The World Is Not Exactly Black and White

Picture this: you just graduated and it is your first day on the job as an FBI profiler.
Coincidentally, a fugitive on the top of the Most Wanted List of multiple U.S. law enforcement
bureaus for the past 20 years has just willingly turned himself in. You know nothing about this
until you leave your apartment only to find helicopters and what must be at least ten FBI cars
waiting for you outside. Raymond Reddington, wanted for an immense amount of crimes, has
specifically asked that he only speaks to you. You develop a father-daughter relationship with
him and although you recognize all of the crimes that he has committed, you start to ascertain the
world through his eyes.

Is it possible that the line between right and wrong is not as clear as you think? Unlike most
crime shows, The Blacklist not only provides its audience with an inside look into the mind of a
criminal, but it also raises many thought-provoking questions. This TV series conveys a distorted
idea of good and evil by allowing its audience to understand and connect with the main
characters on an emotional level; its controversial plot infiltrates the minds of its viewers and
blurs the line between right and wrong.
Raymond “Red” Reddington, a former U.S. Navy officer that became a high-profile
criminal, surrenders to the FBI declaring that if he's granted immunity, he will expose what
he calls “The Blacklist”. He claims that this valuable list contains the names of the
foremost dangerous criminals within the world. reciprocally for the list, Reddington does
not only want immunity but he also requests that he speaks exclusively to a lady named
Elizabeth Keen- a newly hired FBI profiler in her twenties- who has no clue why
Reddington has chosen her since has she ever met him before. The FBI decides  to simply
accept Reddington’s offer and therefore the storyline develops.

The mind of a felon is shown in a unique, thought-provoking way. Reddington, a cold-

hearted criminal wanted for multiple felonies including murder, is seen from a completely
different perspective. Although his relationship with Elizabeth Keen is still unclear, he
displays a father-daughter approach towards her. When Reddington is presented as a caring
father-figure, we develop a replacement view of him. We begin to relate to him; we do not
see him as we usually would, an evil man that has murdered plenty of innocent people.
“Emotional appeals can come in many forms”, says critic Laura Bolin Carroll. The Blacklist
appeals to our emotions through the relationship between Reddington and Keen. As we
watch them interact we realize that we are not really that different; anyone would do
anything in their power to guard the person they love.
The show explores the idea of pushing people to their limits and seeing how far they will
go. Throughout the show, Keen is faced with multiple dilemmas where she has to decide
between being an honest agent and protecting her own as well as her husband Tom’s life.
We see her character evolve as she enters the sphere of crime and corruption. At the start of
the show, Keen is portrayed as a rookie agent with a husband wanting to start a family.
After two seasons, Keen is on the FBI’s Most Wanted List along with Raymond
Reddington. Her natural instinct to survive comes into play and she does whatever is in her
power to not only save herself but other innocent people. Just like Reddington, she realizes
that going against the orders of the government is not always as evil and selfish of an act as
it appears; in order to save innocent lives Keen and Reddington have to take matters into
their own hands.

The Blacklist is aimed toward a more engaged audience and involves a necessary amount of
attention and thinking. The show explores a controversial issue of our government and the
secrets that are meant to “protect” people.
It (the show) pushes the thought of whether the ends really do justify the means. The FBI is
faced with the moral dilemma of where to draw the road between helping a high-profile
criminal with an agenda and saving thousands of individuals . As the show progresses, it
is revealed that Reddington’s plan isn't just to guard the people he loves, but to seek out and
contain the “fulcrum”, a secret file that exposes a world government that would cause
conflict everywhere the planet . This shows us that there are other perspectives aside
from our own and causes us to question the way we glance at good and evil; the
world is never black and white. Reddington’s motives are aimed toward “bigger” things,
meaning that a couple of casualties is nowhere near as bad as possibly billions that he could
prevent. On the opposite hand, we are shown how corrupt and secretive the world we live
in could possibly be. There is and will always be issues regarding our safety that the
government intentionally hides from us.

Reddington’s perspective provides us with insight into the world of crime. We see the way
that things are handled and the way common death is. After being a neighborhood of that
world for over 20 years, it is hard to recollect what “normal” life is like. Reddington has
been exposed to such a lot of gore and evil, that he has become resistant to the thought of
death. He claims that sometimes we do not get to settle on the life we have, which leaves us
questioning if we are too quick to gauge people. 
Simply because Reddington is at the highest of the Most Wanted List does not necessarily
mean that he is a malicious and heartless person.

Beyond the fact that The Blacklist allows us to enter the mind of a criminal, the show’s purpose
could be to persuading us into reconsidering the standards we use to classify people as “good” or
“bad”. The word “criminal” has an understandably bad connotation, but is it fair to group people
that way? If it were not for the show’s way of presenting Reddington’s motives from his
perspective, we would still consider him a fugitive that deserves to be locked up for murdering
innocent people. When looked at from a different angle, however, he is not only helping the FBI
catch dangerous criminals, but he also attempts to save the world from chaos. Reddington’s plans
are impeccably planned and it feels as if he is always six steps ahead of everyone. Although his
strategies may require immoral actions, we learn that we are not always against these immoral
tactics and that sometimes, there are sacrifices that must be made for the greater good. 
The Blacklist shows its viewers that there will always be more important factors to consider that
are deeper than what perceives the eye and sometimes you have to fight evil with evil.

Although it feels as if there are more and more questions after every episode of this thrilling TV
series, it is impossible not to wonder what will happen next. We are left intrigued and deep in
thought. The show causes us to reevaluate our approach to the world; it is not a straightforward
representation of good and evil, but a view from the inside. We do not just see how a criminal’s
mind works, but we are forced to question our beliefs about right and wrong.