in that future scene. A fan favorite character returned in this episode, and there could be plenty more fun ahead.
New episodes of The Blacklist air on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Check out our fall TV guide for your other viewing options.
