To be honest, The Blacklist suffered from incredibly lazy writing, with poorly constructed narratives that often felt contrived. The show’s saving grace was James Spader, whose performances single-handedly carried the weight of the otherwise lacklustre storytelling. Megan Boone's character, from the very beginning, came off as entitled and difficult to invest in. I'm honestly surprised the series lasted as long as it did.

The most compelling aspect of the show was always the criminals—dynamic, layered, and far more interesting than the main cast, who felt more like background decoration, lacking any real depth or complexity. Except for Spader and Hisham Tawfiq, the core characters could have easily been replaced without much impact on the show.

As for Redemption, it failed because it lacked someone with Spader's talent to elevate the material. Without a lead of his calibre, the spin-off never stood a chance.