"The Blacklist" continues to stand as an outstanding example of episodic drama done right. Despite being tied down to individual blacklisters in each episode, Season 3 proved to be the show’s best so far, filled with shocking twists and dramatic reveals, leaving us guessing about Liz right until the very end.
Innocent until proven guilty
The season kicked off with Liz and Reddington attempting to prove Liz’s innocence, even as the FBI, CIA and the Cabal hunted her down viciously. The biggest agenda for Red remains finding Karakurt, the man who actually committed all the crimes that Liz has been accused of.
He manages to do that by convincing Cooper to team up with Tom in order to find Karakurt. Cooper has been suspended from the Task force after being accused of helping Liz, and Ressler becomes the new Director for the time being. The hunt for Karakurt begins to intensify when the FBI and CIA are forced to work together to find Liz, but it is evident that the CIA has insiders tipping off the Cabal regarding Liz’s location.
Cooper and Tom eventually end up finding and protecting Karakurt, despite Solomon’s best attempt to kill the henchman. Karakurt ends up confessing to his crimes after being rescued from several murder attempts, and Liz is exonerated of all her crimes except for the involuntary manslaughter of Attorney General Tom Connolly.
A new life
Liz is stripped off her badge after the exoneration, and is only allowed to work as a consultant with the Task force. She finds it difficult to adjust to her new life in society, as she finds that people are constantly suspicious of her past and motives. Although the relationship between her and Tom reach new levels of comfort, she is constantly reminded of her Russian heritage and her criminal record by the general public.
She eventually gets assaulted by a random stranger and is rushed to a hospital, where she finds out she is pregnant.
Liz then faces the difficult choice of deciding whether she wants to keep her baby or not, although Tom would very much like to start a new life with Liz and her baby. She tries to find a couple who will adopt her child, but the adoption agency is only able to find her a couple who is willing to have a closed adoption.
Closing in on the Cabal
After securing Liz’s reputation, Red continues to hunt down the Cabal, and the many people involved in their vast and powerful network. His primary target for the most part of the season remains Peter Kotsiopulos, the Director of the National Clandestine Services, and a massive stakeholder within the Cabal.
While the Cabal is being hunted by Red, they continue their attempt to kill Liz due to her ties with her mother Katarina Rostova, an alleged double-agent working with the Russians. They eventually manage to track Liz down while she is marrying Tom, and gun her down while she attempts to flee from the attackers. Liz is killed by the Cabal, and the entire team mourns her tragic loss.
The doctor responsible for helping Liz manages to save her child and hands her over to Tom’s custody.
Life after Liz
Red, Dembe, and everyone in the Task force mourn Liz’s loss in their own ways, paying their respects to their fallen comrade. Red disappears from action for an extended period, and has a revelatory experience in his mind with the spirit of Katarina. He appears from hiding after sometime, and directs the task force to find Alexander Kirk, the man directly responsible for killing Liz.
The team puts their best efforts to hunting down Kirk, and employ various methods to draw him out, including putting a stranglehold on his finances. When Tom flees the country with his daughter and rushes to Cuba, Red finds out that Liz is actually alive and Kaplan helped her escape in order to protect her. Unfortunately for Red, Liz and Tom are taken by Kirk before he can arrive in Cuba, and it is revealed that Kirk is actually Liz’s father Konstantin Rostov.
