Raymond 'Red' Reddington can take down a mole, but that doesn't stop The Blacklist universe from taunting him with yet another mystery.

Following the events of "The Alchemist," fans were left believing that Agent Malik (Parminder Nagra) was the source of the FBI's leak. However, her quick confession left many wondering if Red (James Spader) was missing an integral piece of the puzzle. He was, as it turns out, being duped by the true mole, who had merely used Malik as an unsuspecting pawn in their master plan. Together, Red and Malik endeavor to find out who the real enemy is.

"Mira turns out [to be] not someone who did something illegal. She inadvertently passed sensitive data onto the person that in this episode Red discovers is, in fact, the ultimate insider," executive producer John Eisendrath told Beyond the Blacklist of Red's ultimate realization that the Assistant Attorney General, Diane Fowler (Jane Alexander), was at the heart of the deception.

In an effort to shut the book on the mole case once and for all (aside from linger questions regarding Alan Alda's Finch), Red kills Fowler. Before he fires the fatal shot, however, Fowler bargains her life for the truth about what really happened to his family. Although this is an answer Red has been seeking for years, the former government agent chooses to end Fowler's existence instead (see video below).

"You know there was an interesting thing that happened when we shot that scene," Spader explained during and episode of Beyond the Blacklist. All of a sudden there was this, I guess, resignation, really, that in shooting her, he was taking on the search. He was taking on the long road, as opposed to the short cut. But I don't think he could live with the shortcut. Whatever the truth was about his family, he didn't want to hear it from her. He'd rather find it out for himself."

Watch Red continue his search for truth during the Blacklist, which airs Mondays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.

Tags
The Blacklist, Nbc, Television