The Blacklist season 5 episode 8 delivered the show's biggest demise to date. The Blacklist is NBC's hit procedural that stars James Spader (Avengers: Age Of Ultron) as Raymond Reddington, a notorious criminal. Naturally, he raises some eyebrows when he turns himself into the FBI and offers to help them catch more wanted criminals; his catch is he will only work with rookie agent Elizabeth Keen (Meagan Boone).
The bulk of The Blacklist features them taking down various villains while exploring overarching mysteries, like the question of whether or not Red is Liz's father. Thanks to the chemistry between Spader and Boone and the show's endless twists and turns, the show has run for seven seasons to date. It also spawned a short-lived spinoff with The Blacklist: Redemption, which featured Liz's husband Tom Keen (Ryan Eggold, New Amsterdam) teaming up his mother Scottie (Famke Janssen).
Tom Keen was one of The Blacklist's most complex characters, with the show revealing he was an undercover agent once hired by Red to spy on Liz. He actually fell in love with her though, and the drama of their evolving relationship played out over several seasons. Their romance wasn't destined for a happy ending, with The Blacklist season 5 episode 8 "Ian Garvey" being the end of the road for Tom Keen.
The episode is split between flashbacks of Tom meeting Liz for the first time, with a present-day story involving Tom learning the truth about a mysterious bag of bones - with Red very much wanting the truth about them concealed from Liz. Before Tom can spill all to Liz, they're both kidnapped by villain Ian Garvey (Jonny Coyne, Preacher). The Blacklist season 5 episode 8 gets particularly dark from this moment, with Garvey stabbing Tom multiple times. Reddington arrives just in time to save them both, though Garvey got away.
The episode ends with Red rushing Tom and Liz to the hospital, with both of them on the verge of death. They profess their love to one another when Liz passes out. She awakens in a hospital bed ten months later with Reddington by her side, who tells her Tom died from his wounds. The Blacklist season 5 episode 8 proves there are no fakeouts either, with a flashback showing Tom's body in the morgue. It's a tragic ending but at least Tom went out a hero, and his death prompted Liz to finally learn the truth about Reddington, her mother's death and who the bones belong to. By the end of season six, Liz knows everything, though the finale teased there are even more shocking twists ahead.