Maybe hope remains for The Blacklist.

An intriguing new direction began on The Blacklist Season 9 Episode 2.

Many asked why when NBC renewed the series even after TPTB announced that Megan Boone (and her character Elizabeth Keen) would be leaving at the end of The Blacklist Season 8.

But let's not pretend that Elizabeth played the critical role that she once did earlier in the series. Instead, discontented Liz was the sour taste in too many viewers' mouths.

In other words, while Red may have been dying, Liz's reason for being on the show had long ago expired. So it was appropriate that she finally did on The Blacklist Season 8 Episode 22.

And, even amid a race to save a family from a vicious crime lord, things seem a bit lighter now. Everyone appears on the same page, more than ever before.

But let's not pretend that Red doesn't have his own game going. He always has; he always will.

Raymond has always been the soul of this series. There's Reddington, and there's everyone else revolving around him. As long as James Spader remains, there will always be a Blacklist. As has been proven, the FBI faces around him can change, but he is the constant.

It's great that Red has found some curative juju, and we no longer have to hear about his wasting away regularly. He's feeling so good that he managed to pick up a new hobby: becoming the latest Skinner after deposing the volatile Graeme Anderson.

So far, this season has been about characters evolving.

Chief among those has to be Dembe, who is entirely believable as an FBI agent. He has always offered moral guidance to Red, even though it was a losing battle. Now he has brought his silent strength to the side of right, where he belongs.

Dembe is now what Ressler used to be before too much exposure to Red, and too much tragedy has left him cynical and broken. It's going to be a long road back, but he hasn't returned to Detroit ... yet.

Park is a mystery. She was the only character less likable than Liz in recent years. She attempted to embrace everyday life, but the pull of the action has brought her back. Reddington is also hinting that she's got some kind of side hustle going.

Aram appears ready to dive back in after spending two years in the desert that is venture capitalism. He's seeking to do something with meaning.

Finally, there's Harold, still fighting the good fight and trying to be the moral compass in the very murky world of justice and politics. It's a wonder that he hasn't been chewed up and spit out yet.

Cooper is the fixer the Blacklist task force needs to survive. He knows the perfect words to drop into the right ears to get the necessary results.

For instance, he realized that his impromptu task force was understaffed and outgunned against a legendary crime outfit.

So he went to Sen. Panabaker, who wore her disdain for him like an accessory on her designer suit, and managed to convince her to give his task force the basics necessary to do their job, which gave them a fighting chance against The Skinner.

Still, they almost managed to lose this one by depending on a panicky civilian whose family was in danger. Chen had no reason to trust Harold and nothing to gain by going along with the task force. So at the first sign of trouble, he gave them up.

As a result, Harold found himself with a three-agent assault force, only one of whom (Dembe) was fully functional and committed. Both Ressler and Park were distracted, not the best way to go into battle against a more significant force.

Fortunately, while they were bumbling their way into capture, Red was doing what he does best: making deals.

That's the beauty of The Blacklist. While the task force is generally plodding along, step by painful step, Reddington is using his contacts to move at lightning speed to help bring a case to its conclusion, mainly thanks to him.

And, what do you know, the same thing happened in the first case by this new task force.

Red rousted a couple of former Skinners content in retirement to invoke some minor known bylaw in their charter to force out Anderson, expertly pushing their buttons along the way.

Then, when things seemed bleakest for Chen's family and the task force members, he waltzes in and plays the procedural card on Anderson, who then overplayed his hand and got shot down by his lieutenant.

Since he was sticking around anyway, Raymond took it upon himself to become the new Skinner, totally unbeknownst to the task force.

Was that move a whim or a long-term plan of his?

Simultaneously, he convinced Panabaker to officially resurrect the task force, including immunity for him.

And so it begins again, Red feeding blacklisters to the revived task force while rebuilding a new criminal power base. The more things change ...

To revisit the new task force, watch The Blacklist online.

Is this looking like a case of "Come meet the new boss same as the old boss"?

Which of the evolved characters do you like the best?

How long can Red keep the task force in the dark about his new activities?

Comment below.

Dale McGarrigle is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on X.