Blindspot – Hella Duplicitious

By starrymag | October 18, 2018

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

In Tokyo, Edgar Reade (Rob Brown) follows Akiko (Rila Fukushima) down the street, as Patterson (Ashley Johnson) uses a guide to help her speak Japanese to the bartender in a bar. As they wait in the dining room, Rich Dotcom (Ennis Esmer) questions to Jane Doe (Jaimie Alexander) why Akiko would want to meet in a place that confiscates guns. Jane explains that it’s neutral territory, but Rich doesn’t like it. He comments that it’s like a previous mission and is surprised that Jane doesn’t remember it.

 

Jane assures Rich that she understands the plan, detailing that Patterson is playing tourist in order to put a recorder on a bottle behind the bar that will help them get the combination for the safe next to it after Akiko opens it. After Rich trades the katana in his hands to Akiko, Reade will create a distraction, allowing them to get into the safe and steal one of Roman’s (Luke Mitchell) data caches. Rich complains about Roman hiding his caches in dangerous places, but Jane points out that it allowed the data to be safe if something happened to him.

 

Patterson reports that Akiko has arrived, and Jane reminds Rich that he’s playing the role of a businessman named Simon. Rich presents the sword to Akiko in Japanese and is surprised when she responds in English. Akiko challenges Rich to a game before the transaction is complete and Patterson questions why she’s stalling. Rich agrees to the game, and Jane, Reade, and Patterson warn him to make it quick. As they play, Rich talks about the ability of computers to master the game despite Patterson’s warning to hurry up. Through his words, Akiko is able to identify him as Rich despite his attempts to deny it.

 

Akiko tells Rich that he has many enemies in Japan, and he and Jane run away as Akiko sends her men after them. Reade and a couple of the guards start shooting at each other, and Patterson decides to try to get into the safe by freezing the lock. She asks Rich for help to figure out which of the Japanese labeled bottles contains the alcohol she needs but tells her to try the alcohol to figure it out as he and Jane run to the roof.

 

Jane uses a katana to fight off the guards, while Rich watches. She kills the guards as Patterson tries the alcohol for identification. Akiko approaches them with two swords, and Patterson starts to make the concoction. Reade takes out a nearby guard, and Patterson freezes the lock. She breaks open the safe and pulls out the cache. As Jane and Akiko fight, Rich grabs a katana to join the fight but chickens out at the last second. Jane disarms Akiko, and Akiko asks for Jane to kill her. Rich tells them that the FBI doesn’t execute people, but Jane kills Akiko as after Akiko charges at her. Patterson tells them they need to leave and asks Jane if she’s okay. Jane replies that she’s never been better as their helicopter arrives.

 

In New York, Kurt Weller (Sullivan Stapleton) is happy to see Jane home and kisses her. She notices that he’s not wearing his brace, and he tells her he drove. Jane is worried, but he insists he’s fine. Weller tells her they have the apartment to themselves, but Jane tells him she has to change for work. Patterson tells them that Roman’s cache is legitimate, but Rich tells them that the data is encrypted. Reade tells them to decrypt it so they can focus on stopping Crawford’s company, but Rich questions if the company is still a threat now that Crawford is dead.  Patterson suggests that Crawford’s plans are still in motion, comparing it to Hydra.

 

In Paris, Tasha Zapata (Audrey Esparza) urges Blake Crawford (Tori Anderson) to force a vote that will allow her to gain control of the company. Blake reminds her it’s against protocol, but Zapata questions if Crawford would follow protocol. Zapata tells her to arrange a meeting with her biggest doubters to convince them to vote in her favor, and Blake comments that she’s glad Zapata’s on her side. Patterson walks in on Reade listening to Zapata’s last voicemail and tells him they found bad news on Roman’s cache.

 

Patterson explains to Jane that her zip poisoning will eventually kill her. Jane is confident that Shepherd and Roman wouldn’t inject her with something toxic, but Patterson suggests they didn’t know the dangers of it. Reade explains that the cache contains theories of potential cures, and Patterson reminds her that she hasn’t had any advanced symptoms like hallucinations. Jane asks for some space and Patterson assures Weller they’ll do everything they can to save her.

 

Outside, Roman appears to Jane, confirming that he’s a hallucination and that she has less time than they thought. Jane tells him that she can’t remember the last two and a half years of her life, and that everyone has been either killed or imprisoned. Jane is angry that she has to pretend to love Weller, and Roman questions if Weller has figured out she’s Remi again. She insists she’s been maintaining her cover, and that she’s been reaching out to Sandstorm members. Roman suggests that they abandon their plans and run away, but Jane tells him that she has to work with the FBI to recover his caches if she wants to live. However, Roman suggests that he would have cured himself if he truly knew how before disappearing.

 

Reade finds Weller attempting to exercise, and Weller insists he needs to get back into the field. However, Reade advises him not to rush his recovery. Weller admits he can’t imagine his life without Jane and asks Reade how he’s dealing with Zapata leaving. Reade insists he’s fine but admits that he’s been trying to contact her. He gets notification that Patterson has something on Sandstorm but won’t let Weller go to the briefing. Patterson shows the team evidence that the last remaining member of Sandstorm has sent a coded message to a mysterious person. Roman appears, telling Jane that she already knows the code and advises her to leave before they figure it out. Jane fakes a headache and leaves the room.

 

Jane goes to the meeting place and is tackled by Dolan (Nyambi Nyambi). She warns him that the FBI is coming, but he accuses her of betraying Sandstorm. Patterson decodes Dolan’s location while Jane tries to convince Dolan that she’s really Remi. Jane knocks him to the ground when he attacks her, telling her that she is on his side. As the FBI closes in, Jane tells him that she has another place to meet. She begs him to trust her, and they are gone when the FBI arrives. In a meeting, Blake explains that she intends to follow Crawford’s vision for the company, but George Amherst (Michael Bryan French) is skeptical that she knows the true nature of the business. Madeline Burke (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) defends Blake, and Blake insists that she supports Crawford’s vision, asking for their support.

 

Dolan meets with Jane, admitting he has questions. Jane explains that she’s fully infiltrated the FBI, but Dolan reminds her they no longer have money or resources to carry out their plans. She tells him she has an idea on how to get money, suggesting they trigger a tattoo. Madeleine serves champagne to Blake and the rest of the board, toasting to Blake. Everyone except Madeleine drinks, and they all drop dead in a matter of minutes. Zapata points her weapon at Madeleine, questioning what she gave them. Madeleine tells Zapata to drop her weapon, and she complies as Madeleine tells Blake to say hello to Crawford.

 

Madeleine tells Zapata that she knows all about her, telling her that she’s always been part of her plan. Zapata questions what the plan is, and Madeleine tells her they play by her rules now. Zapata questions how she’s going to explain the deaths, and Madeleine suggests they create a story that everyone died in a shipwreck. However, Zapata suggests a plane crash will cover her tracks better and suggests that they put her on the manifest to fake her death to the FBI. Patterson tells them that one of Jane’s original tattoos has been triggered, and that it leads to a notorious underground bank. Jane flashes back to her discussing her plan with Dolan of robbing the bank as the FBI infiltrates it.

 

In the locker room, Weller tells Jane she doesn’t have to go on the mission in her condition. Jane points out he shouldn’t be working out in his condition, insisting she’s fine. Jane tells him she’s not afraid, but Weller admits he is. She promises they’ll get through this and kisses him goodbye. As they drive to the location, Jane suggests that she enter the bank alone and Reade agrees.

 

The FBI infiltrates the bank and Jane tackles the man inside. Holding her gun to him, she orders him to take her to the vault. He opens it for her, and she knocks him out. A flashback reveals that Jane removed the inside of her vest as she starts stuffing money inside. Reade asks Jane for a status report, and she tells him that she’s in the vault. Closing up her vest, she shows Reade the stacks of cash inside the vault.

 

Patterson suggests that the bank is connected to government corruption opposed to criminal activity.  Matthew Weitz (Aaron Abrams) enters the office, telling them that he’s been named FBI director. He asks them to catch him up on the bank business, and Rich comments that he likes him after he leaves, though nobody shares his enthusiasm. Jane finds Weller looking up potential cures and he explains he wants to be there for her. She promises to tell him if anything changes but asks him to stop acting like she’s going to die at any moment. He agrees to stop hovering, and they embrace.

 

Patterson and Rich identify the last member of Sandstorm as Dolan, explaining that they were able to identify him from his cell phone. Jane questions their methods, but Patterson explains their reasoning and gives them Dolan’s current location. As they pursue him, Roman reminds Jane that they have to get to Dolan first. Reade reports that he has eyes on the target from his car, and Roman urges Jane to get rid of Reade. Jane honks at a car, and Reade swerves to avoid it. She lies that the car came out of nowhere, and Jane follows Dolan. Reade speeds up to Dolan and slams his car into his. Jane approaches the wreck, and Dolan tells her to make them pay as he dies.

 

Jane argues that Sandstorm isn’t a problem since Dolan is dead, but Reade reminds her that they need to find out who Dolan was contacting. Weller declares that they are now the FBI’s most wanted. Madeleine and Zapata watch a press conference of Weitz’ introduction with Reade in the background, and Madeleine comments that Weitz is malleable. Madeleine notices how Zapata reacts to Reade and asks if she would be willing to kill him if necessary. Zapata replies that she would without question, while Patterson and Rich report to Weller that Roman was contacting nobody in his final moments, suggesting that he was hallucinating a phone call. As Weller goes home to check on Jane, Patterson tells Rich that they are not telling Weller of their other discovery, a book of Roman’s secrets, and urges him to drop it.

 

Patterson checks on Reade and talks to him about Zapata’s voicemail. She tells him he’s allowed to miss her and explains that she was able to identify that Zapata was in Zurich at the time of the message because of the trolley sound in the background. Weller walks in on Jane studying their wedding video in an attempt to maintain her cover, but she lies that she was watching it because she didn’t want to forget it. Weller promises she won’t and offers to get them dinner. Once he’s gone, Roman compliments her cover story and Jane affirms she hates Weller. She declares that she wants revenge, and Roman tells her they’re going to break Shepherd out, find a cure, and kill Weller.