Is Elizabeth Keen dead or is this just another example of the show misleading its audience? That is the million dollar question millions of fans are asking after viewing the lead character’s death this past Thursday night (4/14). "The Blacklist" has pretty much been centered around Keen’s character since it began. This makes the decision to kill her character even more questionable as most fans are left wondering what the show will even be able to do without its main character. When Raymond Reddington surrendered his services to the FBI, he would only speak to Elizabeth Keen. Without her, the whole premise of the show is kind of lost and fans are left to wonder how long the show can continue without its central character.
On the other hand, Keen’s death has been faked before and there are several theories that this may be another event in which we believe Keen is gone only to have her resurface in a future episode once she has taken her maternity leave. Keen was about to marry Tom when the church was ambushed. Reddington very openly disapproved the union. Ironically, Elizabeth escaped from the church with Tom but they were separated from each other prior to her death. Reddington and the doctor that Reddington calls in when more traditional hospitals cannot be utilized were the only ones around when Keen supposedly passed away. Could they be faking her death in order for Reddington to have an opportunity to expose Tom for what he is before she is married to him for a second time?
It is also necessary to consider Mr. Kaplan. Prior to Lizzie’s death, Kaplan was visibly emotional and scorning Reddington for not taking care of Elizabeth. It is possible that she was working with the doctor to try and pull one over on Raymond and take the reins which would explain why Red seemed so upset since in this scenario, he would not know that she was not really dead. Keen was being pursued and the order was to deliver her alive. At the time of her death, it was still not revealed who Keen was to be delivered to in the event of her capture.
Still another theory is that Tom and Liz may be the main puppeteers behind it all. It can be rationalized that with a baby arriving, Liz’s loss of credentials as an agent and Tom’s sudden change in occupation, that they decided to make a clean break from Red and everyone else involved. This theory is not as great for fans of the show because it still suggests a departure from the main plot of the show which would make it seemingly difficult for the show to carry on.
Still, there is also the possibility that they really have killed off Elizabeth Keen. There is already discussion about a spinoff involving Tom’s character. I do not think that will have success if it comes to fruition because nobody likes Tom, quite frankly. Additionally, the death of Keen and maybe the end of "The Blacklist" might not be all bad. It has been fairly hard to understand how a woman that passed all of the psychological tests needed to become an FBI agent would be so far out of character as to actually think she should get back together with a man that was hired to marry her the first time around. At the very least, it will be interesting to see how it all unfolds.
