Lotte Verbeek remains unrecognizable on The Blacklist

We know Lotte Verbeek as Geillis Duncan. To fans of The Blacklist, she’s Katarina Rostova, and she certainly proved herself once more that she’s a chameleon actress.

If you watched The Blacklist last night and had to double check the actress playing Katarina Rostova, that’s understandable. Yes, Lotte Verbeek was in the role (and not for the first time) and was almost unrecognizable.

As I said, this isn’t the first time in the role. She originally took on the role of the Russian spy in the 2016 episode “Cape May” and has been in three episodes between then and last night. During the second episode of the two-hour special on Apr. 26, she proved once more that she’s a chameleon actress.

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If you’ve only seen Verbeek in Outlander, you’ll know her as the manipulative Jacobite, willing to kill innocent people for her own gain. Initially born in the 20th century, Geillis (originally Gillian) went back in time and sort of fit into the time. She was accused of being a witch on more than one occasion.

There are no elements of Geillis in The Blacklist. The Scottish accent is completely gone for a Russian one, although there are hints of an American to work for Katarina’s backstory. She speaks Russian beautifully in the series and she steps up as a trained fighter when she needs to. If only Geillis could have taken some lessons from Katarina before heading to the 18th century!

The Blacklist‘s “Rassvet” was a Katarina-focused episode. After six years, fans finally got answers as to who she was, what had happened when she was believed to be dead, and why she left her daughter. There was a chance to see her emotional over leaving those she loved and a chance to see her as a mother.

I’ve watched The Blacklist for years (since around the third season) and I’ve never realized it was Verbeek. Granted, I started watching The Blacklist before Outlander and had felt like I’d seen Verbeek before but hadn’t figured out why. This is it, in a vastly different role.

If you want to see Verbeek as Katarina Rostova, you can watch The Blacklist on Netflix. The first five seasons are available and Season 6 should be added later this year. You can watch last night’s episode on NBC.

What have you seen Lotte Verbeek in other than Outlander? Which shows are your favorite for Outlander actors? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

The Blacklist Seasons 1-5 are on Netflix now.