For fans of The Blacklist, following the exploits of major characters like Elizabeth Keen and Raymond Reddington is the major point of the show. But one of the great things about The Blacklist is the depth with which they develop minor characters. And while we get to know about these bit players through the seasons, the other constant with The Blacklist is the rate at which these characters are frequently killed off. Some of the very best characters to grace our screen are long dead in the world of The Blacklist. Here are three of the characters that are gone but will never be forgotten.
1. Baz
The strong and silent type, Baz appeared in 16 different episodes across four seasons. While Dembe has always been Reddington’s strong right hand, Baz was the man in charge of Red’s paramilitary force. He was frequently tasked with watching over Liz or helping Dembe with larger operations. While he didn’t say much, he was always a strong character that played pivotal roles in the story. He was especially important early on in the battles with The Cabal, but he also battled with everyone from blacklisters to the CIA. In season 4, he was shot and killed by Red’s former ally Kathryn Nemec.
2. Tom Keen
Arguably the biggest death on the show was that of Tom Keen. The husband of Liz Keen, Tom was a major focal point of the show for all of the early seasons. There haven’t been a lot characters that have faced the roller coaster that Tom had been on. From the pilot episode, Tom was an enigma that was impossible to understand. Early on, he was exposed as an undercover operative that was hired to be near Liz. After multiple seasons as a villain, Tom and Liz eventually united and genuinely fell in love. The two worked together tirelessly to get to the bottom of Liz’s past and even started a family. Tom even reconnected with his birth parents whom he had been taken from at the age of three. Despite these ups and downs, the biggest shocker came in Season 5. After being kidnapped by the character we come to know later as Ian Garvey, Keen is stabbed and eventually dies from his wounds.
3. Mr. Kaplan
One of our favorite characters on the Blackist is Mr Kaplan. Despite the name, Mr. Kaplan is actually a woman named Kathryn Nemec. A long time associate of Reddington’s, Nemec was an expert in body disposal and crime scene clean-up. She was also one of the few people that really knew Reddington’s weaknesses. Despite spending years on the show as his most loyal adviser, Mr. Kaplan eventually split from Red after we learned her true loyalty had always been to Elizabeth. This split set off the biggest threat to Reddington’s empire yet, as Nemec literally dug up the bodies and exposed Raymond’s finances to the FBI. The war had many casualties, including Baz, and ended with Reddington as the sole survivor. Despite Kaplan’s death, Reddington came out of the conflict with his empire in shambles.
These are only just a few of the characters that died on the show but live on in our minds. And with the rate at which these characters are killed off, this list is only likely to grow.