Summary

• Mozhan Marnò left The Blacklist after season 6, and her departure from the show was her own choice.
• Samar Navabi's storyline provided a fitting exit for the character, as her declining health made her a target and she had to flee with Red's help.
• Despite not returning for the final season, Mozhan Marnò has continued to have a successful career in television and film, with notable appearances in Pam & Tommy and other projects.

Audiences were shocked when Mozhan Marnò left The Blacklist and her role as Agent Samar Navabi after season 6. Mozhan Marnò played a crucial member of the task force since The Blacklist season 2, but her fate had been uncertain since the beginning of season 6 when Samar Navabi never fully recovered from the car accident that left her submerged in water for several minutes. The Blacklist creator Jon Bokenkamp hinted in a TVLine interview that it would “change the landscape of the show in a great way.”

The Blacklist season 6 ends with a rift forming between Samar and Aram after doctors clear her to return to the task force. However, Mossad saw Samar’s declining health as a liability and put out a hit on her life. Unwilling to let Aram’s life be ruined by her problems, Samar Navabi made her daring escape with the help of Red (James Spader), flying to an undisclosed location. Her final words to Aram are that she loves him and will never forget him. Here's the real reason Mozhan Marnò left The Blacklist cast.

Why Mozhan Marnò Left Blacklist After Season 6

The Blacklist's Samar Navabi Actress Wanted To Move On

Samar Navabi was written out of The Blacklist because Mozhan Marnò wanted to leave the series. In a lengthy Instagram post, Marnò expressed how grateful she was for the opportunity to play Samar and thanked the cast, crew, and fans for the amazing experience. Marnò decided she was ready for the next chapter in her life.

“It has been an amazing experience. I have made mistakes, I have made friends, I have grown… But last summer, I decided that I was ready for my next chapter, and the producers very graciously granted my request to move on from the show.”

With Samar Navabi's health in jeopardy, it provided the perfect storyline for her to leave The Blacklist. Mozhan Marnò's desire to pursue other opportunities is well-earned, and The Blacklist put her on the map as a serious contender and established actor for upcoming projects. Her decision to leave was by no means easy, but Marnò has since continued her career. She appeared in the shows The Affair and Maid, and Marnò also appeared in the 2022 film Pam & Tommy as a fictional character named Gail Chwatsky.

What Happened To Blacklist's Samar Navabi (Did She Die)?

Mozhan Marnò's The Blacklist Character Has An Incurable Disease

As for Samar Navabi on The Blacklist, chances are she is still alive but in hiding. After discovering that the brain injury she sustained left her with Vascular Dementia — making her a liability — Samar became a target. With no choice but to flee, Aram convinced Samar to let him go with her; however, at the last minute, she couldn't let him leave his life and family behind. In Mozhan Marnò's final scene on the show, Samar Navabi boarded a plane and flew to an undisclosed location.

Vascular Dementia is not curable, and eventually, Samar Navabi will die from the illness. Because Samar is relatively young and caught the illness at an early stage, she could live for several years, as long as she receives medical intervention. While Mozhan Marnò did not return to The Blacklist, stars James Spader, Megan Boone, Diego Klatenhoff, and Harry Lennix returned. However, The Blacklist looked different without one of their top agents – even though she semi-returned in a season 9 hallucinatory sequence.

How Samar Came Back To The Blacklist In Season 9

Mozhan Marnò Cameod For One Of Aram's Hallucinations

Though Mozhan Marnò left The Blacklist, she appears in the season 9 episode, "The Bear Mask." She is part of an extended hallucination Aram puts himself through to cope with his anxiety and depression. In Aram's hallucination, he faces a sinister version of himself that repeatedly attacks and kills everyone in the Post Office. He is saved by a vision of Samar, who tells him to stop blaming himself for the bad things in his life. While this wasn't a true return to The Blacklist, it was a poignant reunion.

Mozhan Marnò Didn't Return In The Blacklist Season 10

Samar Navabi Wasn't In The Final Episodes Of The Blacklist

Samar Navabi didn't appear in the 10th and final season of The Blacklist. With the show ended, Samar didn't even make a brief guest appearance. However, some characters did unexpectedly return for the tenth season, including Aram Mojtabai, who left after the season 9 finale. Stacy Keach's Robert Vesco, the con man who — like Samar — left after The Blacklist season 6, also returned in season 10. Considering Samar Navabi's great ending and Mozhan Marnò's career trajectory, she had no reason to return.

What Mozhan Marnò Has Done Since The Blacklist

The Blacklist Star Appeared In Pam & Tommy

Since playing Samar Navabi on The Blacklist, actress Mozhan Marnò has gone on to other things. Most notably, she was cast in Pam & Tommy as Gail Chwatsky, and in 2019, Marnò was a part of the voice cast of the DC animated film Wonder Woman: Bloodlines, where she played Doctor Cyber. She also plays Detective Rivera in the 2021 film Gilbert. She also took on the role of Nahid in the 2022 miniseries Fieishman Is in Trouble​​​​​​.

Television truly seems to be Mozhan Marnò's home, as she's had brief stints in several well-known and beloved programs, such as Bones, Medium, The Mentalist, The Glades, and Hung. While also starring in The Blacklist, Marnò appeared as the character Ayla Sayyad in Netflix's adaptation of House of Cards. The actress also aspires to be a screenwriter and director, writing and directing her short film Incoming. Audiences should see plenty more of Marnò outside of her role on The Blacklist.

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  The Blacklist

  Summary:

  The Blacklist is an action/thriller crime-drama TV series on NBC from creator Jon Bokenkamp. The show follows former intelligence officer turned master criminal Raymond Reddington (James Spader) and FBI agent Elizabeth Keen (Megan Boone.) Red, one of the FBI’s most wanted fugitives, known as “The Concierge of Crime,” mysteriously surrenders to the FBI and offers to help them catch a deadly terrorist, with the condition that he only speaks to Elizabeth- who just so happens to be starting her first day on the job. The two continue to partner to tackle Red's "Blacklist," which he offers up in exchange for immunity for his past crimes.

  Release Date:

  2013-09-23

  Cast:

  Harry Lennix, Megan Boone, James Spader, Diego Klattenhoff, Ryan Eggold, Parminder Nagra

  Writers:

  Jon Bokenkamp

  Seasons:

  10

  Genres:

  Crime, Drama, Thriller, Action

  Story By:

  Jon Bokenkamp

  Network:

  NBC

  Streaming Service(s):

  Netflix

  Directors:

  Jon Bokenkamp

  Showrunner:

  Jon Bokenkamp