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James Spader Reveals What He Thinks About The Blacklist's Finale: "We Commit to It"
Spader has bewitched audiences as the enigmatic Raymond Reddington for ten nail-biting seasons.
The Blacklist is ending, and as fans gear up for a high-stakes series finale, all eyes are on what Raymond "Red" Reddington (James Spader) will pull next out of his bag of endless tricks.
For 10 nail-biting seasons, we've watched Red wrangle himself out of virtually any situation. Federal prison, hostage situations, uncomfortable conversations, you name it; Red will find a clever escape plan. As the curtain closes on The Blacklist, we find Red in one of his most precarious positions yet: on the run from the government, who have turned the Task Force he helped create against him.
The Concierge of Crime is looking at his most harrowing ordeal yet, and fans can't wait to see how it all unfolds after a decade on air. Spader will be sorely missed as the enigmatic and endlessly entertaining Raymond Reddington. As an executive producer of The Blacklist, Spader had a hand in how Red's story ends after bringing him to life for so many years, and he recently opened up about what we can expect from the epic finale.
James Spader reveals how he feels about The Blacklist's ending
Spader has delivered a spell-binding performance in each and every one of the hundreds of Blacklist episodes. But the days of Red's iconic fedora gracing television screens are winding down, and Spader couldn't be more thrilled about how The Blacklist ends.
“I was very, very glad we were able to end it exactly the way we wanted to end it," Spader told The Associated Press ahead of the two-hour finale. "It was deliberate, and we weren’t taken by surprise in terms of when the ending was going to come. You’ll see that the ending has conviction and we commit to it.”
Spader also dished about where The Blacklist concludes. Last we saw Reddington, he was on the run from the authorities, trying to get out of the country. Spader confirms Red's getaway brings him to the stunning landscape of Spain.
“I really felt like this was complete, and I loved how it really completed a circle, in a way,” The Blacklist legend continued. “It wasn’t just an unbroken line from point A to point Z, but it was a circle of sorts."
When asked about what made The Blacklist such a passion project for Spader, he zeroed in on the show's unique emotional beats. Blacklist fans have been laughing, crying, and gasping with surprise since the series' 2013 debut. The Emmy-winner wouldn't design the rollercoaster of emotions any other way.
“I would not be as curious about a show that was either just a drama or a show that was just a comedy,” Spader explained. “I felt that it was sort of nice that this show was very, very intense and brutal at times and then, at other times, very irreverent and sometimes very emotional.”
RELATED: James Spader Reveals Why The Blacklist Is Ending After Season 10
With every lavish monologue and ruthless Blacklister takedown, Reddington has taken Blacklist viewers on the journey of a lifetime. Spader reveals that he will always respect the Concierge of Crime and his lust for life.
“[Red] inhabits the whole world, he really does. He lives in it and he really loves it. And he loves life,” Spader concluded. “I guess one would understand the value of life if one has to take it every so often. He’s someone who would show reason and caution, but he was never fearful of anything."
The Blacklist two-hour series finale airs Thursday, July 13 at 8/7c on NBC and will later stream on Peacock.
