Red starts dismantling his empire in The Blacklist season 10, especially around episode 19, “Room 417,” where that process becomes very visible. A lot of the tear-down is still unfolding in episodes 17–20 , so there isn’t just one single episode where it all happens at once.

What points to that episode

  • In season 10, Red is described as self-destructing his criminal empire, including taking down parts of his logistics network.
  • Coverage around episode 19 specifically says Red is “destroying his own empire,” which makes it the clearest episode tied to that decision.
  • Another recap notes that he gave up parts of his enterprises in episodes 17 and 19 , showing the dismantling was gradual rather than instant.

Simple answer

If you want the closest single episode , it’s Season 10, Episode 19 (“Room 417”). If you mean the full arc of dismantling, it spans late season 10 , mainly episodes 17 through 20.

TL;DR: Episode 19 is the best one-episode answer, but the empire’s collapse is really a season 10 storyline.