‘The Blacklist’: Megan Boone Breaks Silence on Exit

Megan Boone is bidding farewell to The Blacklist. After her onscreen counterpart, Elizabeth “Liz” Keen, was officially written off of the NBC crime thriller in Wednesday’s Season 8 finale, the actress took to Instagram to break her silence on her departure from the series for the first time since it was revealed last week that she would be exiting. Warning: This post contains spoilers for The Blacklist Season 8, Episode “Konets.”

Having starred as The Blacklist‘s female lead for eight seasons up until her exit, the actress, in the emotional post, said the experience “has been an entire life inside of my own life.” Boone said portraying Liz helped her “better define the world and myself, as she set out to do the same.” Reflecting on her character a young FBI agent who joins a task force working opposite James Spader’s Raymond “Red” Reddington, Boone said, “Liz sought incorruptible familial bonds, and collided with powerful forces to reveal the boundaries where a cruel, indifferent world ended and she began.” She then went on to share a message of gratitude.

“As her story ends I am grateful, most of all for the people I shared this time with: my fellow cast members present and past, our incredible crew who carried every single day for all involved, and those of you we entertained,” she wrote. “The dreams inside this little life are the memories I still have of the guest stars passing through, however briefly— of their faces, their voices, their idiosyncrasies and talents. There have been such an astounding abundance of you over my 150+ episodes that, ironically, I could not list you all here, but… What a list. What a dream. Thank you all.”

After Deadline first reported on June 15 that Boone would exit the series in the Season 8 finale, which she reportedly informed producers of far enough in advance for the show to give her character a proper sendoff, “Konets” dashed any fan hope that Liz could appear in future seasons. The episode largely focused on a letter Red promised to give her from her mother after his death and the fight among crime lords for control of Neville Townsend’s empire following his death. In an effort to protect Liz, Red concocted a plan to have her kill him, and while she ultimately agreed to the plan after some internal debate, when it came time for her to pull the trigger, she was unable to do so. The episode ended with one of Townsend’s men shooting her in the chest and Liz dying in the street.

The ending to Liz’s story left many fans emotional, and many did not hesitate to share their thoughts on Boone’s departure on her post. In the comments section, one The Blacklist viewer wrote, “There’s no show without you, Meg. I’ll miss you.” Another fan commented, “it was a pleasure watching you as Liz… Thank you for being our amazing Liz for 8 years. We’re gonna miss you!” NBC has already renewed The Blacklist for Season 9.