During Wednesday’s midseason finale, star Ryan Eggold’s Tom Keen was shockingly killed off the NBC procedural. And unlike other “deaths” during the drama from creator/showrunner Jon Bokenkamp and executive producer John Eisendrath, this one will stick.
“Of all the words I’ve written on the show, two of the hardest were when Red [James Spader] told Liz [Megan Boone]: ‘Tom’s dead.’ Nooooo! We’ll miss the intensity, range and just plain bad ass-ness Ryan brought to the part. Won’t come as any surprise — but he went down swinging!” Eisendrath, who wrote Wednesday’s episode with Bokenkamp, said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
Eggold’s Tom Keen was the husband of Boone’s Elizabeth Keen. The character, later revealed to be a covert operative, was spun off last season to topline The Blacklist: Redemption. The Sony Pictures Television Studios-produced spinoff was canceled after one low-rated season, with Eggold returning to the flagship as a series regular in its current fifth season.
“I feel incredibly lucky to have played a role with such a uniquely dynamic evolution,” Eggold said in a statement to THR. “I’m grateful for the time spent working with Megan, James and the entire cast. I’m thankful to the incredibly hard-working crew for consistently making the show better. Sony and NBC have both been deeply supportive, conscientious and adept in managing the show. Mostly I’m indebted to Jon Bokenkamp, John Eisendrath and the writers for continuing to elevate the show creatively and always impassioning me to further explore the true nature of this character. I will miss this TV family immensely and diligently look forward to the opportunity to embody new characters and tell new stories.”
Wednesday’s midseason finale picked up with Tom being held captive by a blacklister. After escaping, Tom was briefly reunited with Liz at their apartment — only she arrived to discover him tied up and held hostage. The episode then picked up with the flash-forward featured in the season five premiere as Liz and Tom put up a valiant effort during a violent struggle but are both outnumbered. Red puts the badly injured Liz and Tom in a car to the hospital for treatment. As medical professionals work on Liz and Tom, The Blacklist cuts to black, with Liz later waking up — after being in a coma for 10 months — to find Red by her side. Red then is tasked with telling Liz that Tom has died. The episode ends with Cooper (Harry Lennix) standing over Tom’s dead body in the morgue, closing the book on Eggold’s character.
“I have such tremendous respect for Ryan and everything he brought to The Blacklist. The character of Tom Keen was a blast to write, and that’s only because we knew Ryan could pull off whatever we threw at him,” said Bokenkamp. “That said, we always knew Tom’s exploits would one day get him killed — The Blacklist won’t be the same without him. Looking ahead, Tom’s death upends the show in a way we’re very excited about, and our next episode is unlike anything we’ve done before. But it won’t be the same around here without Mr. Keen. As for Mr. Eggold, I think he’s gonna be just fine — he’s gonna have a long and rewarding career.”
The Blacklist returns Jan. 3 on NBC. The series will also celebrate its landmark 100th episode in January.
Background[]
When he was 3 years old, Christopher Hargrave was kidnapped from his parents Susan and Howard Hargrave. His mother mentioned it has been 28 years since his disappearance, which makes him 31 years old by the event of “Susan Hargrave”.
As a foster child by the name of Jacob Phelps, he was a petty thief who was eventually recruited at a young age by an underground spy trainer known as the Major in 1994. As an adult, he was hired by Raymond Reddington to keep an eye on Elizabeth Keen, however Jacob got romantically involved with Elizabeth which led Reddington to fire him.
To protect himself and to remain with Elizabeth, Jacob went to Milos Kirchoff and the Major reassigned Jacobs contract to Milos when he offered to double Reds original price.
As part of his cover, Phelps took the identity of Thomas Vincent Keen and started working as a fourth grade teacher. He and Liz eventually married and made plans to adopt a child.
After his death at the hands of Ian Garvey and Elizabeths death at the hands of Elias VanDyke, their daughter Agnes Keen is being taking care of by Harold Cooper.
Redemption[]
Tom is awoken by Elizabeth who tells him that his father, Howard Hargrave, was just killed in a plane crash. They watch the news report together and Elizabeth apologizes for Toms loss and the questions he will never get answered about his past now that his father is dead. Tom tells Elizabeth he is unbothered by the event and cares only about his present and future with his wife and daughter.
Later, Tom is seen re-watching the news report of the plane crash. He calls Dembe and arranges a meeting with Reddington. He admits to Reddington that he is bothered that he may never get answers about who he was now that his father passed. Tom asks Red why he warned him not to tell his mother, Susan Scott Hargrave, that he is her son. Reddington says he worked briefly with Howard and even he did not trust his own wife. Red warns Tom that any answers Scottie gives Tom about who he was cannot be trusted.
Tom researches his disappearance as a child using press coverage of Christopher Hargraves disappearance. His search leads him to Detective Kotchwar, the lead detective on the case 30 years ago. The detective dismisses him, stating Christopher died, which prompts Tom to admit that he is Christopher Hargrave.
Liz returns to the apartment to find Tom watching a video of the man arrested for allegedly murdering him, Richard Game. Tom is surrounded by police reports on the Christopher Hargrave case, presumably given to him by Detective Kotchwar.
Tom returns home to Liz after receiving a suitcase full of bones.
Tom enlists Dr. Nik to identify the bones in the suitcase. Later, Tom tracks a phone number to Albert, the man who helped Kathryn Nemec get the suitcase to Tom. Tom arrives at Albert’s house to find him bloody and tied up. Tom hides in the closet when Reddington arrives and threatens Albert in an attempt to find the suitcase. Albert refuses to tell Reddington who has the suitcase, and Reddington shoots him. Albert tells Tom to “find Oleander” then dies.
After being kidnapped, Tom is stabbed in the abdomen in an attempt to murder him and then Liz. Despite his injuries, Tom fights back in an attempt to save himself and Liz. As Tom is being strangled to death, Red arrives with Dembe and shoots all of the men in the room. Dembe discovers that Tom has lost a lot of blood and does not believe that he and Liz will make it. Despite this, Red rushes Tom to the hospital with the help of a police escort arranged by Samar. At the hospital, Tom flatlines while a neurosurgeon is called for Liz. Tom ultimately dies of his injuries while Liz enters a coma. Ten months later, Liz awakens from her coma and asks about Tom after learning of how long its been. Red is forced to tell Liz that Tom is dead.
After the death of Sutton Ross, Liz visits Toms grave where she is visited by a hallucination of Tom. Liz explains to the hallucination how she uncovered the truth behind what is in the duffle bag, the bones of the true Raymond Reddington. Liz recognizes that like so many other people, Tom died trying to show her the truth that he learned from the DNA test hed found in the bag.
Trivia[]
FAQ
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