Why Is Samar Leaving The Blacklist? Mozhan Marno Explains Her Exit

Leading up to the latest episode of The Blacklist, there was quite a bit of speculation that Mozhan Marno would be exiting the series. After the two-hour special episode, it was confirmed the character of Samar Navabi was, in fact, leaving the group, which means that Marno is leaving The Blacklist after all.

Marno has been a part of The Blacklist cast since Season 2 and her departure from the show has been hard on fans that have grown to love her character. With many wondering why she is leaving the role of Samar, Marno took to Instagram, not only to say goodbye but also to explain why she left.

Why did Mozhan Marno leave The Blacklist?

It turns out that Mozhan Marno chose to leave The Blacklist, she was not just written off the show. In the lengthy Instagram post, she wrote, “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.”

Then, Marno confirmed that the two-hour special episode of The Blacklist would be her last and said goodbye to her NBC series family as she is ready to move on.

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A post shared by Mozhan Marno (@mozhanmarnowastaken)

As far as how Mozhan Marno’s character of Samar left the show, viewers know she was dealing with a brain injury that resulted from a near drowning. Last week on The Blacklist, she questioned whether she should stay with the team or take some time off.

Clearly, she chose to take the time off and heal but her exit didn’t go down that smooth. Instead, she and Aram decided to take a break, cutting off all contact with civilization while they spent a quiet few days together in a cabin.

While they were away, it was learned that Samar was the target of an assassin who had a better idea of where Samar and Aram were staying than Red and his team did. After a near-futile effort to track them down, Aram was eventually lured from the cabin while the assassin attempted to take out Samar.

She wasn’t successful and by the time Aram returned to save Samar, she had already killed the assassin and saved herself. Then, in another twist, we learned that Aram was behind the attack due to worries that Samar was turning on the unit. She ended up slipping away to leave the country and, with that, Samar Navabi is no longer on The Blacklist — but she’s still alive. Will we ever see her again?

The Blacklist airs Fridays at 9/8c on NBC.