Rest in peace to our favorite FBI agent-turned-villian. Following the tragic Season 8 finale, many are wondering: Does Elizabeth Keen really die on The Blacklist and is she actually dead? Could we see actress Megan Boone again or is her almost decade-long character gone for good? We’ve got the answer, below.
The Blacklist is NBC’s long-running crime thriller that follows Raymond ‘Red’ Reddington (James Spader), a former US Naval Intelligence officer who becomes a high-profile criminal. After escaping capture for decades, Reddington gives in to the FBI and provides the “Blacklist,” an exclusive list of the most dangerous criminals in the world. He works closely with FBI special agent Elizabeth Keen, played by Boone, to help catch the criminals in exchange for immunity from prosecution. NBC revealed in February 2023 that Season 10 would be the show’s last after a decade on the air, according to our sister publication, Deadline.
Boone was one of the original cast members on the show and was one of the first characters to be cast. “The audition process actually drew me closer and closer and closer to the piece. By the time they decided to cast me, I was already really sort of in this world and it was an amazing collaboration at that point because I felt so involved, and then read with Diego Klattenhoff and Ryan Eggold and then they brought in James Spader,” the actress told the Daily Actor in September 2013.
In June 2021, Deadline reported that Megan Boone was leaving The Blacklist to pursue other opportunities, calling the decision “mutual” between her and the show. Because Boone wanted to leave ahead of Season 9, writers were able to carefully plan her character’s arc so that the Season 8 finale would be her last. They decide to turn from an FBI agent to a dangerous criminal (and it’s later revealed that she was No. 1 on the Blacklist).
“This experience, for me, has been an entire life inside of my own life,” Boone wrote in a now-deleted Instagram post at the time of her exit, according to Deadline. “These eight years playing Liz Keen have helped me better define the world and myself, as she set out to do the same. Liz sought incorruptible familial bonds, and collided with powerful forces to reveal the boundaries where a cruel, indifferent world ended and she began.” She also thanked the cast and crew and The Blacklist’s guest stars over the years. “What a list. What a dream. Thank you all,” she said. The Blacklist Creator Jon Bodenkamp also said farewell to his leading lady. “You have been an incredible collaborator, a tireless partner, and I couldn’t be more proud of what we’ve built together,” he wrote on Twitter.
Shortly after her exit was announced, Boone officially launched her production company, Weird Sister, and signed a first-look deal with Sony Pictures Television. The deal said that Boone would develop and produce new series projects for the indie TV studio, Deadline reported. “I am beyond excited to have a home at SPTV where I can branch out and continue to work with this incredible team,” Boone said at the time. “They have been instrumental in my career, and fundamentally believe in my vision for Weird Sister… I’m thrilled for this new chapter.
Does Elizabeth Keen really die on The Blacklist?
Does Elizabeth Keen really die on The Blacklist and is she actually dead? Yes, Elizabeth Keen was shot and killed in Season 8, Episode 22, “Konets.” Before she dies, Red asks Liz to kill him and spare him from his terminal illness so that she’ll look “untouchable” to the rest of the blacklist. He tells her if she shoots him, he’ll give her a letter from her mother, Katrina. When Liz hesitates to kill him, she is shot in the back by Elias VanDyke, one of Neville Townsend’s loyal followers. She bleeds out and dies in Red’s arms.
Showrunner Jon Eisendrath confirmed that Liz was gone for good. “Liz’s death has had a profound effect on our characters is inevitable but where they’ve landed in her absence is surprising and wide-ranging,” he told Entertainment Weekly in October 2022. He added that although Liz is gone, “the criminal world has just kept ticking along, which at a certain point becomes impossible for our heroes to ignore.”
After Elizabeth Keen’s unfortunate death, Megan Boone has not returned to the series since. One way they could bring back Keen’s character is with a flashback, but since Season 10 is The Blacklist’s last season, it seems highly unlikely she’ll return to the show.
