The Blacklist season 3 episode 11: What next in store for Red and Liz Keen?

After being on the run for almost half of The Blacklist season 3, Elizabeth Keen has finally been exonerated, thanks to the collective efforts of Raymond Reddington, agent Ressler, agent Aram, Tom Keen and other Blacklisters. Liz will be seen trying to reclaim her normal life in the upcoming episode, which may prove difficult.

In episode 10, titled The Director: Conclusion, Red put forward his season-long plan to target the Cabal and manoeuvre them to abandon the Director (David Strathairn) and clear Liz's name. Red enlists the help from all his Blacklister contacts to abduct the Director and turn him over to the Venezuelan government for war crimes. The episode ends with his death.

With Karakurt (Andrew Divoff) in custody for crimes committed by Liz, the court lets her off on all charges except the involuntary manslaughter of the attorney general. This implies that Liz can no longer have her FBI badge. But she can plead guilty to the charge and be free.

Executive producer Jon Bokenkamp told Entertainment Weekly: "She's no longer an FBI agent. Her badge has been taken away. The best thing they can call her is a consultant. She's almost more like Reddington than she was before."

Although Liz is free but everything has become a bit "more gray". Bokenkamp said: "Even though she's cleared of these crimes that she was framed for — and Reddington was able to configure a plan to have the Cabal back down for the assassination of the attorney general, who was a bad guy — the fallout has driven a real wedge within the team, how they work and who they are. Everything has become a little bit more gray. There's a real weight that she carries for everything she's gone through and continues to go through."

The producer warned that just because Liz is a free woman doesn't mean her life will go back to normal. "In the coming episodes, one of the biggest struggles that she faces is that of a convict," Bokenkamp said. "She's not necessarily respected by a lot of law enforcement. She's probably incredibly respected by some criminals."

Although Cabal member Director is dead, that doesn't mean the organisation is off the hook. By the end of episode 10, Red met National Security Adviser Laurel Hitchens "in a different way", Bokenkamp said.

The producer explained: "One of the things that Red alludes to in episode 11 is that the fight with the Cabal is the tip of the iceberg. It's part of a much larger puzzle. To think that defeating that organization, or pushing pause on that organization, is the end game would be foolish. His plan is much larger, and the dangers that they face are much larger than Liz has really understood to date."

The Blacklist season 3 episode 11 is titled Mr. Gregory Devry, which airs on 21 January at 9pm EST on NBC. The official synopsis reads as follows: