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The Blacklist Season 9 has been on hiatus since Dec. 9. The show is on a break for the holidays and won’t return until 2022. So far there have been six episodes of the new season and fans might forget some of the details over the long break. Here’s everything you need to remember when the show returns in 2022.

Harry Lennix as Harold Cooper, Laura Sohn as Alina Park, Diego Klattenhoff as Donald Ressler, Hisham Tawfiq as Dembe Zuma, adn Amir Arison as Aram Mojtabai in The Blacklist Season 9. The task force stand/sit around a table.
Harry Lennix as Harold Cooper, Laura Sohn as Alina Park, Diego Klattenhoff as Donald Ressler, Hisham Tawfiq as Dembe Zuma, adn Amir Arison as Aram Mojtabai in ‘The Blacklist’ Season 9 | Will Hart/NBC)

Ressler delt with addiction following Liz Keen’s death

The Blacklist Season 9 picked back up two years after the death of Liz Keen. Donald Ressler and Liz were becoming romantically involved, so Liz’s death was no doubt a crushing blow. When the new season caught back up with Ressler, he was working as a mechanic and looking a little worse for wear.

The new season later revealed that Ressler fell back into abusing prescription painkillers. Although Alina Park convinces him to get clean, it’s clear that Ressler had a very difficult time after Liz died. This is an important detail to remember. The Blacklist Season 9 Episode 7 will explore Ressler’s time dealing with the aftermath of Liz’s death in a series of flashbacks, according to cartermatt.com.

Diego Klattenhoff as Donald Ressler in The Blacklist Season 9. Ressler has a mustache and beard.
Diego Klattenhoff as Donald Ressler in ‘The Blacklist’ Season 9 | Will Hart/NBC

Cooper is being blackmailed for the murder of Doug Koster

A dark mystery is unraveling for Harold Cooper in The Blacklist Season 9. In episode 4, Cooper wakes up in a parking garage with no memory of the night before. He later learns that his neighbor Doug Koster (who his wife Charlene cheated on him with) was found dead of a gunshot wound. Cooper realizes that a round is missing from his service weapon and runs a ballistics report to see if it’s a match for the crime scene.

However, things get even more complicated in episode 6. Cooper’s friend Lew Sloan tampers with the ballistics report, telling Cooper he believes he was framed anyway. At the end of the episode, Cooper receives a phone call from someone blackmailing him for tampering with evidence.

Red might seek revenge against Dembe in ‘The Blacklist’ Season 9 in 2022

Red and Dembe have been at odds for all of The Blacklist Season 9. Dembe joined the FBI following Liz’s death, and Red recruited a new bodyguard to watch over him. In episode 5, Dembe opens the box Red gave him for when their business partnership officially ended.

Hisham Tawfiq as Dembe Zuma and James Spader as Raymond "Red" Reddington in The Blacklist Season 9. Dembe sits at a table looking up at Red.
Hisham Tawfiq as Dembe Zuma and James Spader as Raymond “Red” Reddington in ‘The Blacklist’ Season 9 | Will Hart/NBC
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Things have only gotten worse between the pair of old friends. In episode 6 Red grew suspicious that Liz read the letter explaining his true identity before she died. He had entrusted the letter to Dembe, telling him to only give it to Liz once he was dead. Red tests the letter for Liz’s fingerprints and learns that they are a match.

Red is furious with these results. He believes that Liz knowing the truth could have been the reason she hesitated to kill him, and the reason she ended up dead. At the end of episode 6, he tells Dr. Roberta Sand that he was betrayed by his “oldest and closest friend.” There’s no telling what Red will do next, but he may seek revenge on Dembe.

How to get help: In the U.S., contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration helpline at 1-800-662-4357.

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