Honey West #140, that is really interesting sleuthing on the cat.  When the episode opens, we see Red for a split second, then quickly a longer shot on the cat, then Red and Dembe and the Scotch...hmmm

It brings me back to Lord Baltimore - where part of Berln's plot was to find someone who had, among other tings, a subscription to a cat magazine.  At the time, I thought it odd that they just dropped that in there.  I think at that point, we had already had a glimpse of the flat and the cat.

Hmmm.  I don't think it's Naomi, but if its a cat allergy, I think that widens the pool of suspects.  Because a cat allergy could be more widely known than say, something unique about Red's body chemistry that only a doctor or closer associate might know.

(I don't remember the cat hairs but you might be right.  Your comment made me laugh!  as I sometimes confuse stuff from different shows.....!)

Last edited by lara1 (2/25/2017 1:24 pm)

Honey West - Great ideas about Red having an allergy to cats! I think you may be on to something. The cat is some sort of clue. I was also thinking that Red's lungs might have been damaged the night of the fire by smoke inhalation, and an allergy that would assault his respiratory system could be deadly because of that.

Raymond Reddington's daughter, Jennifer, would know he has an allergy to cats. We've seen two women this season that some thought might be Jennifer: Elise and Emma. I never really bought into the idea that either was Jennifer - until today. Could one of them really be Jennifer, and the person targeting Red?

Jennifer might have a motive to come after Red - either because she were so hurt by his abandonment, or so mad because Red is just pretending to be her father. And if Red is really Katarina, and Jennifer knows that, she would blame Katarina for the disintegration of her family. Who better to take Red down than the daughter Reddington didn't seem to care about?

While checking IMDB today, I noticed Elise/Janet is going to be back for episode 16. Is she just coming back as part of the Aram/Samar/Elise love triangle, or is she playing an even bigger part? As an associate of The Thrushes spy gang, she would know about Liz's remark that she was tired of "cozying up to that snake."  So the snake venom toxin would be especially appropriate. As a covert hacker operative herself, Elise/Janet/Jennifer? would know her way around the dark web and how to hire the Apothecary. She could have hacked Reddington's bank account and made it look like he hired Isabella Stone himself. The pieces fit.

Obviously, Jennifer didn't have warm fuzzy feelings about Red after he disappeared. Remember Carla/Naomi's words to Red:"I don't know where Jennifer is. She knew you - would come for her one day, and she left. I don't know where she is."

Jennifer became someone else - someone Raymond Reddington, with all his vast resources, couldn't find. Perhaps she took the job with The Thrushes because she wanted to help Kirk take down Reddington. When that didn't work, she took matters into her own hands.

I've always viewed The Blacklist first and foremost as a family story. I think we've met Raymond Reddington's daughter. She’s a lot like her dad – great with disguises, aliases, and going undercover. A strategist with a soft spot for Aram.


 

Last edited by Tuxie400 (2/26/2017 11:03 pm)

Tuxie400 wrote:

Honey West - Great ideas about Red having an allergy to cats! I think you may be on to something. The cat is some sort of clue. I was also thinking that Red's lungs might have been damaged the night of the fire by smoke inhalation, and an allergy that would assault his respiratory system could be deadly because of that.

Raymond Reddington's daughter, Jennifer, would know he has an allergy to cats. We've seen two women this season that some thought might be Jennifer: Elise and Emma. I never really bought into the idea that either was Jennifer - until today. Could one of them really be Jennifer, and the person targeting Red?

Jennifer might have a motive to come after Red - either because she were so hurt by his abandonment, or so mad because Red is just pretending to be her father. And if Red is really Katarina, and Jennifer knows that, she would blame Katarina for the disintegration of her family. Who better to take Red down than the daughter Reddington didn't seem to care about?

While checking IMDB today, I noticed Elise/Janet is going to be back for episode 16. Is she just coming back as part of the Aram/Samar/Elise love triangle, or is she playing an even bigger part? As an associate of The Thrushes spy gang, she would know about Liz's remark that she was tired of "cozying up to that snake."  So the snake venom toxin would be especially appropriate. As a covert hacker operative herself, Elise/Janet/Jennifer? would know her way around the dark web and how to hire the Apothecary. She could have hacked Reddington's bank account and made it look like he hired Isabella Stone himself. The pieces fit.

Obviously, Jennifer didn't have warm fuzzy feelings about Red after he disappeared. Remember Carla/Naomi's words to Red:"I don't know where Jennifer is. She knew you - would come for her one day, and she left. I don't know where she is."

Jennifer became someone else - someone Raymond Reddington, with all his vast resources, couldn't find. Perhaps she took the job with The Thrushes because she wanted to help Kirk take down Reddington. When that didn't work, she took matters into her own hands.

I've always viewed The Blacklist first and foremost as a family story. I think we've met Raymond Reddington's daughter. =10ptShe’s a lot like her dad – great with disguises, aliases, and going undercover. A strategist with a soft spot for Aram.
=10pt


 

 
I like that idea of Jennifer, Tuxie400! All of these little clues and puzzle pieces have been put out there like breadcrumbs for us to pick up, some a long time ago and we/I forget some of them. Good catch on a possible why and who. I also think Janet/Elise is back for a reason and is why we learned more about her hacker background. All of the attack stuff seems to have hacking as a method. Wouldn't it be fun if it ends up being a hacker battle between Aram on Red's side and Janet on the enemy's side?

Tatiana - I haven't seen an interview with Bokenkamp saying anything about body type, height. The only thing I've seen is the EW interview where he says, "I'd like to see someone walk me through the logic of that." Other posters have added their own thoughts about body type and height to that. Let me know if you find such a Bokenkamp quote.

Such great theories!  

Tuxie400 - I think you may be onto something with Else...As for Emma, i don't think Emma is Jennifer - there was nothing in their interactions (Red and Emma) that led me to conclude that.  Plus I think the timelines didn't add up for some reason and I thought Emma was a bit older than Jennifer would be.  (The actress I believe is around 40 or early 40s).  Plus, Red didn't know where Jennifer was - its possible he wasn't looking for her because he knew where she was (but wanted to know if the FBI knew), but I think he seemed genuinely agitated/frustrated when Liz gave him the file that said the gov lost all track of Jennifer once she went AWOL in 2007.

Back to Elise/Jennifer.  Jennifer I think would have motive.  And it would be very personal.  Here is my theory.  Could be completely off base, but here goes.  I've always thought that Carla and Jennifer were not Red's real family.  Whether Carla was complicit in it, or only discovered it later on, I don't know.  But I think Red set out to establish a "cover" family.  And if Carla was not complicit in it, and only found out later when she and her daughter became collateral damage for whatever happened to Red or whatever he did, -  that is why she is so bitter.   And why she tells Liz that Red is a master manipulator who can easily make a woman feel like she is the center of his world.   And maybe one reason why Red hated Tom so much - because he deceived Liz and maybe reminded Red of what Red had done all those years ago.  And Red feels very guilty about what happened with Carla, hence he looks after her, offers her any support she needs.

Anyway back to Elise, I think she could be Jennifer and hence after REd.  And maybe Jennifer hates Red because of what he did to her and to her mother, destroying their lives.  I think Red was after Jennifer not so much to protect her but to "neutralize" her - no not kill her, just put her in his protection so he could keep watch over what she was doing, as she was a potential threat.  Elise has the hacking skills to get into Red's bank accounts, she would know maybe about Red's medical issues from when they lived as a "family".  She could have found Red's flat, picked the lock and poisoned the Scotch.  Whether or not she knew about Dembe I don't know.  

Thoughts?

Last edited by lara1 (2/25/2017 5:32 pm)

lara1 - I didn't get a Jennifer vibe with Emma either. But one of my favorite theorists on Tumblr did. Even if Jennifer was part of Red's cover family, she could have become quite attached to him and loved him like a father. If she was his cover daughter, why would she fear him "coming for her?" Are you thinking there something she knew about his undercover life, Katarina or Liz? 

I've always thought the BL planned to bring Jennifer into the action at some point. Why introduce her and talk about her in Season 2 if not to revisit her story later?  Jennifer as the big bad would be amazing!

Tuxie400 wrote:

lara1 - I didn't get a Jennifer vibe with Emma either. But one of my favorite theorists on Tumblr did. Even if Jennifer was part of Red's cover family, she could have become quite attached to him and loved him like a father. If she was his cover daughter, why would she fear him "coming for her?" Are you thinking there something she knew about his undercover life, Katarina or Liz? 

I've always thought the BL planned to bring Jennifer into the action at some point. Why introduce her and talk about her in Season 2 if not to revisit her story later?  Jennifer as the big bad would be amazing!

Tuxie400, I think that if Red had a "cover" family or otherwise a "second" family (did he have two aliases/identities/lives), and targeted Carla, then it would have been a huge betrayal if it was discovered that it was a "lie" and if they were, in addition , collateral damage to whatever happened later on, both Carla and possibly Jennifer would turn bitter against him.  I hope that makes sense....

The other possible corollary to my theory is that Red was sent to target Carla, because she was an operative (she demonstrated some possible "spy skills" when dealing with Berlin).  Reminds me of a piece of the fire night fight - I think Carla may have been there and part of that argument may have been Red and Carla,  ("You spied on me") but I digress...

The other thing that was weird to me back in the Berlin arc was the slow and almost sneering way that Berlin called Carla "Mrs Red-ding-ton" and said "your wife" during the first call between Berlin and Red.  It may have been Berlin just being very mean and nasty, but what if that was sarcasm?  just another wild thought!  LOL

ooops! sorry Lara, you beat me to it! I just saw your post. 

I'm just going to add one more piece of info here.  Its indirect to what we are discussing, but I recently went back and re-watched the first part of Luther Braxton.

I think the "family" that Red was making his way back to  at Christmas 1990 (the FBI story, if that is even true..), may have been Carla/Jennifer, and I think the cabin where Red took Carla/Naomi after her release by Berlin was the house.

In Luther Braxton, they run a news story at the beginning recapping Reddington's disappearance.  During the news broadcast, they display a map.  You guys may already know this but that is a real map of a real location, in rural Maryland,in a town called Odenton, not too far from Fort Meade, and from the Naval Academy.  (And get this - when I looked into the history of some land that is near to that, it was bought by the Navy in the early 20th century and operated as a dairy farm and - the family house that once stood on the property burnt to the ground around 1980 I think, by arsonists.  Weird real life coincidence!)

Anyway when Aram traced the pay phone calls that Frank was making to his girlfriend, they were coming from rural Maryland.  So I think its the same place....

doesn't explain why Elise could be Jennifer, but I thought I would add it here.  You all probably know about it already anyway!

Tatiana, tuxie400 - yes great minds!  funny how we all went to find that info on the names at the same time!   

Tuxie400 wrote:

I also believe the family Red was trying to reach that Christmas was Carla and Jennifer. I remember seeing the map and having someone connect it to the cabin. I think that's very likely where Red was headed.  Whether that's the fire house, I don't have a clue. Your research about the Navvy owning land there and the house being torched is very interesting.  And, as Red would say, there are not coincidences.

Tuxie400 - here is one of the articles I found on the Hammond Farm in Odenton.  As far as I can tell, the Navy still owns the land but no longer runs the dairy - it eases it out for others to use for dairy farming.

There is some info about the house on the farm having burned down, but not a date.  I did some further sleuthing and I found some documents produced at the time the Navy was looking to lease out the land, and it had the date as 1980, if I recall correctly.  Interesting! 

https://extension.umd.edu/sites/extension.umd.edu/files/_docs/Dairy%20Farm%20History.pdf