Will Liz lie under oath to protect her ex?

Red (James Spader) may have intercepted the key witness in the case of the murdered DC harbormaster, but that didn't save Liz (Megan Boone) from having to go to trial on Thursday's episode of The Blacklist (9/8c, NBC). "She is brought in because of evidence collected by Det. Wilcox (Michael Kostroff)," Boone tells TVGuide.com. "He turns out to be a very aggressive investigator. It's either Liz goes in or Cooper's reputation is on the line because Cooper (Harry Lennix) is called in to confirm that it was official business, and he doesn't want to perjure himself."

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Although Liz claims that the circumstances surrounding the harbormaster's death is FBI business, viewers know that there's another reason she wants to keep things hush-hush: her ex Tom (Ryan Eggold) strangled the harbormaster to cover for Liz. But with major criminal charges on the line, wouldn't turning in Tom be the best and most prudent way to exonerate her?

"Ostensibly, that's true, but with Red in the picture, a new way always seems to crop up," Boone says. "He's got something up his sleeve. Also, you have to keep in mind Red's relationship with Tom and how that's going to affect his decision on how to handle the situation. But you know he'll always do everything he can to protect Lizzie. The Major, the [episode's] actual Blacklister, has a lot to do with protecting Lizzie as well and has a lot to do with Tom's story line. We'll find out a little bit more about where Tom comes from and his past and how he became a spy."

Check out what else Boone has to say about Liz's strategy, her feelings for Tom and more:

What is Liz like on trial? Does this interfere with her ability to do her job?

Megan Boone: Liz is actually so preoccupied with the trial that she doesn't have anything to do with chasing down the Blacklister this week, which is the first time she's been taken out of commission for the task force. She ends up in the judge's chamber speaking one-on-one with him and a stenographer. He wants her to divulge all of the information about her life ever since she met Red. It becomes this cat-and-mouse [game] in which she tries to keep as many secrets about the task force that she can, but is persuaded to give information so that he can feel satisfied enough to say in court that it's more important to national security that this task force remain a secret than to go into a public trial over this murder. It becomes a very interesting psychological thriller between Liz and the judge as to how she's going to get herself out of this.

In an earlier interview, you said that it's too simple to say that Liz is in love with Tom, but perhaps there's a co-dependence? He even called her before going undercover again.

Boone: I think that there are very intense feelings there that border on love and hatred. What I have been quoted as saying in the past is that there's no longer a clean, sensible, pure love between them. It has become a relationship that has become toxic in my mind. Whenever someone in a relationship changes, the dynamic between the two people change. So the question really is now, "Does Tom seek redemption? Or does Liz go so far to the dark side that they can now become collaborators in some way?" If their relationship is to continue, they're in that paradox now.

In a TVGuide.com poll, 63 percent of votes were against Tom and Liz together. But the Red-Liz (Lizzington) 'shippers out there seem to be vocal.

Boone: I'm very well aware of them. They actually have the loudest 'shipper voice on social media.

They must have been thrilled with the last episode when Red is about to be shot, and he calls out, "Lizzie," right before he's saved.

Boone: Yes, and when she says, "I care about you." I think the interesting thing about Red Reddington is that ostensibly he's a sociopath. Only terror lies before him, and there's destruction in his wake. But the people who are closest to him love him dearly. Dembe (Hisham Tawfiq) and Lizzie both love Red. Even though Lizzie has a very conflicted relationship with that love because she knows who he is, she shows these people a side of him that not very many other people see. That is where the Lizzington crowd comes from. They sense that. And because the audience sees that side of Red, they want that side of Red to prevail.

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What can you say about The Fulcrum? Is the device that Liz got from the rabbit and handed to Aram really The Fulcrum?

Boone: Lizzie believes that that's The Fulcrum. She's admitted to Reddington that she has it because she thinks that's what it is. I'm in the dark about it.

There's a side story about Cooper and his brain tumor and a clinical trial. Does this tie in with the main Blacklist theme or is this a side story?

Boone: This is a B story line, but there's a blackmail going on with Tom Connolly (Reed Birney). He's conducting a blackmail scheme with Cooper, so that's going to possibly tie in with a Blacklister in the future.

We recently saw Amanda Plummer as The Deer Hunter. Is there another female Blacklister coming up?

Boone: There is. There are more female Blacklisters. I think it's so great how many people really seeing Amanda Plummer because for some reason, all of these monsters [have been traditionally] male, and female monsters are so interesting. Like, a female serial killer poisons you slowly. They are deadly. I just want to see more and more of that come to the forefront because understanding the psychology of an evil woman and writing to that, to me is so underutilized and so interesting.

Is there one of those that you can tease coming up in terms of how similar or dissimilar she is from The Deer Hunter?

Boone: The next female Blacklister [Vanessa Cruz, played by Nacho Libre's Ana de la Reguera] is different because she uses her sexuality to lure her victims. The Deer Hunter was initially identified as a man because it was a man, but it was more like an asexual predatorial thing. Whereas this one is very sexual.

How is it going between Aram (Amir Arison) and Samar (Mozhan Marno)? It looks like she started a little flirtation with him. Will that continue to develop?

Boone: I think so. All I know from my perspective is that Mozhan and Amir are having a lot of fun playing it. I think the writers have a lot of fun writing those two characters. Mozhan brought a lot of slow-burn kind of sexiness to the war room that we didn't have. And Amir brought an energy and a vitality to the war room that is just so vigorous. I love working with him, both of them. Bringing them together was such a great idea because of this polarity they create. One is just rooted to the ground, and the other is flitting around the air filled with excitement.

The Blacklist airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.

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