The Blacklist Refugees » Reddington and his Navy Career

Eastcoast · 12/12/2017 3:12 am

We talk about Red and his Navy career a lot. But what about his FBI career?
He recently said he went into the Navy when he was 17. Ressler said he was being groomed for Admiral.
DId the FBI recruit him through the Navy to become a spy? That would explain more about the involvement with the Cabal and his knowing Cooper. It would also explain the statement Newton made about being home again and the one to Kaplan about him being in the FBI's hands so what could go wrong?

I read a little about a combined career of the military and FBI and it can be done.
What I am thinking is this was a very smart young man who came through and they saw the potential.
I have been wondering if that is one of the reasons Naomi smacked the crap out of him.
Usually a spouse has no knowledge that they are married to a spy.
So KR was a spy, and Red was a spy not just for the Navy, but possibly using the Navy for being able to travel in and out of places instead of flying around as a civilian which would be more difficult. The same way KR used her husband to be able to get around because he had access as Red said.

12/12/2017 8:41 am

Was he ever officially considered FBI? I was always under the impression that he worked on a joint task force, but remained separately Naval Intelligence. Perhaps he had a situation similar to Navabi's?

Tuxie400 · 12/12/2017 11:14 am

We have never had official confirmation that Reddington was an FBI asset or agent. The closest link is that joint task force. It will be interesting to see if Newton's comment is ever explained.

Eastcoast · 12/12/2017 12:43 pm

This is an old 2013 article.

http://www.dailynews.com/2013/10/04/james-spader-plays-former-fbi-agent-who-turns-to-crime-in-the-blacklist/

Tuxie400 · 12/12/2017 1:31 pm

Having been a newspaper reporter and copy editor (people who edit the articles and write the headlines or titles), I would say sometimes mistakes do get into print. I would say this reporter did not read his press packet carefully, or misunderstood it.

Last edited by Tuxie400 (12/12/2017 1:33 pm)

lara1 · 12/12/2017 2:09 pm

I remember seeing articles about the FBI thing too, but I'm not sure that's accurate. But I can see how its confusing with what Mr. Grey says to Kaplan when Red surrenders.

Red describes himself as being in Naval counter intelligence. (I'm not sure that FBI gets involving in foreign espionage, but I don't know really) I can't recall now but I think Cooper described himself as being in Naval intelligence back when the "Seaduke" episode happened with Red (assuming Red is the real Red, but that's another story....). So if Cooper was helping to run the operation and overseeing evidence afterwards, I'm assuming they were both part of Naval intelligence at that point. Also, I think when Red surrenders and then is brought to the black site, wasn't he brought in a US navy helicopter (I'm not sure that was a Navy black site or just a government black site, I have no idea how that part works). So I'm thinking that the Navy was after incarceration of one of their own there. Just a thought.

But I do think, and still think, that Red has an inside ally high up in the FBI. Who may or may not have been part of Navy intelligence at the time. Of course, if Red is not the "real" Red, he may in fact have been in the FBI with "real" Red having been in Naval intelligence. But that's a whole other story,, haha.

Last edited by lara1 (12/12/2017 2:09 pm)

Eastcoast · 12/13/2017 1:40 pm

I have seen several references to it too lara1. I was reading some more of those last night. One was from a few months ago during an interview with JB. I should have saved it.
There are a lot of mistakes out there Tuxie. thanks for the heads up on that.

Tuxie400 · 12/13/2017 3:33 pm

Eastcoast - The FBI link could be to the joint task force, which could have been headquartered in the FBI building. Or, as lara1 implies, if Red is an imposter, he might have been an FBI agent.

lara1 - When Red first surrenders in Season 1, he's kept on a Navy vessel. You're right about when he surrenders in Luther Braxton he's brought to the black site on a Navy helicopter. I wonder how Cooper made the transition from the Navy to the FBI.

Last edited by Tuxie400 (12/13/2017 3:36 pm)

lara1 · 12/13/2017 5:50 pm

Tuxie400 # 8 - thanks for that. I merged the two different black site scenarios in my mind. LOL
But it was the Navy that clearly was in charge there, I think.

1/14/2018 10:57 pm

I’m no expert on jurisdiction but since Red was Navy when he disappeared, wouldn’t he still be considered a Naval officer ( a deserter) and be up for court Marshall rather than civilian court? Did they decide to give his case to the FBI? Or can you do both? I’m not sure why I’m just now thinking of this after 5 years. 😄

I’ve also noticed that they never mention his rank when he disappeared. Just that he was being groomed for Admiral.

Last edited by Brittany (1/14/2018 10:58 pm)

lara1 · 1/14/2018 11:40 pm

Brittany - I'd always assumed (maybe incorrectly) that since Red was Navy gone awol, he remained in their jurisdiction, hence why he was incarcerated on a navy ship and the navy helicopter later in the series.

Which I guess kind of begs the question of why surrender to the FBI. Cooper was a link. But it also sounded like he was FBI - Newton says to him, home again, sir, and in Requiem Newton says to Kate something like, it'll be ok he's with the FBI now. Maybe he meant Cooper. I guess we don't know.

(Unless of course Red isn't really Red or was just using a made up identity created by the government. which might explain FBI).

Last edited by lara1 (1/14/2018 11:41 pm)

Eastcoast · 1/15/2018 1:49 am

It's like everything else, it makes no real sense.
He was in the Navy, but he was going all over the place running spys as he once said. I imagine that Cooper was a part of that and that's how he got where he is.

No, they never gave his rank.

Those papers in the spoilers with the faded pic of him and the finger prints saying, 'this changes everything' will give us some answers if we ever get to see them.

lara1 · 1/15/2018 8:56 am

Yeah except I guess it was the FBI who was hunting him

I’ve always been curious about the rank too as he always seemed a bit young to have done all they said he did (like kr the ghost).

Yes I wonder if they will reveal what’s in the spoiler. It’s the second time they have shown it. Esp since ive believed for a long time that the prints in his file are fake.or fabricated. Ordered up not too long after the fire as I recall _^😀

1/15/2018 9:05 am

I know it seemed like the Navy was keeping him in the beginning. I guess I wondered why his case wouldn't be handled by NCIS rather than the FBI....other than the fact that we already have 3 shows on television about NCIS and they wanted Liz to be an FBI profiler (and Red goes where his Lizzy is). lol

Tuxie400 · 1/15/2018 11:04 am

I think the FBI was involved in hunting Reddington because of the treason charges. In other real-life espionage cases involving Navy officers, the FBI was the investigating branch of government.

1/15/2018 12:09 pm

That makes sense. So once the crimes reach a certain level (like treason) they could be kicked over to the FBI.

Honey West · 1/15/2018 2:23 pm

Maybe Red got a medical discharge after the fire?

1/15/2018 5:00 pm

Honey West wrote:
Maybe Red got a medical discharge after the fire?

They say in the pilot that he was coming home to see his family so i had the impression he was still active and had been away. Depending on how deep cover he was at the time (which would affect how much oversight and contact he had with superiors), I think Red could have been in the fire and recovered without US intelligence knowing or he could have explained it away as happening while he met with a source, etc.

Honey West · 1/15/2018 5:11 pm

So in Dec. of the year of the fire (we think), Red was coming home on leave to see his family. On leave from somewhere, but did they actually say the Navy? I can't remember. Katarina implied in Requiem that both sides would soon know about their affair. So was Red allowed to remain in the Navy after that supposedly came out? Was he ever investigated at the time? That's why I think he was being blackmailed into doing something covert. But I haven't figured out how that fits into the timeline of what we think we know. I need to go back and digest. I think I really need to make my own "wall of clues". LOL!

lara1 · 1/15/2018 5:38 pm

I do wonder how much Ilya Surkov told us (or not) about Red's backstory. Osterman - Ex CIA, took on the identity of a dead person to do things in that person's name, but for the "good" - ie getting back at his ex-boss ( and the government) whom he saw as a bad actor. Then burned by the CIA. Osterman stood at the window with that high potency rifle, as Red did in Alexander Kirk.....

Last edited by lara1 (1/15/2018 5:40 pm)