Though The Blacklist: Redemption was surprisingly willing to tell fans early on that Scottie Hargrave is actually Tom Keen’s mother, the Blacklist spin-off threw in a new twist.
After Tom (Ryan Eggold) recently infiltrated a Russian training camp, in which operatives were given plastic surgery to look identical to their American marks, Howard Hargrave (Terry O’Quinn) shared his suspicions that Scottie (Famke Janssen) was never the same after their son disappeared — as in, she could’ve been replaced by a Russian operative in that same fashion.
So, what’s really going on here? Is Scottie his mother? Or is she an imposter? EW turned to Eggold for answers.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: So the show started off by saying Scottie is his mother, but now it looks like Scottie may have basically been body-snatched. Does Tom actually believe that? Or does he suspect that his father may actually be crazy?
RYAN EGGOLD: I think he’s caught in the middle and he doesn’t know what to believe. If he had to pick a side right now, it’s probably his father only because his father is the one giving him more information, and Scottie still apparently doesn’t even know that he’s her son, so they can’t even really have an honest conversation. That’s his dilemma is that he’s caught in the middle and he’s trying to figure out which one of these truths is the real one.
To what lengths will he go to try to verify the truth?
Pretty far. At the end of the season, it all starts coming out. It’s pushed pretty far. Their relationships are certainly beyond tested. I don’t know, both his parents are f—ing crazy, I don’t know how he’s still doing it.
Pretty far. At the end of the season, it all starts coming out. It’s pushed pretty far. Their relationships are certainly beyond tested. I don’t know, both his parents are f—ing crazy, I don’t know how he’s still doing it.
How would Tom feel if she really isn’t his mother, but an imposter?
I think it would be heartbreaking, but it would also be a relief, to be honest, because then his mother is not some monstrous person with this plan to betray her country in some sort of nefarious attempt at whatever it is that they’re planning — or this double of hers is planning. It would almost be a relief that maybe there is good in her and maybe he can have a relationship with this woman. If she is that, then it would certainly clarify his feelings toward her.
I think it would be heartbreaking, but it would also be a relief, to be honest, because then his mother is not some monstrous person with this plan to betray her country in some sort of nefarious attempt at whatever it is that they’re planning — or this double of hers is planning. It would almost be a relief that maybe there is good in her and maybe he can have a relationship with this woman. If she is that, then it would certainly clarify his feelings toward her.
Scottie is getting closer to uncovering the truth that Tom is her son. How is Tom handling that?
He’s pretty freaked out. He’s definitely very nervous about it. He doesn’t know how to proceed. It would be so much easier if he could just confront it all, but having to remain in the shadows like this is hard. It’s taking its toll.
He’s pretty freaked out. He’s definitely very nervous about it. He doesn’t know how to proceed. It would be so much easier if he could just confront it all, but having to remain in the shadows like this is hard. It’s taking its toll.
Read the full interview on EW.
The Blacklist: Redemption airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.