It’s no surprise that when The Blacklist premiered on NBC in 2013, it was a massive hit. The first reason was that James Spader was at the helm as career criminal Raymond “Red” Reddington, known as the Concierge of Crime. The story was also very intriguing. After running from authorities for decades and being at the top of the Most Wanted list, Reddington decides to willingly turn himself in. He offers his services to help the FBI take down the most awful criminals, and he delivers. But there’s an ulterior motive. They have to let him do his thing, and in taking down these thieves, criminals, and terrorists, they are inadvertently helping build Reddington’s own criminal enterprise in the process.
At the heart of the story was also Reddington’s interest in Elizabeth “Liz” Keen, a young agent to whom he had some type of prior relationship, but he won’t reveal the details. In fact, much of the show’s mystery centers around how he knows Liz and why he feels so compelled to protect her.
Why Did Megan Boone Leave the Show?
The plan wasn’t necessarily for Liz to be written out of The Blacklist, but showrunners agreed to release Boone from her contract because she wanted to pursue other opportunities, according to Screen Rant. Along with acting, she started her own production company called Weird Sister and signed a first-look deal with Sony Pictures Television. While this was great news for the actor, her departure naturally resulted in the show following a trajectory that was likely far different than originally planned.
Liz was written out in Season 8 in a tragic death that left fans reeling. After reuniting with the woman she thought was her mother, she chose sides, and Reddington had to go on the run from both of them, who were hunting him down. When he came face- to-face with “Katarina,” he killed her (likely because she wasn’t the real Katarina, and he knew it). Liz, however, did not know, and she became livid with him. She set out on a path to take him down.
Reddington had tried to get back in Liz’s good graces and was winding down involvement in his operation, wanting to hand the reins over to her. However, before he had the chance to do so, Liz was fatally shot right before her attempt to assassinate him. (Something he knew she was planning to do and had fully accepted). She died never knowing the truth. The aftermath picks up in Season 9, which jumps ahead two years as Reddington is hellbent on finding out who killed Liz and why. Sadly, he discovers that the man responsible was Marvin Gerard, a long-time friend and lawyer who was jealous that Red was handing the business over to Liz instead of him.
The story then shifts away from Reddington hiding his identity from Liz to him trying to keep his current activities under wraps. Before dying by suicide, Gerard tells a dangerous and powerful blacklister named Wujing that Reddington is working with the FBI. After defeating these enemies, Reddington decides that it’s time to dismantle his whole operation before his tragic end. There’s no one left he trusts to run it, so he’ll run it into the ground.
Did Liz Leaving Ruin the Blacklist?
It’s no surprise that without Liz as part of the equation, The Blacklist went downhill in its later seasons. The entire story was about Reddington working with the FBI, taking down criminals, and building his empire. But it was all for an end goal that involved Liz. The reason was teased throughout the entire show. To have Liz die so abruptly before a resolution left fans angry and frustrated.
What’s more, some believe that the lackluster ending of the show was the result of Boone leaving and writers having to make adjustments to the script to accommodate that. Regardless of who Reddington actually was, the only way to handle a major reveal would have been to have Reddington sit down with Liz and tell her. Killing Liz off eliminated any possibility of doing so except for in a dream sequence, or a visit to her grave. But without the live reaction that fans had been waiting to see for years, a scene like this would have fallen flat. Thus, fans got…nothing.
The only questionable confirmation of Reddington’s true identity comes in the last moments before he perishes. Reddington calls Liz’s daughter, Agnes, to ask how she is doing, and she jokes with him that he “sounds like a mom.” Reddington chimes back, “I guess I just can’t help it,” implying that he is indeed a mom. But no official confirmation is given that Reddington really is Katarina, leaving fans with the same uncertainty about who Reddington was that Liz felt in her own death.
In hindsight, it would have been better for the show to write out Boone by saying she continued to be a fugitive, trying to deal with the mess that surrounded her, or even faked her own death. This would have allowed for a potential return, even if just for the series finale for the big reveal that had been built up for so long.
Unfortunately, because of the character’s confirmed on-screen death, the altered focus of the show, and a finale that left fans with the same questions they had in the beginning, Liz leaving did sully the reputation of The Blacklist. The later seasons were the worst of the show. At least for the first half of its run, The Blacklistwas one of the best shows on television. But when the cat or the mouse is gone from the chase, there’s not much of a chase left, and no reward at the end.
