‘The Blacklist’ Season 9: Heddie Hawkins Plot Twist Explained
The Blacklist Season 9 brought back Red’s associate Heddie for episode 20. It seemed at first that Heddie was the one who betrayed Red and caused Liz Keen’s death. However, that turned out to not be the case. Heddie and Red go way back, so thankfully he was able to realize that she was not in fact the one who betrayed him. Here’s how Reddington figured it out and pulled a fast one on the real enemy.
[Spoiler warning: This article contains spoilers for The Blacklist Season 9 Episode 20, “Caelum Bank.”]
Red follows a false trail in ‘The Blacklist’ Season 9 Episode 20
In The Blacklist Season 9 Episode 20, Raymond Reddington finally discovers who was responsible for Liz’s death. However, he at first follows a false trail. The president of Caelum Bank, Harris Gramercy, tells Red that the person he has been looking for is none other than Heddie Hawkins.
Red rushes to capture Heddie. While he has her captive, Alina Park shows up to ask to work for Red. While there, one of her migraines is triggered and she drops a glass. This seemingly insignificant event turns out to be very important. Red then returns to interrogating Heddie, who denies having anything to do with Liz’s death.
Heddie did admit, however, that she looked for another employer years ago. Seemingly convinced that Heddie betrayed him, Red has Weecha take Heddie into another room, and a gunshot is heard. Marvin Gerard jumps at the sound of it.
Episode 20 reveals Red’s true enemy
Later in The Blacklist Season 9 Episode 20, Park realizes that Marvin and Tyson LaCroix are old friends when she spots a video of Marvin speaking at LaCroix’s wedding. Cooper calls Red to warn him not to trust Marvin, but it seems Red already knows. Heddie steps out from behind a door, alive and well.
Finally, Marvin admits that he was in fact behind the hit on Liz Keen. Marvin felt that Liz was “unworthy and unqualified” to run Red’s empire, so he had her killed. “Everything I did, I did in the best interest of your empire,” Marvin tells Red. After Red returned from his two-year hiatus, he began digging into Liz’s death. Marvin did everything he could to stop Red from finding out the truth. Framing Heddie was Marvin’s last resort.
‘The Blacklist’ Season 9 proves Heddie would never betray Red
In hindsight, it doesn’t make much sense that Heddie would betray Red. Earlier in The Blacklist Season 9, Heddie already had the potential to turn against him. In “Arcane Wireless,” Heddie is arrested for overseeing the production of pirated soybeans. The authorities, of course, want her to turn on Red, but he asks her to have faith and keep her mouth shut. Despite the threat of many years in prison, Heddie trusts Red, and he comes through for her.
In episode 20, Red reveals that Agent Park’s headache was the very thing that made him realize the truth. It reminded him that the morning of Liz’s death, they stopped by Marvin’s office to sign some paperwork. Marvin gave Liz coffee to trigger a headache. He then gave her aspirin, which contained the GPS tracker that lead to her death.
New episodes of The Blacklist air Fridays at 8 p.m. EST on NBC.
