Tracking Raymond Reddington's criminal roster during the sophomore run of NBC's hit series The Blacklist reveals a complex web of global conspiracies. Season 2 shifts away from standalone procedural tropes, focusing heavily on Red's ongoing war with the Russian fugitive Berlin and the shadowy organization known as the Cabal. Every name introduced on the target board serves a dual purpose: driving weekly FBI investigations while exposing pieces of Red's hidden past.
Understanding this roster requires looking past simple episode numbers to see how each criminal fits into Red's grand chessboard. This guide breaks down the core structural mechanics of the season's target board, analyzes key names, and answers common questions about how these criminal elements shape the overarching narrative.
The Mechanics of the Season 2 Target Board
The visual representation of Reddington's targets underwent a notable evolution in the second season. Unlike the first season, where targets often felt like isolated criminal anomalies, Season 2 tied almost every case directly or indirectly to the hunt for Berlin or the mysterious Fulcrum.
Reddington uses the FBI task force as an unwitting proxy force. When he drops a name on Donald Ressler's desk, he's rarely acting out of pure civic duty. Instead, he's clearing out rivals, reclaiming stolen assets, or positioning loyal allies within criminal syndicates.
- The Proxy Dynamic: Red feeds targets to the FBI to let law enforcement handle heavy security infrastructure while he scoops up the residual operational benefits.
- The Personal Stakes: Many entries—such as Lord Baltimore or Luther Braxton—possess specific intel tied directly to Red's identity or the safety of Elizabeth Keen.
- The Living Document: The physical and digital boards tracked by Samar Navabi and the team act as a narrative roadmap, showing viewers that individual crimes form a much larger geopolitical puzzle.
Major Entries on the Season 2 List
While the show features numerous criminal elements across its 22 episodes, several specific entries define the narrative trajectory of Season 2. These targets pushed the task force to its limits and forced Elizabeth Keen to question her loyalties.
Lord Baltimore (No. 104)
Appearing in the season premiere, Lord Baltimore is uncovered as a digital tracker utilizing advanced facial recognition software. Commissioned by Berlin to find Reddington, the true identity of Lord Baltimore shatters initial expectations and sets off a chain reaction of surveillance and counter-surveillance that dominates the early episodes.
Monarch Douglas Bank (No. 112)
Operating as a global clearinghouse for dirty money, this financial institution becomes a primary target when Red decides to disrupt Berlin's funding. By seizing the bank's operational capacity, Red starves his primary antagonist of liquid capital, proving that financial destruction is often more effective than physical violence.
Dr. James Covington (No. 89)
A brilliant surgeon operating a black-market organ trafficking ring, Covington introduces a chilling medical horror element to the season. While the task force hunts him for harvesting organs from unwitting victims, Reddington uses the chaos to position a loyal ally within an influential port network in Indonesia.
The Scimitar (No. 22)
A lethal and elusive Iranian hitman, the Scimitar is deployed to eliminate a high-value American target as part of a complex geopolitical revenge plot. This entry elevates the stakes from personal vendettas to international security crises, showcasing how easily criminal elements can spark state-level conflicts.
Luther Braxton (No. 21)
A master thief with a personal history with Reddington, Braxton orchestrates a violent takeover of a secret government detention facility. Braxton's obsession with the Fulcrum brings the season's overarching mystery to a boiling point, resulting in high-casualty chaos and permanently altering Red's relationship with Liz.
Categorizing the Threats
To make sense of the overwhelming volume of criminals on the board, it helps to group them by their core motivations. Reddington's world operates on distinct pillars of influence, and the Season 2 targets generally fall into three categories:
- Financial Saboteurs: Entities like the Monarch Douglas Bank and rogue white-collar criminals who manipulate global monetary systems for illicit enrichment.
- Geopolitical Operatives: State-sponsored actors, mercenaries, and assassins like the Scimitar who trade national security for political leverage or ideological warfare.
- Personal Vendetta Figures: Individuals connected to Red's past, such as Berlin and his associates, who seek total destruction of Reddington's empire and life.
This categorization prevents the season from feeling like a random collection of monster-of-the-week episodes. Every financial crime or political assassination feeds back into the central struggle for survival between Red and his enemies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why did Raymond Reddington turn himself in to the FBI?
Reddington surrendered voluntarily to use the FBI's resources and jurisdictional reach to track down his personal enemies, specifically Berlin, while simultaneously protecting Elizabeth Keen from hidden threats.
What is the Fulcrum and why is it important in Season 2?
The Fulcrum is a digital blackmail file containing damaging, highly classified information about a shadowy international cabal. Its pursuit drives the back half of Season 2 and forms the core conflict between Red, Luther Braxton, and the government.
Are all the numbers on the Blacklist revealed in chronological order?
No. The show jumps across various numerical ranks throughout its run. Season 2 features numbers ranging from high-tier global threats like Luther Braxton (No. 21) down to lower-ranking operatives, depending on the immediate narrative requirement.
How does Berlin connect to the Season 2 blacklisters?
Berlin uses various independent contractors, hackers, and assassins listed throughout the season as proxy agents to hunt Reddington, forcing Red to feed their identities to the task force to dismantle Berlin's network piece by piece.
