The past two episodes of The Blacklist Season 6 have been heartbreaking for Aram Mojtabai (Amir Arison).
Last week, he was left out of his beloved Samar Navabi's (Mozhan Marnò) plan to escape the Mossad assassins out to kill her. After punching Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader) in the face, Aram stole Red's money in the April 5 episode in an attempt to get leverage over Red and force him to bring Aram to wherever Samar is hiding.
Ultimately, Episode 15, "Olivia Olson," ended with Red convincing Aram not to follow Samar. He'd only be leading Mossad right to her. She'd only have to go on the run again, and leave him again. Aram finally seemed to accept that Samar is gone. But that doesn't mean he'll stop grieving that loss any time soon. After all, until just recently, he still thought they had a chance at marriage, kids, the whole shebang.
Amir Arison explained how Aram is going to show his grief, and also how The Blacklist is going to alert viewers to when he's ready to start moving on:
I think one of the ways he's going to process this going forward is to bury himself in his work and dedicate himself to the Task Force. ... He often wears purples and pinks, and they're not going to be bright right away.
As TV Guide added, that means when we see Aram wearing more bright colors again, we'll know he's getting back to being himself.
Amir Arison talked to TV Insider about honoring Samar's wishes to go into hiding for their safety, and also honoring her with his life and purpose by continuing with the Task Force.
As it was shown on the plane when Red manipulated him into working on a new case, the Task Force and saving lives is catnip for Aram. And this has helped him realize that is the purpose greater than himself.
Samar actress Mozhan Marnò made the decision to leave the show last summer, she revealed on Instagram last week. Amir Arison revealed how he learned that Samar would be leaving:
I didn’t know it was in the works, but when I read that script about when Aram learns about Samar’s aphasia and how her condition would deteriorate, I thought, 'Uh, I don’t think we’re going to have a wedding. If this doesn’t get better, how will she continue on the Task Force?' So I had a sense, but didn’t know how it would play out or for how long. Both Mozhan and the writers were masterful in handling it. I found out a couple of episodes before it all happened. Mozhan was very classy about it all.
Amir Arison said he was sad to lose Mozhan Marnò as his "No. 1 scene partner" since their scenes were always so rich and had so much evolution over the years.
I’m super-sad to see my scene partner go, but curious to see what happens. The Task Force is down a person, so each has more weight to carry. That’s a lot more to explore.
Yes, and there's a lot going on with The Blacklist beyond Aram's grief. Red is apparently sick with some mystery ailment we still have to hear about. Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff) has decided to do some digging into Red's past, regarding Elizabeth Keen's (Megan Boone) mother, behind Liz's back. Plus, Dembe (Hisham Tawfiq) is now caught in the middle of Red and Liz since he knows that Liz is the one who betrayed Red. Apparently that little secret Dembe has been carrying is going to come to a head in Episode 16, "Lady Luck" which airs this Friday, April 12 at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.
There are meant to be 22 episodes to the season, per usual, so we only have a few more to go. NBC already renewed The Blacklist for Season 7, though, so the search for the truth on Red's identity will continue.
