‘The Blacklist’ New Episodes Deal With Liz Keen’s Death 2 Years Later
At long last, The Blacklist‘s new episodes are finally here. The Blacklist Season 8 ended with the death of Liz Keen. Fans knew season 9 wouldn’t be the same without her. The first episode of season 9 almost felt like it could have been a spinoff series. However, “The Skinner” did address the task force dealing with Liz’s death after a time leap of two years.
‘The Blacklist’ season 8 ended with Liz’s death
At the end of The Blacklist Season 8, Liz meets with Raymond Reddington for a final time. While the two talk, Liz is fatally shot in the back. Red holds a dying Liz in his arms, fleeing just as the task force arrives to find Liz. This is where the heartbreaking episode ends.
Fans were left with a lot of questions about how Red and the task force would cope with Liz’s death. Some even wondered if Liz really did die. It wouldn’t be the first time a “dead” character has come back to life. If Liz really is dead, then it also raises the question of who is taking care of her daughter Agnes. Fortunately, the season 9 premiere had some answers.
The first episode of season 9 picks up two years later
The first episode of The Blacklist Season 9, “The Skinner” aired on Oct. 21 and answered some of these long-anticipated questions. The new episode picks back up two years after Liz’s death. The task force has been disbanded. Dembe is now an undercover FBI agent, who gets badly injured in an explosion. This prompts Cooper to get the task force back together to find the assailants responsible.
Ressler is clearly still holding on to some anger about Liz’s death. Whether or not things would have worked out romantically between the two, they still had a close relationship for many years. Ressler clearly blames Red for Liz’s death, and he isn’t the only one.
“We all do,” Aram tells Cooper. “I guess the difference for me and maybe you guys as well is that I believe Mr. Reddington blames himself, and I forgive him for it.”
Liz’s daughter Agnes also makes an appearance. She is in the care of Cooper, who is unsurprisingly not allowing Red to see her. Agnes has lost a lot, and it’s understandable for Cooper to keep her away from someone as unpredictable as Red.
‘The Blacklist’ new episodes will continue to deal with Liz’s death
Ressler is finally able to confront Red at the end of the episode. He tells him that they must continue to hunt criminals on the blacklist to honor Liz’s memory and everything she worked toward. “That’s why I came back,” Ressler tells Red. “Because as much as I hate you, I loved her more.”
Finally, fans could see a solid picture of what The Blacklist Season 9 episodes will look like. Variety speculates that Ressler and Red will team up to hunt down criminals in honor of Liz. The pair seem like they still have quite a bit of healing to do following her death.
