On a funny note, I actually have an FBI agent who lives upstairs from me! Literally right over my apartment. I've been very tempted to ask some of these CODIS questions we have if I ever bump into him. Then my better judgement says "um, NO!" I don't even know him well! Could you imagine how the wording would go, even if I did say it was a plot from a tv show! He'd think I am insane!! 

I'll opt for just waiting to see how things play out on the show.

I just really need an answer to who is (or isn’t) in that suitcase next week.  I don’t care if my own theory drops dead and he is an imposter—I can accept it.  What I can’t accept is being left in the dark on whose bones those are.  😒

I am getting the idea that the bones may not belong to,anyone we suspect but are part of a much larger secret within the intelligence community. Perhaps they resulted from some operation that went terribly wrong and was covered up, supposedly buried deep never to be seen again. The dna search sounded an alarm amongst the conspirators. I don’t think Red acted alone when whatever went wrong went wrong. And I think it was all tied in with Katarina, the kgb, the Cabal, Fitch, probably everyone who was there on fire night. I wonder if Garvey was there that night? We have thought that fire night was primarily a showdown between Red and Katarina over Liz, but what if they were just a sideshow to whatever the meeting was really about? So really, Red ended up with the bones, either to dispose of them or maybe he took custody of them to use as leverage to ensure the silence of the whole group. Or something like that.

But what I still really want to know is why does Red have that presidential limo buried in that underground vault? He seems to have a large number of buried secrets.

Lara1, I would think that if the car’s engine was run for very long the CO2 would get whoever was down there with it.

I was just thinking about Liz's "memories" of fire night and also what KR said about there being "too many people", if it was just a custody fight over Masha, why were all those other people there. Backup for the opposing sides? Or could they have been meeting about something else? Maybe it didn’t have anything to do with an intelligence operation other than one of the groups members did something that they all needed to cover up for the person because it could topple their entire operations. They had thought it was all dead and buried (pun intended), but the resurfacing of Masha Rostova and now Kaplan's unearthing of the bones has reopened a very large container of nightcrawlers. I think that’s why Liz is the key to the whole thing. She has a memory or something that can lead back to whatever the conspiracy is about. So it is of vital importance that she not ever remember whatever it is. Her memory might be like the bones, it’s supposed to stay buried. The two years ago memory tinkering might have something to do with keeping it buried. And whatever it is, it is bigger than who her parents are/were. So why not just kill her and be done with it? Maybe that’s why Red came back into her life, to make sure that memory or whatever stays buried, and keeps her alive. Or not.

Honey West - I have thought for a while now that Liz is/was a witness to something.  And that's why her memory was really wiped - to protect her and to keep whatever happened from coming out.  I don't think Red lied to her about it, because wiping the memory of her shooting her "father" was part of it.  So not a lie, but not the whole story either.  And as Red said, he's never telling you everything.  That's been seen over and over.

As to what Liz may have seen, I've been all over the map with that.  But I still think that she is also somehow a clue to what happened to Red's family and that's why he needs answers from her and why he seemed interested in the science that might make her remember.

Well maybe some of that will turn out to be true....LOL

Yes its a great thought.   And as you say, there were many people, too many people.  Not sure why so many would be needed to get the Fulcrum.  unless they anticipated a lot of resistance.  I wonder if the person who had it (the real Red? , Daddy?) was killed because he would not reveal where it was.  But who actually put it in the bunny we still don't know

I always remember Liz waking up from the regression session with Dr Orchard seemingly absolutely terrified as she said, My father was there.  As if it were a) a surprise and b) terrifying.  Which doesn't add up because prior to that she said she had a memory of her father saving her from the fire, so she knew he was there.  And didn't seem frightened about him at all.

So was Ian Garvey there?  and is he "a" "Daddy"?  or who she thought was Daddy.  Far fetched probably but interesting to ponder.

But I was thinking about another aspect of it - if she "saw" her father in the regression therapy, she would know who he was.  Was it Red?  we can't tell by her dialogue with Red immediately afterwards.  But my thought is, what if that was the "discovery" that had to be re-erased by the memory manipulation of two years ago?  I tend to think she didn't see Red as "Daddy" because she seemed too terrified.  And because she already knew Red, I don't think she'd have that reaction.

anyway just kicking around some ideas.....for a change - LOL!

This is just a wild thought that came to mind... The fact that the suitcase has been found and is going to change everyone's life and Red is trying to stop that, what if he were to have Tom's memory changed. I doubt that would happen but it would really change a lot of things! 

Honey West - I hadn't thought about Oleander possibly being the name of a government operation or project. I like that!

Hey Honey West, there are a couple of Oleander projects in real life.

The Oleander Project is run by universities in Rhode Island, New York, Bermuda and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to collect oceanographic data such as ocean currents, upper ocean temperature, sea surface salinity, and surface carbon dioxide (CO2) in the highly dynamic region between New Jersey and Bermuda. The project uses a container ship, the MV Oleander, to collect the data as it makes weekly trips from Elisabeth, NJ to Bermuda and back. The project started back in 1992 and has been critical in documenting climate change and changes in the ecosystem. I find it interesting that it involves a container ship and a regular shipping route since shipping routes have been front and center in the Blacklist in Seasons 4 and 5.

Project Oleander is a simulation to help agencies respond to bioterrorism.  The project grew out of the international response to the Ebola outbreak a few years ago. Oleander uses the concept of a deliberate release of a biological agent, through a simulated exercise, to highlight the challenges and vulnerabilities in the preparation, planning and response to a biological incident, including bioterrorism.
 

Last edited by Tuxie400 (11/13/2017 3:11 pm)

Honey West - I think the Bermuda Triangle is just south of where the Oleander ship goes. But it would be interesting if that's also what they were studying.