After eight seasons playing Liz Keen on NBC’s The Blacklist, Megan Boone is ready to say goodbye.
In a heartfelt Instagram post on Wednesday, which she posted as her final Blacklist episode was airing, Boone expressed her gratitude to her fans and coworkers for their support. “This experience, for me, has been an entire life inside of my own life,” she began, alongside a photo of her and costar James Spader in character. “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.”
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She added that “as her story ends, I am grateful, most of all for the people I shared this time with: my fellow cast members present and past, our incredible crew who carried every single day for all involved, and those of you we entertained. The dreams inside this little life are the memories I still have of the guest stars passing through, however briefly — of their faces, their voices, their idiosyncrasies and talents. There have been such an astounding abundance of you over my 150+ episodes that, ironically, I could not list you all here, but… What a list. What a dream. Thank you all.”
Earlier this month, news broke of Boone’s departure from the NBC drama, which she has costarred on with Spader since its 2013 debut. Her exit was reportedly plotted well ahead of The Blacklist‘s Season 9 pickup in January, allowing the show’s writers ample time to craft Liz’s final arc. [Read our recap of Boone’s final episode.]
How will The Blacklist continue without Elizabeth Keen? That’s the question for Season 9 apparently.
Megan Boone, who has starred on the NBC drama since it premiered in 2013, is exiting as a series regular at the end of the current eighth season, Deadline reports. [The finale airs June 23.] Fortunately for fans, this wasn’t a surprise and Liz will be getting a proper exit storyline. This news also comes as Liz spent some time this season as a fugitive while Boone was missing from a significant portion of the episodes. She resurfaced in the April 23 show.
Reddington and Liz are heading to Latvia for the final Season 8 episodes.
There are only two episodes left of the season, “Nachalo” [“The Beginning” in Russian] and “Konets” [“The Ending”], so fans may very well get a taste of how The Blacklist will say goodbye to Liz starting with the former on June 16. Heading into these episodes, Raymond Reddington [James Spader] has told Liz he’s the elusive spy she’s been hunting, N-13, and now he’s taking her to Latvia with the promise of the answers she’s been seeking — the Blacklist.
“These last two episodes are really sort of companion pieces,” series creator Jon Bokenkamp told TV Insider. “[With] the next episode, ‘Nachalo,’ we’re going to go back to the very beginning and unpack answers to eight years worth of questions.”
The finale “very much is an ending,” he continued. “It may not be the ending of the series, but it’s very much the ending of a story we’ve been telling for eight years.” That story, we now know, is at least partly about Liz.
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We’ll have to tune in to see how The Blacklist is going to continue on without Liz and Boone. After all, with Boone leaving, the only original cast members [presumably] continuing on for Season 9 are Spader, Diego Klattenhoff [Donald Ressler], and Harry Lennix [Harold Cooper].
The Blacklist, Wednesdays, 10/9c, NBC
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‘The Blacklist‘ has a reputation of keeping fans on their toes and delivering revelations that not only shock the audiences but also propel the narrative forward in such a way that everything the audience thought they knew changes completely. Armed with such twists and turns, season 8 of the show has already proved to be more decisive than previous seasons.
The narrative has been further complicated by the absence of Liz Keen, who is one of the most important characters on the show. Liz’s disappearance has led many fans to believe that actress Megan Boone who plays the part, has left ‘The Blacklist.’ Is that really the case? Here’s everything we know.
Has Megan Boone Left The Blacklist?
Actress Megan Boone has been an integral part of ‘The Blacklist’ ever since the series first premiered back in 2013. She essays the role of Elizabeth “Liz” Keen and has been a main cast member of the show for all its seasons. Barring a brief maternity leave at the time of season 3, the actress hasn’t missed a whole lot of episodes, and her character is crucial in finding the answer to the most important question in ‘The Blacklist’ – Who Red really is? Liz’s quest to find the answer to this question has roped her into a conflict with Red, and her story is at a crossroads.
Amidst all the excitement induced by the mindblowing twists of season 8, Boone has been MIA for most of the season, especially in recent episodes. Therefore, speculations that the actress has left the series in the rearview began to feel true with each passing week. Fans of the show were particularly worried that Boone’s departure would mean that Liz’s story is left unresolved.
However, you can put those worries to bed, as Megan Boone is not leaving ‘The Blacklist.’ There has never been any indication from the actress, producers, or the network that Boone would be departing the series. The decision to use her character sparingly in the eighth season was likely a creative one. Boone will make her coveted return as Liz in season 8 episode 14 of ‘The Blacklist’ titled ‘Misere.’
What Happened to Liz Keen?
The reason Liz has remained on the sidelines for most of season 8 is that she has become the number 1 target on the Blacklist, forcing her to remain in hiding. Liz and Red [James Spader] began to drift apart because Red would keep secrets from her. In season 8, Red shoots Liz’s mother, Katrina, after which Liz turns against him. She plots revenge against Red, and her subsequent actions earn her the top spot on the Blacklist. Liz goes on the run after stealing 35 million euros from Red in the fourth episode of the season. Red and the Task Force continually search for Liz, but to no avail.
After a few failed attempts, they eventually manage to locate and capture Liz in the ninth episode. However, as it turns out, the captured person isn’t Liz but a look-alike of hers. It is also revealed that Liz has been working with Neville Townsend, Red’s enemy. Although she doesn’t appear in the thirteenth episode titled ‘Anne,’ she makes a brief return in the final moments as a shocked Red identifies her as the person holding Anne, his lady-love, at gunpoint. It has been confirmed that the episode titled ‘Misere’ will reveal details about Liz’s time off the grid and bring her back into the bigger picture.
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