#character: matthew weitz

[more--than--anything]

Episode review: "We just have to trust each other, like old times." [S05E9/10]

Wow. That was... a lot. How overwhelmed are you feeling after a double dose of our favorite show and knowing that there is only one episode left?

Y: What can I say... I’m usually left exhausted and a ball of anxiety and emotions after one episode of Blindspot. Hit me with two back to back, and I need a couple of days to recover and go back to being a semi-functioning human.

L: I mean, I feel less traumatized than last week? Slightly? But also pre-emptively overwhelmed thinking about what’s going to happen in that last hour. Maybe it’s good that we get this extra week in here...

Let’s take this in pieces. In the first hour, we see our team, after two seasons, finally get an edge over Madeline. How did they get there, and what does it cost them?

L: Our team starts this episode exactly where we left them: In Madeline’s custody in the NYO, grieving for Patterson (as we all were for the week leading up to this episode). In fact, the only people who aren’t grieving for Patterson are Madeline and, well, Patterson, who doesn’t have time for questions about how she survived, because she has a team to rescue. And preferably before Madeline convinces one of the team to confess to all her sins (in another superb bit of cross-cutting, from one interrogation room to another). Madeline is pretty persuasive, even threatening Tasha’s unborn child (how the hell did she find out about that?!), so it’s a good thing our team is pretty stubborn.

I’m not gonna lie, I really thought they’d stretch out the “Patterson is dead” thing longer than they did, but I am not going to complain that we got her back so quickly! Patterson starts by rescuing Boston, arriving just as Madeline’s thugs do, and then cooks up a plan to get Afreen to help her and Boston sneak into the NYO by exploiting the gender-bias on their facial recognition software. (And to cut the software some slack, I hardly recognized Patterson and Boston when they showed up. Josh Dean is fabulous as Boston in these two episodes, as always, but man, he sure makes one hell of a drag queen.) They cleverly send a message to Jane, who is about to confess to all of Madeline’s sins, via a morse code signal in the light on the camera Madeline is using to tape her confession. And then they rescue Tasha and Rich, in short order.

Weller is more heavily guarded, but fortunately Rich is no stranger to crawling through the ductwork at the NYO. And then we get another surprise, when Agent Rose walks in just as Rich reaches Weller. This is one of my favorite scenes in this episode, because it is one of the first that answers a question that’s been nagging at me all season: Does the rest of the NYO truly believe that the team is guilty of all of the crimes they’ve been accused of? Agent Rose has been around since season one. She’s worked under Mayfair, Weller, Reade... and now she’s working under Madeline. She knows what kind of person Weller is, and she knows dedicated this team is. She’s seen them put themselves in harm’s way to save others over and over again. And now she has to decide whose side she’s on. “Agent Rose, you know me. You know my team. We are not what Madeline says we are. You see that, don’t you?” And Weller-the-boss did not underestimate the loyalty of his former employee; she tells him to cuff her so it looks he overpowered her and got away.

I’ve been thinking a lot about this scene, and I think it might be good that some time has passed since the team was branded as criminals and Madeline took over. I am sure that life under Madeline’s reign has not been a party for the agents in the NYO. Even if they were persuaded to believe her about the team (or to follow Weitz’s lead) in the beginning, that confidence must have waned the longer they had to work with Madeline. I’m sure they wondered about the thugs that she brought in, and I doubt anyone was pleased about the draconian security measures she imposed upon them. If this particular scenario—the team locked up at the NYO—had happened right away, it’s possible that there wouldn’t have been as many people willing to stick their necks out for the team. But as it is... Madeline, like so many things, you brought it on yourself. And I can’t deny that it sure was fun watching her come unglued as she realized that the team was slipping through her fingers, right there under her nose.

In the meantime, Patterson has discovered that Madeline has covered her tracks very neatly, placing all the blame for her misdeeds on Weitz. Well, now we know why Madeline has been keeping him around; he’s a very useful fall guy. But fortunately for Weitz, William Patterson is in his corner, and she is able to obtain the original data, all the evidence they need to incriminate Madeline. But just having that information isn’t enough; they need to make it public, so that there is no way that Madeline can bury it. Tasha picks up her phone and calls Megan Butani, Reade’s former fiancée, who we remember is a reporter for “The New York Star.” I guess that answers the question of whether she got deported or was able to stay in the US. Tasha asks Megan to remember what kind of man Reade was and that there is no way he was guilty of the crimes Madeline pinned on him. Megan reminds Tasha that Reade dumped her because he was in love with Tasha, and Tasha tactfully doesn’t mention that she’s expecting his love child as she asks Megan to go public with all of the evidence they have on Madeline.

Ivy’s team is hustling Jane out of the NYO, so the team has to act fast. Madeline has put the whole NYO in lockdown, so the only way for them to get to Jane is to override the lockdown with an evacuation order. Unfortunately, that reveals to the goon squad that they’ve been hiding out in the server room, and the team is rounded up and taken on their second slo-mo walk through SIOC to face the music. We get two surprises then: First, that Weitz hasn’t quietly moved to Canada as he’d threatened, and second, that Agent Rose isn’t the only agent who has signed on to Team Rogue Agents. TRA emerges victorious from the shootout with Ivy’s goon squad, but Weitz is hit in the crossfire. And here we see illustrated the difference between him and the team; Jane took a similar hit, traveled back to the bunker, started searching for her husband, and then directed her own surgery without anesthetic. Sadly, Weitz, is not made of quite such resilient fiber, and passes away with a last dose of his signature snark.

Without Weitz (or Madeline, who has flown the coop), there is a bit of a power vacuum at the FBI. Without a boss to give them orders, Weller seamlessly slips back into the fearless leader slot, and the team heads out to track down Madeline with help from an anonymous tip. Tasha catches up to her on her private plane, but before she can bring Madeline in, Madeline drinks her poisoned champagne and shuffles off this mortal coil. (I’m honestly a little disappointed that Tasha didn’t see that coming, knowing Maddie’s fondness for using poison to get rid of her problems.) The location of the ZIP bombs is still unknown, although Shirley has that information on an encrypted memory stick he tries to sell to Ivy, but all he gets in return is a bullet between the eyes.

I’m not going to lie: I am a little annoyed with the way that Madeline went out. Committing suicide seems like a pretty easy way out after all that she’s done. I really wanted to see her back in prison orange, regretting all of her life choices. Same with Shirley (although I thought the way he went out was pretty harsh, even for him!). But even more, I’m disappointed that this wasn’t really any kind of end of the systemic corruption that our team (and Shepherd, for that matter) have been fighting since day one. Yes, we still have one more episode, but we have to deal with Jane being zipped and apprehending Ivy, plus (hopefully) a few minutes to give the team some sort of resolution, so I don’t know how much time is left to unravel a big conspiracy plot. I will be disappointed if we don’t get a resolution to the questions this show has been posing since the pilot.

And there are still a lot of loose ends left in the Madeline story. What about all the corrupt individuals she put in place? Weitz seemed to take the view that they were all like him, basically decent people who Madeline had tricked into doing something incriminating, but it’s equally likely that some of them were legitimately corrupt and just didn’t cover their tracks well enough, which allowed Madeline to discover their misdeeds and use them for her own ends. Lucas Nash comes to mind here. He was definitely under Madeline’s control. We know Shepherd wanted to put Keaton at the head of the CIA, which would imply that the current director and other candidates were corrupt. Is Nash still in power? Being freed from Madeline’s control doesn’t necessarily mean that those individuals will become model citizens; freed from her oversight, they could do whatever they want, including exploiting the position she put them in for their own gain.

And I am a little worried. I think it would have been better for the team if they’d brought Madeline in to face trial, rather than letting her go out on her own terms. As Weitz would say, “the optics” would be better that way. As it is, if there is any question at all about the evidence they turned up (which might not be admissible in court, or at least, it wouldn’t be in the real world), it could look like the team was just covering their own tracks rather than exposing Madeline. And ultimately... they did run, and they did refuse to turn themselves in. And when they were taken into custody, they escaped, which resulted in yet another shootout at the NYO in which the Director of the FBI was mortally wounded. And then they refused a direct order by the new interim director. But we’ll get to that in a minute...

Y: So much to discuss! So little time!!

I’m sorry, but I’m a little overwhelmed by how much was packed into the first episode, how much of it was absolutely brilliant, and how much I have to say about it all. First of all, I have to say that I absolutely loved the premise of this episode. The way it was set up and how it played out was so reminiscent of 2.21—including the building lockdown, Patterson doing computer stuff stealthily, the team sneaking their way around the office, and of course the ultimate showdown in SIOC and the director’s demise—and that episode is by far one of my favorite Blindspot episodes ever. So all of this made me very happy.

The interrogation scene was fantastic. The editing and cutting made it so much better. But by far the best thing was the head to head between the team and Madeline and the team’s tenacity and stubbornness. The way they took Madeline’s taunting and her threats and just sat there so badass and defiant. We’re going to talk about the team later—and by talk I mean mostly gush and fangirl and make weird noises about how much we love them. But for now, let’s just say that those interrogation scenes were a thing of cinematic beauty.

The way the case played out was really fun as well. There were so many little games of cat and mouse, some were through the FBI servers, some were psychological mind games, and in Rich’s case they were all about crawling through the vents to save his favorite mumbling special agent. And it all led to Madeline standing in the middle of SIOC all alone as everything collapsed around her and then the ultimate showdown between the team, Weitz and his Team Rogue Agents, and Ivy’s men. And in between all those huge moments, we got to see Agent Rose make a comeback, and Megan make a comeback as well. And you would be 100% correct if you assumed that I cheered for both of those comebacks. First, Megan, while the way she was dumped wasn’t really great, at least the show respects her enough to show us that she’s not one to hold that kind of grudge or have that residual pettiness in her. And it’s also a testament to who Reade really was that Megan knows those accusations cannot be right and that the way to honor his memory is to do what’s right here. And at the same time, a testament to Megan, her professionalism and her pedigree as a journalist. I honestly really loved that scene and the conversation with she had with Tasha and Blindspot once again not falling into the horrible cliché of vengeful exes.

And then there’s Agent Rose. Oh, Agent Rose. For five seasons now, I have singlehandedly held on to the hope that she will someday make a return. That sassy agent in that random scene with Fischer all the way back in season one made like one or two random background appearances, and I’ve stood here alone in my crusade to want her back. I am not going to lie. I never in a million years thought they would bring her back. I mean, even I—the founder and only member of the Agent Rose Fan Club—didn’t expect them to bring her back. But they did! And okay, my excitement doesn’t only stem from this weird niche obsession with her but like L said, her return and the role she played was bigger than just her, and it answered so many questions we’ve had all season, and it validated the faith we have in the team. Except for Weitz, Afreen and for a brief moment Briana, we never really got to see the rest of the agents at the NYO react to the news that the team are all traitors. Most of these people have been working with our team for years and a part of us knew they couldn’t have all just fallen for Madeline’s lies. But of course, we never really had a chance to peek into their private conversations so this episode provided the perfect opportunity to show us just how much they’ve been waiting for a chance to stand up for the team—whether it’s Agent Rose or Agent Woods or Agent Shayla or any of the other agents who proudly and confidently joined Team Rogue Agents. So it was great to see the NYO still full of these good people we’ve come to know and that their loyalty to the team is still strong.

And if I may take another moment here to just flail at how completely epic that moment was! Hands down one of the most badass moments on the show for a single character—Weitz—and one of the most badass group entrances by the Rogue Agents.

And speaking of rogue agents, I love that the little underdog resistance that Afreen and Weitz had going, never knowing if they were doing more good than evil, managed to have such a tremendous payoff. If only they knew they had so many others willing to help… And I also hope we get to see Afreen one last time in the finale because this episode and review don’t really do her enough justice for me to flail about how much I love her. I need the finale to give me some Afreen so I can justifiably spend ten hours talking about her. Or else I will have to have an independent Afreen is Awesome post. You’ve been warned.

But for now, let’s talk about Madeline. Watching her stand all alone in the middle of SIOC as everything she built collapsed around her was the first moment this season we felt the team actually win something. After everything they’ve been through, destroying all that Madeline has built felt good. But the disappointing thing about it is that in Madeline’s eyes, in some ways, it didn’t matter. She had set out to destroy the FBI and even though now she stands there defeated, in so many ways, she has already achieved what she had set out to do. The damage she has caused at the moment looks almost insurmountable. The team has put at an end to her reign of terror but the damage she has done is already catastrophic. And while this part of her story is a plot line I do enjoy, I don’t enjoy the next part of it. Setting up the finale and the next chapter in the universe with the task of rebuilding the FBI and rooting out the corruption once and for all is actually a very hopeful note to end on and maybe Madeline inadvertently did the FBI a favor. And like L, I do wonder if this opens the door to getting rid of all corruption and allows us to finally go back to what started everything and come full circle to the mysteries from season one.

I think it’s poetic that Madeline ultimately died by the same poison she used on most of her enemies, but it is frustrating that she gets to go out on her own terms, that she does not pay for her crimes and that the team don’t get the revenge they deserve. Tasha should have seen it coming. I think we all did when she sat there with a glass in from of her. But dammit, I wanted her to suffer for what she did to the team and not dictate her own fate. But I suppose that is quite a true reflection on how most monsters in this world get to go?

One person who didn’t really have things go his way was Shirley. After cutting ties with Madeline, claiming he wants to do what’s best for his family, Shirley proved he’s nothing more than a bottom feeding leech and went to Ivy seeing as she’s the boat that hasn’t sunk yet. But Ivy was lucky to be the person to do the one thing we’ve all wanted to do for almost a year now. She put a bullet between his eyes. And I know that’s cruel, but he was just unbearable. Some characters you hate to love and others you love to hate, but Shirley was just… ugh. I mean, amazing performances by Raoul Bhaneja every single time, but still. It’s interesting that this episode saw the end of two characters who for most of what we’ve seen from them have always been self-serving and good at attaching themselves to “winning projects”—Shirley and Weitz—but ultimately they went down on opposite extremes of the spectrum.

And finally, there is one more thing I want to touch upon in this section, and that is the way this season set up its villain—or villains. Essentially, it looked like the season’s ultimate villain would be Madeline and that Ivy was just the muscle she hired to get her dirty work done. But as the season progressed, we watched as Ivy and Madeline became more on equal footing in terms of who was in charge, even if Madeline thought she was the one in charge, Ivy clearly didn’t see the agreement between them as such. The power struggle was a really fun one to watch—especially with Shirley in the middle, serving Madeline for the most part but ultimately showing his true colors as only serving himself. The more things got complicated between the two women, the more the cracks showed between them and the disparity in their endgames widened the gap between them and made their agreement less amiable.

Blindspot’s never really done that before—had more than one villain at the same time—and I think in this shorter season, it gave it a little something extra and definitely made things harder on our team, especially going into the finale. It’s going to be an intense finale, but I have to admit I loved the way the antagonist was set up this season as a two-headed monster that in the end had to be split up.

L: I both agree and disagree. I liked that Madeline wasn’t the only bad guy that needed to be taken down, but I also want the final case to be more than just stopping a bomb-toting terrorist (in other words, just another Thursday for this team). I really hope there is a much bigger resolution and payoff coming—not just a case of the day, but a sewing up of the thread that somehow ties all of their cases over the past five seasons together.

Our team won the day—or at least, they finally brought Madeline down—but it was not without cost. I am not going to lie: Weitz’s death made me cry. We had a feeling that he wouldn’t make it through the season, and we were right. He finally discovered his convictions, only to die for them. But there’s no question that he died a hero. As Rich says, “When we needed you the most, you were here for us.” His resolve might have wavered like a flag in the breeze, but when it really counted, he made the right call. When we first met him, he was self-absorbed and snarky, and for the most part, he remained true to that image. But somewhere, deep down inside, he discovered a conviction and courage that no one, least of all him, suspected he had.

And it’s important to note that if he and Afreen hadn’t been able to get rid of the blackmail files on Shirley’s laptop, the team wouldn’t have been able to take her down. The editor of “The New York Star” would have killed the story before it ever saw the light of day. Not only did they destroy Madeline’s hold over him, but Weitz must also have contacted him to tell him that Madeline no longer had any leverage over him, or else the editor would have simply assumed that the blackmail was still in place. And we can’t forget his phone call to warn the team about the drone strike. Rich is right; Weitz may have driven the team crazy over the seasons, but in the moments when it mattered the most, he had their backs.

Rest in peace, Matthew. I never would have thought I’d say this, but I am really gonna miss you.

Y: Oh Matthew Weitz… what can I say to do your character and your journey justice? This was the final chapter in Weitz’s story, and like everything else in his story so far, it was an uphill battle. His instincts were screaming at him to go full ostrich, to pack up and head to Canada, but in the end he remained true to the path he’s been put on for a while, a path that Afreen—out of nowhere—helped him stay on when things got really really tough this season, and he saw it all through. It did cost him his life, but he went out completely redeemed and a true hero.

And his last words were appropriately about his hair.

It was heartbreaking to learn that the only reason Madeline kept him around for so long was to pin everything on him, but that came back to bite her because in his time staying alive, he played a huge part in destroying her blackmail material and in taking her down. I think Madeline hugely underestimated him, and I’m glad he was there to see her defeated.

That scene in SIOC when the rogue agents walked in, armed and ready to fight for him—well, for the team but also for him—brought tears to my eyes. It was an epic scene, and as Matthew’s last stand, it was as heroic as it can get.

Would I have preferred him go full ostrich? He would’ve survived which would have made me happy but very disappointed so ultimately not so happy. This is how it was meant to be. I am heartbroken but so damn proud.

Rest In Peace, Matthew. You did good. You did good.

 In the second hour, our team has to face the fact that stopping Madeline doesn’t stop the threat she posed, and it doesn’t guarantee that they will ever get their old lives back. What does that mean for their present and their future?

L: Madeline’s gone, but Ivy is still out there and so are the ZIP bombs. As much as the team would like to focus on clearing their names and getting their lives back (or in Rich’s case, making a clean getaway with a new identity), or even on getting a shower and a change of clothes, first they need to stop a terror attack. You know, business as usual at the NYO? Not quite. The team doesn’t work there anymore. They have no authority to call any shots (and probably don’t even have the clearance to walk through SIOC). So Kurt, showing us exactly why he’s always been the true leader of this team, leaves it up to the people who still work there: “We are not here to take over. We’re here to help. If you’ll have us.” And the agents at the NYO, of course, take them up on his offer, because the FBI doesn’t hire dummies. (Or at least, they didn’t when Mayfair, Weller, or Reade was in charge of the NYO. I’m guessing Madeline vastly preferred dummies she controlled as opposed to the rebels who helped take her down.)

Finding Ivy isn’t going to be easy. The only clue that they have is that Madeline had a good hacker on her team. Someone who could doctor all the documents to point to Weitz and build a puzzle that would trick Patterson and lead Madeline to the bunker. Someone very quirky, kooky even. Someone like their old pal Kathy “Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs” Gustafson, the third blind mouse, who disappeared after she set loose all manner of chaos in Iceland. The team is moving out to track her down when she walks into the NYO and turns herself in. Patterson and Rich try to “good cop/bad cop” her but are entertainingly blindsided by her offer to help them in exchange for the “good” deal. “The one where you ignore all the bad stuff I did and put me on the team full-time. I want the Rich Dotcom deal.” And frankly, you gotta love a show that can laugh at itself like that. Because, yes, it really is kind of ridiculous that Rich is in the position that he’s in. He should be in jail, or at the very least, not on the FBI payroll. But he is, and of course we wouldn’t have it any other way.

For all of Kathy’s craziness, she’s actually pretty straightforward about this. Ivy wants her to hack Madeline’s Darkcloud server, so she can find out where Madeline stored the ZIP bombs. But Kathy doesn’t want to be on Ivy’s team. “I’m not an evil person. Ivy is and so is her plan. I don’t want people to lose their memories. They’re all we have.” So she’s come to the FBI instead to tell them what she didn’t tell Ivy: She doesn’t need to hack Madeline’s Darkcloud key, because she built it and left herself a backdoor. Of course. If this show has taught us nothing at all, it is that programmers always, always leave themselves a backdoor, whether it’s a videogame, a secure messaging service, or a cloud server solution.

Rich and Patterson squabble for a bit about whether they can trust Kathy, until Patterson finally tells the whole team off: “You are all being hypocrites. We are asking... for a second chance, and we can’t even give Kathy one?” Which is a valid point, no matter how little we trust Kathy. Rich attempts to bluff Kathy, but Patterson delivers her second truth bomb of the day, “We can’t give you a deal because we don’t even have a deal. Stopping Ivy is our best chance at getting one. And if we can get a deal, I will do everything I can to make sure that you get one, too.” It’s not the offer Kathy was hoping for, but it’s the best she’s gonna get—especially once she realizes that the alternative is being arrested for taking down the power grid for Madeline—so she accepts.

Unfortunately, by the time Kathy gets to work, she discovers that she’s too late. Another hacker has beaten her to the punch. Another hacker with a very familiar coding style. Another hacker named Boston Arliss Crab. They need to find him, and fast, because Ivy is going to kill him as soon as she gets what she wants. Or she’ll kill him if he doesn’t get her what she wants. Either way, the outcome for Boston is very very not good. And just to make sure that he grasps the gravity of the situation, Ivy cuts off one of his fingers. And eeek, as much as I should have expected Ivy to do something horrible, I did not see that one coming. Boston puts his remaining nine digits to work doing Ivy’s bidding, and his first order of business is locking Kathy, Patterson, and Rich out of the darkcloud server.

As it turns out, our Three Blind Mice do not, in fact, appreciate being blind. Since they can’t get the information Ivy is after, they figure out how to remotely enable the webcam on Boston’s machine and try to locate him that way. They can only narrow his location to a neighborhood, so they have to resort to old school sound triangulation to find him, which means that Weller, Jane, and Tasha are in one SUV, and poor Patterson gets to drive with Rich and Kathy bickering in the backseat. I think Patterson might reconsider the whole adoption thing, after her “driving mom” experience. It’s really not for the faint of heart, and I can attest that being good at math is really no help at all.

By the time the team arrives, Ivy and her team are long gone, leaving poor Boston standing on a pressure-plate bomb, a distraction to keep the team busy while Ivy goes to get the ZIP. Weller, Jane, and Tasha head out after Ivy while Rich and Kathy and Boston bicker incessantly and Patterson works on defusing the bomb. (And I am not gonna lie, listening to them all throw shade at each other’s coding skills totally cracks me up.) Unfortunately, instead of disabling the bomb, they engage a timer which gives them five minutes to figure a way out. Boston tries to send them all away, but Rich recognizes what he’s doing (in much the same way that Patterson realized that Rich was plagiarizing Harry Potter when he told them that Boston was dead). “I always thought we’d all end up together. All of us. Like some really good looking modern family,” Boston says, and he is not at all alone there. Trust us, Boston, that is what this entire fandom wants!

Kathy insists the only way she can defuse the bomb is by switching places with Boston, so they pile some weights on her as Boston attempts to be honest about his weight (a struggle that everyone who has been eating their way through quarantine and mainlining chocolate during this final season can relate to). The two of them trade places, and then Kathy tells them that there really isn’t any way to stop the timer. “Look, I created this mess. The attack on the power grid. Framing you guys and your friends. Helping Madeline find you... I just need to make it right.” She shoos them away, and they run and take cover, only to discover that the bomb has been disarmed and Kathy is gone.

And at the end of the day, Patterson and Rich were both right. Kathy did help them, and yes, she also played them. But can you really blame her for escaping at the end? She’s already been to prison, and she doesn’t want to go back. Yeah, her obsession with Rich and Patterson is a little weird, but it’s not all that different from Rich’s fascination with Jane and Weller, and he turned out okay. For all Kathy’s kookiness, she was honest about what she wanted. And in the end, Boston does pretty much exactly the same thing as Kathy does; he takes off instead of waiting around to see what the new director decides to do with them. Rich is our only convicted felon who is brave enough to stick around and hope for clemency.

Arla Grigoryan, the new Interim Director of the FBI has arrived in the NYO and her first order of business is to recall Weller et al from the field, where they are closing in on Ivy and the ZIP bombs. But the backup is too far out to get there in time, and so our heroes make the call to go after Ivy instead of following orders. I really want to believe that this decision won’t doom them at the FBI, but honestly, this season has been a lot more grim and loss-filled than we’re used to on this show, and my optimism is really running low.

Weller takes out Ivy’s thugs as Jane finds Ivy, loading the ZIP into the bombs. Ivy escapes through a door which locks behind her, trapping Jane in the room just as the ZIP bomb goes off. Knowing she has already been exposed, she does the only thing she can to protect Kurt and seals the airlock door. And for the second time in two weeks, the music swells as we watch someone mouth “I’m sorry” through a door before being obscured, and frankly, that is two times too damn many for my poor, broken heart.

So if those were the only bombs that Ivy had, the team just won, but nothing has ever felt less like a win. We know that Patterson has the antidote for ZIP, so it’s a good bet that she’s gonna be able to serve up a cure for Jane, but damn.

Everything hurts and I need more chocolate.

Y: I’m going to say this here and no one take it the wrong way. Nothing ever good has happened that has involved Kathy Gustafson! I was completely team Rich on this throughout the episode and was screaming at Patterson to not trust her and yes, I know she ultimately saved Boston’s life, but was it all worth it?!

Yes, Boston’s life is worth it, but I am sure the team would’ve saved him some other way, and they would’ve found the ZIP some other way too. Oh, and speaking of finding the ZIP, we all know how that ended so maybe not finding it would’ve been better? I’m sorry, but I am just very very upset and even with all the chocolate I’ve consumed, it has not helped, and I just want to team up with Rich and rant about Kathy for the next fifteen years.

I think I am mostly upset, also, that this being the penultimate episode, Tasha, Kurt and Jane got so little time because we were focused on the A Plot of the episode, and I was hoping we’d see more of them. There I said it. It’s all Kathy’s fault and I hate Kathy. In fact, everybody should hate Kathy. Maybe this could have been called Everybody Hates Kathy Part Two?

Okay, now that I have gotten this off my chest, I can relax—not really—and talk about something else. All the bantering and bickering and the shouting and the nerding aside, this episode provided an interesting character juxtaposition by including both Boston and Kathy along with Rich. These three in many ways fit in the same category, and Kathy really was trying to fit into the Rich Dotcom mold—if we’re going to believe her claim that she wanted to work with the FBI and get a similar deal. In many ways those three represent that category in its different phases, and they’ve been allowed evolve within it surrounded by different circumstances.

For Kathy, I think, she put it perfectly when she mentioned how lonely she is. We know that one of the main reasons Rich has been allowed to grow and develop is the fact that he was welcomed into this family and was surrounded by these people. Kathy has a lot of issues, not necessarily the same issues as Rich, but issues nonetheless. And maybe had she had the same nurturing environment that was allowed for Rich she could find a way to change and become better. The question is, does she want to? It seems that the concept of it is something that appeals to her, but then again, when she talks to Patterson after escaping, she tells them that they’re delusional.

Who knows what could be next for Kathy Gustafson, whether her love for chaos would overpower her inkling for good, if she’ll find the right environment to allow one to outgrow the other, or if she will continue to sway in the middle—one minute lending a hand to the good guys and the other minute dancing over the ashes of the city with the Madelines and Dominics of the world.

 Our team has been through so much, and they still haven’t gotten their lives back. But they just never, ever give up, especially not on each other. How are they staying strong, both individually and together, through this journey?

Y: All you need to know is that Patterson is not dead and she saves the world. Again.

Okay, maybe that’s not all you need to know, but it is at the core of what you need to know because William Patterson is alive! And if you think we’re happy about it, you should’ve seen how happy the team were! And if there was ever any doubt of how loyal this team are to each other, how supportive they are of each other, how far they’re willing to go to save each other, and how much stronger they are as a team, this episode denounces all those doubts.

First of all, the first of the double bill episodes gave us what will go down as two of the best reunions ever on Blindspot.

Maybe even three, because Afreen and Weitz’s discovery that Patterson is alive was just absolutely precious. Okay, maybe precious on Afreen’s end and absolutely adorably panicked on Weitz’s.

And then there are the reactions of both Tasha and Rich to Patterson being alive and nothing in the world could ever be so pure and also so heartbreaking. Tasha’s reaction made me smile and cry all the happy tears. But it was Rich’s quiet somber reaction that absolutely destroyed me. This man has come such a long way, and this relationship has grown to become one of the most honest and loving and genuine relationships on the show, and I am an emotional wreck.

Watching Patterson take full control to save her friends and to clear their names was a thing of magic. We know just how good she is. She has spent the last years proving day in and day out that she is the best. Simply the best. But it never ceases to amaze me when I watch her do her thing on screen. Seriously, my love for Patterson in this episode was almost all consuming that I cannot even bring myself to talk about things, you know, intellectually.

Patterson was her beautiful Patterson self. In the first episode she was everything we know she is. She survived the bunker explosion, found her way back to the US, saved Boston and then spent the day as the true leader that she is to get her friends out of lockdown and bring Madeline down. In the second episode, she again showed the true leader in her, and while I personally was on team Rich with regards to Kathy, I know Patterson did the right thing and that her decisions led to saving Boston and locating the ZIP. She displayed true leadership qualities, unparalleled empathy, and genuine belief in other people, in the concept that people can change and deserve second chances.

And at that she’s a much bigger person than I am.

L: Patterson isn’t our LeBron for nothing. She figured out how to survive the bunker explosion, rescue Boston, sneak into the FBI, save the team, and get the evidence they needed to stop Madeline. I’d appreciate her feats even more if I could stop crying for joy that she’s alive.

I am not going to lie; the reunions of the team members—especially when they realize Patterson is alive and well—are my favorite moments in these two episodes. And I honestly can’t decide which I loved more: Tasha’s “You are the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen” or Rich’s heartfelt “Promise me you won’t ever do that again.” This team is a family, and there is nothing more painful than believing you’ve lost a member of your family. This team has been through so much and lost so much, and this week I am crying tears of joy right along with them that they didn’t lose Patterson, too. For the first (and only) time, I’m glad that this season is so short, because if it was longer, there probably would have been a Patterson-free episode in the middle of this arc, and honestly, I don’t know if my heart could have taken that.

I think the thing that struck me most about Patterson in these two episodes is how all-around smart she is. She’s computer smart, we all know that. And she’s pretty damn good at disguises. But she’s also people smart, as we see in her decision to trust Kathy. She refuses to lie to her, she yells at Rich when she realizes he is deliberately slowing Kathy down. Okay, maybe she should have known that Kathy was lying about the bomb at the end, but also... maybe she did know, and went with it anyway.

I think Patterson understands Kathy better than anyone else. As we saw in the conversation between Rich and Patterson in last week’s episode, it’s not always easy to be the smartest person in the room. It might make people respect you, but it doesn’t always win you a lot of friends. Being part of the FBI team gave both Patterson and Rich (and Boston) a circle of close friends who look out for them and love them for their eccentricities, not in spite of them. Kathy has never had that, and it has been clear in all of their interactions that she’s been desperately trying to find that same kind of family of her own. And Patterson knows that Madeline and Dominic played on Kathy’s loneliness to reel her into their nefarious plans. Patterson was manipulated by Borden in the same way that Kathy was manipulated by Dominic, so of all of them, she is the one most likely to understand Kathy’s perspective.

So in summary... Patterson is smart, but she’s also got a really big heart. And that’s one of the reasons why we love her so damn much.

Y: These guys have been through hell this season. It’s true that no season has been easy, but this year has just felt like it’s been so much harder. With the loss of Reade, the endless string of losses to Madeline, and all the bad luck they’ve faced, it’s a true testament to who they are that they’re still hanging in there, still fighting, refusing to give up and determined to do the right thing.

And no one has had a rougher season than Tasha. She’s really had to dig very deep to continue to find strength and purpose to push forward. She hasn’t found it easy to open up to her teammates, but still she’s leaned on them when she’s needed them, and not once did they abandon her or let her down.

But Tasha has really shined in the moments where she’s been on her own and in a head to head confrontation with someone else. And she has done especially good when she’s come up against Madeline. In the brief scenes of the interrogation that we did see, Tasha once again was just fantastic, resilient, strong, fearless and the perfect antithesis to Madeline, as much as Madeline would want to believe that she and Tasha are the same.

And as much as that last scene on the plane with Madeline frustrated me for how it ended with Madeline, it was great for Tasha in that she finally got to finish the case that has taken so much from her over the past two seasons and to finally stand victorious in front of the woman who has literally destroyed her life in so many ways.

I don’t know how much Madeline taking her own life will feel like a victory for Tasha or if she too will take it as a cop out—like everything she had gone through has gone to waste. But I also hope that Tasha can find some peace after all of this and feel like she’s been on the right side of this whole thing all this time and that her sacrifices have not gone to waste.

L: Oh, Tasha. There’s no surprise that Tasha was the first one on the scene to capture Madeline. Facing down Madeline might be Tasha’s most powerful moment in this entire series. Madeline took literally everything from Tasha. Her professional reputation, her career at the CIA, her friend and mentor in Keaton, even her best friend and the man she loved. And Madeline knew that and gloated about it. I am sure there is nothing more Tasha wanted than to slap the cuffs around Madeline’s wrists, and I’m angry again at Madeline that she did not get that moment.

And I’m not going to lie, I’m worried about where Tasha goes from here. I think she’s been able to avoid really thinking about Reade’s death or the fact that she’s carrying his baby by focusing on taking Madeline down. Now that she has... what’s ahead of her now? She’s lost Keaton, too, and any chance of returning to the CIA. Is there a place for her at the FBI? And if so, can she still fit in there, if she even wants to be in a place where everything reminds her of Reade?

When they were on the run, the team was just focused on stopping Madeline and magically getting their lives back. But now they are finally admitting that it might not be that simple. As Kurt says, “We didn’t do what Madeline framed us for, but we did do a lot of other things. And... Grigoryan, she doesn’t know us. And on paper, we don’t look so good.” Tasha isn’t the only one to worry about their future, but she’s the one I’m most worried about, because her place is the least clear of all of them. Patterson is back in the lab, where she belongs, and if Grigoryan isn’t smart enough to do everything in her power to keep her there, then she’s not smart enough to run the FBI. Kurt and Jane will be with Bethany and Allie and Conor, either in NYC or in Colorado. Whatever is ahead of them, they’ll face together. And I think Rich and Boston will be much the same, even if they do it from the flirty distance they usually do. But Tasha? Stay with your family, Tasha. You know they will be there for you. And really... kids are a lot of work, and it’s hard to find babysitters you can trust.

Y: If season five should be remembered for one thing, it should be how we got to see Rich Dotcom finally become the best version of himself. He’s found his purpose, found his heart, found his family, found his strengths, found his light, learned how to balance it with his dark and embrace all the parts of himself.

I’ve talked about this before, and I am going to do it again, and it’s how season five has more than once brought back people from Rich’s past and put them side by side with Rich to compare the two. These people have presented who Rich was and who he would have been now had he not found this team, and it’s been really great seeing that comparison and appreciating Rich’s journey more and more.

The second episode in the double episode did that with two people—Boston and Kathy. In some ways, Kathy represents the other extreme to what Rich has become. The taste for chaos and anarchy that is left unchecked and giving in to every impulse that Kathy displays versus how Rich has evolved until—much to his annoyance—he often finds himself the voice of reason.

And with Boston, the phone call between them in the beginning of the episode provides insight as to how Boston, while trying to find that path that led Rich to where he is, isn’t there yet. If Kathy is on one end of the spectrum, Boston still finds himself in the middle, struggling to give up some of his older habits as he tells Rich “we have to take care of ourselves.” To which Rich replies, “Yeah, but that’s all we’ve ever done,” indicating that for Rich, these older habits are things they have to learn to move on from.

Boston is still stuck in that mindset, while Rich has moved on and is in a place where he would never abandon his team even if he knows it will lead to something horrible.

Finally, one last thing… I think what made me the proudest I have ever been of Rich is how he’d forgiven Matthew. I cried, people, I totally cried.

L: Yeah, that scene got me right in the feels. And I think it’s significant, because, like Weitz, Rich certainly vacillated between being out for himself and being a team player. It makes sense that he is the hardest on Weitz, not just because he got sent to a blacksite, but also because he is measuring Weitz by the yardstick he uses to measure himself. We are always the least tolerant of the flaws in others that we struggle with in ourselves. It’s safe to say that no matter what happens in the finale, Rich Dotcom has officially completed his amazing character arc. He’s successfully transitioned from self-serving criminal to full-on FBI team player. But that doesn’t mean it’s easy being Rich DotTwo, with all this new self-awareness and a highly developed conscience.

I loved Rich’s speech to the team at the start of 5.10. “Sorry, just before anyone else says anything heroic, may I remind you that we’re still wanted criminals.” One part of Rich’s evolution is this new, adult way of looking at things. “Best case scenario, we get fired. Worst case? I’ve been there before, and I don’t exactly plan to go back.” He understands what’s at stake, and he knows that—of all of them—he’s the least likely to get a deal at the end of all of this. So honestly, I couldn’t blame him if he wanted to run. But the thing is, he doesn’t, because the second part of Rich’s evolution is his newly-discovered skill of self-sacrifice (which, yes, he totally picked this up from the team as Madeline describes, “These people have made falling on their swords into an art form.”). He can’t leave the team to see this through on their own, knowing that he could help, even when it means giving up on the idea of a future with Boston. When Boston tells him that they need to look out for themselves, Rich tells him, “Yeah, but that’s all we’ve ever done.” Being a part of this team is the first time he’s been part of something bigger than himself, and it’s the first time he’s gone out of his way to do the right thing just because it’s the right thing—and it’s even more poignant because of what he is giving up—the chance to run away and build a new life with Boston. And even if you’re not Rich, it’s a tough call—save the world or save your future with the person you love? But in this context, knowing how far Rich has come and how hard he’s worked to get to this point... It’s an impossible call, and I’m all the more proud of him for making it.

Y: One last, probably completely unnecessary note, but I cannot be the only one who freaked out when Ivy grabbed Boston’s hand to cut off his finger, right? Forget hacking, the man is an artist, and he needs those fingers!! Fortunately, she left him with nine so his art career isn’t ruined.

And I know I was a bit tough on Boston in my review, but I do love me some Boston Arliss Crab. Since his days of bantering with Patterson are over, I am glad we got to see some with Kathy. Josh Dean is really good at that. And he’s also good at many other things. His humor is fantastic, he has amazing chemistry with Ennis and with Ashley, and in these two episodes he really got to shine. It’s hard to believe that Boston is only a recurring character. It feels like he’s been part of the show for so long and such an integral part of it.

I just love them all so much and I am very emotional—and yes, I am writing this on the day of the finale, just hours before it airs, so I am extra emotional. If that is even possible.

 Like the rest of their team, Kurt and Jane go through a lot in these two hours of television, only to finish on a terrifying note. How do they tackle these challenges, both together and alone, and what do we think this means for their future?

Y: Was it just me or was Kurt extra barky in the second hour of this double episode? He just seemed a bit more growly than usual. And yes, I am talking about this to avoid talking about the… other thing.

There are other things I’m willing to talk about as well. Mainly all the awesome Kurt things that happened this week. Like the rest of the team, Kurt during the interrogation was as badass as we’ve known Kurt Weller to be. He was absolute fire, stubborn as hell, defiant, and so confident in his team. Honestly, that sequence was close to the most badass we have ever seen the team—all of them.

But I think the most badass Kurt scene is—not just in this episode but maybe in the history of badass Kurt moments—is him taking out six armed mercenaries on his way to rescue Jane. Excuse me, but what was that? I don’t know about you, but I cannot stop watching this scene, watching this man do literally the impossible to save his wife and become an entire army himself to get to her.

The Jeller reunion was quintessentially Jeller. It involved some badass fighting, trademark Jeller softness, and of course the adorable flirting during a life and death situation. This is our ship. This is the ship we’ve loved for five years.

And then there was Kurt’s reunion with Bethany. Sigh… that was just the purest thing ever and Little Bee is the most precious little girl ever. That scene melted my heart and soul and Bethany telling her dad to hurry back to her absolutely destroyed me. So I can only imagine what it did to poor Kurt.

L: One of my favorite Kurt Weller scenes in these two episodes is at the start of 5.10, when he stands in the middle of SIOC and basically announces that he doesn’t have any authority there anymore. He tells the gathered agents that the team is not there to take over. They are there to help... if they’re wanted. And he leaves the choice up to them. We’ve talked a lot about how different members of the team have shown leadership this season, and those examples have frequently contrasted with Madeline’s dictatorial style. And this moment showed us so much about what kind of a leader Kurt is. He doesn’t tell them what they should do. He lets them make that call. As we’ve mentioned before: Kurt Weller never asks anyone to take a risk that he wouldn’t take. And he respects the people who look to him for leadership. He asks for their input, he respects their opinions (even when they disagree with his own), and he gives them the choice of doing what their consciences dictate. In short, he is the exact opposite of Madeline and is the best leader that any of them could ask for.

And yeah, he’s also a devoted husband and father. We just really love Kurt Weller, okay??

Y: Oh! How could I forget to mention that scene in the opening of 5.10. That was… just beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. Everything we love about Kurt Weller and then some. Seeing him standing in the middle of SIOC, in his natural born leader pose… it just makes me happy… and it’s such a perfect parallel to the scene in the Pilot as well. Yes, I know we have had several of those scenes, but that one from the Pilot really jumped at me.

Now… onto Jane… Jane, Jane, Jane...

Not to be outdone by her husband, who is willing to fight six fully armed men while he himself is not armed, Jane does the thing we all expected her to do—sacrifice herself for her team. I had a feeling Jane would do this. We know Jane. We’ve known her long enough to know that she would be the first to fall on her sword to protect everyone else. That’s what makes her Jane. That’s what we love about her. And I know that Madeline would not have honored the deal, but Jane really didn’t have much of choice and it’s so true to who she is that she would do that.

But sometimes Jane’s willingness to sacrifice herself to save those she loves can become a little too much and cause us a little too much pain. And I am still not ready to discuss this.

L: Jane’s self-sacrificing nature is simultaneously one of the things I love most about her and one of the things that makes me yell at my television screen like a crazy person.

We already know that Jane blames herself for, well, everything. And to some degree, she’s not entirely wrong. Her arrival in Times Square did put this story in motion. But that doesn’t mean it’s all her fault. The cases the team followed, the corruption they were fighting... all of that was already there, whether Jane showed up or not. If her tattoos hadn’t led the team there, something or someone else might have. There’s no guarantee that Shepherd—or even someone else—wouldn’t have put some other plan into action if Remi hadn’t returned from Afghanistan willing to join Sandstorm. And it’s not fair to blame her for the actions of others—for Oscar or Crawford or Madeline. And even if Jane can’t admit it, an awful lot of good came from her joining the team. All the criminals they put behind bars, all the evil plans they stopped, and all the innocent lives they saved. As Tasha put it, “Do you realize how many times this team has saved the world?”

But we know all of this has been weighing on Jane’s mind all season. And then we add in the weight of Patterson’s “death”; Patterson, who was the first person to welcome Jane to the team and who saved Jane’s life from her lab so many times out in the field. And finally, add the knowledge that Kurt will never get to be there to watch Bethany grow up, when Jane has already sacrificed her own happiness once before to ensure that Kurt would have this future. So it’s really no surprise at all that Jane is willing to accept all the blame for the team’s “crimes” in exchange for Madeline’s promise that the team will be treated fairly and sent to federal prison instead of an anonymous blacksite.

And similarly, it was no surprise at all that, when faced with the prospect of exposing Kurt to ZIP or taking all the risk herself, Jane would choose again to sacrifice herself. It’s who she is. It’s who she was as Remi—willing to sacrifice herself to stop the corruption they saw in the government—and it’s who she is as Jane. Like Kurt, she won’t ask anyone to take a risk that she won’t take, and if she has to sacrifice herself to save her husband or the rest of her family? Well, then there really isn’t a choice to be made.

Look, I am not worried about Jane. We know that Patterson has the stem cells and the cure for ZIP. Jane’s gonna be fine. Honestly, I’m a lot more worried about how Kurt is going to deal with Jane having her memory wiped.

Y: Okay, enough days have passed that I think I am ready to talk about that last scene in 5.10. If the elevator kiss in 5.08 was peak Power Couple Jeller, then the final scene of 5.10, with Jane in the world’s worst Escape The Room situation, is peak Epic Tragic Jeller. First from Jane’s perspective, this is such a Jane thing to do—sacrificing herself for the ones she loves. And that moment right there reminded me so much of 1.15, when Jane goes on the run to protect the team from Cade, and in the end when Kurt confronts her about it, and she asks him what he would have done in her place. And to that, Kurt replied that he would have done the same.

And he would have. In both situations, Kurt would have done exactly what Jane did.

And that is why these two will always be the most epic of ships—tragic, legendary, heartbreaking, a love story for the ages. As heartbreaking as that scene was, and what it sets up, and as nervous as it makes us going into the finale, it just seems right that Jeller get to go through something this huge in the finale. Every season finale has put Jeller through the impossible, so it is in typical Jeller tradition that the series finale puts them through even a harder final ordeal than ever before.

I don’t know what is going to happen. I am braced for the worst and hoping for the best. But what I do know is that this ship has for five seasons been perfect—well, almost perfect. They’ve made us laugh and cry and flail and swoon and cry some more and flail some more. They’ve been through everything—and put us through everything—and it’s only appropriate that at the end of the day they go through one final challenge that really tests who they are and who they’ve become and that beautiful bond between them.

I’m terrified and excited and scared and worried and at the edge of my seat.

And I have faith.

I have faith.

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Which brings us almost to the end of the fifth and final season of Blindspot. How has this season met your expectations? Is there anything that you need to see in the last episode? Come talk to our Ask Box. Or just come and wail about how much you love this show and don’t want it to end.

—Laura & Yas 

[take2intotheshower]

Blindspot 30 Day Challenge - Day 7: Favorite Male Characters (Guest/Recurring)

Jake Keaton, Matthew Weitz and Rich Dotcom

Imaginary Blindspot casting room discussion: "Right, we have a pair of pretty Australians among our male leads but where can we find some interesting actors to play our supporting male characters, ones viewers will want to see return again and again?" "How about Canada?" "Sounds good to me." Enter Chad Donella, Aaron Abrams and Ennis Esmer, all sporting the required Blindspot beards.

Who didn't hate Jake Keaton after watching him torture Jane? But so multi-layered are these characters that over time we couldn't help but warm to him. CIA Deputy Director Keaton is not the cold, arrogant and supremely confident man his predecessor Tom Carter was. He has perfected the sneer, but Keaton has a vulnerability that Carter lacked. On the outside he is a nasty weasel of a man, but inside he is soft as a marshmallow, devoted to his teenage daughter and putty in the hands of strong women like Jane and Tasha Zapata. Keaton never knows when to stop taunting his adversaries. First he is bested by Jane, then he is nearly throttled by Weller, before finally meeting his verbal match in Zapata. But he doesn't bear a grudge and he keeps bouncing back like a scolded puppy. Keaton is good at his job, he doesn't lack courage or intelligence. He used to fly F-15 fighter planes. He is Zapata's number 1 admirer. And he is totally loyal to his country. Even Weller trusts him over every other deputy in the COGS bunker. He is certain to be back for Season 3.

Assistant US Attorney Matthew Weitz is a conundrum. He has appeared in both Seasons but we know little of the man. We know that he does not allow himself to be distracted by minor felonies: "I don't care about your gambling problem. I don't even care that you sold confidential FBI documents to the CIA...What I am interested in is Tom Carter, his obsession with your Jane Doe, and what it all has to do with Assistant Director Mayfair." It is the corrupt big fish he is targeting, and he is relentless in his pursuit of them. Weitz is a master of the sneer and in-your-face intimidation. He lounges in his chair during interviews, throwing acutely observant questions to catch his victims off guard, then striking like a snake at their weakest spot. But we know nothing of his private life. Is he single? He does not wear a wedding ring, and he is curiously fixated on Tasha Zapata. That would make for a very interesting pairing.

Motor-mouth Rich Dotcom is everybody's favourite recurring character. Incorrigible, irritating, Rich is also a very clever man. He totally ships Jeller and has been doing his best to bring them together - even though he has a bit of a crush on Kurt himself. I can't wait to see his reaction if he ever finds out about Allie's baby. Rich is wasted in jail. He needs Team FBI and they need him. We can probably expect him to make at least another couple of appearances in Season 3.     

[love-jesus-but-i-drink-a-little]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Blindspot (TV) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Patterson/Tasha Zapata, Patterson & Tasha Zapata Characters: Patterson (Blindspot), Tasha Zapata, Edgar Reade, Remi Briggs | Jane Doe | Alice Kruger, Kurt Weller, Matthew Weitz, Bethany Mayfair Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Eventual Romance, Fluff and Smut Series: Part 1 of My Love; A Clenched Fist Around Your Heart Summary:

Tasha and Patterson are scared and in love Or: Five times Tasha analyzes Patterson + one time she doesn't have to

[beyond-the-yellowbrickroad]

Movies Watched in 2019 - Filmes assistidos em 2019 (part two / segunda parte)

111. About a Boy (2002) Directed by Chris Weitz, Paul Weitz

I liked it a lot! The Kid is amazing and just imagine my face when I found out he was Nicholas Hoult…

112. Hotel Mumbai (2018) Directed by Anthony Maras

It’s a very heavy movie to watch, even more because is based in a real life history… the amazing cast helps to make it even more realistic.

113. Toy Story 4 (2019) Directed by Josh Cooley

I’m angry and very disappointed. It may sound childish of me because “people change” and “leave our lives” but was that really necessary? I think NOT!

114. Widows (2018) Directed by Steve McQueen

I didn’t like it that much but it was probably my fault… I was expecting something more like Ocean’s 8, but it’s completely different from that. Anyway, the cast is great.

115. Final Destination (2000) Directed by James Wong

116. The Final Destination (2009) Directed by David R. Ellis

117. Final Destination 5 (2011) Directed by Steven Quale

So I re-watched all of the “Final Destination” Series at once, and I had the most fun!

I had already seen de second and the third one when I was little (I was about 6 or 7, grown ups were crazy in the early 2000′s) but I had never seen the others and, for my surprise, I loved almost all of them! (I really don’t like the fourth one and I rather pretend it doesn’t exist)

The second one is still my favorite, but the others are as crazy and fun! I LOVED IT!

AND THE ENDING OF THE FIFTH MOVIE, OMG, I WAS NOT READY!!!

118. Liar Liar (1997) Directed by Tom Shadyac

Jim Carrey making funny faces for no reason for 86 minutes straight

119. John Wick (2014) Directed by Chad Stahelski

120. John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017) Directed by Chad Stahelski

121. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) Directed by Chad Stahelski

So I also watched all the “John Wick” movies all at once and all I can say is: it’s really great to see treined assassings kill people to revenge their dogs and to see Keanu Reeves being amazing, sexy AND kicking other people’s asses.

122. The Perfection (2018) Directed by Richard Shepard

I saw this weeks ago and I still am absolutely shocked with everything that happened in this movie

123. Us (2019) Directed by Jordan Peele

Literally, a masterpiece of horror and comedy. The cast it’s incredible!

124. The Lion King (2019) Directed by Jon Favreau

Nice, but… it’s the same as the original, but more… dull. Impossible not to have fun though, because it’s the same movie as the original.

125. Long Shot (2019) Directed by Jonathan Levine

Now I really want to go to a club with Charlize!!

126. The Angel (2018) ‘El Ángel’ Directed by Luis Ortega

Beautiful photography, and the cast is really great! The music is also incredible.

127. Hello, My Name Is Doris (2015) Directed by Michael Showalter

It’s a nice reminder that everyone has it’s own time for doing things… sometimes you star things eary and sometimes, other things happen in life before others, and that OK! I loved it!

128. The Lake House (2006) Directed by Alejandro Agresti

It’s romantic, well done and super interesting! Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock looked so good together! I really loved this sci-fi love story.

129. Pride & Prejudice (2005) Directed by Joe Wright

Honestly, everything is absolutely pefect in this movie… like when Mr. Darcy always look’s like he’s about to throw up everytime Lizzie is around, how Mr. Bingley is an absolutely sunshine, how Jane it’s his perfect match, how Lizzie is perfecly sassy and smart… I, obviously, and I can not stress this enough: THE HAND FLEX!!! (and when Mr. Darcy cofesses his eternal love to Lizzie in the rain and them they fight and them they almost kiss… AMAZING CINEMA!)

I loved the movie and I can’t wait to finally find time to read the book too…

130. Creep (2014) Directed by Patrick Brice

131.  Creep 2 (2017) Directed by Patrick Brice

Both weird movies, but the first one is more amazing because you spend more than a half of it not knowing what it’s happening.

132. Vox Lux (2018) Directed by Brady Corbet

Natalie Portman is amazing and this movie is also weird.

133. Austenland (2013) Directed by Jerusha Hess

A thriling saga to my Pride and Prejudice / Jane Austen obcession…

So, the fake Mr. Darcy (Mr. Noble) looks like young Tom Hiddleston so now I have a huge crush on him.

Also, I think it’s a very fun movie and I had a good time.  

134. Good Sam (2019) Directed by Kate Miles Melville

Fun, I guess… honestly, the romance was unecessary.

135. Almost Famous (2000) Directed by Cameron Crowe

The bus scene when they all are down and then suddenly starts singing to “Tiny Dancer”… The most beautiful thing I saw in my life.

136. The Losers (2010) Directed by Sylvain White

It’s a very fun movie!

But I have an observation: It just don’t sound truthful that people would make fun of a hot, nerdy, super uncle, not being that good with girls Chris Evans… really, he is absolutely hot and cute in this movie, it just not make sense!

137. Sing (2016) Directed by Garth Jennings

I watched this because of Taron Egerton singing “I’m Still Standing”, but I loved it for so much more!!!

138. Candy Jar (2018) Directed by Ben Shelton

Fun for spending the time.

139. The Red Sea Diving Resort (2019) Directed by Gideon Raff

Nice movie and great cast!

(also, I know thi isn’t the point but Chris Evans is beautiful in this movie to)

140. The Jane Austen Book Club (2007) Directed by Robin Swicord

I loved this so much, but I also feel kind of sad because I don’t have friends to make a Jane Austen book club with me and also I will never get married with nerdy and cute Hugh Dancy.

141. The Hustle (2019) Directed by Chris Addison

Anne Hathaway and Rebel Wilson deserved better!

142. The Sun Is Also a Star (2019) Directed by Ry Russo-Young

I don’t want to be mean but, this was horrible!

143. Descendants 3 (2019) Directed by Kenny Ortega

This movie was already going to be very emotional because is the last one of the trilogy, but the recent evens with the super talented actor Cameron Boyce, it was twice as emotional... I cryed a lot.

Also, the movie is increadible in every way: the songs, the dancing, the characters, the cast... I loved it!

144. Brightburn (2019) Directed by David Yarovesky

Well, that was a disaster...

145. Parasite (2019) ‘기생충’ Directed by Bong Joon Ho

Okay, so this movie... there’s so much to talk about this movie...but I don’t want to spoil it... BUT,  everything is absolutely PERFECT! OMG! I LOVE THIS MOVIE SO MUCH!

146. Otherhood (2019) Directed by Cindy Chupack

Great cast, fun to watch!

147. The Craft (1996) Directed by Andrew Fleming

ICONIC!

148. Wild Child (2008) Directed by Nick Moore

EMMA ROBERTS: I’m sorry for every time that I sayd that you were not a great actress. You are, and this movie is a masterpiece.

149. Mandy (2018) Directed by Panos Cosmatos

That was a crazy ride and I LOVED IT! Nick Cage it’s amazing in this and I really love this scrypt.

150. Falling Inn Love (2019) Directed by Roger Kumble

This couple is so beautiful and I really wish they could date me as well.

151. Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009) Directed by Marc Lawrence

I did not like the movie that much but the cast is nice, so is not that bad to wach.

152. Bacurau (2019) Directed by Juliano Dornelles, Kleber Mendonça Filho

This was, honestly, the best thing I saw the entire year. It made so happy and proud of my own culture, and was so increadible to watch, with a great cast and characters that are truly amazing... and as if all of this wasn’t enough, the movie (as a coincidence) talks direcly with Brazil’s currently politic scene. 

When the movie was over, I felt like crying of happines... I so proud o f brazilian cinema and how it gets better and bigger each year!!  

PURE PERFECTION. 

153. Between Two Ferns: The Movie (2019) Directed by Scott Aukerman

There was scenes that I really found funny and there were times that I was just confused... but I liked it.

154. Last Holiday (2006) Directed by Wayne Wang

QUEEN LATIFAH I LOVE YOU SO MUCH, PLEASE BE MY FRIEND!!

Honestly, this movie is everything a romcom should be... PERFECT! 

155. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms (2018) Directed by Lasse Hallström, Joe Johnston

I’m absolutely angry with the fact that Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen in the same movie and they even looked at each other! CRAZY THING RIGHT?

156. Rumor Has It… (2005) Directed by Rob Reiner

Just imagine a world were Jenifer Aniston and Mark Ruffalo are a couple... 

The movie was SO WEIRD!!! (but good) 

157. It Chapter Two (2019) Directed by Andy Muschietti

The first one still is my favorite, BUT this is so great... I’m not even going to begin to write about the cast, ‘cause everyone knows it’s absolutely PERFECT, but really, BILL HADER GUYS! JUST, AMAZING.

Anyway, I did not got even a little scared, but who cares, it’s a great movie.

Also, the scene were Bill Skarsgård  show up without the Pennywise makeup... his acting was SO GREAT!

 158. Midsommar (2019) Directed by Ari Aster

Today I saw someone describe this movie as “a bunch of white people killing other people and dancing in circles” and honestly, this is the perfect description for this.

159. Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé (2019) Directed by Beyoncé Knowles

i CAN’T BEGIN TO DESCRIBE THE FEELINGS I FELT SEEING THIS! This woman is beautiful, super talented and a genius! 

YOU JUST MIGHT BE A BEYONCÉ IN THE MAKING!! 

160. Frozen (2010) Directed by Adam Green

HORRIBLE! OH MY GOD! I FELT SO BAD WATCHING THIS, IT WAS TERRIFYING! OMG!

161. Hush (2016) Directed by Mike Flanagan

I NEVER FELT SO UNCONFORTABLE IN MY LIFE! Truly a good idea for a scary movie and a very well executed one to! Loved it!

162. El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019) Directed by Vince Gilligan

The perfect ending for one of the best suporting characters on a TV Series.

163. Little Monsters (2019) Directed by Abe Forsythe

Lupita Nyong'o deserves way more recognition from the Movies Industry because she is so great and even with a fucking OSCAR on her shelf, she barely has any leading characters on her career and is SO UNFAIR!

This movies is funny, scary, the cast is great and there’s Shake it Off by Taylor Swift was sang by a bunch of kids and Lupita dressed on a beautiful yellow dress all dirty of zombie blood, sooo... you should go and watch it!

164. The Blair Witch Project (1999) Directed by Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez

The movie it’s okay until it gets on it’s last 15 to 10 minutes... then so much starts to happen and you just want to stop seeing it, but can’t because you want to know the ending of it, and it’s so scary and crazy... Really I totally get why lots of people are crazy about this one... SO SCARY!

Also, look out for the website they made for the three filmakers that “disapeared” ( AKA were killed by the Blair Witch), it’s so good and there’s a lot of more information that makes the movie even more scary.

165. Yesterday (2019) Directed by Danny Boyle

It could be SO GOOD! But it was SO BAD! Lili was this movie, the guy that played Richie in Skins was in this movie and I still did not like it... The sountrack was made by BEATLES SONGS and I still did not like it... SAD.

166. The Witches (1990) Directed by Nicolas Roeg

NOT A KIDS MOVIE! Really, it’s so scary! OMG!

167. Shaun of the Dead (2004) Directed by Edgar Wright

It’s a very diferent zombie movie, but I really liked it! 

168. Maid in Manhattan (2002) Directed by Wayne Wang

IT WAS JUST LIKE CAMP ROCK!!

Very cheesy, not the best romcom I ever watched, but also not the worse... If you want a good JLopez movie, go see Monster In Law!

169. Monster House (2006) Directed by Gil Kenan

ALSO NOT A KIDS MOVIE! This was actually very little apropriate to kids and so fucking sacry, OMG, how this was made up to be a kids movie? 

170. mother! (2017) Directed by Darren Aronofsky

I will never get over this movie, I feel marked for the rest of my life, thanks very much Aronofsky! (no, really, THANKS!)

171. The Meddler (2015) Directed by Lorene Scafaria

Honestly, the “I was visiting my daughter, she just shot a pilot!” joke was THE BEST THING I EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE! Also, “I have to go home, my hands are loud!”.

172. Killer Klowns from Outer Space (1988) Directed by Stephen Chiodo

I don’t even know what to write about this one... It was weird and not scary at all, but was kind of... diffent? I mean, you don’t get literally scared but you feel unconfotable, like, a lot! Go check it out and you will hopefully understand what kind of feeling I’m trying to describe, it’s just... weird.

173. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019) Directed by André Ovredal

WHAT ON EARTH PEOPLE KEEP MAKING THOSE SUPER SCARY MOVIES ANT SAYING THEY ARE FOR KINDS? This was so scary Jesus, and It was great. But not for kids.

If you read the books I don’t know how you going to feel about it, but in my experience from movie adapttions from books, you probably going to feel like shit. But I did’t read the books and loved it, so, you might to :)

174. Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2 (2000) Directed by Joe Berlinger

Not ever close to be as great as the first one, it’s crazier, more things happen and you still feel crazy with the characters, but, it’s not as great. But it would be a great stanalone, if the first one did not existed. 

175. Vacation (2015) Directed by John Francis Daley, Jonathan M. Goldstein

This is a comedic MASTERPIECE and I CAN NOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH! 

I love comedy movies, but I always expect to much of them... but this served me EVERYTHING that a good comedy should have to make me laugh until my breath runs out. LOVED IT!

176. Walk the Line (2005) Directed by James Mangold

Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon are absolutely babes and so increadibly talented! 

The movie is a bit slow (maybe only if you not a particularly big Cash fan), but is great! 

177. Love Happens (2009) Directed by Brandon Camp

Jennifer Aniston is amazing and goergeous as always but I didn’t conect with the characters so... it didn’t work to much for me, but it’s not bad eigther.

178. John Tucker Must Die (2006) Directed by Betty Thomas

Talking about perfect comedies, this is ONE OF THEM! FOR SURE! 

179. You’ve Got Mail (1998) Directed by Nora Ephron

I’ve got three things to say:

One: TOM HANKS

Two: I could never date someone that led me to bankruptcy, I could however punch this person multiple times.

Three: MEG RYAN!!!

180. The Prince & Me (2004) Directed by Martha Coolidge

Okay, so I was not expecting anything big from this movie and I only watched it because of Julia Stiles, BUT OMG I’m so thakfull that I gave it a chance, because it’s an amazingly done cliché and the Prince it’s totally hot!

 181. Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019) Directed by James Bobin

I WAS SO SURPRISED THAT IT WAS SO GOOD! I really wasn’t expecting that! SO GOOD! 

182. Me Before You (2016) Directed by Thea Sharrock 

méh.

But Emilia, I want to be your best friend!

183. Late Night (2019) Directed by Nisha Ganatra

To Queens that almost coused my death because of how much a I laughed in this... it’s ligh, fun and dramtic and real... AMAZING!

184. Let It Snow (2019) Directed by Luke Snellin 

Kiernan Shipka and  Mitchell Hope singing The Whole of the Moon awakend my bissexuality.

Shameik Moore and Isabela Merced to!

185. When Harry Met Sally… (1989) Directed by Rob Reiner

MEG RYAN!!! 

So... this is the movie that every fanfic is based on? I really loved it!

186. Bringing Down the House (2003) Directed by Adam Shankman

Queen Latifah always brings a smile to my face... she’s perfect!

187. Joker (2019) Directed by Todd Phillips

Huum... Joaquin Phoenix it’s a very great actor, OMG! 

188. Penelope (2006) Directed by Mark Palansky 

It was very hard for me to watch this movie and not get distracted by James MacAvoy’s perfect face and body and not so perfect hair in this one, but does anybody really care? It’s beautiful James McAvoy! 

Also, the movie is so great! I didn’t knew about the plot and I was so surprised! It’s very, very good! 

I love the final scene when Penelope just let’s the children run wild while she swings with her hot boyfriend...

“Take of your mask!” ~proceds to kiss Christina Ricci very dramaticly~

189. Mad Money (2008) Directed by Callie Khouri

Everything about this movie was PERFECT

190. Baywatch (2017) Directed by Seth Gordon

Great opening scene, the rest was kind of a mess.

191. Noelle (2019) Directed by Marc Lawrence

CUTE! CUTE! CUTE! 

But I will complain about the lack of Bill Hader content.

192. Every Day (2018) Directed by Michael Sucsy

Another surprise this year, a very good one! 

It’s cute and dramatic, also, this actress kissed every teeneger and young adult in Hollywood!

193. Over Her Dead Body (2008) Directed by Jeff Lowell

A good and weird movie! Gave a few laughs. 

Paul Rudd is in it, so, totally worth it!

194. The Skeleton Twins (2014) Directed by Craig Johnson

A dramatic, surprising and “few good” comedy! 

I really wish I could hang out on Halloween with Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig...

195. Eat Pray Love (2010) Directed by Ryan Murphy

I didn’t quite understood her journey but I quite liked it. 

Veeeery long movie.

196. Death at a Funeral (2007) Directed by Frank Oz

197. Death at a Funeral (2010) Directed by Neil LaBute

I know I should have loved the original version more but the american version... I don’t know what it is (probably the many actors that I absolutely LOVE), but I coul not stop laughing! 

James Marsden was an absolute STAR! 

198. The Other Woman (2014) Directed by Nick Cassavetes

I wish I could personally thank Cameron Diaz for every great movie I watched because of her.

Thank you, Mrs. Diaz! 

That last scene was peak COMEDY!!!

199. The Back-Up Plan 2010 Directed by Alan Poul

JLo! PERFECT!

Honestly, I was thinking this movie was going to be very problematic, but it wasn’t that much... it was actually pretty cute! The birth scene was sacry and funny at the same time!! 

200. Muriel's Wedding 1994 Directed by P.J. Hogan

Don’t judge me, I didn’t liked it, it fact, It made me feel pretty shitty, so I just wnat to forget that it existis. 

[uomo-accattivante]

Interesting Operation Finale article that references Chris Weitz’s dad who was a real life U.S. secret agent and wrote about prominent Nazis.

Hollywood is still fighting the Nazis, or in the case of the new film “Operation Finale,” bringing them to on-screen justice.

Opening Labor Day weekend, the movie stars Oscar Isaac as Peter Malkin, the real-life Israeli intelligence agent whose undercover team seized Adolf Eichmann in Argentina in 1960 and smuggled the Holocaust overseer (played by Ben Kingsley ) out of the country to stand trial in Israel.

Eichmann was hanged in Israel in 1962. In a modern-day echo of his story, the last known Nazi collaborator living in the U.S. was deported earlier this month.

Nazis in uniform have served as some of cinema’s most constant villains. In the subgenre of movies about Nazi hunters and Holocaust revenge-seekers, fugitive henchmen of Hitler represent monsters in hiding, having melted into society as the world moved on.

In “Marathon Man” from 1976, Laurence Olivier portrayed a sadistic war criminal hoarding diamonds taken from Auschwitz. “The Boys from Brazil,” a sci-fi movie released in 1978, imagined Josef Mengele nurturing a flock of Hitler clones in Paraguay. In a 1989 adaptation of Simon Wiesenthal’s memoir “The Murderers Among Us,” Mr. Kingsley starred as the concentration-camp survivor and Nazi tracker who played a role in finding Eichmann.

Chris Weitz, the director of “Operation Finale,” says such thrillers offer the potential for an effective Hollywood hybrid: “a genre machine into which you can smuggle all kinds of meaning and inquiry.”

Shot with a script by first-time screenwriter Matthew Orton, “Operation Finale” sets up the suspense with a tip from a young woman in Buenos Aires being courted by Eichmann’s son, who doesn’t realize she’s Jewish. From there, a Mossad strike team assembles to kidnap Eichmann, who is living with his family and working in a factory under an assumed name.

For cinematic purposes, “Operation Finale” filmmakers condensed and heightened aspects of the episode’s true history, such as speeding up the chronology of the Israeli plot. But Mr. Weitz says the film is exacting in other details, such as portraying Eichmann’s trial in Israel.

“If you get things wrong, it can be as bad as providing fodder for Holocaust deniers,” he says.

The movie also explores the motivations of the Mossad operatives. Holed up in a Argentine safe house after they capture Eichmann, they struggle with their role in his fate.

Is it better to kill the war criminal themselves, keeping him in obscurity? Or bring him to public trial as an opportunity for national catharsis and a global message? As a Mossad team leader played by Lior Raz says, “We will judge our executioner and warn off any others that wish to follow his example.”

As a filmmaker who, with his older brother and fellow director Paul, helped bring the world the 1999 teen sex comedy “American Pie,” Mr. Weitz might seem an unlikely leader for “Operation Finale.” But the director, whose other films include the 2002 Hugh Grant comedy “About a Boy,” a 2009 “Twilight” sequel and the 2011 immigrant tale “A Better Life,” has a familiarity for Nazi Germany and its fallout.

His father, John Weitz, was the son of a former Prussian soldier and grew up in Berlin in a privileged Jewish family, which left Germany in 1933 when Hitler came to power. John eventually emigrated to the U.S., joined the Army and was recruited into the Office of Strategic Services, the predecessor of the Central Intelligence Agency. His World War II duties, Chris says, included searching for high-value prisoners in the liberated Dachau concentration camp, and going undercover to disrupt a German resistance cell.

Decades later, after becoming a fixture in New York society and building a successful fashion business, John Weitz also wrote two biographies: “Hitler’s Banker,” about former finance minister Hjalmar Schach t, and “Hitler’s Diplomat,” about former foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop.

As a teenager, Chris worked for his father as a research assistant and proofreader. He recalls trips to the New York Public Library, making photocopies of entire memoirs by German diplomats, as well as correspondence his father kept with von Ribbentrop’s personal secretary.

John Weitz died in 2002 at age 79. Looking back, his son Chris, 48, believes that his father, who didn’t sleep well and exhibited an “edge of danger,” was coping with the aftereffects of war. Instead of therapy, he wrote the Nazi histories as a way of “working out his thoughts and feelings through this academic exercise and immersion in the period,” the younger Mr. Weitz says.

In one scene, he added a historical fragment that he remembered from his father’s research: a joke about the irony that the looks of Hitler and some of his top lieutenants didn’t live up to their Aryan ideals.

“To be the perfect Nazi,” Mr. Kingsley’s character tells his Jewish captors, “you have to be as blond as Hitler, tall as Goebbels and as slim as Göring.”

###

[veilbetweendreamsandreality]

Blindspot Meet and Greet

Name/Nickname: Charlie

Age: 23

Where are you from: England

When did you jump aboard the Blindspot madness: The pilot, ‘Woe Has Joined”. It was a new television programme that looked interesting and I’ve had my mind blown most episodes.

Other fandoms you’re in/TV shows you watch: Doctor Who, The Tomorrow People (the 2013 series), Marvel (currently watching Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. series 3); Midnight, Texas.

Favourite Blindspot characters (main): Jane, Patterson and Roman.

Favourite Blindspot characters (guest or recurring): Shepherd(!), Rich.

Favourite ship(s): Jeller, Patterson and David, Roscar, Roman and Kat.

Favourite episode(s): 2x21, “Mom”.

Favourite season: Series 2.

Favourite tattoo/case: War formula tattoo case.

Favourite whatever you want: Favourite Rich quote, “He’s still clearly in love with you. He’s confused!” (Rich is Jeller’s biggest fanboy.)

If you were a Blindspot character, who would you be: I honestly don’t know, I am probably a mixture of Patterson and Jane. What does everyone else think?

One scene that left you with your jaw on the floor: Shepherd's reveal, especially the fact she’s Jane’s mother! I had a gut feeling Shepherd was a woman, but her mum?! Holy 😱.

One dead character you would bring back: Roman! Without a doubt; and (pre-“In Memory”,) Markos.

One guest star (who has appeared in less than three to five episodes) you want to bring back: Matthew Weitz. His character has grown on me.

One recurring character you’d love to have promoted to regular: Rich seems obvious, but I would like to see more of Afreen.

One actor/actress you would love to have guest star on the show (and what would they play): Adjoa Andoh. I don’t who she would play, but probably a relative of either Tasha or Edgar. Or someone from the FBI/CIA we haven't met yet. New director of the FBI maybe?

One forgotten storyline you wish they’d bring back or answer: Where are Bethany, Allie, Sarah and Sawyer?! Where/who is Kurt’s mother?

One country you want the show to visit next season: Greece.

What’s your craziest/favourite theory about the upcoming season: Tasha has been working with Blake since Shepherd's arrest, whether it’s an undercover CIA operation or something Tasha is doing of her own accord, I don't know. Remi. Remi/Avery interactions. Reller (Remi/Weller) interactions.

Share a little bit about yourself: I am writing my own stories and attempting to write a novel, I write poetry when the mood strikes. I am in the middle of writing a few Blindspot fanfictions and am constantly developing headcanons and original characters in my head.

[thingsmissed-blog1]

//My url for the url opinions thing? c:

Title: URL thingComments: BelowSent by: @matthewweitz

ROLEPLAYING/WRITING

My favorite muse(s) of theirs and why: I love Matthew Weitz and I am sure I will love your OC as well!

My favorite interaction/thread of theirs: Can I say ours? I love our threads so much! I am just in love with how they are together!

My thoughts on their unique characterization/interpretation of their muse(s): I have never seen the blindspot so I don’t know what his character is meant to be like but I love how he can be rude and JJ is sassy.

My thoughts on their writing style as a whole: Well, I love your writing in general so I think your writing style is perfect

Situation(s)/Plot(s) I’d love to see their muse(s) in: I would love to see him with someone that matches his rudeness and can be in a little battle between the two of them. 

Someone else I love seeing them interact with: I mean, I would love to see you interact with anyone that makes you happy! 

Anything else I want to say about their roleplaying: I love our things! I love your character so much already

IF WE KNOW EACH OTHER

What I Think Are Their Best Qualities: Humor, oh my gosh the jokes are just so funny to me! I think that your dirty humor is my favorite but that is because I am finally in a place in my life that I can enjoy it. 

What I Think Are Their Strengths: Writing, talking to people (at least you are easy to talk with when it comes to me)

A Memorable OOC Interaction Of Ours: Our talks are all over the place from our characters, to dirty jokes, to school things.

Why Others Should RP With Them: Oh my gosh, just because the mun is nice and you guys can have funny little conversations between replies and gush over icons as well with them!

How Others Should Approach Them: I think laying down a plot to them would be the first step and then go from there.

Other Roleplayers I’d Recommend To Them: Any roleplayers on my positivity week thing 

Anything else I want to say about them: You are awesome! 

IF WE HAVE/PLAN TO INTERACT TOGETHER

A plot I’d like to write with them:  We already have a greys based thread sort of going on. Plus the thread where they took a pregnancy test and found out that JJ was pregnant. I am not sure if we are going to put those two threads together or not so they may be connected or they aren’t.

A muse I want to introduce to them: Caitlin Jareau hands down. She is so full of life and is loved by her mother and Matthew having slept with someone that has a child would bring a bunch of different emotions to the table and to see how he would handle that would be interesting

A ship/broship I’d like to propose to them: Jennifer Jareau / Matthew Weitz * We are already doing it though.

A thread with them I’m excited about: Our threads! I am excited about our threads!

Anything else I want to say: Hmmmm….look forward to see how things are going to go with our muses!

[tribeca]

“But that's what's so wonderful about Tomlin's steady, sterling output. Just when you think you've seen all of her greatest hits, there's a bewitching B-side like The Late Show to surprise you with the mere potency of this actress' personal and pioneering style. It's next to impossible to imagine the likes of Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Lisa Kudrow, and Jane Lynch existing in our current comedy universe without Tomlin's game and guiding influence. We will always need Lily Tomlin on our screens, but it’s important to remember that we won't have her forever. I hope that Grandma and Grace and Frankie are enough to vitalize a Tomlin resurgence among audiences both familiar and uninformed. In an ideal world, both projects would inspire more writers, directors, producers, and casting agents to utilize Tomlin in more crucial, creative, and challenging ways, since she doesn't seem particularly interested in slowing down. Her peerless comic touch shows no signs of wear and tear. That gummy grin remains a magical force in any medium. There is still so much she has to show us. There is still so much we have to see.”

In honor of LGBT Pride Month, we're highlighting great films about LGBT subjects from Tribeca Film Festivals past.

In Paul Weitz's 2015 comedy Grandma, the glorious Lily Tomlin achieves yet another career peak as a grieving lesbian poet tasked with helping her granddaughter (Julia Garner) procure an abortion in this salty, soulful character sketch.

After all these years, Tomlin is still the indefatigable and indomitable queen of comedy. Matthew Eng explains why.

(Source: tribecafilm.com)

[more--than--anything]

Episode Review: "Just have a little faith, people." [S05E08]

So… can you dry your eyes long enough to work on this review?

Y: Excuse me, but how dare you?

L: I’m still dehydrated. This might be the first time ever that I really did not want to rewatch an episode. Or even think about it. In terms of fictional demises... Patterson’s is up there with Han Solo’s death on my list of “things I will never recover from.”

The case this week is two cases, actually, until… well, until it’s not a case at all. What exactly happened in those painful and intense 42 minutes?

L: Jane’s Cerberus tattoo shows up in a newspaper ad in three different cities: New York, Denver, and Cape Town; three towns where Jane has lived. The company in the ad doesn’t exist, but the tattoo decodes (sadly, we are not told how) to a secure FTP site, which contains a very complex, very processor-heavy digital puzzle that Patterson and Rich immediately start trying to crack.

But the tattoo is far from the only thing the team has to worry about. The tracker the Wellers placed on the cannisters of ZIP is moving, and Patterson and Rich locate it on a container ship heading across the Atlantic to the US. Even more worrying are the messages Ivy is sending to Madeline, “On the move. Ready to strike.” It looks like whatever Madeline is planning is going to happen soon. Trying to get ahead of the game, Rich hooks Kurt and Jane up with a ride on a cargo plane heading to the east coast with an unnamed friend of Rich’s in the “import/export business.”

Weller is still puzzling over the signal Allie gave in her interview. “Mission is a go.” He had assumed it was meant for him, but what mission? It would make more sense if she was signaling someone else, if she was working with someone to help the team and send them the tattoos. Tasha agrees that the timing would work out; the ads were placed after Allie’s press conference. Now that the team has received a third “message” from their mysterious friend, Patterson is able to figure out (again, sadly without a technical explanation) where the messages originated: Malta. The only person they know in Malta is Jake Keaton, who got exiled there by the CIA at the end of season four. He is a likely candidate to be helping the team, so Tasha sets out to pay him a visit.

Keaton confirms to Tasha that he sent the team the messages, helped by Allie and Boston. Boston went off the grid when the team rescued Rich, but he left the Cerberus puzzle with Keaton to release if one of them got caught. And Tasha tells Keaton that the team is tracking ZIP that Madeline is moving across the Atlantic to the US, where she plans to weaponize it. Before Tasha can tell him more, she realizes that his laptop camera is uncovered and pointed right at them. I love their last exchange: Tasha asks him how his family is—guessing correctly that Madeline is using them to control Keaton—and he confirms, “They’ve been better,” as they draw their weapons on each other. Tasha tries to help him, but they’re both trapped. Madeline bursts in, and Keaton tells Tasha, “Good luck,” before he tries take out Madeline and is shot himself in the process. Tasha doesn’t go down without a fight, but she ends the day in Madeline’s custody.

Patterson is still grinding away, trying to solve the Cerberus tattoo, without success. “Every time I solve one quadrant of this thing, the whole thing shifts and then it gives me another part to solve. It’s like it’s a... This puzzle is... toying with us.” She realizes with horror that longer they interact with the puzzle, the more hints at their location they are providing. And those hints have led Madeline and Ivy right to their door. Weller and Jane never make it out of the elevator; Ivy uses the local police to force them to surrender their weapons, knowing that they won’t kill cops to escape. Below them in the bunker, Patterson and Rich pack up to leave, setting bombs the server room to destroy any electronic evidence they leave behind. Unfortunately, there is no earth-shattering kaboom when Patterson flips the switch, so she has to go back to the server room to improvise a detonator timer out of her watch to trigger the explosives. Rich tries to divert Ivy’s team, but her goons get him, and under their gunfire, Patterson isn’t able to escape the server room before the detonator hits zero. And goddamn it, I will never be able to watch that scene without crying, but the whole sequence: flashing to the timer, to Rich, to Patterson mouthing “I’m sorry,” to the flames raining down behind the door, while the music drowns out everything but the sounds of my sobs... It’s horrible and awful and everything hurts, but it was so freaking well done. I’d say, “Bravo!” if I could get anything out besides sad dolphin noises.

This week delivers, by far, the biggest, most painful loss the team has ever suffered. Being captured by Madeline is bad. Losing Keaton as an ally and knowing that he betrayed the team rubs salt in the wound. But losing Patterson? There just aren’t words for this. This is a defeat that feels impossible to recover from. Madeline has won. And the thing that really gets me here is that this kind of all-hope-is-lost moment usually happens at the end of the penultimate episode of the season. But we still have three more episodes ahead of us. I’m happy we’re not quite at the end—because I will never be ready to say goodbye to our Tattoo Squad—but I’m also terrified because that means whatever is coming will be even worse before it (maybe) gets better.

But any way you look at it, this was a hell of an episode. It was masterfully cut from scene to scene, building intensity, and well, it also ripped my heart out, shredded it up, threw it on the floor, and stomped on the pieces. Well done, writers. You brilliant, unfeeling bastards.

Y: What is there to say here? I mean, Madeline found Keaton. Tortured enough intel out of him to be able to find the team. And then we cried. As far as how things have been going for our team, this week is the worst they’ve had since... forever? Four of them are in custody, one is dead, and their friends with means are locked up, in hiding, and dead. The only thing going for them is a lab tech and her not very trustworthy sidekick. Very very not good. Seriously, and I know it’s bad luck to say this, but can it even get any worse at this point? What are they gonna do? Shave Weller’s beard? Put him in another bad wig? I cannot handle any of this anymore!

It’s a good thing we watch the episode a few times before we properly start reviewing. The only thing I got from watching it live is the emotional impact, to be honest. It was such an intense and emotionally exhausting episode that it was really hard to pay attention to everything. But watching it a second time made me realize just how thematically heavy this episode was. And you know how I love a good thematically-rich episode.

Obviously most plot lines in this episode intersect, except maybe for what The Resistance was up to, but we try our best to break it up in a way that makes our lives easier and also makes it easier for you guys to keep track of our ramblings.

Anyway, everywhere you look in this episode you find one or two of these themes being tackled: the choices one makes and protecting one’s family. They’re not themes that are foreign to Blindspot, but this week they kind of take center stage.

These themes were ones almost every character had to deal with this week, and for the sake of this section, I just wanted to talk about Madeline Burke for a moment. It’s funny how we’re just coming off of Madeline making a very clear and controversial choice of zipping her own son, of choosing her mission over her child—over doing what should be the most instinctual thing for a mother to do. And this choice carries with her into this episode. It is a dark cloud that hovers her throughout the episode and it’s interesting how we see her try to project that guilt onto other people, mainly Tasha. What’s also interesting is comparing the choices that Madeline and Ivy for that matter make compared to the decisions that the team and their friends make, and for once on this show, the line between good and evil isn’t blurred.

I think the most important decision Madeline makes this week is to take the team in alive. We know she has no problem killing them—she did, after all, drone them in Iceland. I understand why she’d want the glory of being the one who captured them. But you know what, Maddie? This is one decision that’s going to come back to haunt you. You just arrested the four most dangerous people and you also killed their most precious Patty. I do not feel sorry for what they’re going to do to you.

L: We’ve been rooting for Madeline to get her comeuppance pretty much since the moment she arrived on our screens. But after this week... You know, I finally think I understand her hatred of the FBI after her father’s death. After watching what happened to Patterson—and then Madeline’s smug gloating about it—I think my hatred of her might be even stronger than her hatred of the FBI. And that’s good, because in a weird and twisted way, it’s helping me to relate to her.

Bad guys who are bad for the sake of being bad are boring. It’s the ones who are striving for a compelling goal, driven by some uncompromising motivation, that really get you invested in the battle to stop them. And similarly, a bad guy who is just bad is less interesting than one with a rigid, if somewhat inverted, moral code that they can’t compromise. That’s what made Shepherd such a great villain; she had horrible plans, yes, but she had this deep belief that she was actually helping to make the world a better place, and it meant she had to make hard sacrifices to reach that goal. All of which made her fascinating to watch on our screen.

For a long time, we struggled to understand what made Madeline tick. And because we didn’t really understand, it was hard to see her as the same kind of threat as Shepherd or even Crawford. Even after we learned about her father and how she blamed the FBI for his death, it was hard to translate that into something more than just distaste. But in the past few episodes, wow, she’s really turned the knob up to eleven.

Last week we saw an unprecedented degree of emotion from Madeline when she zipped Greg. And this week, we see even more. We see her dwelling on the trail of destruction she’s left in her wake. We see genuine fear when Tasha attacks her. And we see her replaying Tasha’s words in her head. “You zipped your own child. Was it worth it?” It’s not much by normal human standards, true, but it’s more than we’ve seen so far. Just as we root a little harder for a good guy who thinks about giving up before pressing on, a bad guy who falters for just a moment becomes that much more interesting to us.

Because it’s not just enough to bring Madeline down anymore. No, we need to see her know that she’s been beat. We need to see her recognize what it’s cost her. And we need to see her regrets, her recognition that it wasn’t worth the cost. It needs to be a defeat on absolutely every level, and it needs to be complete, without the slightest glimmer of hope left to her.

And honestly, after the crushing losses this week, focusing on that goal is what’s going to keep me (and the team, judging by their faces in the NYO at the end) going.

Y: One more thing I wanted to touch upon in this section is the choice of tattoo used in this episode. I think it’s safe to assume that this is the last tattoo the team is going to work on, and I love the choice of it being the Cerberus tattoo. Don’t worry, I’m not going to go too deep into Greek mythology and symbolism here, but it’s fun to consider these things, especially considering how important mythology has been to the show and how important visuals and graphics have been in the Blindspot universe.

Cerberus’s three heads are said to represent the past, the present, and the future—all of which are themes and topics that are essential to Blindspot’s narrative tools and mythology. And this tattoo, being the last one the team works on and ultimately being the key to their “demise,” is a powerful parallel to Cerberus being the final threshold and the last creature one encounters before crossing from one world to the other.

I’m sure there’s someone out there more equipped than I am to properly analyze all this, but in my humble understanding, I thought this was an interesting thing to bring up.

The Resistance is still resisting, even if they don’t exactly agree on how they should be going about it. How strong do we think their resolve is?

Y: You just gotta love The Resistance. For the most part they haven’t really been that successful, or at least they haven’t really been able to see the effect of their efforts, but they still try and try and try.

You also gotta love that this little resistance is made up of such an unlikely duo. Weitz, who for the most part has been a recurring character and generally an annoyance the team could never really get rid of. And then you have Afreen who up until last season was just a background character, and then just a bit part supporting character with a few lines every bunch of episodes. We didn’t really know much about her except that Patterson trusted her in the lab. Who knew she was such a total badass with an incorruptible moral compass and zero bullshit meter?

This week the Resistance gets access to Shirley’s computer and his database of bribery and blackmail. Because everyone has one of those on their desktop, right? After some back and forth, some banter, and some of Afreen’s trademark owning of Weitz, they decide that Afreen should corrupt the files to remove the leverage Madeline has on these people.

One of the best things about these two working together is that they cannot be more different in every aspect that matters, and Afreen has come out of nowhere to be the one person who can finally stand toe-to-toe with Weitz and really make him shake in his boots. Also, the chemistry between Aaron Abrams and Ami Sheth is just so good. Those two work so well off of each other, it’s almost magical. And they might be the C plot in the episodes where they appear, but they absolutely steal the show every single time.

Afreen is so morally incorruptible while Weitz is morally questionable. Afreen is driven by serving the greater good and doing the right thing, while Weitz flirts endlessly with what’s right and what’s right for him. Afreen has no tolerance for bullshit while Weitz… well I might be mistaken, but isn’t bullshit his middle name? Having these two work together is a stroke of genius by the writers.

Afreen is initially reluctant to work with Weitz. And then again reluctant to corrupt the files because it means she gives him an easy way out after finding out exactly what Madeline has on him. She’s so adamantly a champion of what’s right, and it’s a beautiful thing to watch, especially since she’s not a pushover. She puts her foot down and even though Weitz has the more senior job title, in this relationship, Afreen is the boss. And somehow, working with her has put Weitz’s redemption arc in high gear.

But the thing with Matthew is that… it’s always one step forward, ten steps back. He’s so infuriating. And after what just happened with Keaton, I really hope we don’t see Weitz relapse again. The good thing for Weitz is that he has Afreen there to kick his ass every time he screws up, something Keaton didn’t have. And Matthew Weitz just keeps getting all these second chances… but some day those second chances will stop coming and he will have to live with the last choice he made. So, Matthew… are you going to start making the right choices? Because we’re all really running out of time, and we need you to choose a side once and for all.

L: We are definitely seeing Afreen taking charge of Weitz in this episode, and words cannot express how much I love this. (At least one thing we didn’t see coming—this quirky partnership—is awesome, right?!) I love how she refuses to help him until he confesses all of his sins, all of the leverage Madeline has on him. She refuses to give him copies of Madeline’s blackmail files, telling him point blank that she thinks he’s just going to use them himself. And then she tells him to go get her a cup of coffee (and a blueberry scone!) while she works on corrupting Shirley’s files. And the best part of all of this is that Weitz—who is smarmy and self-serving but not stupid—realizes that he’s lost control of this situation and follows her lead. Weitz is many things, but he’s not a leader. He’s smart and able to figure out the right angle to make a situation work out to his benefit—whether he’s building a case against Mayfair or working his way in the directorship of the FBI—but he’s always struggled with assuming responsibility and giving direction to others.

Afreen is both lab-smart and people-smart, and she really understands what makes Weitz tick. “I know you want to be the kind of person that does the right thing. I just still don’t know if you will.” Because she understands him so well, she’s able to anticipate what he might do and cut him off at the pass—whether that is preventing him from using Madeline’s blackmail files for his own benefit or stopping him when he’s about to run away. In times of stress, we tend to revert to what is easiest and most familiar, and for Weitz, that is definitely covering his own ass. But Afreen won’t stop pushing him to be the better person that she knows he could be. Maybe it’s not quite as effortless as the team inspiring Rich to mend his crooked ways, but so far, it’s still been pretty effective. And I loved the way this played out in our second slow-motion, music-swelling scene of this episode, when Madeline and Ivy bring the team back into the NYO. Even though the team is mostly expressionless, you can see the panic and helplessness on Weitz’s face as they are paraded past. He truly believed that they were eventually going to succeed and return triumphant to take down Madeline, which would take the pressure off him to step up and save the day. But now that he knows they won’t, that he (and Afreen) are the only ones who are still able to stop Madeline. Your move, Matthew.

As much as I love the way Afreen seems so much braver than Weitz, I do want to note that she doesn’t have quite the same perspective he has. She’s aware that Madeline killed both Briana and Susan Shah, but she wasn’t there when Madeline cold-bloodedly gunned Briana down. There is a difference between being aware that something happened and experiencing it firsthand the way Weitz did. She is able to react to the threat Madeline poses intellectually. Weitz, on the other hand, has a far more visceral response. He’s reacting from his gut, his human instinct for self-preservation urging him to flee the impending danger. As much as I want to smack him and tell him to toughen up, I can’t entirely blame him for his all-too-human failings here.

But I am also even more worried now for Afreen. Everything she’s done up until now has been kind of behind-the-scenes, with no digital trail. Madeline might have her suspicions about Afreen, but nothing that she can prove. But breaking into Shirley’s computer from inside the NYO... where we know Madeline has every inch under surveillance... Afreen just stuck her neck out, and we know Madeline won’t hesitate to chop it off the second she figures out what Afreen was up to. Honestly, I kind of wish Weitz had turned the tables and convinced Afreen to leave town with him!

I also want to point out the tiny arc we see in Afreen in this episode. We see her begin to take charge of the lab, to assume control of it rather than just hold it until Patterson returns. She is rearranging the furniture—and clearing out the lab at lunchtime to work on special projects with Weitz. Which makes the moment at the end, when Madeline almost gleefully announces Patterson’s death to the lab team, even more poignant. No matter how much Afreen might have wanted to be in charge of the lab, we know that these are not the conditions under which she would have wanted it to happen. Turning the screens dark is such a quiet but powerful way to pay tribute to the person whose lab this truly was... That moment of data silence in Patterson’s honor once again makes me cry all the tears.

Y: Oh! The team’s return to the NYO! I cannot believe I almost forgot to talk about this! I realize I’ve said this about practically half the scenes I’ve talked about but this one is the absolute best. Seriously, probably one of my favorite sequences in Blindspot—the way it was shot and edited, the music, the close ups, the acting—everything was so good. Not a single word was spoken but so much emotion just burst through the screen. It was so chilling and menacing and heart breaking. Everyone involved did an absolutely spectacular job translating this momentous scene from paper to screen. From the smug look on Madeline’s face, to the terrifying death glare that never leaves Ivy’s face, to the shock on Weitz’s, the heartbreak on Afreeen’s, and then the pure rage on every single member of the team. And it’s impossible to forget that not only have they been arrested after fighting so hard against these false accusations, but they’re only a few hours into learning about Patterson’s death.

I hate this show.

In the last episode, two members of the mysterious group that has been secretly helping the team were unveiled. This week, we learn more about what they’ve been up to. How much help can the team hope for now?

L: Weller was right when he guessed that Allie was signaling someone else to continue the mission. And we were pretty excited when we learned that it was Keaton. But I’m even more excited now that we’ve gotten their “origin story.”

It’s no secret that we adore Allie, and finding out that she is essentially the ringleader of our band of renegades, recruiting both Keaton and Boston to her team, wasn’t really all that surprising. Allie has always been as strong as they come. She’s smart and she’s determined. And this is her family that’s at stake. Kurt may be a “mama bear” when it comes to protecting his “cubs,” but Allie is a literal mama bear. Her daughter’s happiness and safety are at risk, and Allie isn’t about to let Madeline destroy her family.

And this team just makes so much sense: Keaton has access to CIA intel but can’t move around. Boston has the tech skills to plant puzzles that will catch the team’s notice but can’t be easily cracked by their enemies. And Allie knows all about how to stay off the grid and escape the attention of law enforcement. (I especially loved the revelation that Allie was the one to trigger the screens in Times Square!) They really are an espionage dream team.

Y: One of my absolute favorite parts of the episode was the flashback we got to how the little group of vigilantes was formed. It’s no secret that the three people involved in it are among my favorite on the show, and I was still reeling from the reveal from last week. Although it didn’t end the way I would’ve wanted it to end, it was still a satisfying storyline in the episode because it was so well done.

Of course, I’m going to start with Allison Knight because Allison Knight is the absolute best. That’s a scientifically proven fact. I had no doubts that she’s the one who started all this and seeing her go straight into action just seconds into watching the news report on tv makes me love her even more. Allie is so fiercely protective of her family, and her loyalty to them and her faith in them is unwavering. It’s a joy to watch. I also sighed in relief to know she made sure Bethany (and I’m assuming Conor) is safe during all this.

Allie goes straight to Keaton which is a decision that does make a lot of sense. He’s worked with the team and knows that all these accusations are a lie. She knows he is good at his job and will be able to get access to information they need. And Allie being Allie, she doesn’t need to long to convince him.

Next is Boston, who in these few months has apparently become quite the successful artist and enjoying that life. But Boston is still Boston and we know he loves a good adventure. He also loves Rich and cares about this team a little bit, even if he won’t admit it. And given the chance to do some hacking and designing a theatrical event in Times Square? You know Boston will jump right on that!

L: The tattoos—and the complicated puzzles they represent—are the backbone of this show. They are artistic, challenging, and chock full of secrets. And let’s be real, they aren’t something that the average person, or even an above-average person like Allie or Keaton, can duplicate. Boston is one of the few characters on this show who can go to toe-toe with Patterson and Rich, and he might be the only one who can design tattoo references that only they can decode. So it makes complete sense that he would be the one to design these hidden messages.

I’ll admit I am still puzzling over the last tattoo, though. Keaton tells Tasha that Boston gave it to him and told him to release it if one of them got caught. But the tattoo is a trap that leads Madeline to the team. So either Keaton was lying about Boston designing it, or he was lying when he said that he didn’t know what it meant. If it was a trap that Madeline set, then someone on her team must have designed it. But who on her team has the technical savvy (and sheer geekiness) to set a trap to catch Patterson? Up until now, Ivy’s team has mostly seemed like just hired muscle. A trap like this would be far more sophisticated than anything we’ve seen them do thus far. So it’s more likely that Boston designed it and Keaton was Keaton lying to Tasha when he said that he didn’t know what it did. He knew it would allow someone to pinpoint the team’s location, and he told Madeline about it so she could use that information to capture the team. But in that case, what did Boston plan to use it for? And will its use draw him out of the woodwork (pretty please!) in the next episode?

Because, let’s face it, we need a superhero—or at least a skilled hacker—to sweep in here right now.

Y: That’s a pretty interesting question you ask… honestly I hadn’t thought about it much watching the episode—I was too busy stuffing chocolate into my face hole—but now that I do it’s worth contemplating. I don’t think the show is going to give us much of an answer but if I may venture a theory, I think that Boston did design it and he designed it to do just that. And they all knew what it does. Keaton said it was designed to be released when one of them gets captured.

I think in such a case, the other two would be compromised or in danger of being caught themselves. They knew that was a possibility and if it happened then they too would need to go on the run. But they would also still want to help the team. So maybe Boston designed it so that they could track down the team’s location so that the remaining members of this little group could join them. I don’t know… it seems a bit of a shaky theory, but I cannot see Boston purposely designing it to sabotage the team.

Speaking of sabotaging the team… let’s talk about Keaton now.

What sets Allie and Keaton apart in this group is that they both work for the government and the stakes are that much higher for them but so is the motive, the desire to set things straight because they’re entangled in this mess of corruption. Their entire careers and lives have been part of this, and moving forward they will be defined by how this unravels and their role in it.

Allie’s choices are clear and straightforward. She will protect her family—all of her family—no matter what. This includes Bethany and Conor, and it also includes Kurt and Jane and the others. We saw her last week, just how badass she is, and saw how she managed to do both. This is a woman whose moral compass is as straight as can be. Also, she’s totally the most awesome character in like... ever.

Is my Allie bias showing? Good. Because Allie deserves all the unabashed admiration that she can get.

As for Keaton, his situation, his journey and his character, while they bear some similarities to Allie’s, are also different. And the juxtaposition of Keaton’s choices with Allie’s from last week—and also for that matter Kurt’s for the past few episodes—explains why things ended the way they did for Jake. And I’m not going to lie, the Keaton stuff in this episode absolutely destroyed me. I’m a huge fan of Keaton and the journey the writers put him on and how they’ve taken a character we first met as Jane’s torturer and turned him into someone the team consider an ally and at least one team member considers a friend and see him go as far as betray his country to help them.

Which is why it was so hard watching this episode. A part of me just knew in that opening scene of someone being tortured that it would be Keaton. I don’t know why but I just did. And the poetic justice in all this has not gone over my head. The first episode we see him, Keaton is torturing Jane. And in the last episode we see him, Keaton is being tortured because of… well… Jane and the rest of her team. Can we count this as Keaton having paid for what he did to Jane? That it’s all come full circle?

I really feel horrible for Keaton. When we find out that he’s filming his meeting with Tasha and streaming the video to Madeline and essentially betraying the team, I felt a dagger go through my chest because this one really hurt. Keaton has come a long way and for the most part even though he and team never really saw eye to eye on most things and liked to be thorns in each other’s sides, he was always more or less on the same side as them. And that dynamic always worked. They didn’t especially enjoy working with him and he felt the same way but still, they always did for the greater good and it was always a good thing.

So that’s why when we found out he’s betraying the team I wanted to absolutely cry. But then we found out why he was doing that—what Ivy and Madeline had done to him and then Madeline having his family—and I wanted to cry some more. From the moment we truly started get to know Keaton, we’ve known that his daughter and his wife are his pressure point. And here’s where the parallel to both Allie and Kurt comes in. Keaton had a choice to make and he picked the one that he thought would protect his family. And for him, that was not really a choice because Madeline didn’t give him much of that. I mean, who wouldn’t make the choice that Keaton made in his situation?

Well, Kurt and Allie wouldn’t… but that doesn’t make me judge Jake honestly because he doesn’t have the faith and the support system that those two have. Allie had the advantage of knowing Madeline couldn’t touch her family. I have no idea where she’s hidden Bethany and Conor, but if anyone knows how to hide people, it’s Allie. And what Keaton also doesn’t have in this situation is the support system that Kurt has—essentially Jane. We saw Kurt come close to abandoning the mission and taking the risk of going after Ivy to try and negotiate and exchange for Allie in last’s week’s episode. And he probably would’ve done that if Jane had not been by his side to talk him out of it and promise him that there is another way of doing this. Keaton didn’t have any of that. He just had the “help us or we kill your family” choice and he did what any father put in this situation would do.

I really hate Madeline for doing this to him. To all of them but you know, in this situation… she made Keaton have his last act be one of betrayal to the team. And honestly, Keaton doesn’t have the same experience with her as the team does. And Tasha is right when she says that there was no win for him in this. All Keaton had was Madeline’s word that helping her meant protecting his family. But you know he regretted it. You could read it all over his face in the last scene with Tasha. And it was so heartbreaking for both of them. These two had become close friends and to have things go down like this was hard to watch.

And watching Keaton spend most of this episode with Tasha reminded me of the season 2 finale, the first time those two really spent time together, and made me think of just how far they’ve come from then, and how far Keaton has come… We’ve said goodbye to a lot of characters this season—some main characters and some supporting—and as far as the latter category goes, this was absolutely the hardest to deal with, because it was not just the fact that Keaton died but how it all went down and how in the end he still tried to do the right thing despite everything.

Jake Keaton has had one of the most interesting arcs on this show. It may have been turbulent and unconventional and controversial and divisive, but dammit it was good. And now he is gone. And I am sad.

L: I am too.

Like you, somehow I knew that was Keaton when we saw Ivy torturing someone at the start of the episode. Maybe it’s because of the irony: In the first scene in the first episode where we see Keaton, he is the torturer, and in the first scene in this episode, he is being tortured. I can’t decide what applies better here: “What goes around comes around” or “Live by sword, die by the sword.” I’m gonna go with the second, because if there is one thing that we’ve learned about Keaton over the years, it’s that he’s a company man. He didn’t torture Jane because he took pleasure in it; he was trying to do his job, protecting the security of the US from someone who posed a threat to it. He worked hard at his job for his country and for his family. Even though we didn’t like some of his actions, we couldn’t argue with his motives.

And I agree, to see his arc come to such an abrupt end in this fashion really hurt. He was a good ally when he worked with the team, and he tried to help the team while they were on the run. We can clearly see that he didn’t want to betray Tasha and the team, but with his family’s safety on the line, he made the only choice he could. And in the end, he chose to try to help Tasha, to kill Madeline, knowing that he was signing his own death warrant. And I suppose that’s our only consolation. In his last moments, he chose to go out a hero, trying one last time to help the team. And that’s how we’ll have to remember him, I think.

I’m angry at Madeline for what she did to him, but I’m also weirdly angry that we weren’t able to really process and mourn his loss before it was overshadowed by another. I can’t handle so many traumas so close together!

The team collectively and individually faced what was probably the worst day of their lives. I mean… it was pretty tough… there is no other way of putting it without bursting into tears. Where does this leave them, both individually and as a group?

L: I’m just gonna rip the bandaid off and start with Patterson. Oh, William. I can’t even think “Patterson” without tearing up. And I will say, again, that the scenes leading up to her death were just amazing. The writing, the cinematography, the music, and of course, Ashley Johnson’s performance. It was so incredible. And I sincerely hope I never ever sit through another scene like that again, because my poor little heart just couldn’t take it. I completely broke down and sobbed. And I’ve cried every time I’ve rewatched the episode. And once we’re done this review, I might never be able to watch this episode again, unless I need to donate tears for some unknown cause.

And it’s not just that scene. Everything that leads up to that point hints at what is to come, even though we don’t want to go there. It starts with the unveiling of this week’s tattoo. The team is... not enthusiastic enough to suit Patterson. “Come on, people. I get it. You have a lot on your minds, but... these are the tattoos. We used to love these.” In all likelihood, this is the last tattoo the team will solve together, and it feels like the writers are using Patterson to draw attention to this moment, so we can say goodbye to the tattoo squad as group, too.

And the goodbyes continue as Patterson sees each team member off on their respective journeys. She hands each of them a little Tamagotchi-like digital pet to take care of. She tells Tasha to tap its nose to show it affection, and Tasha taps Patterson’s nose in response. She gives Weller his and tells him that he’s “like a mama bear, anyone who gets between you and your cubs will get torn to shreds” (and because he’s scruffy). We know how fierce Weller has gotten when something’s happened to Patterson or his other “cubs” in the past (and we see him break down when Rich tells him that Patterson didn’t make it out). Jane tells Patterson, “I was just thinking about how you push buttons to look after us. We’re kinda like your virtual pets.” Weller agrees and thanks Patterson for all the times she’s kept them alive out in the field. And then Patterson tells Rich—with all sincerity—“You are the best hacker I know. And you’re a pretty awesome person, too.” If she were to have a deathbed scene, it seems like these are all the things that Patterson would say to the team, and they would say to her.

I’m trying to find some comfort in the idea that they did get to say their goodbyes, even if they didn’t realize that’s what they were doing at the time.

But the internet loves nothing more than a good conspiracy theory, and the second this episode ended, it lit up with people insisting that Patterson must have survived. In the interest of full disclosure, I am reluctant to get on this train because I just can’t bear to get my hopes up only to have them dashed to pieces, but even I must admit that there are a few clues we could cling to.

Patterson is the team’s tech goddess, and a lot of my hopes rest on tech. The first gadget of hope is the Beaconer device they got from Ice Cream that they’ve been using to follow Madeline and Ivy’s communication. When Patterson and Rich are clearing out the bunker, she puts it in her bag, and it’s with her in the server room at the end. “We need to protect this device at all costs. Intercepting her private messages will be the only thing we have to take her down.” If Patterson is alive, then the device is still operational and in her possession, and the team still has an edge over Madeline. (More importantly: Tasha didn’t tell Keaton about the device, so Madeline doesn’t know that Patterson is spying on her.)

And then there are the little digital pets that Patterson gave every member of the team. They’re not just adorable; they are her way of contacting the team. Sure, Ivy’s goon squad probably patted the team down and took all of their weapons and personal effects when they brought them in. But then again, they aren’t real, trained FBI employees, so it’s possible that they just collected the obvious weapons and left their 1990’s keychain toys alone. Imagine one of those little gadgets chirping at the team and giving them all equal shots of shock and hope. “This is gonna tell you what your next move is,” Patterson said to Tasha. And man, I’m not gonna lie, I very much want that to be true.

And then there is Patterson herself. “This is not over,” she says to Rich as she stuffs the Beaconer into her bag, followed shortly by “I always have a plan B.” She tells Rich tunnels are full of “refuge spots” in the event of a cave-in. Some of them were filled in, but others remain. It is possible that there was one in the server room; even if it didn’t go all the way to the surface, if it had a solid door between her and the explosion, it could have provided enough shelter to shield her from the blast. “There is nobody I have more confidence in in the entire world than you, including me,” Rich tells her. If there was a way out of that room, Patterson would be the one to find it.

“Just have a little faith, people,” Patterson tells the team while she’s working on the puzzle. And “having faith” and “taking a leap of faith” have been ongoing themes this season. And if Patterson wants us to have a little faith in her....

Well. Who are we to argue?

Y: Did you really have to start with Patterson? I was hoping we would keep her until the end and then I could distract you with chocolate and Jeller gifs until you forgot about it.

You know what’s funny? That whole entire scene felt like such an out-of-body experience for me. I still remember watching it, remember what I thought while watching it, and remember what I felt what watching it. And I never knew the true meaning of denial until then. I have to admit I didn’t cry, because I didn’t believe it was happening. I just couldn’t understand what was happening on the screen. Because how can any of it make any sense? This is Patterson. Patterson. Our Patterson! Our MVP. Our LeBron. This cannot happen. This isn’t happening.

And the denial continues to be strong.

I’ve read all the analysis and theories and the intellectual breakdown of hints and clues of how Patterson could’ve survived, and I hope they’re right, that somehow she did. But all I feel is numb. I don’t know… I’m clinging to the fact that Patterson always has a plan B and that we didn’t see a body. On Blindspot, we’ve learned that if we don’t see the body post explosion then there is a chance the exploded person could have survived.

And here’s the thing. Remember the last time this happened? Yeah, it was Borden. We all assumed he died in that explosion, and then he showed up again very much alive. It would be quite the parallel if the same thing happens with Patterson, given the connection between the two characters. We already saw the same thing with Keaton—torturing Jane in his introduction to the show and then being tortured himself in his exit from the show. It would be a nice touch if Patterson pulls a Borden on us and returns to save her family.

Because let’s face it, at this point, the only way the team can get out of this is if they have someone on the outside with Patterson’s IQ helping them out. Jane and Kurt’s comments about Patterson protecting them from behind her computers and keeping them alive has to be some sort of foreshadowing… actually all those moments with the virtual pets, with Tasha and Kurt and Jane, with Rich later in the bunker… those were not goodbyes. They couldn’t be.

And this is why Patterson cannot be dead. But also because it’s Patterson and I am still rowing down The Nile and refusing to accept it.

And also, they wouldn’t do that to Bill Nye, would they?

Can we stop talking about Patterson now and talk about someone else? Can we talk about Rich for example? Rich and his beautiful journey of redemption and becoming the heart and soul of the team?

This week, Rich was once again all of this. He brought his usual brand of humor to lighten things around the bunker. He also pulled his weight in solving this week’s case by getting in touch with one of his friends and securing a covert flight back to the States for Jane and Kurt, and when things got really bad, he was, again, incredible. Both conversations between Rich and Patterson are probably my favorites in this episode. I guess the emotional impact was bigger because shit was hitting the fan when they happened, unlike with Tasha or Jane and Kurt, when it was a routine tech briefing before heading out.

The best part of Rich’s speech was the amount of self-realization in there. We saw a bit of it last season when Jane came back from her Remi phase and she had that moment with Rich in the van. And we saw more of it here. A huge part of Rich’s redemption has relied on him owning up to his past and identifying his mistakes and learning from them and realizing what parts to hold on to and what parts to change.

And that has given us one of the best characters ever, which remains true to his essence but allowed him to grow and learn and evolve and become so self-aware that he has the freedom and intelligence to really make himself who he knows he deserves to be.

And finally, we have to give Ennis credit to how he played those scenes when the thermite went off and he watched Patterson disappear in the flames and when he’s thrown into the military vehicle with Jane and Kurt. He absolutely destroyed me. I don’t think we’ve ever seen Rich so broken, so absolutely destroyed that he cannot even speak. Dammit, he was just so good, and his pain and heartache just exploded through the screen.

L: My god, yes. Ennis destroyed me in those scenes. I was in shock and denial about what was happening on my screen, but his reaction was so visceral that it just forced you to accept what you didn’t want to.

And I agree; those two definitely-not-goodbye scenes between him and Patterson, when they admitted how much respect they have for each other, while also saying without words how much their friendship means to each of them? Man. Those choked me up almost as much as that scene-I-want-to-forget.

So let’s move on to Tasha, who is having the second-worst day on the team. We talked a lot about Keaton and his arc, but we can’t ignore Tasha’s role in that journey. Just as we saw the team inspire Rich and even Weitz, Keaton went from viewing them as competition to being a fan of theirs, too. So much so that he recruited Tasha to work with him, his own way to try to produce the kind of results that the team made seem so effortless.

Tasha worked so closely with Keaton, and she trusted him implicitly. When she wanted to abort the undercover mission with Madeline, he urged her to stay the course. He had faith in her, and she worked hard to live up to that. While she was with the CIA, he was her whole team. And so finding out that he’d betrayed her and then losing him like that? It’s not quite as painful as losing Reade, but it’s damned close.

And then she has to listen to Madeline gloat about it. “Everywhere you went, you left bodies behind... Your NYPD partner, and then your FBI partner, and now your CIA partner.” Of all of Madeline’s lines, this is the lowest blow, and the most painful, because it’s not false. We learned in 1.19 that Tasha’s partner at the NYPD was shot and killed while they were responding to a domestic disturbance. She’s lost her FBI partner (and Madeline is again right, Reade was much more than that), and now Keaton. We know Tasha already blames herself for Reade’s death and for her NYPD partner’s death. There is little doubt that she will hold herself responsible for Keaton’s death as well. If she hadn’t accepted his offer to move to the CIA, if she hadn’t come to Malta to see him today... Logically, we know that the responsibility for Reade’s and Keaton’s deaths lies solely with Madeline, but we know it’s not so clear in Tasha’s heart. “I don’t know what’s worse, the grief or the survivor’s guilt,” as she says to Keaton. Tasha was as much a victim of Madeline’s plans as they were, but it’s not something she would be able to admit, knowing that she is walking around when they no longer are.

And it’s the contrast between these two extremes, between Tasha and Madeline, that plays out over Keaton’s dead body. Tasha has no defense against Madeline blaming her for these deaths, because she accepts all blame, even for things that were outside of her control. But when she confronts Madeline about zipping her own child, Madeline responds, “You left me no choice.” Madeline blames her own actions on others, while Tasha blames herself for the actions of others. One shows great heart and character... and the other is a psychopath.

We haven’t seen Tasha take any real action with regard to her pregnancy, either embracing it or deciding not to go through with it. In some ways, her inaction is a decision of its own; after a certain point, there is only one outcome left. To be fair, she’s also on the run for her life, so it’s certainly not as easy as scheduling a prenatal appointment at the local health clinic. But as tough as nails as Tasha is, we know how fiercely protective she is of her family, and there’s no question that she would be even more so for a child of her own. And we see that in her abject horror when she discovers that Madeline zipped her own son. Look Tasha, motherhood is hard, yes, but this is a pretty low bar to beat. Without even trying, you’ll be better at parenting than Madeline!

Y: Tasha’s line about the virtual pet being for baby practice and then saying that she knows they have to be fed is one of the best lines of dialogue on this show ever. And Audrey’s delivery was just so perfect.

It worth mentioning that the way the team breaks up in this episode puts Tasha on her own. I know as an odd numbered group, this could always be the case, but it was relevant this week because her outing puts her in two head-to-head confrontations with two people who have had such an important role in her life. And both Tasha and Audrey are so good in both those confrontations.

With Keaton, even though he eventually became an ally to the team, he wasn’t so at first. And one of the first things he did was recruit Tasha to the CIA and cause that rift between Tasha and the FBI team. Her relationship with Reade was strained for a long time after that, and her relationship with Patterson was never the same again. Don’t get me wrong, Tasha is as much a member of this family as anyone else, but for a while Keaton’s presence in her life strained her other relationships.

And then her undercover op with Madeline really pulled her away from the team for a while and even upon returning she had a hard time finding her place again. So it seems right that she went on this mission alone and faced these two people on her own. Her realization that Keaton was betraying them was so sad to watch. For a minute, she allowed herself to hope that maybe this group of people helping them can really make a difference. And what made it harder was that she was opening up to him on personal stuff. We know how hard this is for Tasha. She never talks about her feelings, and to let her guard down like this only to get burned is heartbreaking.

L is spot on in her analysis that Tasha blames herself for everything. And the guilt she’s carrying around has to be crushing her. And this made the confrontation between Tasha and Madeline that much better. Of all the team, Tasha is the most ruined by Madeline—the months she spent with her were brutal, emotionally and psychologically and socially and professionally. Tasha was forced to do things and witness things that were unbearable and then after all that, after believing she finally got her, Madeline turned all the tables on them and sent the team running for their lives and costing Reade his.

The conversation about the track of destruction was so poignant. It drew a parallel between both women, but also placed them on the extreme ends of the spectrum. And that parallel was further highlighted by how both women perceive their path of destruction. Tasha carries all the responsibility and the guilt even though none of it is hers. And Madeline is so devoid of any feeling of guilt or responsibility and somehow manages to project responsibility onto others.

In many ways, everything that happened this week with the team played the role of emphasizing that they’re the good guys. Every choice they made served as a reminder that they’re the good guys.

But in the end—at least the end of this episode—they lose. A bleak representation of the real world, I’m afraid, but since this is tv and shows provide a good platform to provide hope in a miserable world, let’s just cross our fingers that the last chapter of this story is one that gives us an alternate view.

Oh, and don’t get me started on the fact that we didn’t see Tasha react to the news that Patterson’s dead or that she has lost her two best friends in a span of three months.

Jeez, this turned pretty dark from me. I’m sorry.

Here, think of Tasha boop-ing Patterson’s nose instead.

Boop.

Just like their team, Jane and Kurt were faced with a couple of impossible decisions this week, but those two will go on fighting until the bitter end, right? Right?

Y: In a fangirl’s lifetime, they would be lucky to get one or two ships—maybe three if their stars align properly—that will bring them endless joy and manage to fulfill all their shipping heart’s desires. Jeller is one of those ships for me. It hasn’t been without its hiccups, but dammit going into the finale chapter, it’s everything I could have ever wished for or imagined.

As intense as this episode was, somehow Jeller managed to give us a handful of their trademark sweet little moments that they always know how to steal in the madness. They also gave us one of their typical epic moments—the kind that goes down as a ship-defining moment. And at the end of the day they threw in the ultimate power couple “you just messed with the wrong people” look.

It was once again one of those episodes where we cannot separate Jeller in the review because they were glued together the whole time. I mean other than their entrance to the interrogation room, there was only one scene where they weren’t together, when Kurt was talking to Tasha.

Jeller once again give us a standard to aspire to in their relationship in the way they support each other and the way they find a balance and open dialogue all the times. They both have different opinions as to how to move forward and when Kurt decides that Jane’s course of action—heading to the east coast to stop the ZIP—is the right one, Jane starts to question the decision herself. But then all it takes is for Kurt to tell her to go with her gut—because he trusts her gut more than his own. That element of trust and honestly and codependency is what makes those two such an amazing couple.

I absolutely loved the moments they shared with Rich and Patterson. The comedy with Rich is always a treasure and we’ve gotten to a point in their relationship with Rich that his idiosyncrasies are no longer a thing of annoyance. Rich asks a question that should stop any sane person in their tracks. “Are you allergic to any endangered animals?” And to that, Kurt just shrugs and carries on. It’s a nice little nod to the fact that they’ve accepted Rich for who he is and just embrace him and love him for it.

And then the scene with Patterson. Jeller pretty much calls her their guardian angel. She urges them not to die. And before all that she gives us the best possible description of Kurt that could ever exist. Kurt’s the mama bear who’ll protect his cubs no matter what.

And Jane is the flamingo. The elegant and striking creature that is surprisingly fierce and resilient.

The moment Jeller shares in the military vehicle where Jane seeks comfort and reassurance and Kurt offers it via reminding her of who their team is—assuming in that moment that Tasha, Rich and Patterson are still out there. The trust and faith they have in their family is a beautiful thing.

Obviously, my favorite moments in the episode with these two occur when they’re stuck in the elevator. First, Jane stating that they won’t kill cops is a testament to who these guys are. It’s such a simple line, but it is right at the core of who they are. And it once again emphasizes a major running theme. There’s a good side and a bad side. The choices you make define where you stand. It was evident with Keaton and still ongoing with Weitz. So pick carefully because the lane you end up in defines your legacy.

And speaking of legacy, it seems Jeller are going for being the ultimate power couple and battle couple. And I mean, I don’t see that many couples even coming close. That kiss in the elevator with their hands on their weapons, poised for battle, ready to go down fighting for what’s right, declaring their undying love for each other and heading into battle with all the trust in each other and devotion to each other.

Excuse me but they’re the worst.

And if they don’t get their happily ever after... I guess I’ll be resigned to the fact that there isn’t justice in the world.

L: Speak for yourself. I will be angry on a level that will make Game of Thrones fans seem “mildly perturbed.”

I have expectations for this couple. They have fought so hard and so long, and throughout it all, they have never given up on each other. No petty squabbling (and in that they are doing better than pretty much every single couple stuck in quarantine together), no poor communication leading to big misunderstandings. Just... quiet faith in each other and way of working in sync that feels almost telepathic in nature. They have sacrificed almost everything they hold dear to do the right thing... And if they don’t deserve a happily ever after, then no one does.

But yes, that scene in the van. The last time they were handcuffed in a police van was in Iceland. And Tasha and Rich and Patterson got them out. Ivy captured Kurt, but the team found him, and Tasha brought him home (after she and Patterson and Rich saved Jane’s life). So it’s easy to understand why Kurt seems so optimistic this time. “With Patterson, Rich, and Tasha still out there? Yeah, I like our chances.” And knowing what we know at that moment, about Keaton and Tasha and Rich and Patterson, that lighthearted moment felt like being smacked in the face with a lead pipe. It is yet another example of how the cross-cutting from scene to scene in this episode was so incredibly effective.

So let’s just focus on the message that Kurt is giving us there. That this team is made up of individuals, who can be individually arrested and restrained, but they know that they are so much more than that. This team is a force. It’s strong enough to reform a dark web hacker. It makes a CIA company man go rogue and help a band of outlaws. It makes a self-serving smarmy lawyer start a resistance. It pairs up a couple of jaded federal agents with a convicted criminal/artist/hacker. This team is good, and they push the people around them to be better than they were before.

For that, if nothing else, we have to have faith.

----------

Well that was one of the most traumatizing and emotional episodes in the history of Blindspot. I guess that’s what they meant when they said we’re in the endgame now. Have you stashed enough chocolate? Is such a thing possible?

—Laura & Yas

[take2intotheshower]

Blindspot Fandom “Meet and Greet” #4

1.      Name/Nickname:  Heather                  

2.      Age* (don’t be shy, we’re a fandom of grandmas):  Old enough to remember when we had to record our favorite shows on VHS tapes if we were unable to watch live

3.      Where are you from*:  England

4.      When did you jump aboard the Blindspot madness:  Early 2015, before the Pilot aired (I’d heard Sully was to star in it, so I was avidly following all the news in the media)

5.      Other fandoms you’re in/TV shows you watch:  Strike Back (the Scott & Stonebridge years), although it’s not really a fandom any more. Shows currently watched: Lost (still making my way through - now on the final Season), Ransom, Lucifer, The Librarians (S1 - not sure yet if it’s fun or just childishly silly), Killing Eve, The Code (only a few more eps to go as it’s been cancelled), Hawaii 5-0, Strike Back (the new incarnation), Berlin Station, Billions. Really enjoyed The Umbrella Academy and Good Omens.    

6.      Favorite Blindspot characters (main):  Kurt Weller, Remi, Patterson, Rich Dotcom, Roman

7.      Favorite Blindspot characters (guest or recurring):  Matthew Weitz, Boston Arliss Crab, Jake Keaton, Allie Knight

8.      Favorite ship(s):  Jeller and Patterson-David

9.      Favorite episode(s):  1-01, 1-02, 1-05, 1-09, 1-21, 2-01, 2-10, 2-14, 2-15, 2-19, 2-21, 3-01, 4-05, 4-07

10.  Favorite season(s):  S1 (it was S2 last time but, with our re-watch, S1 has edged ahead again)

11.  Favorite tattoo(s)/case(s):  Still the bird on the neck, plus the way it linked to the box and new tattoos in 2-22

12.  Favorite whatever you want:  Favorite outfits - Kurt’s unbuttoned shirts in S1, Jane’s tank tops, Zapata in just about anything (but especially her S1 look), Patterson’s dress sense in S4 (but the makeup is too heavy now), Rich wearing anything

13.  If you were a Blindspot character, who would you be: I’m probably more of a Reade-Patterson mix, but I’d like to be Kurt for his leadership but with Jane’s skills

14.  One scene that left you with your jaw on the floor:  Because we just re-watched it, that moment in 1-10 when Remi tells Jane it was her idea and that she did it to herself  

15.  One dead character you would bring back:  Roman - I miss him

16.  One guest star (who has appeared in less than three to five episodes) you want to bring back:  Ana Montes

17.  One recurring character you’d love to have promoted to regular:  Jake Keaton (fascinating how he’s gone from despised villain to a reliable ally of the team)

18.  One actor/actress you would love to have guest star on the show (and who would they play):  I’d had high hopes of Kurt’s Mom, played by someone like Cheryl Ladd. Now it would have to be Ennis Esmer’s real-life Dad, Demir Esmer, playing himself  

19.  One forgotten storyline you wish they’d bring back or answer: What really happened the night Taylor Shaw was killed  

20.  One country you want the show to visit next season:  Canada (or Australia)

21.  What’s your craziest/favorite theory about the upcoming season:  An unlikely set of allies made up of Weitz, Keaton and Allie Knight will join together to support our team on the run and help them clear their names (I’m deliberately not including Brianna, as she has 3 failures vs 1 success to her career so far). Then all the team except Reade and Zapata will leave the FBI and everyone will live happily ever after, while leaving a smidgeon of an opening to bring them back if a streaming service shows interest in picking up the show. But please, MG - don’t let’s have Jane discovering she’s pregnant at the end. Too corny, and Jeller are owed some uninterrupted time together  

22.  Share a little bit about yourself (don’t be shy)*:  I am deeply into medieval history, worked in the City of London for many years, and I like furry animals, sports cars and chocolate

[appleciders]

blindspot character sortings

okay, so, once again, this is entirely the fault of @zapatterson 

i’ve sorted the main five characters in blindspot into their hogwarts houses, with...very long analyses to go along with them. 

here’s the (very simplified) summary:

jane—gryffindor, for her need to be on the right side

kurt—gryffindor, for his morals dictated by his gut

patterson—ravenclaw, for her intellect and creativity

reade—hufflepuff, for his prioritization of others and his deep compassion

tasha—slytherin, for her need to protect her people

if anyone disagrees with any of my sortings, hit me up! i’d be pumped to hear your opinions.

(side note: i promise i have a life. i do, really. i just had a lot of time on my hands because i accidentally gave myself food poisoning. which...also means i wrote half of this with a 100 degree fever, so...don’t judge me too harshly, okay?)

Okay, first and foremost. Easiest for me to sort, except for maybe Weller. My moon and stars: Tasha Zapata.

Tasha is a Slytherin.

She is supremely loyal to her people. Supremely. We all know this, it’s like, her most defining character trait. She has her people, who she’ll sacrifice everything for, and then she has everyone else. See here:

Reade: You should have thought about that before you decided to steal evidence. Tasha: I did! You think I didn't realize that I could go to prison for this? But you are my best friend. That was the risk that I was willing to take to save you, but I will not go to prison to save Freddy. And that is exactly what will happen if we don't put that knife back.

In fact, the only person Tasha can prioritize over her team is herself. This isn’t a bad thing—selfishness can be good, especially when it means she doesn’t burn herself up for other people like Reade, or occasionally considers whether a risk is worth it before she leaps in, unlike Kurt or Jane. It’s also probably born out of her childhood, with her alcoholic mother, absent father, and her three brothers. She needed to be a bit selfish, because if she wasn’t, she wouldn’t’ve survived.

This selfishness is especially apparent in the first season. When she’s caught out by Weitz, blackmailed by both him and Carter, she does initially decide to give her team up.

Tasha: I gave you the file, that was the deal. This is over. Thomas Carter: But, little lady. But you already took my money. You already sold out your friends. If I tell the FBI what you've done... you won't just be fired, you'll be indicted. This is over when I say it's over. You're mine now, Agent Zapata. So you take care.

Another person—a non-Slytherin—might have weighed that and taken the high-road. Might have turned themselves over to be imprisoned for the sake of the FBI and for the sake of whatever plot was going on with Jane’s tattoos. But Tasha is a survivor; she needs to survive. She saves herself, even at the possible cost of whatever’s coming.

Then, later, she does find out the cost: Mayfair. She hears Weitz’s story, Mayfair’s corruption, the danger she might be putting the agency in. And she makes a judgement: she excommunicates Mayfair from her people. Mayfair is putting her friends in danger. Mayfair lied to her. In Tasha’s eyes, however hypocritical, however flawed, that is betrayal.

And we know how Slytherins react to betrayal.

Tasha: Thought about what you said... about Mayfair. If Mayfair's going down, she goes down alone. I don't want my friends to be dragged down with her. Matthew Weitz: You got it, partner. Tasha: I'm not your partner.

(Later this gets overturned when she discovers Mayfair’s true motivations and her side of the story. Regardless, it happened.)

It also happens to Jane at the beginning of S2:

Actually, yk what, I don’t even think I have to source this one. She shoots Jane, for crying out loud. And she doesn’t sympathize with her like Reade does—her being a pawn is not justification for her betrayal. Jane has to earn her way back into being Tasha’s people, just like Mayfair did.

It’s also interesting to tie when Tasha finally rebels against Carter to when she realizes she has lost control of the situation. Tasha prefers to control, rather than to be controlled (more on that later) and that is a very Slytherin trait.

As for the rest of her moral system, well, it’s very black and white. To steal words from @sortinghatchats, even if I was too lazy to use their system:

“But when the major part of your moral system that you feel viscerally is to protect yourself and your people, there are a lot of gaps in how you interact with the world and with moral situations. What do Slytherins do when confronted with wrongs that don’t touch their people? It depends on the Slytherin. Some Slytherins simply don’t care—they opt out of the moral complications of the rest of the world and what touches other people and choose a contented apathy about the things that don’t intrude on their space—but other Slytherins construct ways to interact with these situations.”

Tasha’s constructed system is very binary. Just look:

Jane: So, Gibson was a good guy. He just wanted the killing to stop. Tasha: He killed ten innocent people this morning. Good guys don't do that. Jane: You don't think good people ever do terrible things? Tasha: I think terrible people do terrible things. And the good people stop them.

Wow, okay. By this metric, none of the FBI team are good guys. They’ve ALL done morally questionable things to get through. Does Tasha consider herself a good guy? Does she consider the rest of her people good guys? She doesn’t treat them like she treats bad guys, that’s for sure.

And that’s because, for her, it doesn’t matter. Because herself and her people? They’re, by nature, exempt from her constructed morality, because it is secondary to her motivation to protect her own.

Okay, now on to the other “traditional Slytherin traits.”

The ones the wiki lists are:

Resourcefulness

Cunning

Ambition

Determination

Self-Preservation

Fraternity

Cleverness

Okay, moving through that—resourcefulness. The whole knife situation? Saving Reade’s ass after she thought he killed his ex-coach? Resourceful. When she was trapped in that basement with the women who were being trafficked, and managed to get everyone out, including herself? Resourceful. When she went undercover again, to the prison? And managed to execute all of Patterson’s plan for getting her out, as well as make Ronda Rousey (what was her character’s name again whoops) trust her, while being a prisoner, in a high security prison? If that isn’t resourcefulness, I don’t think I understand the word right.

Cunning—well, see above, and all the times she’s in interrogation. And doing, like, anything. She’s smart, and she knows how to use it, folks.

Ambition; less obvious, but yeah, she has ambition. As of S2, her ambition is I’m going to survive and so are my people, but we know that earlier she wanted more. See this conversation with Mayfair (also a huge, wonderful Slytherin deserving of love btw):

Tasha: I'd like to run a division one day, like you. Mayfair: Be careful what you wish for. Early on in my career, someone powerful approached me, asking for help. It was a big career opportunity. What he was asking me to do was... morally ambiguous at best. I went along. Told myself it was for the greater good, but in my gut, I knew that was a lie. Didn't sleep well back then. Still don't. Things went sideways and that powerful person was nowhere to be found. I was left alone to account for my actions, wishing that I'd trusted my gut. Whatever you're doing with Weitz, for Weitz, just make sure you can sleep at night.

Determination: well, she doesn’t quit. Like, ever. It’s both really impressive and irritating, especially when her people are trying to hide things from her—she gets on both Reade and Patterson’s backs when they’re not taking care of themselves, even when they would rather she not.

Self-preservation we’ve covered, as have we with fraternity. Cleverness has pretty much been covered, too, but if you need more proof: she can code, she has a remarkable memory, she’s quick on her feet, and she comes up with quips like nobody’s business.

Lastly, there’s the question of control.

In short, Tasha likes to be in it. One of the biggest things I kept running into while building the “self-preservation” section is that Tasha…is pretty darn self-destructive. We can divide that into two categories—personal self-destruction, and professional self-destruction. Professional self-destruction is kind of in her job description. She routinely makes the call that her life is less important than that of her teammates or her mission, which is also a part of her my team is the most important mindset she’s got going on.

But while the other characters on Blindspot are personally self-destructive for a greater purpose or for an escape, Tasha is self-destructive because she feels like it’s the only way she can keep her life in her own hands. See her speech during the one (1) time she went to Gambler’s Anonymous:

Tasha:  After [the death of her partner], I, uh... My life was a mess. His death was so random. So... You know, as dumb as it sounds, when I was gambling, I knew the rules. Even when I was losing, it was on my terms, it was something I could control. But it doesn't really feel that way anymore.

Also see the time in the prison where she let herself get beat up, with no back-up or safeguards:

Tasha: I was in total control. I could’ve put them all on the floor if I wanted. Kurt: Really? Tasha: Mm-hmm.

She’s reckless with herself, but only because it gives her something out of it. Control.

All of this isn’t to say that she’s not brave, smart, or hardworking—she is. But she’s also all of these things in a ridiculously Slytherin way.

tl;dr: Tasha is the most Slytherin character I think I’ve ever seen on TV and I love her with my whole entire heart. She’s also a lesbian, so jot that down.

Okay, next up: Edgar Reade.

My man Eddie is a Hufflepuff.

You might be thinking, hey, Sophie, did you just make this up so you could have Tasha and Reade reiterate the time-old Slytherin/Hufflepuff best friend duo? The answer would be no, but dude, this shoe fits like a glove.

But stop! you might think. Reade likes order, can be uptight. Isn’t that more Ravenclawish? And he’s brave…isn’t that more Gryffindor? And he can be suspicious of newcomers. Slytherin like Tasha?

Not really. The core question is: why does Reade do what he does? The answer is he cares about people. That’s what allows him to work, really:

Tasha, to Reade: Understanding, identifying with victims. That’s what makes you good at your job.

Reade tries to understand people—all people, from strangers to traitors to suspects. He cares about them, whether he should or not. That’s what makes him good at his job.

We see it especially in contrast to Tasha, when Jane and Mayfair have both “betrayed” them. He refuses to accept that at face value; he wants to believe the best in them. He’s loyal that way.

In Mayfair’s case, he starts here:

Tasha: [tells him her suspicions] Reade: Mayfair is the one person who always has our backs, I don't know where you're getting your information from. Who put a bug in your ear?

And then he continually refuses to suspect her, aiding and abetting her all the way. In one of their last conversations, he says:

Reade: Hey. Thanks. Mayfair: For what? Reade: For trusting me. Mayfair: Always.

For him, being trusted is one of the highest honors he could receive. And then, after Jane carries out Sandstorm’s plan and betrays the FBI—which Reade had long suspected and tried to stop, by the way—he still gives her reasonable doubt. The lens which he views her through is still fair.

Tasha: Mayfair's dead because of her. I wouldn't give her too much credit.  Reade: What do you mean?  Tasha: She lied to us, she's...  Reade: She's a pawn. She was a pawn for Sandstorm, now she's a pawn for us. Pawns get sacrificed. I almost feel sorry for her.  Tasha: [gives Reade a Look] Reade: Uh, be easy. I said 'almost.'

While he doesn’t absolve her of anything, he has the kindness to step back, even as he’s no doubt hurting from the betrayal just as much as Tasha.

He’s fair, he’s kind, he’s empathetic. He identifies with people and feels responsibility for them.

Unfortunately for him, that’s what fucks up his life pretty much constantly.

Take the whole Sarah shebang from S1, for example. Reade finds a girl he likes and who likes him. Reade is incredibly happy (Tasha: You were really happy with her. Like, happier than I've ever seen you). Weller tries to break them up, in a pretty douche move, tbh—Reade calls him out on his hypocrisy and won’t end it just for that. But then, he gets threatened. Sarah and Sawyer are put in danger.

He puts aside his own feelings, his own happiness, and ends it. Because he can’t stand to see his people hurt, not ever, and he will put aside himself in every situation to protect those he loves. And it damages him, but he does it anyway.

This is dialed up to the nines in S2.

(Disclaimer: none of this is a defense of the writing of Edgar Reade’s character, especially not in the second season. The writers were repeatedly lazy and dismissive of Reade as a person. However, I love him, so my analysis is going to look both at and through that to reach a conclusion about his character.)

Okay, here it comes, the biggie—the Freddy/Coach Jones situation.

The moment he hears Freddy’s side of the story, he immediately feels responsible. He feels guilty. And he knows he shouldn’t, but he still does.

Weller: I'm not much of a bartender. Hope you like your scotch neat. And in a paper cup. Reade: I know what you're gonna say. That none of this is my fault. There's no way I could have known the man I looked up to since I was a kid is such a monster. None of the lives he ruined are my responsibility. And you're right. I know all this. But it doesn't make it any easier to live with. And I can do without the lecture, to be honest.

He’s also a persistent guy. He puts in a ton of extra work to try and convince the prosecutor to take Coach Jones’s case to trial.

Then he gets hit with another bombshell—Freddy alleges that he was one of the boys that Coach Jones abused, too. And he loses himself.

And then Coach Jones is killed.

And he loses himself more.

All of that emotion that Reade is so good at feeling for others, all of that guilt and responsibility he felt for not being able to help Freddy with Coach Jones—it all magnifies back on himself in ways that he has no idea how to deal with.

Because Reade is great at caring about other people, but he is shit about caring for himself.

(This is where, if he were a Slytherin like Tasha, his self-preservation would kick in. But he’s not.)

So he turns to the one thing that makes him feel lighter again, and because knock-knock, hello, no healthy coping mechanisms here, that thing is drugs. They allow him to ignore everything he’s feeling without actually dealing with it. They make him experience some semblance of happiness.

Reade: For the first time in a while, I feel like I can breathe, like I can have fun again. Tasha: Who is she? Reade: It’s not even like that. Tasha: Well, you’d better not mess this one up. Reade: Tasha. Tasha: I’m serious. You deserve to be happy. So don’t let anyone get in the way of that, including yourself. I know how you get. Reade: I know.

This re-establishes that Reade putting himself behind others is a recurring character trait. See more:

Reade, about Freddy’s girlfriend who got him hooked on drugs: I just feel bad. I can tell she feels guilty, like she’s responsible or something. Tasha: That woman…she is not your problem. You can’t change what happened to Freddy, and you cannot change what he did. You gotta start taking care of yourself.

Again, there’s that intense commitment to others, loyalty to people in a more generalized sense, and dismissal of his own wellbeing.

If you need even more:

Reade, to Tasha: I can live with whatever happens to me, but I couldn’t if something were to happen to you.

Unfortunately for him, the drug route takes him away from his better nature. In trying to push people away, in attempting to remove them from his own mental health spiral, he ends up hurting and rejecting them. That’s a bad call, and one he regrets once he gets clean again.

Okay, now that that slight tangent is over, let’s review the wiki list for Hufflepuffs

Dedication

Repeatedly dedicated to his work, his friends and even to people he already knows.

Hard Work

As are all the people on this team, Reade is a lowkey workaholic.

Fair play

He’s fair, even to those who have betrayed him (Jane).

Patience

Less proof on this one, but hey, I’m a very impatient Hufflepuff so I’m letting it go.

Kindness

The man pours his heart out for every single person he cares about. Jesus Christ.

Tolerance

He seems tolerant? Idk we haven’t really gotten a good situation to grade this on, imo.

Loyalty

See the above twelve-hundred words for why he is loyal in both a personal and to-all-people sort of way.

One last, very ‘Puff speech:

Reade, to an emotionally exhausted Patterson: I know how you feel, Patterson, believe me. This job takes everything from all of us. But it gives back, too. It gives us a way to fight against all the garbage that’s piling up in the world. It gives us each other. It gives us family. And families fight. Sometimes, they lose hope. But what they damn sure don’t do is give up.

tl;dr: Reade’s a Hufflepuff, cool?

Next up: Patterson.

Patterson is…surprisingly hard? Because at first glance, she seems textbook Ravenclaw. If we were going to divide this into a primary/secondary model (primary: why she does things, secondary: how she does them) she would definitely be a Ravenclaw secondary. Everything she does is in a very Ravenclaw way. But are her motivations all Ravenclaw based? She’s actually pretty people-driven, and has quite a few Hufflepuff traits. And, because we know she’s also an avid Harry Potter fan, she might have seen herself a lot in Hermione growing up, especially because she is brave. But when it comes down to it, for a sorting, she’d get to choose.

And Patterson, well, I think Patterson would still choose Ravenclaw.

Okay, why?

She loves puzzles. She loves learning. And yeah, she could still pull a Hermione and be a nerd within a different house, but I think the appeal of Ravenclaw would be too much to resist. Could you imagine Patterson turning down the chance to answer a riddle every time she wanted to go to her common room? Or the chance to live with people who wouldn’t tease her for being nerdy, who might leave her alone every time she was hyper-focused on her new special interest?

(Girl wasn’t ready to let David, aka literal love of her life, live with her. She’s picky about roommates.)

Her sense of the world around her can also be described in terms of metaphorical puzzles. In this way, her point of view is partially constructed, like most Ravenclaws’. See here:

Patterson: Do you know what a tangram is? Jane: No. Patterson: It's a... it's a dissection puzzle consisting of flat geometric pieces, known as tans, which are put together to form elaborate shapes. This team has been one shape for a very long time. And you're a new piece. And we're just trying to figure out how you fit into all of this. But we're gonna find our new shape. It's just gonna take a second.

While her goal is to comfort Jane, to try and make her comfortable in the team environment in a welcoming, friendly way, she does so by making a comparison to an intellectual game. Morality = welcome new people, trust that they have a good heart; expression = clearly constructed, something Patterson doesn’t feel in her gut but has come up with in her head.

However, this constructed system always seems to involve people—she really loves her family, guys, like a lot.

Reade: The silent treatment, really? That's how we're playing this? Tasha: We said we were sorry. Patterson: I tell you guys everything! Tasha: We were aiding and abetting a fugitive. We were just trying to keep you out of it. Patterson: You were aiding and abetting Mayfair. Mayfair! I am happy to aid and abet Mayfair.

And then later in the episode:

Patterson: You guys are my family! If someone is threatening you, they're threatening me, but if you keep me in the dark I can't help you, and we're supposed to help each other, right? If something would have happened, and if there was something that I could have done and I... I can't take that.

Both of these quotes are remarkably close to quotes that Reade and Tasha have, and Patterson says them with such kindness, stubbornness, and protectiveness that I was looking at that badger awful hard. And then I got conflicted, because, as her gf Tasha points out, she’s also really darn brave:

Tasha, about Patterson: You just stopped a major terrorist attack. You’re one of the smartest, bravest people I know, and, uh, you’re allergic to cats.

So, again, a Hermione-Granger-Gryffindor scenario could have been back in the works.

But, as usual, her massive nerdiness won out.

Do you really need me to list all of the nerdy things Patterson says? 90% of her lines are either nerdy jokes or exposition. Do you really need me to list them?

She’s also, as we know, a genius. Like, bona fide.

Patterson: I have some preliminary theories, but obviously space is a little out of my wheelhouse. Patterson: [explains a really good fucking plan in space] Stand-in-FBI-Lady: And this isn’t your wheelhouse? Color me terrified.

And earlier, in an iconic line:

Patterson: Yes, you can for sure maintain enough airspeed. I did the math. Chief Inspector Fischer: How? Where? Patterson: In my head, where math is done. Please don't interrupt.

Morally, she’s also less gut-feeling than Jane or Kurt. She’s willing to budge the line a bit more, in the search of an end. To Patterson, if something makes sense, if it’s just an extension of something they’ve been doing, why not?

Kurt: How exactly did you crack the Bible verse tattoo? You told me on the phone you picked up the phrase on some chatter. Patterson: You're never this interested in how I solve the tattoos. Kurt: This one points to an off-the-book program being run out of this office, so I need to know what is happening under my watch, and I need to know now. Patterson: Uh, okay. I linked the tattoo database to a secret NSA data collection program. Kurt: Omaha? Nas told me it's very similar to Daylight. Patterson: Daylight on steroids is more accurate. Kurt: So you've been using illegal wiretaps to solve these tattoos? [Patterson is reluctant to say anything] Kurt: [losing his patience] Patterson. Patterson: This was the first one. Kurt: Really? Patterson: I know. It's just I have to use every resource that I have. We're running out of time to figure out what all of this adds up to. Kurt: That is my call to make, not yours. Understand?

This is a very interesting moral struggle that I’m definitely going to come back to in Kurt’s section. Regardless, the conflict here on Patterson’s end is clear; she needs to retrieve the knowledge that allows her to do her job, and NSA data collection is that retrieval tool. It’s helping her reach a greater end—to her morality, it makes sense, whether it feels wrong in her gut or not.

Very Ravenclaw.

Also, wowza, the culmination of the Borden ordeal. When she’s facing him, gun pointed at his face, and their conversation goes like this:

Borden: It’s okay, it’s okay. Any reasonable person would want to kill me. Patterson: Shut up! Borden: Your rage is completely normal— Patterson: Shut up! You don’t get to do that to me anymore! I’m not gonna kill you. I took an oath…. To my country, to the bureau. To uphold the law.

So Patterson’s not the best at processing her own emotions, right? Whenever she’s not sure how to face them, she kinda shoves them to the back of her mind and tries to outrun them with busywork. But here, there’s no time. Her constructed morality—which is pretty much mostly just ‘I trust the people I interact with unless they’re suspects” falls through when she’s confronted with a betrayal by someone she’s so close to. So she falls back on a different constructed model—guess what, another Ravenclaw trait—and speaks through the FBI’s code. Because for her, it’s both something she believes in and means she doesn’t have to process so much sudden interaction into her personal pre-existing program for how to deal with new situations.

Next—Ravenclaws are also very curious, right? Well, Patterson’s nothing if not curious. Curious to her detriment, even, especially about the tattoos. Patterson loves her job, dedicates an extreme amount of work to it—overworking chronically, and like, never taking a single day off—but she can be blinded to her duty by curiosity.

The David situation is a prime example:

Mayfair: Do you have any idea how dangerous your actions were? Those tattoos are not some Sunday morning crossword puzzle. They contain extremely sensitive, classified intelligence, all of which have led us to volatile criminal activity. You put the case, yourself, and a civilian at great risk. Patterson: I know. I—We were just trying to solve—I screwed up. I'm so sorry.

She was just trying to solve it. She just wanted to solve it. And in doing so, she was careless enough to put both David and her job in jeopardy. For her, discovering the truth behind the tattoos isn’t a matter of just saving lives or preventing attacks (though that’s definitely part of it). She is driven by her curiosity.

Here’s the point where I pull out that Ravenclaw traits list.

Intelligence

Wit

Wisdom

Creativity

Originality

Individuality

Intelligence—check.

Wit—

Mayfair: So, just a recap, ZOMO did or didn't design Jane's tattoos, did or didn't paint the burning rose, and then did or didn't steal it and try and blow us up? Patterson: Looks like we're making progress.

And:

Patterson: Does all the staring drive you crazy? Jane: I've never known anything different. Patterson: Right. Good point. Jane: Not like I can do anything about it. Patterson: Not unless... turtlenecks come back into fashion.

And:

Patterson: Do you see these propane tanks? What do you think “highly flammable” means?

And:

Patterson, nostalgically: I remember my first date. Took him forever to stop crying.

Wisdom—

Jane: [asks whether she can remove her tattoos] Patterson: As an agent, of course, I should tell you to keep them.  Jane: As... my friend?  Patterson: As your friend... I would say... it's your body. You should do what you want.

Creativity + Originality—the way she solves every problem ever.

Individuality—she’s got her own drum, and she fuckin marches to it.

tl;dr: though she’s more multi-faceted than some people like to think, I’m calling in Patterson as a Ravenclaw

Okay, this is like, an essay at this point. Fuck, this is seven times longer than the college application essay I should be writing right now. God why.

Next up is Kurt! Kurt is a Gryffindor.

This is pretty textbook. He’s got a gut, and he follows it without qualms. He’s headstrong, stubborn, and brave. He has a lot of machismo going on. He’s a very strong archetypal version of The Leader. He’s a bit of an idiot sometimes. His feelings can override his better sense.

Because this is my fourth one, this is probably going to be a little shorter than the others. Sorry, Kurt fans.

Okay, let’s start with his sense of right/wrong. According to sortinghatchats:

“Gryffindor Primaries trust their moral intuitions and have a need and a drive to live by them. They feel what’s right in their gut, and that matters and guides them. If they don’t listen to and act on that, it feels immoral.”

That’s very Kurt. Often—especially when he goes “screw the rules,” typically involving Jane—he’s behaving based on his gut instinct. Sure, as a trained FBI agent, he knows, logically that he shouldn’t do a lot of things he does. But when Jane asks for help, something about him goes, okay, yeah, that feels right. And when it doesn’t, he feels guilty, but occasionally does it anyway and then feels worse. And then takes it out on others.

(Not always, yeah. But more than a team leader/assistant director should, ngl.)

He can also be idealistic—he thinks there’s a concrete “right” way things should be done, and gets irritated if they’re not done that way. Kinda like Tasha—his morality is very black and white. Except Kurt…genuinely seems to believe it, and holds no one exempt from it.

Jane: You didn't have to... Kurt: Yeah, I did. It could've been you in that body bag. Jane: He was innocent. He never wanted any of this. Kurt: Someone puts my team at risk, or you at risk, I don't second guess. Jane: Things can be more complicated than they seem. Kurt: In this job, there are good guys and there are bad guys. It's not that complicated.

He doesn’t even hold his family apart—not Mayfair, when she betrayed him, not Jane, when she betrayed him, and not his father, when he thought he killed Taylor Shaw.

Kurt: The first time I came in here, remember what you did? You showed me that letter from the Bureau threatening Martin Luther King back in the corrupt Hoover days. A reminder not to abuse our authority. Mayfair: Weller... Kurt: You taught me how to do this job. Everyone here looks to me for what to do. I used to look at you. That's gone. I can't trust you anymore.

Kurt: Turn around, get on your knees, and put your hands on your head. Jane, raising her hands: I can explain. Kurt: You have the right to remain silent. Jane, on the brink of tears: Kurt... Kurt: Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. Jane, crying: No, don't do this. Kurt: You have the right to an Attorney. Jane: You need to listen to me. Kurt: You said you remembered! You remembered what? Fishing? Camping with us? How? You lied to me. I let my father back into my life... into my home. I let him be around Sawyer! He killed her. And I let him back in... because of you. So turn around... get on your knees... put your hands on your head. I'm not gonna say it again. Do it. Put your hands on your head.

He doesn’t even hear them out, because they crossed his moral line. The line in his chest that tells him what’s right and what’s not. He even does this for smaller-scale situations, especially regarding his sister:

Reade: Look, I'm sorry it's your sister, and I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but I... Kurt: Reade, don't. Reade: Kurt, I love her. Kurt: This conversation... this is the problem. I can't have your personal life interfering with our work. All right? Reade: A little hypocritical, but okay.

If Kurt were looking at it from a purely logical standpoint, he would understand that Reade’s right—he is being hypocritical. If he were vouching purely for his sister’s best interest, he would hear her side of the story. But because he’s been blinded by being told off for having feelings for Jane, because he’s always had this feeling that boys near his sister is not okay, he refuses to see all of that. It’s declared a moral wrong, even without external justification.

And wow, he can morally feel himself into ignoring of a LOT of proof:

Mayfair: Look, I know you want Jane to be Taylor Shaw... Kurt: This has nothing to do with what I want. Her DNA is Taylor's DNA. End of story. Mayfair: Kurt, you can't pick and choose evidence to suit your preferred narrative. I shouldn't have to tell you that. Have you told her yet? Kurt: There's nothing to tell.

Okay, but back to idealistic rights and wrongs—that passage from Patterson earlier, about the NSA surveillance program.

Kurt: How exactly did you crack the Bible verse tattoo? You told me on the phone you picked up the phrase on some chatter. Patterson: You're never this interested in how I solve the tattoos. Kurt: This one points to an off-the-book program being run out of this office, so I need to know what is happening under my watch, and I need to know now. Patterson: Uh, okay. I linked the tattoo database to a secret NSA data collection program. Kurt: Omaha? Nas told me it's very similar to Daylight. Patterson: Daylight on steroids is more accurate. Kurt: So you've been using illegal wiretaps to solve these tattoos? [Patterson is reluctant to say anything] Kurt: [losing his patience] Patterson. Patterson: This was the first one. Kurt: Really? Patterson: I know. It's just I have to use every resource that I have. We're running out of time to figure out what all of this adds up to. Kurt: That is my call to make, not yours. Understand?

This is black and white. For him, this is crossing a line. Greater good is gone, saving the lives this end could meet is gone, hearing out Patterson’s argument is gone. This is wrong to Kurt Weller, and he doesn’t need to think it through.

Okay, now we have the age-old wiki list. Here:

Bravery

Nerve

Chivalry

Courage

Daring

Now, if you ask me, these are all basically synonyms. And I don’t feel like I need to justify that Kurt is brave—the whole team is, they’re fictional FBI agents for crying out loud. They face bomb threats and shootings on the daily. Like…. Yeah, he’s brave. And he does let that bravery guide him, but he also lets his gut do that.

tl;dr: Kurt is a Gryff and I had more to say about him than I thought I did! Also for the record I think he should have less screentime, but no offense.

Finally, god, god, finally, we come to our last core cast member. And protagonist.

Jane is…also hard. Goddammit.

I’m going with Gryffindor, but I’m going to preface this with the fact that because she is reconstructing her identity, a lot of things about her are fluid. In fact, she may well be just modeling Gryffindor because Kurt is a Gryffindor, and he’s the first one she bonded with.

(I’m not going to be including any analysis of Remi, because, like, no thanks. She’s probably either a Gryff or Slytherin, though. Not gonna analyze it. Not gonna.)

Anyway, so. Jane. Literally shows up in a duffel bag in central square. Gets dragged into the FBI. Gets her entire body imaged. Finds out she knows like an entirely new language. Takes down an abusive asshole despite being like mentally 24 hours old. Doesn’t she like, get shot? And shoots a guy dead? And then she decides she wants to stay with the organization who put her through that? Oh yeah, she does.

Kurt: I don't think you were [a terrible person before all this], Jane. Whoever you were then... that's not who you are now. Jane: How do you know? Kurt: Your first instinct is to help people, Jane. Battered wife in Chinatown, Reade after the explosion today. You don't hesitate, you act. And you do the right thing. So, I don't know what it is you're remembering or what the context is. But I do think you're a good person.

She wants to do good, and she does so by immediately charging in and trying to set the problem right head on. Like, okay, the case for Gryffindor is pretty strong right off the bat.

It’s harder to make a case for Jane’s moral intuition, especially because it’s so flexible. A lot of her feelings are I wanna do what’s right but I don’t know what that is or who to trust!!!! Which, like, that’s understandable, babe, you were just popped out from the womb of a revolutionary extremist group into a corrupt facet of the American government. The idea of right is a pretty contentious one.

Like, repeatedly contentious:

Jane: I've seen the laws this country's willing to violate, and all I've seen Sandstorm do is expose corruption and save lives. How can you be so sure we're on the right side of this?

Nas: Look, everything they knew about you is a lie. You've got to give them time to forgive you. Jane: They handed me over to the CIA to be tortured and interrogated without charge or trial. As far as I can tell, this country runs on lies.

Oscar: Your colleagues, the FBI, they're into some very, very terrible things. Jane: No... they're good people and they're my friends. Oscar: Friends don't imprison you.

Part of her entire character is built on the fact that she doesn’t know what’s right, who to believe, and she’s trying to reorient her moral compass. Another part, though, is that that moral compass is a huge part of who she is—so much of her growth is centered around it, because she feels like she needs to determine rights and wrongs for herself. She needs to have her own internal sense of morality—unlike Slytherins or Ravenclaws, she’s not content to just adopt the models of others. That’s why, the moment she learns about choices (and choice is a BIG thing for Jane) she immediately starts to try and apply it to her ethics.

She’s always questioning complications, other people, how they figure out good and evil—

Jane: Her son killed three people and all she wants to do is hug him. Kurt: She got him back. That's all she cares about. Jane: Why haven't you forgiven your father. You know, he didn't - That you were wrong about that night. Kurt: It's more complicated than that. Jane: You always say that, But - Why? What's so complicated? Kurt: He was a terrible father. He was distant. He was drunk. Me being wrong about one night doesn't change any of that. Jane: But he's sick, right? [Weller hangs his head]

And she gets angry if someone takes that autonomy, that ability to determine her own self, away from her.

Kurt: Jane... I'm sorry that I brought you here, all right? I chose this life, you didn't. You never had a choice. Jane: Yes, I did.

Another defining part of who she is is her desire for a home, for a place to belong. She’s so achingly, achingly lonely. God.

Jane: So, the owl is just a personal thing? It didn't come from anywhere else? Because we can't find it referenced anywhere. Did you design it? Ana Montes: No. Jane: Well, do you know who did? Ana Montes: My brother. Jane: I saw in your file that he was killed last year. I'm sorry. Do you live alone now? Me too. It's hard, all that quiet. Ana Montes: I'm used to it. Jane: I'm not.

Damn.

Jane, in Russian: Let me help you. I know what it feels like to be alone and afraid. I was an orphan, too. The worst thing that can happen is not to have a home.

“The worst thing that can happen is not to have a home.”

God, well. Give me five minutes to recover my heart? I forgot how fucking devastating Jane was in S1.

Anyway. She obviously values having a home very highly. But she doesn’t do it like a Hufflepuff or a Slytherin would do it—a Slytherin or Puff would probably stay loyal to the FBI team, and would prioritize the people over the cause.

Jane needs to know that she’s joining the right side. That’s why she’s got so much conflict going on with Oscar and then later Sandstorm—while she loves her FBI team like family, she needs to make sure that she’s on the right side of any war, not just the side that they’re on.

(Gryffindor....)

As for the daring, nerve, courage, yadayadaya…well, the girl just like. Jumps off of fucking balconies and takes on guys five times her size. She was like the only female Navy SEAL. Like. Again, I don’t really think that’s the entire selling point of Gryff, but if you need pure bravery, she’s got it in spades.

tl;dr: I’ve pretty well convinced myself that Jane is a Gryffindor, but if you don’t agree, hit me up! I totally don’t think I’m the end-all-be-all of any of these.

I’m done now, so I should probably, go, like, be a functioning member of society or something.

[love-jesus-but-i-drink-a-little]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Blindspot (TV) Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Patterson/Tasha Zapata, Patterson & Tasha Zapata Characters: Patterson (Blindspot), Tasha Zapata, Edgar Reade, Remi Briggs | Jane Doe | Alice Kruger, Kurt Weller, Matthew Weitz, Bethany Mayfair Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Everything is Beautiful and Nothing Hurts, Eventual Romance, Fluff and Smut Series: Part 1 of My Love; A Clenched Fist Around Your Heart Summary:

Tasha and Patterson are scared and in love Or: Five times Tasha analyzes Patterson + one time she doesn't have to

[mrmichaelchadler]

Operation Finale

Sure, Oscar Isaac is a great actor, but is he Good For The Jews?  The Guatemala-born performer is in this film asked to play a hero not just to Israel and the Jewish people but to civilization itself: Peter Malkin, the Mossad agent who apprehended the Nazi war criminal Adolph Eichmann in 1961, in Argentina, where Eichmann was hiding under an assumed name.

“Operation Finale,” directed by Chris Weitz from a script by Matthew Orton, begins with Isaac’s Malkin in Austria, in 1954, conducting a raid on the home of a suspected Nazi; the fellow, who’s gunned down trying to escape, WAS a Nazi (we see him hiding some swastika-embossed books before getting the door), just not their Nazi. Quite a mistake to make, and in this case on Christmas.

That’s not the only thing haunting this character; the movie is punctuated by flashbacks in which a young woman is initially menaced by German soldiers in a forest. Who this woman is, who she was to Malkin, and what finally happened to her are all revealed as the flashbacks progress.

But before catching up with Malkin in a new home in Israel later in the ‘50s, the movie cuts to Argentina, and a movie house that’s showing Douglas Sirk’s classic “Imitation of Life.” Haley Lu Richardson’s Sylvia watches, rapt, the searing scene in which Troy Donahue’s Frankie denounces Susan Kohner’s Sarah Jane, an African-American woman passing for white. Behind Sylvia a handsome boy named Klaus giggles. She shushes him, but thinks she’s cute. Later, when they’ve dated a bit themselves, Weitz will restage the “Imitation of Life” scene itself. This is pretty clever on a number of levels, since Klaus turns out to be an anti-Semite and neo-Nazi, as filled with race hatred as Frankie. And then there’s the fact that Susan Kohner is Weitz’s mother. (Who at 81 is still alive to appreciate the homage.)

Klaus’ dad is Eichmann, the architect of the Holocaust, who’s masquerading as an uncle. Sylvia’s father tips off a Mossad man (an action that will yield unpleasant consequences for father and daughter). In Israel, a plot is hatched, but not before a debate: assassinate Eichmann, or purloin him and bring him to Israel to stand trial. Malkin, still haunted by his botching of the depicted capture, is of two minds about it. But he’s eager to serve, and while his superiors consider him hot-headed and impetuous, he’s got the zeal and strategic stuff to get the project going.

As you’ve likely inferred from this plot description, “Operation Finale” partakes in a lot of commonplaces, from the trope of the Maverick Team Leader on down. It does so with a little wit. When asked why he never gets the plum assignments at his Mossad posts, Malkin drolly responds, “I don’t know. Antisemitism?” And Isaac really goes full Clooney in these early scenes, toggling between easy charm and melancholy soulfulness. Comic actor Nick Kroll plays his associate, and Melanie Laurent is an anesthesiologist (and ex-girlfriend of Malkin’s) who’s upset about her own previously botched case. As they get the band together, the movie takes on a heist-picture flavor: call it “Ben-Gurion’s 11.” (Simon Russell Beale has a gratifying cameo as the then-Prime Minister.)

Ben Kingsley plays Eichmann, and you begin to understand not just why Isaac is in the picture but why  he’s also got a producer credit: once the gang has Eichmann under wraps and is forced to keep him in a safe house for an extended period waiting for the aircraft to fly him out, it’s Acting Duel Time. The Mossad agents need a signed form from Eichmann. The war criminal, implacable, refuses to put pen in hand. So Malkin works on him. A scene in which Isaac’s character shaves Kingsley’s character with a straight razor is not unimpressive, although the movie never reaches “Marathon Man” heights.

As their conflict heightens, so too do the World War II flashbacks, which include scenes of mass executions, stark contradictions to Eichmann’s protestations that he was a bureaucrat who was just following orders. The filmmaker Claude Lanzmann, the philosopher Theodor Adorno, and the critic Gilbert Adair have all argued, in different ways, that the depiction of Holocaust atrocities, particularly the simulated depiction of them, is something like secular blasphemy and should be not done. But this attempted taboo has been violated so frequently, and often so heedlessly, that it seems quixotic to even bring it up. I do so because I was disquieted by it, and have to go on the record as saying that.

In several other respects, though, “Operation Finale,” despite its other elaborations on the historical record, is engrossing and a little moving. And Isaac is a very winning and effective messenger of Peter Malkin’s heroism and humanity. 

from All Content https://ift.tt/2N0GtA0

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews... Blindspot (S02E18) Senile Lines Airdate: April 5, 2017 @nbctv Ratings: 4.336 Million :: 0.89 18-49 Demo Share Score: 3.75/10 **********SPOILERS BELOW********** I've been working on Blindspot reviews and back cataloging my reviews for the show all day across social media... So it's been... Exhausting, to say the least. Still, and I stand firm on this, Blindspot is infinitely better than ABC's 'Quantico'. As eager as I am to switch it up... Its nice to see the show close out a few arcs that have been begging to be put down or at least moved forward. To really get to the bare bones of why this episode wasn't as successful as the S1 visit and extreme scrutinization of the team by Internal Affairs, we need a little bit of compare and contrast. I'm gonna take you back to (S01E13) 'Erase Weary Youth'. You might not remember it by name, but besides the fun, care-free Rich Dotcom episodes, it was one of the best entries of S1. Not only did that specific episode feature the would-be antagonist Chief Inspector Jonas Fischer from IA, played by the incredibly versatile John Hodgeman... But the show built tension and focused solely on the investigation at hand, leaving the team in a tight spot not, completely unable to work on any further tattoos or cases until the investigation was over. This was a much different investigation in the current episode we're reviewing today... As the lead investigator, Matthew Weitz (played by the extremely forgettable Aaron Abrams - 'Hannibal', 'The LA Complex', and apparently 'Blindspot'... Yeah, I don't remember him from any of those either) was just trying to find a mark to blame all the blunders the team had made under Weller's lead. Fischer was searching for a mole in S1 and ended up being shady himself, allowing the real mole (Borden) to continue his work within the FBI. Abrams is absolutely lackluster, but it wasn't like he was given the proper time that Hodgeman was given to turn up the heat and make the most of the spotlight anyway. Those signature close-up single hand shots highlighted Hodgeman's work and the tension it built upon in S1. All of that was missing here in the S2 go-round... That and the fact that we all pretty much knew exactly where they were going with this investigation, it didn't exactly make for quality tv. Maybe they knew that Abrams had limitations and weren't comfortable giving him the reigns of the episode like they did with Hodgeman in S1. If that's the case, good call! Why continue to keep Nas around after she had already basically said her goodbyes multiple times? Because we needed someone to take the fall. And really, who better to do it? The whole process just felt worn & predictable. Really we just see each character put in a room and browbeaten for their mistakes that they have made throughout both seasons, except for Reade who is holed up in a hospital bed ignoring Zapata's calls of concern... And in his state of mind, that was probably for the better. Reade's arc continues to scrape the bottom of the barrel as he's paired up with a war vet, Travis (played by Garret Dillahunt, a tv and cinema veteran who probably should have switched roles with Abrams - blame casting!) in his hospital room. At first Reade shuts him out when he first comes to, and then like clockwork he warms up to the guy and let's him in on his personal woes. The whole thing is written to absolute shit. Seriously, I can still smell the stink in the room... What a waste of a talent like Dillahunt and what an incredibly cheesy way to break ice with Reade's downward spiral. At least it all ends with Reade finally facing his demons, watching the tape with Zapata that his handsy ex-coach had filmed and filed away in his large collection of pedophile conquests, a collection Jared from Subway would pay millions for. It was never necessary for us to see what was on the tape... But once again, Blindspot fumbles a touchdown and chooses to opt out of even a reaction. I get it, I do. This is network television and there's only so far that NBC is willing to push the envelope. But goddammit, Rob Brown who plays Edgar would've nailed this scene. I really believe that. I've said it before because I see a lot of people confuse bad writing with Brown's acting ability. This kid has talent, but if you don't allow him these big moments to shine and always take the easy way out, he can't prove that. It's disappointing, but at least it's over. The original clan, minus one who's dead anyway, can reunite and go after Sandstorm. At least we got something accomplished here, unfortunately it was a straight up mess to get to that point.

[iuo1133]

Warning: This story contains major spoilers from Wednesday’s episode of Blindspot. Read at your own risk! A member of the FBI’s special task force left the team for good during Wednesday’s episode of Blindspot. During the hour, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Weitz (Aaron Abrams) returned to give a deposition about the failed Sandstorm raid, aiming to get the team disbanded and advance his own career. While it looked like Weller (Sullivan Stapleton) would take the fall to keep Weitz from bringing the team in front of Congress, Nas (Archie Panjabi) ends up taking responsibility for every misstep, thus giving Weitz a win and taking the heat off the team. Is Nas gone for good? EW turned to executive producer Martin Gero to find out: ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Nas has taken the blame. MARTIN GERO: Yeah, she took a bullet, took one for the team. Is this the end of Archie’s run on the show? Gosh, I hope not. All I’ll say is this is not the last you’ll see of Archie, I think. When we were lucky enough to cast her, we kept expanding her role, because she’s so great and we love having her. Usually, with a character like this, we’d kill [her] off, but we just love having her around so much, and we didn’t need someone to die at this particular moment, so we left it with a question mark. She’s still very much out in the world on Blindspot, and hopefully situations will line up and she’ll maybe be able to come back and do some more. Will she be back by the end of the season? Well, you’ll just have to wait and find out. Did you consider showing Nas getting dragged in front of Congress, even if it was in the background? Will we get some resolution as to this Weitz case? I don’t think you need that necessarily. It’s not about the Weitz case, it’s about her insanely selfless act. We did discuss what it would look like if we did an actual Senate hearing, but we thought this was more contained and personal for her. Play Video How will the team deal with her absence moving forward, especially since Nas provided so much access? The good news is she’s been priming Patterson. She gave Patterson the keys to the kingdom, so to speak, in episode 8 or 9. Patterson does have a lot of the access that Nas has. More importantly, she’s given them the greatest going-away present ever, which is the access to Sandstorm’s funds. At the close of the hour, Shepherd has picked up something from Bangkok. What’s going on there? There’s a lot of nuclear material in that final shot, which will be real scary to everybody. The fact that she says, “You might want to avoid the Western Hemisphere,” that’s also very bad. There’s only so many places where you can buy that kind of material, so we went all the way to Thailand. Fun fact: We shot that in Thailand. The end of this episode and giant pieces of the next episode were shot on location in Bangkok. There’s an amazing action sequence in the beginning of the next episode that was done with this phenomenal Thai action stunt team that is very, very exciting. If she’s going the nuclear route, is Shepherd ready and willing to die for her plans? Does she have a death wish? I don’t think she has a death wish, but she’s certainly willing to give her life to the cause. She’s a true believer, she believes what they’re doing is bigger than anyone, including her. She’s insanely dangerous. As we get closer to Phase 2, does stopping Shepherd start to feel hopeless for the team? The good news is from episode 16 on, the tide has started to turn. They really have been registering serious wins. Even at the end of this episode, even though they lost Nas to bureaucracy, she’s given them a road map to really hurt Sandstorm. You’ll see in these last four episodes some massive blows are landed against Sandstorm, so the team finally feels like they’re gaining momentum. Stopping it is just a question of: Can they get there in time? Will any of the tattoos on Jane’s body actually lead to Phase 2? No, Shepherd wouldn’t do that because she wants to hide her true intentions. But I will say, though, there is a moment at the end of episode 21 that all of the tattoos start to line up. You start to understand in a greater whole, not just the Weller of it all, what they were meant to do. Is there anything you can tease about the finale? I got a call from NBC the other day; they’ve seen up to episode 20. They’re just so excited creatively with how the show is going. I really think 19-22 is our best run of episodes we’ve done. They’re very emotional, there’s a lot of humor in them, they’re a lot of fun and the highest stakes ever. Episode 22, it’s hard to think of it as its own island because all of these episodes lead into each other, but the most satisfying payoffs we’ve ever had, both for the plot and more importantly the characters, are coming in these last four episodes. Are you going to end with a cliffhanger? Of course. Wouldn’t be Blindspot without a cliffhanger. I will say regardless of what happens, because we’ve designed these seasons as solid beginning, middle, and end, it’s going to be a very satisfying ending. We’re covered both ways. Blindspot airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.

[thingsandstuffwithalvin]

EpisodeReview: BLINDSPOT 2x18 (Spoilers)

Season 2, Episode 18: “Senile Lines”

Matthew Weitz returns and leads the depositions for Kurt Weller and his team, accusing them of aiding and abetting Sandstorm’s terrorism. Meanwhile a tattoo-case has the FBI looking into a non-profit organization with mysterious ties to foster homes. With help from Roman, the FBI goes in search for missing foster children after one of the children is found dead. Reade faces his demons.

I didn’t much care for this episode as it began, but that changed as soon as the mystery behind this tattoo adventure became clear. The reason why Jane’s tattoo alluded to a non-profit organization was because it used foster children to test experimental drugs, which lead to the death of a child living in one of their foster homes.

It would have been easy to brush off this tattoo-case, since as a fan, you would likely want to focus more on the investigation against Kurt and the team. But once again, Blindspot shows off how it can handle serious cases that involves crime against children; I’m referring, of course, to the Coach Jones case, which sparked Reade’s troubles this season.

I also have to commend this episode for managing to properly weave in a role for Roman. Though it is terribly unrealistic to have a known terrorist under house arrest, in the custody of an FBI associate(?), having Roman on this particular case and using his empathy for orphaned children was clearly an asset. Although he could never gain the level of trust the FBI has for Jane, it’s good that they’re giving Roman more to do.

Character Commentary 

Edgar Reade

After hitting rock-bottom in the previous episode, Reade wakes up in a hospital room he shares with an army veteran named Travis, played by Garrett Dillahunt. Their interaction was cliché as you could get, as Reade initially refused to open up, but it was nice to watch him finally get over his stubbornness.

Reade has been spiraling for most of this season and it now looks like he’s on the road to recovery--which begs the question: What’s on the tape? Is Blindspot willing to go that dark and reveal that he was indeed molested as a child? Looks like we’ll have to wait for our answer in the next episode.

Nas Kamal

The depositions were well constructed and made a lot of good points that could incriminate Kurt Weller and his team. This made it all the more admirable for Nas to take the blame for the FBI’s missteps in their crusade to take down Sandstorm.

It’s unclear whether or not this is the last we’ll see of Nas in the near future, but she was a great addition to the team and an interesting character. Her evolving role in the season was great watch; starting as a mysterious, conniving new member, to Kurt’s new love-interest, and eventually a trusted friend. It’ll be hard to let go of this character but perhaps the team dynamic will tap into something we might be missing from Season 1, with Reade’s eventual return.

-Now why would Shepherd advise against visiting the western hemisphere?