Spoilers ahead for Episode 18 of The Blacklist Season 10, called “Wormwood.”
The Blacklist returned to NBC in the 2023 TV schedule after a week off with an episode that put Red in a great deal of danger with a ticking clock, but it wasn’t his perilous situation that could have a lasting fallout. A subplot involving Ressler, Pritchard, and Congressman Hudson brought the late Liz Keen’s legacy into the fold, and it could ultimately lead to the downfall of the task force as the series finale approaches, particularly in the wake of what happened with Dembe in the previous episode.
Ressler has been supporting Pritchard as NA sponsor, with the two men having their status as government workers in common as well as their struggles with drugs. Pritchard started “Wormwood” with absolute trust in his sponsor, even giving Ressler his chip for being two months sober as a sign of his gratitude. Unfortunately, Congressman Hudson caught wind of their bond in NA, and he took advantage of it by bringing up Liz Keen and Ressler’s relationship, years after actress Megan Boone’s unsatisfying departure in the Season 8 finale. (Season 8 is available streaming with a Netflix subscription.)
To Pritchard’s credit, he initially defended Ressler as a patriot who had devoted his life to defending his country, and that their relationship was none of Hudson’s business. Hudson countered with the reveal that Ressler is part of a secret task force working on behalf of Red. Pritchard deemed it “laughable” that his NA sponsor was working on a task force for a crime lord, but Hudson told him that he was the only one with the personal connection to find the proof to take the team down… and getting proof could help Ressler.
Hudson then dropped the name of Ressler’s weak spot: Liz Keen, whose death sent Ressler spiraling back into addiction in Season 9. The congressman said:
Elizabeth Keen was a corrupt FBI agent and Reddington’s heir apparent. She was also Ressler’s lover. You don’t believe me? Ask him about her. Ask him about Liz Keen.
Unfortunately for Ressler and the team, Pritchard did just that, although he clearly felt awful about it. He called his sponsor to beat around the Liz Keen bush at first, telling Ressler that he’d been asked to pry into the personal life of someone he cares about “for his own good” because his friend is “being taken advantage of.” He finally got the agent to admit to his bond with Liz Keen, and then went back to Hudson to say:
Even after he told me about their connection, I didn’t want to believe what you said about him was true. But the more I looked into who Agent Keen was… She killed the attorney general. She was a fugitive with Reddington.
Hudson insisted that he can’t pull down the task force without Pritchard’s help, and Pritchard was on board by the end of the episode. Now, the congressman – who previously was so dirt-free that even Red couldn’t find anything to smear him with – has a mole with a personal connection to a member of the task force, and Ressler clearly didn’t suspect that Pritchard was up to anything with his line of questioning.
Even years after losing Liz, her role in the team could be what indirectly takes it down, as it seems unlikely that anything less would have convinced Pritchard to flip. Of course, a lot can happen between now and the super-sized series finale on Thursday, July 13 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC. Whether or not the task force is still together by the time the final credits roll on the series remains to be seen!