It's about time!

Liz discovered the truth about Katarina Rostova on The Blacklist Season 7 Episode 9, and it wasn't a happy reunion.

She may have told herself she was suspicious of her new neighbor. She may have even believed in that moment.

But we all know there is no way she was suspicious until she came across the picture of her mother.

Because if she were even the slightest suspicious, she never would have let Katarina continue babysitting Agnes.

Liz isn't fooling anyone but herself.

But at least she FINALLY knows the truth, and if she was smart, she'd call Red instead of trying to handle it herself.

Based on the preview for The Blacklist Season 7 Episode 10, she doesn't make the wise choice.

So, what that means is that Katarina will escape -- again.

All we can hope is that LIz gets on the phone the minute she wakes up unless Red finds her unconscious first.

It's all speculation at this point, so let's get into what we learned this hour before those tantalizing final minutes and the preview that followed.

The most compelling of everything that happened this hour was Ilya's memories and plan (though the Red's dinner in the dark was interesting, but we'll get to that later).

Some of Ilya's memories were confusing, and the flashback sequences were hard to follow.

It seems that Dom came up with the plan to protect Katarina by killing a different "Katarina" because the Katarina that Ilya was talking to in the hotel room wasn't the "real" Katarina.

He kept calling her "her" and even said at one point that Katarina was in on the plan.

This blond-haired woman isn't the Katarina we've always thought she was.

The "real" Katarina was the girl in the hotel room with Ilya. And that Katarina is Dom's daughter. Not this faker woman.

The faker woman was married to the guy who got killed in the car bomb, but was having an affair with Ilya. 

And, of course, Liz had to interrupt the memories which made trying to understand all the layers difficult.

So, now we have the mystery of Red and a new mystery about the "real" Katarina.

My head is spinning with all these layers of mystery and intrigue.

Once again -- I know nobody wants to hear this -- and I know that blond Katarina wanted to know who the "man" was that took Red's identity, but after all the bewildering revelations, it seems that the idea that Red might be the "real" Katarina is more of a possibility than it was before.

If we go back to many things Red has said over the years, it's not as far out in left field as we had previously thought.

I can't specifically remember if it was Red who had asked Liz once long ago what she would say to her mother if she were standing in front of her, but I'm pretty sure it was Red.

And that wasn't the only time Red has referred the possibility he could be Katarina.

It's a bizarre thought, and it's never been my favorite theory, but the more details that are revealed, the more it seems to be pointing that way.

Something else confusing is what Red's relationship is with blond Katarina.

Obviously, they were lovers, but Red is keeping her identity secret from Liz.

Again, that goes back to Red not lying to Liz. He can't tell her she's Katarina because the woman isn't Katarina. 

And if he told her it was Katarina, he'd be lying.

Think about it, and it makes complete sense.

Then again, there's the entire Dom and Red relationship which doesn't necessarily fit into the theory.

Dom's actions over the years don't fit either such as him going to the post office for letters from Katarina (Ressler had found that out on The Blacklist Season 6), and there have been other things that don't fit with that theory.

In addition, there's the issue of blond Katarina having to hide all these years from different agencies trying to hunt her down.

If she wasn't the real Katarina, why were people chasing her?

Could she have been some sort of "double"?

That's the only theory that might make any sense, but it's all a muddled mess right now.

This hour's case directly related to the Katarina story which was the whole point.

He must've knew that fake Katarina would have used the Orion service to help make her disappear.

Red just wasn't expecting so many files and probably was hoping to get fake Katarina's file before Liz could find it.

It was funny how he took great pleasure in joining Liz in the "war room".

What Liz has also realized (maybe) is that Red met fake Katarina in Paris, and she was the one who kidnapped him.

Liz might be angry at Red for deceiving her which wouldn't be surprising, but she has to know that Red was only trying to protect her.

And since fake Katarina isn't Katarina anyway, he has good reason.

I was wrong -- again -- about the fall finale. That's next week which should make us all happy.

The downside is that we have to wait several months to find out what's going to happen since we know that The Blacklist Season 7 Episode 10 is going to be one hell of an episode.

On a side note, Red saving the owl was awesome, and Dembe doing a portrait of it was pretty great, too.

We need more Dembe. He has many facets about him that are more than interesting.

But first we have to get to the bottom of this crazy Red, fake Red, Katarina, and now fake Katarina mystery!

Over to you!

What's your theory about Katarina?

Will fake Katarina kidnap Liz or will Red find her in time?

What will happen to Agnes?

Are you intrigued or frustrated at this new turn of events?

Do you think the Red is Katarina theory is more of a possibility now?

Hit the comments and share your thoughts!

If you need to catch up, you can watch The Blacklist online right here via TV Fanatic!