BLINDSPOT: “Hero Fears Imminent Rot” {Roundtable}

The NBC drama Blindspot was back for the third episode of its second season last night, finding Jane being tested by “mommy,” putting herself on the line with her blood-thirsty brother Roman and the FBI team chasing down two bombers who were seeking revenge for secret weapons testing that took the lives of people they loved.

Please join us as Cay, Lisa, Roz and Rueben discuss what happened in last night’s episode:

1. Jane was able to convince Shepherd that Kade held her captive in the opening scene. How long, though, do you think she can keep her adoptive mother at bay?

Lisa: I don’t think she will have too many more chances. Her Mother is already suspicious of her and she convinced her for now, but people like that don’t trust easily. It’s going to be tough for Jane to keep her trust especially if they give her more exercises to prove herself!

Cay: I foresee a showdown between Jane/Roman and Shepard. I think he will stick by her over their “adopted” mother. I don’t have a lot of hope that Jane will completely win Shepard back over.

Roz: I doubt it’ll be much longer. Shephard is smart enough to see a lie when it’s there in plain sight.

Rueben: Jane is pretty skilled and she might be able to keep her adoptive mother in the dark for the interim, but Shepherd is skilled too. I have a feeling Shepherd is going to start to get suspicious at some soon point, making Jane’s tenuous hold within Sandstorm even more dangerous.

2. We learned the reason why Jane was sent to Weller: because she has always been good at getting people to trust her. We saw that in this episode with Jeffrey Kantor trusting her. But how long can her luck run in the trust department where Sandstorm is concerned? Or for that matter with Weller and the team?

Lisa: Jane is a lucky person which isn’t always a good thing. She is very lucky to be alive and very unlucky to not remember who she is. I think her instincts are spot on and she will work that luck for as long as she can. I think she has a better chance with Weller and the team than Sandstorm.

Cay: Once again, I find myself feeling rather bad for Jane and her impossible position, even if it is self-imposed. Speaking of trust issues, little-Miss-NSA is spying on therapy sessions – just Jane’s, or everyone’s? Just therapy sessions, or anything else that happens in Borden’s big white room?

Rueben: Yeah, what is up with that?

Roz: Roman seems pretty skeptical, but I don’t know if he’s going to see through it yet.

Rueben: I think Jane might be able to gain the trust back with Weller and the team more readily than with Sandstorm; but I don’t think either group is ever going to fully trust her ever again. And it only stands to reason that the issue of trust is going to continue to come up because Jane is playing both sides of the fence; but at least the FBI team knows what is really going on this time around.

Tensions are High

3. Jane is fighting an internal battle to prove herself to both “teams”. At what point do you think she will finally break? Or given what we know about her, is there any point at which time Jane could break?

Lisa: I think even though she is strong, she will break especially if Sandstorm keeps giving her tasks to prove herself. I think eventually they will require her to do something awful and she will slip up. I hope it doesn’t cost her though.

Cay: I’m not sure how it serves the plot to have Jane break. It’s much more interesting to have her teetering on the edge between the two worlds. Clearly she’s very strong, both mentally and physically.

Roz: Right now she’s on the edge of breaking and not knowing which side to choose. I’m not sure if she can play both sides of the coin for much longer.

Rueben: I think Jane will have a tipping point, but she will keep it as hidden as possible (like so many other times) from Weller and the team. Everyone has their breaking point even someone as strong (physically and mentally) as Jane.

4. On a lighter note, it was fun seeing Zapata and Patterson interact about Patterson’s date. Do you want to see more moments like that between them?

Lisa: Yes! Sometimes things can get so tense, it’s nice to see a few real relatable moments every now and then to lighten the mood.

Cay: I love Patterson, but not a Zapata fan, but it was nice to have some levity and of the team, Zapata seems to be the obvious one for her to talk with. Can’t see her having that conversation with Weller and clearly she can’t have it with Borden…

Roz: YES! I’m all for light-hearted moments amid all this death and destruction in their daily work lives.

Rueben: It was nice seeing them behaving like real girlfriends – albeit briefly. It’s time that we get to see the lighter sides of both of them, don’t you think?

Roman and Jane

5. Roman covered for Jane with Shepherd regarding killing Kantor. It’s obvious by his threat to whoever is her rabbit now that he won’t let her slide again. Do you see him following through on that threat given how deeply devoted he seems to be to his sister?

Lisa: No, I think the more time he spends with her, his devotion to her will win out in the end.

Cay: My bet is that Roman sticks by his sister, at least for a while. I’d love to see him turned entirely, because I don’t want Jane to have to give him up, too.

Roz: Has anyone drunk the Kool-Aid more fully than Roman for Jane? I think if he thinks the mission is blown, he’ll follow through, but he’s got a huge blindspot for her.

Rueben: I had a feeling that Roman would cover for her given how protective he is of her, but that being said, we also know how cold blooded he is so the threat he made was clear and concise. If she doesn’t step up and find her way back to them, could cost her everything.

6. Borden and Patterson. What are your thoughts on that new development?

Lisa: I think they are cute and I love to see her smile. It is so nice to see her smile again.

Cay: I’d totally date Borden, although the Arabic subplot was a little weird. I thought maybe they were setting him up as the mole, but maybe not. They both seem less jaded and damaged than the rest of the team, so in terms of that they seem like a good bet for an office romance. I wonder if getting close to Borden will bring back flashbacks for Patterson, though, or whether she’s healed from her previous loss of David enough that she’ll be able to be with someone else.

Roz: Interoffice dating is always bad, but I think we need a little ray of sunshine between all these dark stormy clouds.

Rueben: Don’t they usually say that inter-office romances don’t work out? It’s nice to see more of Dr. Borden (that’s for sure) and it’s also nice to see Patterson being happy again (especially after what happened to David as Cay stated), but I have to wonder if this is the right step for either of them.

Weller Taking a Big Risk

7. Do you think that Reade will look further into any repressed memories he has of his youth with Coach Jones? And, if so, how do you think what he learns will affect him and the case against that man?

Lisa: This whole scenario breaks my heart for him. I think we can guess what his memories will be and that type of revelation can change someone forever. I just hope he takes necessary steps to put that monster behind bars, but somehow remains himself. He is such a stand-up, nice guy and I hate to see him change.

Cay: They have to move forward with it, otherwise why bring it up in the first place?

Roz: I hope he does go into those memories, and I think it’ll make him break. He’s usually so in control and we know where Zapata’s weakness is, but I doubt we’ve seen Reade’s.

Rueben: As painful as it might be, I think Reade is going to need to know what really happened so he can not only have closure to that period in his life, but also get justice for himself and the other boys who were molested by Coach Jones.

8. What are your overall impressions of Wednesday night’s episode?

Lisa: Overall it was another great episode. Don’t blink or you will miss something! I am interested to see where the Borden/Patterson relationship goes and the Reade storyline. Repressed memories is a delicate topic and I’m interested to see how they handle it.

Cay: I liked it, although I felt the tattoo plot could have moved a bit faster. I found the subplots more interesting in this one than the tattoo-of-the-week.

Roz: The double agent side of Jane’s life is putting the episodes at cross purposes and I think the show needs to give us a case of give us Sandstorm each week, rather than a little of both.

Rueben: The show really knows how to fill the entire episode with lots of story. That can be good and bad at the same time. Too much story and you start to lose people – because there is so much to remember. But at the same time, a lot of story keeps the action going. It would be nice, though, to have some more reveals about what exactly Sandstorm has in mind rather than keeping us (and Jane and the FBI team) in the dark.

Blindspot will return to NBC with an all-new episode next Wednesday, October 5 at 8/7c.