The Blacklist's Winter Finale Will Showcase Red's "Desperate" Search for Answers

Get ready to see Red Reddington like you've never seen him before.

On Thursday's winter finale of The Blacklist, Reddington (James Spader) finds himself on thin ice with the task force, particularly Cooper (Harry Lennix), who's just about had it with the former(?) criminal mastermind. Unfortunately for Red, Cooper's inclination to put a stop to their collaboration comes at a time when Red might require the FBI's help more than he ever has before, to root out the former associate - or whoever it is - who has Red in his or her crosshairs.

"Dealing with somebody like Reddington is always precarious," Lennix tells TVGuide.com. "You never know what he's going to do. ... He's desperate, or at least increasingly so, as we go into [the finale], to find out who's behind these relentless attacks. There's a fox in the henhouse, clearly, and that agitates the situation with Red. So, [Cooper] just needs to make sure that there's a line in the sand that's drawn with him before he goes too far. And I think Cooper's at the end of his tether with him."

The Blacklist: Who has "catastrophically compromised" Red?

Producers indicate that the finale ends with a cliffhanger that will leave fans' jaws on the floor. (And they'll have plenty of time to pick them up, since the show won't return until April.) Lennix confirms that he had a similar experience.

"I remember getting the script and thinking, 'Now this is something I didn't see coming,'" Lennix teases. "The writers have a unique gift at being able to open up and dig down new rabbit holes. ... It's going to answer a lot of questions, and it's going to raise new possibilities."

Check out the video to see what else fans can expect from the winter finale.

The winter finale of The Blacklist airs Thursday at 9/8c on NBC, leading into the premiere of The Blacklist: Redemption.