The Blacklist. You know, it's that show starring the magnificent, kickass James Spader about FBI's most wanted teaming up with the FBI to take down high-level targets. It was just renewed for season 9 on NBC, and it's absolutely glorious. If you don't know it, this is your sign to get to know it.
I binged through all seven seasons on Netflix over quarantine, and I'm now watching season 8 as episodes premiere. The storytelling on this show is masterful. The writers aren't afraid to dive into the potential disasters their characters inevitably get themselves into as they lean into their character's flaws, fearlessly facing an angry Twitter storm after each episode airs.
Best of all, even though Liz Keen, played by the incredible Megan Boone, is the main character of the show, every character has a backstory. And the writers give every character the chance to explore their past demons.
So now you know how much I love The Blacklist. Now let me word vomit how much I love two of the characters together: Donald Ressler and Liz Keen, their names lovingly mashed together to form the ship name Keenler.
[SPOILERS AHEAD]
Listen......I have shipped these two since Season 1 Episode 4: The Stewmaker. When Ressler wraps Liz up in that blue blanket, pulling her into a hug (despite the fact that they have NOT gotten off on the best foot), I was a complete goner. The thing is, I never thought it could happen. After all, Liz was married, happily then not happily then happily again.
But damn the writers. They wrote in birthday dinners at Wing Yee's, prolonged shoulder touches (WITH A POINTED CAMERA LINGER), and emotional glances. They wrote in lines like "What you feel for her could make all the difference" and "I didn't know where else to go." Keen and Ressler were partners in every sense of the word. Ressler went to battle for Keen, and Keen risked it all for Ressler. It was obvious that their partnership went deeper than just a regular work relationship. And yet a potential relationship was still just a dream for us Keenler fans. Everything the writers had written could be passed off as a deep friendship, nothing more.
Then came Season 7 Episode 17: Brothers. Liz goes to Ressler's apartment once more, after helping him get rid of a body, calls him her "tiny island of calm" in her "FEMA disaster of a life," and then Ressler pulls her into the most beautiful hug. The episode was called "Brothers," so obviously this relationship can still be sold as a sibling one, but for Keenler shippers.... we rarely get small moments like these. With no death, no injury, no one that needs to be saved.
And here we are at Season 8. In Season 8 Episode 1: "Roanoke," LIZ AND RESSLER KISS. I don't think I've gone a day without thinking about it at least once. Because after the longest slow burn I have ever experienced (EIGHT YEARS Y'ALL. CAN YOU IMAGINE.), it. happened. In these first three episodes of season 8, we've gotten a Keenler kiss, Ressler showing feelings ("I would do anything for you if I could." "I'm the closest thing to family you've got."), Liz almost killing Ressler, and then Liz showing up at Ressler's door once more to """"rest"""" ("When I thought I had [killed you], nothing else mattered") (pls everyone, they are NOT going to rest okay. not after Ressler lets Liz in and that damn door slams shut behind them).
Y'ALL. LOOK AT THEM. KISSING!! FOR THE FIRST TIME!!!!! AFTER EIGHT YEARS!! (if it looks awkward, it's because they had to kiss mannequins! Because of COVID! Isn't that fun!? But still!! THEY KISSED!!!!)
So yeah. As a fan, and especially as a Keenler fan, I was and am absolutely over the moon about this direction the writers have taken. But what I love even more about it is how calculated it was. The Keenler relationship isn't like other television relationships. I think the fandom is pretty split between people who want Keenler to happen and people who think they're better off as friends. Because of that, nothing about this show is fan service; everything happens for a reason. The writers aren't going to "finally" make Keenler a thing just because some fans wanted it. The writers wrote in that kiss because it is going to serve a higher purpose. It is going to complicate a relationship that has been so steady for most of the show. It is going to show a new side to these characters that we have not yet seen before. The existence of this kiss, especially at a time like this when Liz is about to go on the run again (something Ressler is all too familiar with), adds a new variable that wasn't there the last time Liz was a fugitive. Something is different now.
And... not to mention there's just a small little detail that I forgot to mention about the kiss.
The kiss allows Liz to be close enough to reach into Ressler's jacket and grab his gun.
That's right. DID LIZ KISS HIM BECAUSE SHE WANTED TO? OR DID SHE DO IT TO GET HIS GUN???? AHHHHH. AMAZING, RIGHT? The writers catered to both sides of Keenler: those who wanted them together, by delivering a kiss that was a long time in the making, and those who don't, by adding this gun-taking layer to it. It's just.... chef's kiss. That's all I can say.
I can go on and on about how Ressler deserves the WHOLE WORLD and does not deserve Liz playing him like that especially since he's been pining for Liz for so long and she keeps taking advantage of him etc etc (although I also will not tolerate Liz slander. I love her, she's a badass). BUT, this is about Keenler. And how my mind will not shut up about them. And how I just had to get this out there before I explode. I'll save my Ressler thoughts for another day.
Alright, so tomorrow we'll see Keen as #1 on the Blacklist. Things are going to get spicy and I can't wait. Here's to hoping we get a Keenler scene to kick it off :)
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