Ohhhhh my. As I'm writing this, it's been exactly 1 hour and 8 minutes since 8x15 ended. And, everyone, it's official. Add 8x15 to your list of Keenler episodes. Put it on up there alongside 6x08, 7x17, and 8x04 because in 8x15, these two babies reunited for the first time after seeing each other naked and THAT is beautiful.
I honestly don't even know where to start because I couldn't find it in myself to let things sink in before writing this, so I'm just going to go headfirst, okay? Cool. If this is the first Keenler post you're reading from me, the way it goes is that I will allow myself some time to have a meltdown over this damn ship, and then I'll try to analyze a little bit to see if I can understand why the writers did what they did. Bear with me because there will be many more photos in this post than there usually are because KEENLER IS BACK, and it's not enough for me to just scream in periodic caps; I have to actually show why this is the ship that is such a frequent cause of my mental breakdowns.
In this episode, we got it ALL, y'all. We got every single classic Keenler trope. I'm talking gunpoint, long glances, and phone calls guys. The only thing we were missing was a good old fashioned "I know you," but I'm going to pocket that and hope that it comes up later.
Let's start with that gunpoint scene!! Which was everything the 809 gunpoint scene WISHED it was!!! First of all, it was so out of the blue; Liz had just gotten away from Park's grasp, she turned a corner and THERE HE WAS!!!! IN HIS FBI JACKET GLORY (you all KNOW the one I'm talking about)!!! Liz instinctively puts up her gun, and Ressler, incredulous, says "What, you're going to shoot me?" Because it is ridiculous, and he knows it, and it should be treated as so!!
And then he faces her head on!! With that "Shoot me, then. Show me there's nothing left of the old Elizabeth Keen." LOOK AT HIM. STANDING IN FRONT OF THE WOMAN HE LOVES WHO LITERALLY HAS THE POWER TO SHOOT HIM BUT HE KNOWS SHE WON'T.
ANYWAY, we always knew Ressler was the one who loved Liz longer, so the real zinger here to me was that when he mentioned Townsend, Liz immediately faltered, lowering her guard and looking so genuinely hurt that he could possibly think she was working with Townsend so deeply. The "Why would you say that?" was absolutely killer.
Like...look at her!! She was so hurt!!
And then Liz looking so hurt made Ressler hurt!! Look at him!!
Okay, so. Gunpoint scene? Check. And it was a good one! And obviously, guns make any scene more dramatic, but in this scene it was especially strong because of the power dynamic it established. Even though Ressler had The Russian Knot, Liz had the gun. Both had something to use against the other. This seems so important to me because it was a battle of who was going to give in first, and it's so significant to note that it was Liz who gave in first. It's always always been Ressler (Exhibit A, B, C, D....X: Ressler letting Liz go), but this time it's Liz who relents, drops her weapon, and leaves.
Now we can move on to phone call number one. Because there were MULTIPLE phone calls! We were FED today, y'all. There really isn't much to this, except to note the way Ressler immediately believes Liz no matter what and is always willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. Not only that, but he then goes to the rest of the Task Force with her request to meet, is her biggest advocate during that meeting, and exposes himself as Liz's preferred Task Force point of contact. This is all information we knew in our own little dumb Keenler heads, but it's nice to see it all actually played out in an actual episode, isn't it?
SO NOW (and I am absolutely GIDDY over this), it's time for the big boy scene. Ressler and Liz meet up to try and decrypt the code Liz has. And LOOK at these literal middle schoolers!! The glances when the other one wasn't looking!! The glances when the other one was looking!! The complete avoidance of the fact that they slept together!! I love them!!
This was the closest in proximity that they got to each other, but the real Keenler angst in this scene came when Liz realized that she'd been double-crossed, not by Ressler, but by Cooper. And Ressler, because he really is just so far gone over her, runs after Liz screaming "Keen, this isn't me" and "Keen, wait, they lied to me!" and "I had no idea I swear," because literally the only thing this man cares about is how he is perceived by Liz.
Then blah blah blah, Liz sets off one of those classic doppelganger tricks to make herself blend in (Handmaid's Tale from B99 Halloween Heist style), before she's gone and leaves Ressler to look around for her wildly.
The real meat of this episode comes at the end, when Ressler finally talks BACK to the rest of the Task Force. Everyone else is convinced that Reddington was the one who was telling the truth, and even though Ressler should too, he doesn't. It's a clarifying moment because Cooper and Aram were on Liz's side before, but this seems to be the moment where things have changed. The only thing that hasn't changed? Ressler's undying loyalty to Liz.
[SIDEBAR: the fact that Cooper knows Ressler dipped his wick in the fugitive end of the swimming pool in this scene and doesn't bring it up.....the self control displayed is astronomical.]
A couple museum-worthy screenshots from this scene:
Figure 1: Ressler clenching his jaw
Figure 2: Ressler giving Cooper straight anger as he SHOULD.
GOD THIS POST IS A MESS BUT WE'RE COMING TO THE END HERE. Ressler takes his "No Caller ID" phone call and HEADS TO HIS OFFICE, where he proceeds to pick up the call. All Liz has to say is "Hey," before his palpable relief is heard when he says "Thank God you're alright, Keen." DEAR LORD. HOW DO THEY EXIST.
Okay and then they play some letter games because they're fluent in English (not when talking about feelings but whatever it's fine, really), and Liz decodes Red's message! This scene is intercut with our Eastern Friend confirming that Red did, in fact, deliver a fake message. That means that only Liz and Ressler know what's coming. No one in the Task Force trusts Liz, and at this point, no one would trust Ressler either because they know Liz is his weak spot.
I've been seeing this theory thrown around on Twitter, and I originally thought it was a joke, but, um, I don't know guys.
The theory is that Ressler is going to join Liz on the run.
At first thought this seemed absolutely insane to me because Ressler is our typical by-the-book agent, but this episode cut some of the major ties Ressler has to the Task Force. First of all, he is evidently, and strongly, on Liz's side, and he seems to be the only one left on the Task Force who is.
Second of all, Donald Ressler will do what he thinks is best and right. Up until this episode, Liz's driving force, that Red is N13, was merely a well-founded guess. However, in this episode, she's presented proof that Red is in contact with someone, which could be enough for him to go full Team Liz.
Third of all, this would be an absolutely perfect way to continue his character arc in a way that makes sense. In the very beginning, he was introduced to us as this shiny, pristine FBI agent, but over the course of the series we've seen how the lines separating good and bad in his head have blurred. He believes Liz, and this decoded message is the proof that Reddington is up to something suspicious that he needed in order to push him over the edge. I think he has enough information now to feel comfortable actively helping Liz and becoming her partner in this, especially since Liz made it abundantly clear in her scene with Townsend that she does not work for him (and yeah, that scene made me fall more in love with Liz and what of it). I don't think Ressler could, in good conscience, continue to work with Reddington knowing the contents of the message Liz shared. Which means the only other option is to go help Liz. For real. And I'm sorry, but the thought of Keenler going on the run together and being partners again is absolutely sending me to the stratosphere, and I don't think I can think of anything else tonight or tomorrow or maybe ever!
Oh, yeah, and fourth of all? He's in love with her.
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