New images from The Blacklist season 9 show Ressler grieving Liz’s death. The long-running NBC drama experienced a major shift when its co-leading star Megan Boone announced she would be leaving the series. It confirmed the worst fears of viewers that Boone’s character, FBI Special Agent Elizabeth Keen, had been killed off as the result of a gunshot wound in the season 8 finale. More changes would follow, as The Blacklist creator Jon Bokenkamp revealed he would be exiting the show.

To reflect these significant alterations to the status quo, The Blacklist season 9 has included a two-year time jump. In that intervening period, the whereabouts of Reddington (James Spader) are unknown, and the series’ central FBI task force has disbanded. Several members of the task force live different lives after the jump, but they find themselves at a crossroads when a common purpose pushes them to return to their original mission. In classic Blacklist fashion, viewers have to expect conspiracies and betrayals along the way.

SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

The Blacklist season 9 went on hiatus following its December 9 episode. When it returns to NBC on January 6,  Donald Ressler (Diego Klattenhoff) will step into the spotlight. In an episode titled “Between Sleep and Awake,” the show will feature flashbacks to the time after Liz died. Though not much is known about what Ressler’s been up to since the time jump, it’s clear Liz’s death hit him hard. That’s particularly true since the two characters had a romantic history. Check out the images, via EW, below.

Longtime friends and partners and the subject of plenty of discussion from viewers, Liz and Ressler shared a memorable kiss in The Blacklist season 8 premiere. Going from that to Liz’s heartless murder has already had an obvious negative impact on Ressler. He’s shown, at the beginning of the latest season, to have a drug addiction. To avoid being caught by a drug test, he talks Agent Parks into helping him conceal the addiction from the FBI. Though it’s true Boone is no longer a part of The Blacklist, her character’s death continues to have clear resonance.

Many shows, particularly those that stretch on for several seasons, will devote episodes to supporting characters. In that vein, this season, The Blacklist examines the conflict between Reddington and Dembe Zuma (Hisham Tawfiq). These ruminations can do a lot to enrich a long-running series, adding depth and contextualization to each character on the show. In the case of Ressler, it also honors a pairing that many viewers loved.

See also  Vanderpump Rules: Stassi Says Her Firing Affected Her Baby Gender Reveal

Source: EW

Interview with the Vampire Trailer Shows Louie & Lestat’s Coffins Side-by-Side

About The Author


Abdullah Al-Ghamdi
(1121 Articles Published)

Abdullah Al-Ghamdi joined Screen Rant in August 2019, focusing on movie and television news. In January of the same year, he wrote a 3500+ word piece on why Primo Colón is underrated. He considers it his finest work. When he’s not arguing for the merits of his favorite wrestler, he can be reached at: [email protected].

More From Abdullah Al-Ghamdi