Amir Arison breaks down Aram's trippy episode of The Blacklist
Warning: This story contains spoilers for the latest episode of The Blacklist, titled "The Bear Mask."
The Blacklist jumps into Aram Mojtabai's (Amir Arison) head and things get zany.
Agent Mojtabai has had a tough run of it lately, between suddenly becoming head of the task force and being betrayed by his former business partner. To help with the stress, he seeks out an unconventional treatment of psychedelics. We journey into the depths of Aram's mind, where a Groundhog's Day-like loop is keeping him and his teammates in danger while he tries to lead them to safety. He faces a dark version of himself, sees his former love Samar Navabi (Mozhan Marnò), and in the end gets some clarity about how he moves forward as a leader.
We spoke to Arison about reuniting with Marnò on set, diving into Aram's mind, his character getting his own special episode of The Blacklist, and more.
Will Hart/NBC
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: The Blacklist has had several special episodes like this over the seasons. What was your reaction to learning Aram was getting one?
AMIR ARISON: Two episodes ago, the episode "El Conejo," [was] where we had an Aram flashback episode and we saw a flashback of two years ago when he started his tech company. Then all of sudden two years later, that company is coming back to bite him and being used in the opposite way. I thought that was the Aram backstory episode like everyone's gotten and was heavy and exciting. Then the episode prior to that, [Aram] was made head of the task force. I'm the head of the task force and that's created an entire new dynamic, so when I got this episode I was like, this is even wilder than any episode I've ever done in my life, certainly on The Blacklist.
When I got the script, I couldn't believe it. Aram takes an experimental medication and we enter his psyche. That can go a lot of different ways, but there's a Groundhog Day element to it. What he goes through brings up everything he feels guilty about and how hard he is on himself. The pressure as a task force member, as the head of the task force and it feels like a culmination of nine years of pressure. It could have been bizarre in a way that is just bizarre and yet somehow it felt true.
Was entering Aram's mind what you imagined it would be?
I literally did not know what was going to come page to page. They found an entertaining, thrilling, and suspenseful way to break down one subconscious and he comes out clear headed as much as he can. The therapist says, "you're not healed completely, you have to do the work." I am a big advocate of mental health and therapy. You have to keep taking care of your mind, body and soul, and Aram knows that, but he has had a lot of epiphanies as a result of this episode.
Aram was a dedicated public servant and he realized the best way to love [Samar after she left] is to keep saving and protecting others, which echoes this season when he built his company. He realized he wasn't about money, but public service. I always had that in the back of my mind. The heartbreak and guilt [of losing Samar] will always live there, and I always look for moments where that could come out, but I'm trying to stay positive for her and they brought that out in his unconscious. The guilt and shame. They found a way to address all those things that haven't really been explored for three years, but have been inside of Aram. It's remarkable.
What was your reaction to Aram being under the Bear Mask? What was it like to play a sort of dark version of Aram?
I didn't expect "the bear mask" to be Aram. It was an absolutely delicious opportunity as an actor and I had to figure out who he is. He was part of [his] subconscious, but he is a flesh and blood character to the real Aram in the episode. I love having Samar say, "why did you make yourself as a Blacklister?" It's Aram's own negative voice in his head of guilt, shame and unfair self-punishment. That's the bigger picture. Aram is a very kind character, but he has been unkind to himself. I personally am very hard on myself and I think a lot of people might be able to relate to that.
Will Hart/NBC
What was it like to reunite with Mozhan Marnò on set?
It's been over three years since Aram and Samar were together, and we got right to it. [We] have this natural dynamic. Even if it's in his head, it's so sweet to get to address the things he hasn't been able to ask her for three years. He says I just wanted to be with you, I would have taken care of you. It was so satisfying to revisit each other and Mozhan and I have a natural rhythm as those characters. It's very clear in the episode that Samar still means so much to Aram.
I'll never forget episode 6X14, because prior to this episode, that was the most challenging episode I'd ever done. It's the one after she leaves and Aram punches Mr. Reddington. To this day, I hear from people on the street and on Twitter that the moment she leaves and Aram's on the phone makes them cry.
From your perspective, what did Aram get out of or learn from this trip into his mind? Did he get what he was looking for?
By the end of the episode where there was all this suffering, there is a triumph and insight. Aram is calmer, clearer and recognizes that he doesn't always trust himself. He ends up cleaning his apartment after starting the episode with it as a mess. Your outer environment is often a reflection of your internal, and Aram was a mess. In the end, his place is cleaned up and he's sitting down with Samar and the unmasked "bear mask." What that means to me is we'll see them, but he's not looking at them. The pain of her will always be there and the threat of Aram's self-punishment and anxiety will always be there. He's just handling them. They don't have power over him in that moment. Aram still has to continue to work on himself.
How do you think this experience will impact how he leads the task force moving forward?
Aram thought he had to get everyone out of [the Post Office] to get out of the loop because Reddington told him, but Aram under the bear mask says he believes it because a voice of authority was telling him what to do. The big lesson for Aram is that he has to face the tough calls.
It was the pressure of being the head of the task force among all the other things he wasn't dealing with. Agnes, Liz, Samar, Greylock. He was kidnapped two episodes ago and hasn't processed the PTSD of that. It all started falling apart when he had the added pressure of leading the task force because there wasn't enough space in his mind to handle it all. He sought help and he got help. He's really come out the better and that'll be evident through the reminder of the season.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
The Blacklist airs Fridays at 8pm ET on NBC.
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