The second half of The Blacklist Season 5 has set Liz Keen on her darkest path of the series to date. The death of Tom in the midseason finale broke something inside of her, and even Red has been troubled by what she's willing to do on her quest to avenge his death. Unfortunately for Liz (and for fans who want to see Tom's killer pay for his death), she hasn't been able to get her hands on Garvey to exact her revenge. The good news is that she probably won't have to wait too much longer, barring another coma.
Liz will face off against Ian Garvey in the first half of a two-parter that will air this spring. No air date for the episode has been released at this point, but TVLine reports that their confrontation will be "fairly dramatic." Based on everything we've seen of Liz in the second half of Season 5, I think it's safe to say that the dramatic scene could very well end with Liz killing or attempting to kill Garvey. While she may be smart and an excellent agent who can play a long game, I'm not sure that she could hold back from just trying to end him if the circumstances are right (or wrong).
At the very least, it sounds like we don't have to worry about Liz vs. Garvey as a killer season finale cliffhanger that will only be resolved if The Blacklist is renewed for Season 6. We can't rule out the two-parter being the season finale at this point, but the fact that Liz will come face-to-face with Garvey in the first half indicates that we will get to see them interact. For Liz's sake, I hope she gets to at least sock him in the face.
Of course, Liz snapping and exacting revenge on Garvey won't be the most emotionally healthy thing she's ever done, but even Red has resigned himself to Liz not emerging from her abyss of anger until after she finishes avenging her husband. If she kills Garvey sooner rather than later, maybe her recovery will be a bit easier and she can reunite with her daughter on a full-time basis.
That said, the events of the latest episode hint that facing off against Garvey could easily knock Liz's relationship with Red off the rails. Spoilers ahead for the March 14 episode of The Blacklist. Although Red spent the majority of the latest episode tailing, taunting, and threatening Garvey, his endgame is currently getting back that box of bones that has caused so much trouble. By the end of the hour, Red let Garvey just walk away, which we can bet Liz would not be happy with if she saw. Red's promise to kill Garvey after he finds the bones and do him some serious damage if he harms Liz were nice to see, but she may not be okay with what he did if/when the truth comes out. End spoilers for the March 14 episode.
We'll have to wait and see. New episodes of The Blacklist air on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. For more of what you can watch in primetime, take a look at our midseason TV premiere guide.
