[THE BLACKLIST SEASON 8 SPOILERS AHEAD]
Happy One Month Anniversary of Elizabeth Keen's untimely death!
Lots has happened to me in the one month since I last wrote a blogpost! I gave my first presentation at my internship, started learning how to drive, and managed to somehow get into a three-day fight with my sister.
But, somewhere in the back of my mind, during all of that life I lived, I kept getting reminded of the fact that one of my most beloved characters was killed off of what once was my favorite show. The thought just lives in my head, ready to remind me of its existence just when I think I might forget about it.
I truly don't know how else to describe it, and I'm not embarrassed about it. I think a lot of people don't understand why people like me (essentially fans, in the deepest sense of the word) get so hung up on things that happen in fictional worlds. They don't get why I cry over TV shows and tweet about ships. They pretend not to judge when I can't stop myself from talking about my shows as if they happened to me in real life.
Let's turn the tables though, because I don't understand how you don't get caught up. I've spent over 150 hours of my life watching The Blacklist. I have been at Liz's side during her entire journey. I've watched people come and go from her life, but she has been a constant, something to go back to, someone to ground me in the show every single week. I have rooted for her at her lowest lows, celebrated her (very few) wins, and I have been asking the same questions as her the entire show.
Elizabeth Keen has become my friend. I care about her. I want to know about her life, and I want her to be happy, just as I wish the same for the friends and family I have in real life. There's a certain magic in television shows, a magic that is special and inimitable, and it's that magic that makes shows addictive. And if a show is really good, the magic it has forces its audience to step into its characters' shoes and experience what they are experiencing. You can care deeply for your fictional world and the people that live in it. Isn't that the whole point of escapism?
So yeah, I think it's perfectly reasonable for me, and all of you, to feel real heartbreak over Liz's death. If you're anything like me, I do feel like I've lost a friend, and it hurts to know that not only will I never see her face on my screen again, I also can't imagine a happy life for her after the show.
BECAUSE SHE'S DEAD.
So...lots of untapped anger in my body; I can't lie! But I don't really have a plan for this post. I do have some new thoughts that I wanted to write out here, but I mostly just want the Jo(h)ns to know that this one singular decision they've made is still negatively affecting us. And maybe they'll think it's a good thing because they've "kept people talking" about their show and "any press is good press," but what I actually want them to understand is that they have lost my trust.
I no longer trust them to write this show correctly, do these characters justice, or complete their arcs in satisfying ways. I'm actively scared of the end of the show because I'm worried they're going to mess up every single thing they've built over the last 8 years (as if they haven't already).
Anyway, onward I guess.
Lingering 822 thoughts
'Konets' was an actual fever dream. I didn't feel this way while I was writing my last post, but it genuinely seems like something was just off. The fact is that they knew Megan was leaving long before the season 8 finale. But then why does the episode make it seem like Megan told them her big news literally five minutes before the writing of 822 started? They spent the entire season building up a big face-off between Red and Liz just for it to end with them basically teaming up against Townsend, getting rid of him in mere minutes.
Liz had all this pent-up anger and frustration toward Red for everything he'd put her through over the past eight years (and for good reason!), so, to me, everything she'd done this season made sense. Liz wanted the truth, so she cooperated with Red in 'Nachalo.' Okay, fine. Liz gets shot in the crossfire when Townsend infiltrates Latvia. Sure, why not.
Then in 'Konets,' Liz's wound is passed off as "not too bad" as she recovers more quickly and fully than Ressler (before she's promptly shot again at the end of the episode, this one fatal......literally just such lazy writing!). I think one of the most memorable scenes of the entire episode was of Liz, Red, and Agnes in the park as they walk and play while 'Somewhere Only We Know' plays in the background.
Don't get me wrong; the scene was beautiful, and it was definitely nice to see Liz and Red on the same page again. But did the scene make sense in the grand scheme of the story? In my opinion, no, it didn't. It seemed very haphazardly stuck in there because we knew Liz would be leaving and they couldn't let Megan Boone go without one final scene between her and Red. The thing is, though, we were very very fresh off of a 20 episode war between the two of them. Liz had attempted to kill Red multiple times, could be blamed for Anne's death, and teamed up with Red's biggest nemesis to take him down. After all that, and with no time to even consider forgiveness, how can we realistically believe that Liz would be in that park scene? The whole segment was so dream-like and wistful, with a fair amount of hope for the future, and all of it was just completely unbelievable.
This, combined with everything I mentioned in my last post about how Liz's death doesn't make any sense for her arc and how flip-floppy she's been, makes me think (AND THIS IS ONLY IN MY DEEPEST CLOWNERY MINDSET) that maybe......she's alive?
THAT'S THE FIRST TIME I'VE SAID THAT THOUGHT ALOUD because it's so embarrassing that I'm even holding out any semblance of hope that she's alive. The montage pretty much confirms that she's dead, and we literally saw her get shot and bleed out on the street. All that being said, I can't shake the feeling that the last episode was so strange. Either there's a small chance she's alive and it was all a dream, or this episode is even worse than I originally thought.
All I have wanted and all I've asked is for this story that I've been following for 8 seasons to make sense. I want our characters to have arcs that make sense, I want the plot direction to make sense, and, specific to this show, I want the answer to who Raymond Reddington is to make sense.
For so many years, this show has made sense to me. From Liz shooting Connolly, to going on the run, to fake-dying to protect her family, to Mr. Kaplan becoming the big bad, to Red re-building his empire.... bam bam bam, every plot point has followed the previous one. Even through season 8, it made sense to me. As I mentioned in previous posts, I enjoyed the Red v Liz story. For so long, I could see Liz's entire story all playing out in front of me, and, most importantly, I could see the why. I understood the decisions she made because I knew what was driving her.
All of that completely fell apart in 'Konets.' Truly.... the decisions made by pretty much every character in this episode don't make sense. From everything I've said with Liz, to Red deciding to give up on his fight against cancer (despite Dembe saying his treatment was working), to Cooper telling Liz to become a criminal...and the list goes on. I don't see how we got here after 'Nachalo.' I'm walking down the paved path, but it's like a tree fell down and blocked my view of what's to come. That was not a good analogy, but you get it.
What I hope the writers considered before making this decision was that, as if it wasn't enough that Liz's death undermines her entire journey, it also completely diminishes the impact of everyone who died for Liz's quest for the truth. I'm talking Sam, Tom, Mr. Kaplan, Katarina/Tatiana, Dom....and probably more. They sacrificed their lives for a truth that we aren't even completely certain that she gets. That sucks. It really does. Liz's name is just being added to the long list of people who died unnecessarily, with the caveat being that she is our main character and deserved to know the truth and deserved to live. Like, really, I know there would be no show if Red hadn't entered her life, but can you IMAGINE the normal life our home girl could be living right now if he hadn't?
So how am I feeling? Anger? Definitely. Sadness? Yeah. Disappointment? 100%. But most of all I feel lost. One of my favorite characters in one of my favorite shows died for no reason whatsoever. The show I once lauded for its writing has faltered (and badly). And one half of my favorite ship is dead when they were really just beginning. It's hard to fathom that some of these characters will never know peace.
An Ode to Keenler
I've been thinking about Keenler a lot over the past month. Not as much as I thought I would because if I think about them too much I spiral, but definitely a lot. I don't know guys, there was something about that ship that just meant so much to me. They were the ship that I latched on to in season 1, never believing it would ever happen since she was married, but then after 8 long years, it did. It's so hard to explain to someone who didn't watch the show how truly inconceivable they were in season 1. So much so that in 801 it really felt like the impossible happened. I'll never forget the way my brain actually shut off when they kissed, one almost died, and they had sex in the span of 4 episodes. It was insane. It was so insane that even when I think back at it now, I can't believe it happened.
(but really. They SERVED strangers to partners to friends to enemies to friends to best friends to lovers.)
Keenler was a bold move by the writers. Among the fandom, it's very alienating; I've always felt like there's been a pretty even split between those who want it and those who don't. That's why I will say, even though all of us were hoping for domestic Keenler in season 9, I'm happy with what we got. A mannequin kiss, angsty phone calls, sex scene intercut with Liz smirking, all of 819, 'I love you' confession from Liz, Liz sneaking into a hospital to see Ressler, and a real Keenler kiss. These are the things that will help me keep the ship alive in my head. I just know that if Liz had died without Keenler officially becoming canon, I definitely would have lost my mind, so there are things to be thankful for (everyone say thank you Lukas Reiter)!
I'll probably continue to think about them. They're my happy place, truly. Ressler went from 'Who the hell is Elizabeth Keen,' to 'The person I'm in love with: Elizabeth Keen,' and Liz went from being in love with Tom to being in love with Ressler and yep, I'm about to spiral again so let me get to the last thing I wanted to say in this post.
What now? (again)
If Liz's story is really, truly, over, then The Blacklist, at least in its original sense, is also over. The show was centered around Liz, and anyone who thinks it isn't is lying to themselves.
That means that if The Blacklist is to continue being successful (in an everlasting Grey's Anatomy-type way), it needs to rebrand itself. I don't think the viewers really want to see a season 3 repeat. I think having the Task Force team up against Red to avenge Liz is too predictable and won't be a good enough foundation for an entire season.
I think.....I think a time skip might be in order here. It's not necessarily something I want, because I feel like it's kinda a big F you to Liz if they aren't even going to show the direct consequences of her death. BUT, I think it could be interesting to have a time skip and then have some flashbacks showing some of what happened immediately after her death.
The reason why I'm saying time skip is that I think the Task Force has been together for too long. I think that to really shake up the show, you need to shake up what's been its foundation over the past 8 years, which is the Task Force and its relationship to Reddington. I don't think Red will be in any state to continue feeding criminals to the Task Force in the aftermath of Liz's death, so it only makes sense for him to disappear. And if Red disappears, what's the Task Force going to do? Disband. If season 9 started with seeing each of these characters in different places and then having Red bring them together for some reason, I gotta say....I'd be intrigued.
Then again, from the very beginning, I've looked forward to seeing what the consequences of working with Red would be for the Task Force. It's been heavily hinted at, from the pilot, to that episode where Ressler and Cooper have their resignation letters ready, so I think it'd be a lost opportunity if they just decided to ignore that huge potential storyline that they built up for the past 8 years. But, I mean, it also isn't going anywhere. Who's to say the Task Force is safe even after it disbands? They did what they did for 8 years, and if someone really wanted to, they could definitely find dirt years later.
So there you go! My messy, unorganized, The Blacklist thoughts a month after that horrific season 8 finale! This show somehow takes up so much of my brain space and the only way to somewhat relieve myself of all of these random thoughts is to type them out.
I also wanted to say a quick thank you thank you thank you for all 500+(!!!) of you who read my last post! These posts have always been for me. They're unedited and candid because I never really expect anyone to read them, but reading about how some of you have been able to relate to my thoughts and hear your own thoughts reflected in my words has been really heartwarming. If you're like me, you just really want to know that you're not alone, and every one of you who replied to my tweet made me feel like there was a community of us who were hurting in the same way. And, really, what's better than one person hurting? MULTIPLE people hurting, but together <3 :-)
In summary, I hope the Jo(h)ns get coal for Christmas, I love my Blacklist friends, and, most importantly, when I become a writer I'm going to write the best rom com in the world and cast Ms Megan Boone and Sir Diego Klattenhoff as the leads.
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