Is The Blacklist Season 7 Really Killing Off That Significant Character?

The Blacklist Raymond Red Reddington James Spader NBC
(Image credit: Virginia Sherwood / NBC)

Spoilers for The Blacklist Season 7 episode entitled “Louis T. Steinhil (#27): Conclusion” are discussed below.

The Blacklist dropped a betrayal bombshell and a ton of jaw-droppers in the second part of its Season 7 premiere. Among the latter was what happened when Katarina led a full-blown assault on her father Dom’s house. Her father/Liz’s grandfather was critically injured, suffering a nearly mortal wound to his chest.

Thank goodness for Frankie! She stabilized Dom and he was unconscious, but alive, as the episode ended. Red told Liz that Dom may have suffered brain damage as a result of his injury. The Blacklist left fans on pins and needles as they wait to see how and if Dom recovers.

Is this the end of Dom? Will the man who knows many secrets die before he can share any more of them? The hope for “less secrets” is hanging in the balance alongside Dom! The Blacklist’s creator, Jon Bokenkamp, provided this update to EW:

Dom is still alive, barely. And we love Brian Dennehy, so any chance we get to get him onto the show is a blessing. But [Dom] is clinging to life, and with him lives a secret, lives the truth. Yes, we will likely see more of Dom. His story line is not finished. In fact, I would even suggest if Katarina could find him, that would probably not bode well for Red. [Dom] is sort of a loose thread that is dangling out there, posing both a threat to Red in terms of answers that he has and also this big emotional hole for Liz and Agnes, because this is her grandfather.

This is as hopeful of an update as it is a disquieting one. Why? Because The Blacklist’s creator indicates that Dom poses a threat to Red. Fans will recall what has happened to characters that have represented a similar issue. Viewers cannot forget that Red killed Liz’s dying adoptive father, Sam, when he was getting ready to spill a secret.

Is Dom in danger from Red? It is not difficult to think that he might be. Could what happens with Dom be connected to those trust issues that have been foreshadowed between Liz and Red? Maybe.

The good news is that Jon Bokenkamp says that Dom’s storyline is not over. A sign that Katarina’s father could survive his severe injury. Bokenkamp’s comments could also mean that Dom’s story could continue via flashbacks. He does not necessarily have to live for his time on The Blacklist to continue.

Having Dom’s fate in such a precarious place opens up a seemingly endless supply of questions. He was the one who provided Liz with “the truth” about Red’s real identity. That he is supposedly Ilya Koslov. While The Stranger brought an air of uncertainty to that version of events, there is hope of clarifying answers in the future.

Dom lived to tell the tale after sharing the explosive news. What does that mean for the veracity of what he revealed? That is open to debate. Keep reading between the lines. Dom’s daughter was apparently betrayed by her father. Now, Katarina is an intimidating big bad on the warpath. Sadly, for Dom, he is in her crosshairs!

Tune in to learn the fate of Katarina’s father when new episodes of The Blacklist air Fridays, at 8 p.m. ET, on NBC, as part of this fall's premieres. You can catch up on all things Dom via past seasons of The Blacklist that are streaming on Netflix, along with lots of upcoming content.

Britt Lawrence

Like a contented Hallmark movie character, Britt happily lives in the same city she grew up in. Along with movies and television, she is passionate about competitive figure skating. She has been writing about entertainment for 5 years, and as you may suspect, still finds it as entertaining to do as when she began.