Blindspot – Artful Dodge

By starrymag | March 29, 2018

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

Dr. Robert Borden (Ukweli Roach) interrupts Mihael’s (Alex Hanna) torture of a man, warning him not to go too far. He shows the victim his arm, warning him that death is preferable to extreme pain. Edgar Reade (Rob Brown) has Patterson (Ashley Johnson) and Tasha Zapata (Audrey Esparza) assist him with his cake tasting. Jane Doe (Jaimie Alexander) and Kurt Weller (Sullivan Stapleton) are eager to join when they arrive and Rich Dotcom (Ennis Esmer) asks to speak to Patterson. In Geneva, Roman (Luke Mitchell) talks on the phone to an unknown person, commenting that nothing is irreversible. Hank Crawford (David Morse) shows him an invitation for an upcoming gala where he plans to make the land deal. Crawford takes a call and Roman takes a picture of the invitation.

 

Rich shows Patterson that the forum that the dragonfly tattoo pointed to has a new post in it. They suggest that there are older messages that they will be able to dig up. Jane asks to speak to Patterson, and shows her an encrypted text she receives that she speculates is from Roman. Reade tells Rich that his position at the FBI is under review due to the fact that Hirst hired him. Rich is shocked to find that the review is right that moment, and Reade warns him that he will be sent back to prison if he fails.

 

Patterson tells the team about the forum, and Zapata freezes at the revelation that she cracked the dragonfly tattoo. As Patterson explains that the forum contains messages between two users, one of who is involved with a terrorist organization. The team starts to speculate, and Zapata confesses that she is one of the users while the other is Borden, who is alive and now a CIA asset. Zapata explains that she is Borden’s handler and Reade demands that she explain everything.

 

She explains that Borden survived the explosion and fled the country. One year later, the CIA discovered that Borden was in a foreign hospital. Zapata and Jake Keaton (Chad Donella) visited him, and Keaton decided to give him a deal despite Zapata’s protests. Keaton argues that they can use him to help take down Goren Gorovich (Demosthenes Chrysan).

 

Keaton tells Borden that they will give him complete immunity if he goes undercover to locate Gorovich, but Borden refuses. Keaton threatens him with lethal injection, but Borden argues that the past year has been hell for him and that he wishes he died in that explosion. Zapata brings up his dead wife, arguing that helping them would make her proud of him. Borden agrees, and Zapata argues that he’s been a valuable asset for them.

 

Weller asks Zapata why Borden is in New York, and she admits she doesn’t know. She explains that he was given a new handler once she joined the FBI task force, and Weller declares they need to arrest him. Zapata tells him they can’t do that, as it will blow his cover. She insists she has to meet him alone, and Patterson declares that there’s nothing left to talk about as she leaves the lab.

 

Zapata follows Patterson, and tries to apologize. She tells her how hard it was to keep the secret from her, and Patterson describes how haunted she has been by Borden’s betrayal. Zapata argues that she was trying to protect her, but Patterson tells her that she was furious that Borden died on his own terms and that she should have given her the opportunity to put him away for life. Zapata tells her she had no choice but to work with him, but Patterson tells her she should have refused if she cared about her more. In the hospital, Borden asks Zapata about Patterson. She grabs his arm and warns him to never say her name again.

 

Rich sits down with Millicent Van Der Waal (Lauren Stamile) and begins his review. Rich insults Hirst, and insists he had no idea what she was really doing. Millicent asks him to recount the day that Hirst was arrested, and he reluctantly reveals everything he did that day to help the team. Rich asks what she’s writing down, and she explains she’s tallying how many years he’s added to his prison sentence with that story.

 

Keaton tells the team that they have a pressing issue, explaining that Borden’s new handler, Agent Conover (Gavin Alexander Hammon), was found dead. He shows them security footage of Borden pulling Conover’s body out of the trunk, and Weller yells at him for trusting Borden. Zapata shows them that Borden is looking directly at the camera, determining that he wanted them to find him. Patterson agrees with Zapata, and Reade decides that Zapata will meet him and give him one chance to prove himself. The team stations themselves in the park and Reade spots Borden arriving. Weller spots two men coming towards him and drawing their weapons. Jane tells Zapata to get out of there while she and Reade shoot the gunman. Weller tackles Borden to the ground and points a gun at him, declaring he’s under arrest.

 

In the interrogation room, Weller and Zapata confront Borden about Conover’s murder and his request for Zapata to meet him. Borden insists they were targeting him, and that he had to kill Conover because the organization suspected that there was a mole. He clarifies that he killed Conover to put him out of his misery, as his task was to keep people alive between torture sessions. Borden tells him that the USB he had on him contains data he downloaded from the server, and Zapata questions him about his request to meet.

 

Patterson watches the interrogation, and Jane checks in on her. She admits she doesn’t know how to feel, and refuses Jane’s offer for her to sit out this mission, insisting she wants to help bring down Gorovich. Borden asks to see Patterson as Zapata and Weller wrap up their interrogation, expressing his remorse for what he did to her. However, Weller tells him that Patterson doesn’t owe him anything. Reade reports that they found a kill order for Borden on one of the gunman’s phones, confirming Borden’s story. He also reports that there was mention of an attack tomorrow.

 

Roman asks Crawford what his plans for the land are, and he explains that he wants to create a new society. He explains that children on a playground pick sides rather than break up a fight, and the teacher is the one to stop the violence. Crawford declares that his new society has a well-funded militia to stop any violence. Roman gets a headache during Crawford’s explanation and passes out.

 

Millicent questions Rich’s patriotism and calls out his attempt to trademark a sex act involving the American flag. She declares that he shouldn’t be working for the government, and she intends to make a recommendation to terminate his contract. Rich pleads with her, insisting he cares about the work and people. However, she refuses to change her mind. Reade informs the team Mihael survived the shooting in the park, and Patterson reports that she’s struggling with opening the USB. Gorovich films a video declaring that New York will soon be a mass grave.

 

Reade reports that Mihael is heavily drugged after his surgery, and Zapata suggests talking to him as a co-conspirator. Patterson suggests having Borden talk to him to help sell it, and Roman wakes up in a hospital bed. Crawford explains what happened, and Roman questions if his health is a liability issue for him. He assures Roman that it’s not and that he’s worried about him. Borden goes to interrogate Mihael, who asks him about the ending of the scorpion and the frog fable. The interrogation backfires as Mihael recognizes him and indentifies him as a traitor. Borden suggests torturing him for answers, but Patterson declares there will be no torture and that they failed.

 

Flashing back to her own torture at Borden’s hands, she storms off and orders everyone out of the lab as she throws a microscope to the ground. Rich interrupts her breakdown, and she admits that she’s not sure they’re going to be able to stop this attack. Rich shows her a secret room, comparing it to Harry Potter’s Room of Requirement. He throws her a Q-Tip shaped staff and they blow off steam by dueling each other. Patterson realizes that the ending of the scorpion of the frog is a password to decode Borden’s USB and thanks Rich.

 

Patterson decodes the files on the USB so they are readable. She tells them that the files contain Intel that Gorovich is in a Staten Island hideout and that the attack involves bombing five US cities with twenty bombs. Dr. Weber (Lisa Bostnar) tells Roman that they found ZIP in his blood. Roman mentions his struggles with PTSD, and Crawford tells him he shouldn’t be ashamed of his demons. Crawford details his rough childhood and anger, and Roman gives him vague details of his background. Crawford advises him to let go of his anger, telling him that it shouldn’t fuel his decisions.

 

Patterson pulls up a floor plan of the hideout, and Keaton tells them that the terrorists’ wives and children live in the compound. At the compound, the team takes down the outside guards and makes their way inside. Jane and Zapata assure Marta (Irina Abraham) that they won’t hurt them and that they just want Gorovich. Marta takes them to the bombs and they see that it’s rigged to explode the compound.

 

Weller and Reade find Gorovich and kick him awake. Jane warns them that he has the detonator, and Gorovich holds it up and orders them to stay back. She asks Weller to stall as she and Zapata work to disable the bombs. Jane and Zapata work as Reade asks Gorovich what he wants. Gorovich demands they let him go and threatens them. Weller agrees if he hands over the detonator. Gorovich declares that there’s no negotiation when one has a bomb and activates the detonator. Weller arrests Gorovich and Jane reports they were able to disable the bomb in time.

 

Borden is furious that they are terminating his deal, but Zapata tells him she won’t apologize. He warns her that the CIA will eventually betray her and asks to speak to Patterson. Borden pleads to Patterson through the camera, and Jane asks if she has something to say. She calls him a weak, broken shell of a man and that she will recover from this. Patterson declares that she, unlike Borden, has a future before walking away. Weber comments that Roman’s father really cares about him, and Crawford admits that he pretended to be his father so they could release his medical information. Crawford gives Roman a pen, and calls it an investment in their future together.

 

The team gives Millicent their letters supporting Rich and argues for him to stay. She agrees to delay his decision, but warns Reade that he should be more concerned about his own upcoming review. Patterson gives Zapata some documentation on the case, but tells her that their relationship can only be professional for the time being. Reade sits with Zapata at a bar and checks on her. She expresses her regret of working with Borden, but Reade argues that she wanted to be able to keep an eye on Borden and protect Patterson in her own way.

 

After Reade assures her that things are going to be okay, Zapata confesses her love for him. He reminds her that he’s getting married, and asks about her rejection when he tried to kiss her two years ago. She reminds him that he claimed it was painkillers and Reade walks out of the bar. Patterson shows Jane and Weller that she decrypted the text from Roman, an invitation to a gala tomorrow and a message indicating that they will be able to bring down Crawford there.