The Blacklist ran for 10 seasons, beginning in 2013, and in that time, there have been many memorable and unique episodes that have kept the series feeling fresh. Starring James Spader as Raymond "Red" Reddington, the series has followed the exploits of the global criminal mastermind turned FBI informant through strikes, pandemics, and more on its way to becoming an Emmy-nominated series.
In The Blacklist season 7, Red is captured by Katarina Rostova (Laila Robins), Liz's (Megan Boone) mother, who wants to figure out why she's being framed by those closest to her. She disguises herself to get close to Liz, and Liz is forced to learn and confront some uneasy truths about her parents. It's a strong season with some critical character moments for Liz as she approaches the end of her arc. Oddly, the final episode of season 7 is animated, a break from the usual live-action style of the series, but The Blacklist had a good reason.
Production On The Blacklist Season 7's Finale Shut Down During COVID
The Team Only Had Half Of Episode 19 Shot
The final episode of The Blacklist, season 7, is episode 19, "The Kazanjian Brothers (No.156/157)" and it wasn't something the creative team was always planning. Instead, the idea for an animated episode came about because of the COVID-19 pandemic that began in earnest in early 2020. Season 7 was in the middle of production and the executive team ended up pulling the plug on the show with three episodes left to film and only half of episode 19 done. Episode 18, "Roy Cain (No. 150)", was not structured like a season finale, so something had to be done (via CNBC).
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Creator Jon Bokenkamp and his fellow executive producer, John Eisendrath, toyed with the idea of having a virtual read-through, something like a radio show, but instead decided to animate some scenes and cut them together with the live-action ones. Eisendrath was unaware of how much work that would actually entail and said afterwards,
"If we had known how much work it takes to do it, we never would have suggested it. It was not a great idea, but it was an idea born out of desperation and maybe that's where some of the good ideas come from."
The team worked with a 3D animation company called Proof, who had about five weeks to finish what would have usually taken months. The actors recorded dialogue from their homes and the animation and editing were all completed remotely. The episode aired on May 15.
How The Blacklist Pulled Off Its Live-Action/Animated Hybrid Episode
The Episode Is A Messy But Unique And Enjoyable Mashup
This live-action-animated hybrid episode sees the only instance of fourth wall breaking in The Blacklist. The cast and crew open and close the episode, addressing the audience directly. The animation style is a bit of a cross between a video game cutscene and Waking Life. That's not a diss, and it makes for a appropriately unique animation style. The short timeframe to do the work is noticeable, however, and it's not the most fluid animation. The voiceover work is also sub-par, a result of actors not having industry-quality recording equipment in their homes.
There's also not a lot of rhyme or reason behind which sequences are animated and which are not.
There's also not a lot of rhyme or reason behind which sequences are animated and which are not. If the showrunners needed a scene, or even a shot, that they didn't have, they simply animated it. So the show goes from live-action to animated to live-action again with no signal why it's changing. However, with all that being said, The Blacklist season 7, episode 19 is a wonderfully unique attempt at problem-solving. The crew had very little choice on what to do once COVID-19 hit.
At least with the animated finale, The Blacklist fans got something approaching closure on the season. Rarely are the logistics and difficulties of making a TV show presented so obviously to the viewers, so this episode serves as fascinating insight into the process. Even if it didn't totally work out, The Blacklist animated season finale was a creative way to get through an unexpected moment in time and ensure that fans at least had something to hold onto for The Blacklist season 8.
The Blacklist
- Release Date
- 2013 - 2023-00-00
- Network
- NBC
- Showrunner
- Jon Bokenkamp
Cast
Harry Lennix
Megan Boone
WHERE TO WATCH
- Directors
- Jon Bokenkamp
- Writers
- Jon Bokenkamp
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