The Blacklist: 5 Blacklisters That Didn’t Deserve To Die (And 5 That Totally Did)

The character of Raymond Reddington has no friends, just allies and enemies, and his enemies tend to die, some for no reason at all. The task force was supposed to bring some sanity to Reddington’s lawlessness, but he seems to pull them to his side rather than they are helping him see the light. Whenever Red names someone as a blacklister, that their death is imminent, sometimes even when they don’t deserve to die.

With Reddington deciding who dies and who lives in The Blacklist, the veil between darkness and light is so thin, which is why sometimes fans fail to notice when the wrong person dies. It is true that most of Reddington’s blacklisters have come to some form of justice, but not always the justice they deserved.

10 Totally Deserved: Anslo Garrick

The seven seasons of The Blacklist haven’t had any terrorist as ferocious as Anslo Garrick, the first man to take over The Post Office. The show never made it clear what Red did to piss him off that much, but whatever it was, it didn’t warrant killing Luli. Garick was one heartless blacklister that tested the gang to its limits.

If all he wanted was revenge against Reddington, then he should have only come for him, not everyone. To make matters worse, Garrick wasn’t even seeking his own revenge; he was just a hired gun, which made him a stupid but dangerous man. After the torment he exerted on everyone plus his inability to negotiate wisely, his death was a welcome relief.

9 Didn’t Deserve: Alan Fitch

Alan Fitch wasn’t the best of people, but he was better than all the alternatives Reddington faced in The Cabal. Alan Fitch and Reddington had an understanding, and he was honorable enough to keep his side of the bargain and prevent his associates from coming for Red’s head.

His decision to send Berlin (Milos Kirchoff) after Reddington was stupid, though, as it only got him a psycho for an enemy when the truth came out. His death was one of the saddest in the show, especially after expressing his regret with a perfect memory of all the people he had killed, deciding not to add anyone else to that number.

8 Totally Deserved: Berlin

Berlin, aka Milos Kirchoff, was the smartest Blacklister Red and the task force face in the first season. During their first meeting, Reddington warned him against his revenge mission as it would get him killed, but he didn’t listen.

After kidnapping and torturing Reddington’s ex-wife, torturing Liz, killing Alan Fitch, and causing lots of irreparable damage from Russia to the US, Berlin was going to get killed by someone. Berlin himself, despite being smart enough to break through Reddington’s tight circle, didn’t know when to stop. His inability to make sensible decisions and negotiate caused Red to kill him even after they made peace.

7 Didn’t Deserve: Mr. Kaplan

Mr. Kaplan, whom fans later found out was Katheryn Nemec, was the most trustworthy associate Reddington ever had, after Dembe, of course. She kept all the promises she ever made to him until the day he put Elizabeth’s life in danger. Her loyalty to Elizabeth was greater than to Reddington, and she never came against Red until he tried to kill her first.

Mr. Kaplan’s revenge plan got out of hand when it put everyone in Red’s circle in danger, but it was more of a disagreement that could be solved just by talking rather than killing people. While her death was a suicide, going against her remains one the worst decisions he has ever made.

6 Totally Deserved: Luther Braxton

Luther Braxton is the smart thief from The Factory; The offshore CIA black site, where the task force nearly died when they went to rescue Reddington after being arrested in China. Braxton was probably more brutal than Anslo Garick, as he would do anything to get the Fulcrum. He caused so much bloodshed in two days that if he lived any longer, he would have taken down Red and the task force, even if it meant bringing the apocalypse along.

Braxton was also a psychopath that didn’t care about anyone else but himself. He killed all the guards and staff at the black site, including those who helped him escape. He was a bad thief who seemed to have more muscle than brain; His ego and greed got him his long-deserved death in the end.

5 Didn’t Deserve: Alexander Kirk

Alexander Kirk just couldn’t pass as Elizabeth’s dad even if he were her biological father. He was a broken man, seemingly having been through lots of hard times. His hatred for Reddington was justified, though, because Red obviously had an affair with his wife, and that would piss off anybody.

Kirk’s attack on Red’s empire was damaging, but he didn’t plan any unnecessary evil against Liz and her family as everyone believed at first. He was only a broken man looking for his scattered family to find if anyone could save him from a terminal illness.

4 Totally Deserved: Peter Kotsiopolus

While working as the Cabal’s enforcer, Peter Kotsiopolus was brutal and unreasonable. His frequent attacks on Red and later the task force got more people killed than all the enemies Red had encountered. While going against Reddington was probably justified, going against the task force and Dembe wasn’t, not mentioning the number of people that died and suffered while he hunted Reddington and Liz.

When it turned out that he was playing both the government and the Cabal for his own benefit, it became clear that he would die. Reddington getting to “drop him in time for dinner” wasn’t so bad after all.

3 Didn’t Deserve: David Kenyon

The Church Of The Shield, which was led by the controversial cult leader Justin Kenyon was one of the most interesting episodes of The Blacklist. The gospel, according to Justin Kenyon, allowed incest and polygamy, which only worked if he had more girls than boys on his farm, which also doubled up as a haven for criminals. Being the worst father in TV history, Justin Kenyon didn’t deserve anything short of the death he received.

His son David deserved better, though. He had become the father to all the boys that Kenyon had sent away to die and taught them to survive and was even reasonable enough to listen to Liz and choose life over the alleged glorified death his father had taught him. David was the only good thing to come out of all that mess until his brainwashed brother shot him.

2 Totally Deserved: Tom Connolly

The Blacklist hasn’t had any villain as cunning and evil as Tom Connolly. He was an opportunist that would do anything to secure his place at the top, including selling out Harold Cooper, a lifelong friend. While it was stupid of Cooper to agree to his manipulation, Connolly just couldn’t be allowed to live.

He was going to kill everyone, including Mojtabai and Ressler, who were the most upright people in the task force. Connolly also wasn’t going to face any justice for all the people he had killed, and the way he spoke to Elizabeth just wasn’t acceptable.

1 Didn’t Deserve: Tom Keen

Reddington put Tom Keen into Elizabeth’s life, then Liz fell in love with him without doing any background check, making all of them liable for what happened afterwards. However, Tom toying with Liz’s emotions like that was unfair, although he later sought absolution for his crimes.

Throughout their two marriages, Tom always protected Liz, and he was, by far, the only person that actually protected Liz from her many enemies. His death at the hands of a bunch of criminals was totally uncalled for, especially after he had done so much to keep his wife and daughter alive.

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