On The Blacklist Season 8 Episode 22, viewers bid farewell to Megan Boone’s Elizabeth Keen.
Liz knew that a comfortable retirement in a non-extradition nation was out of the question. That wouldn’t be a very Blacklist departure, in any case.
On the other hand, Liz looked to take the difficult route, despite the fact that her destiny was almost certain.
Our sneak peek at The Blacklist Season 8 finale may not disclose Red’s true identity, but it does show us a side of the crime lord that we haven’t seen before.
I say it seemed because, even though she looked to be bleeding out at the end, characters on The Blacklist don’t usually die. Nothing is fixed in stone until The Blacklist Season 9 begins with an open-casket funeral.
The nicest aspect of Liz’s farewell (for now) episode was that fans got back the pleasant Elizabeth Keen, not the ingrate Liz, who was fascinated by the false Katarina and turned against Raymond for the past couple of seasons. If only for an episode, the Red-Liz dynamic was reestablished, and, in the end, Liz had most, if not all, of her questions addressed.
Our sneak peek at The Blacklist’s Season 8 finale may not disclose Red’s true identity, but it does show us a side of the crime lord that we haven’t seen before.
After Red’s recent last confrontation with Neville Townsend, Red and Dembe return to the Post Office. Aram arrives with getting Well balloons for an on-the-mend Agent Ressler — and he’s so overjoyed about Ressler’s recovery and Townsend’s demise that he’s almost childish, inhaling some helium from the balloons in his palm.
The guys don’t appear inclined to accept Aram’s offer, especially since they’re about to meet with Harold Cooper… The Blacklist, on the other hand, enjoys a good twist.
I suppose we’re supposed to think that Katarina played the role of Raymond Reddington in the distant past. All of that surgery would be doing if you had the Reddington money. That’s what the final montage was supposed to show: a mother’s love, whether it was Liz for Agnes or Katarina for Liz.
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In this episode, Red, as he had stated throughout the series, was willing to die to defend Liz. Regardless of how much she fought, he constantly assured her that his empire will one day be hers. He just followed that attitude to its logical conclusion. Raymond will have to reconsider his succession strategy immediately.
There was a sense of melancholy in the air that evening. Liz’s departure had been known for weeks, so the only question was how. The news of Boone’s leaving provided a background for The Blacklist Season 8’s wacky storyline, in which Liz is hellbent on murdering her longtime benefactor.
The plot was also depressing. The terminally sick mafia lord wanted his successor to carry out a mercy killing while also securing her future. All Liz needed after the events of The Blacklist Season 8 Episode 21 was one more answer: Who is Raymond Reddington now?
To find the answer she wanted, she would have to step over to the dark side… for good.
No more pretending to be a criminal only to be spared by Red’s and/or Harold’s connections. She’d have to take over Reddington’s enterprise. Raymond was a guy on a mission after the close brush with Townsend. He was determined to ensure Liz’s future, even if it took dying to do it. Red had been preparing these preparations for a long time, as evidenced by his conversations with Dembe, even before his sickness threatened to take him down.
The only difficulty with Liz’s plan was that her months of insanity had come to an end. She had no ill will toward Raymond now that it had been made clear to her how much effort had gone into keeping her safe over decades. Certainly not enough to kill him, even if it was a mercy killing.
Liz just wanted to take her ill-gotten riches and start a new life for herself and Agnes abroad, putting the Blacklist era behind her. Never mind that she was a fugitive and that law enforcement authorities all over the world were looking for her, let alone criminal groups that may wish to use her as leverage against Reddington.
Harold is a big-picture thinker who might see Liz filling Red’s job as Blacklister supply if that was the best way to keep her alive.
Liz was fortunate to be able to slip in and kiss Ressler one final time. He voted nay, as did Aram, the ideal Boy Scout. Park did not receive a vote. On the other hand, she’s the most mismatched toy on that specific island.
It was touching that Red had his last meal before being executed, replete with nice friends and lots of wine. Liz cared too much about him in the end to pull the trigger.
Liz will be missed, despite her long spells of annoyance.
What will the following season look like without Liz? Is Agnes having an affair with governess Mrs. French while living with Grandpa Pinky?
After an 8-year cycle of figuring out who Elizabeth was, why Reddington was protecting her, and who he was to her – she dies without ever knowing – it almost feels like I spent 8 years. It would have been simple for Reddington to disclose the solution to her 8-year-long inquiries as she died – the silence was deafening. Even if Reddington exposes the reason in the future, who cares now that the source of his secret is no longer alive? Finally, this was the year’s third poorest season.
When Calls the Heart’s final season was the worst in TV history, Magnum PI was horrible – both are off my wife’s and my Watch list for next season, but we will watch Blacklist out of curiosity – it got renewed for some reason, and James Spader is the reason the program has survived this far – Megan Boone, nevertheless.
