Warning: This story contains major spoilers from the season finale ofThe Blacklist.
Read at your own risk!
Jon Snow’s not the only onegetting the resurrection treatment.
Credit: NBC
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: What was your first reaction when you heard they’d be faking Liz’s death?
I think all I said was, “Whoa… okay.
I both loved and hated having a secret for all that time.
NBC
It’s a good point in the series for Liz to break away.
Liz was only free momentarily, and now she’s beencaptured by a man purporting to be her father.
What’s going through her head in that final moment of discovery?
Liz has no idea what has happened to Tom and her baby.
Can she even trust this man claiming to be her father?
Oh no, I don’t think she trusts this guy.
He took away her family and possibly the anonymity she tried to gain byfaking her death.
Talk about Liz’s main motivating factor for getting away from Red.
Liz has pushed Red away on several occasions, but she always let him back into her life.
Why do you think that is?
so that reconcile this, I asked myself, “Why do people stay in fraught situations?
And what is it about this one in particular that maintains a grip on her?”
For me, it has come down to a few different things in the course of the series.
When she is in over her head, she needs him.
I don’t think we’re at the happily-ever-after point ofThe Blacklist…
I’m not sure we’ll ever be.
Liz went into this knowing she could no longer be Elizabeth Keen.
How difficult is that for her?
On some level, it may even be a relief for her to shed that skin.
Will that make her even more curious as to finding out who she really is, a.k.a.
Who Liz really is has always been dependent on outside factors.
That’s why I’m very excited about her independence.
The question of who she is could actually come from knowledge gained of herself, by herself.
Red discovers the truthin the finale.
Was there a part of her that was almost expecting or hoping he would?
I think she’s learned a lot and is able to fight for herself now.
Does she regret not finding out exactly who Red is to her?
Will that still keep her curiosity while she’s away?
I think she may have given up on getting answers from him because it’s proven futile.
She has to branch out.
How do you think Liz and Red’s dynamic has evolved since the show began?
That’s when she stopped being enamored of him and started to actually love him.
Does Liz regret letting the team believe she actually died?
Unfortunately, hurting the ones she loved was the only way to get out.
Do you hope the team will forgive her and understand where she was coming from?
A part of me thinks they’d want freedom for her.
They’ve all seen firsthand the threat that she was under in Red’s world.
If they discover she’s alive, I think they’ll be relieved.
Liz’s death comes during a TV season of several fake deaths.
How do you feel about that trend?
Do you fear losing the trust of the audience?
I didn’t know about that trend.
The Blacklistwill return this fall on NBC.
In the meantime, read our postmortem with executive producers Jon Bokenkamp and John Eisendrathhere.
