Blindspot – In Words, Drown I

By starrymag | May 9, 2017

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

 

Tasha Zapata (Audrey Esparza) goes through the intake process as she enters the prison.  Several inmates glare at her as she is led to her cell.  An inmate, Liz (Yadira Correa) bullies another inmate, Devon Penberthy (Ronda Rousey), into giving up her toothbrush.  She hands it over but makes a snarky comment as she walks away.  Zapata gives Devon her toothbrush, but she tells her that she need to mind her business if she wants to survive.

 

Jane Doe (Jaimie Alexander) checks in on Roman (Luke Mitchell), who asks Jane when she’s going to tell Kurt Weller (Sullivan Stapleton) about the memory of him killing Taylor Shaw’s mother.  Jane promises that she will, but she doesn’t want to jeopardize the progress they have made in earning Weller’s trust.  However, Roman still wants to tell Weller the truth.  Weller confronts Patterson (Ashley Johnson) about not going home at night.  Patterson tries to deny this, but Weller shows her the key card log.  Despite Weller’s concern, Patterson insists that there is a lot of work to do.  Weller tells her that they can’t have her burn out.  Patterson assures that it won’t happen again and leaves.  Weller stops her and tells her that they have to take care of themselves and each other or they won’t stand a chance against Sandstorm and urges her to see Dr. Karen Sun (Li Jun Li).

 

Arriving at headquarters, Jane asks Weller about Zapata.  She tells him that she’s worried about Roman and that he still feels trapped.  Weller invites her and Roman over for dinner, and Jane agrees to bring Roman over.  Zapata walks into the kitchen where Liz accuses Devon of getting her in trouble.  She replies with a snarky comment, but Liz punches her in the face.  Zapata steps in and defends Devon, leading to a fight between her and Liz.  Both Zapata and Devon fight off the other inmates, and the guards run in to break up the fight.  Nobody talks when questioned about the fight, and the correctional officer (Erika Rolfsrud) takes everyone back to their cells.

 

Zapata meets Weller in the visiting room, and Weller is concerned about her bruises.  Though Zapata assures him that everything is under control, Weller tells her that this operation is not worth getting hurt over.  In a flashback, Patterson gets Intel from Sandstorm’s files about another possible name: Devon Penberthy.  Recently arrested for transporting weapons, Weller wants to bring her in to question her about Sandstorm’s plans.  Jane argues that she would refuse to talk about Sandstorm, and suggests going undercover to talk to her in prison.  Weller argues that Devon might recognize Jane, and Zapata volunteers instead.  Despite Weller’s objections, Zapata argues that they have to start playing offense instead of defense.  Weller warns her about the dangers and tells her to smuggle in a burner phone so she can contact them.

 

Back in the present, Weller expresses his concerns about Zapata’s injuries and Zapata tells him that she started the fight.  Weller wants to pull the plug on the operation, but Zapata reminds him that this might be a good opportunity to get answers.  He gives her twelve hours, and Zapata comes back to cell to find her bed on fire.  When Weller arrives back at headquarters, Jane tells him that she wants to talk about Roman.  She tells him about Roman’s memory, and Weller asks when he remembered it.  She confesses that she’s known for weeks, and apologizes for keeping it from him.  Weller tells her that she should have told him as soon as he had the memory.  Jane insists that she was trying to protect Weller, but Weller accuses her of withholding the information to protect Roman while she was trying to get him released from his cell.  She tries to apologize, but Weller yells at her for breaching his trust and compromising the mission before telling her to get out of his office.

 

In prison, Devon sits across from Zapata in the cafeteria.  She asks Zapata what she’s in for, and she makes up a story of a false drug charge and that she took the fall for boyfriend’s crew.  Emphasizing that she’s not a snitch, she asks Devon questions about herself.  Patterson’s computer starts malfunctioning and she asks Stuart (Jordan Johnson-Hinds) about it.  He tells her that he had to shut down half of her computers for an update, and Patterson yells at him.  Patterson shows Weller and Jane that Devon has a connection with a Wes Hartley (Sean Weil).  The three speculate about their relationship, and Weller wants to bring him in for questioning.

 

In the interrogation room, Wes tells Weller that he met Devon six years ago and denies ever being in a romantic relationship with her.  He identifies Parker (Jefferson White) as Devon’s boyfriend from a photo Weller shows him.  Jane tells the team that Parker was very close to Sheppard (Michelle Hurd) during her time in the compound and speculates that his role in Sandstorm has increased since they lost Roman and Borden.  Weller tells Patterson to contact Zapata with a new plan.  In prison, Zapata walks with Devon and offers to let her contact her boyfriend with the burner phone she smuggled in.  Before she can use it, Liz stabs Devon as she walks by with the other inmates.

 

From the closet, Zapata calls the team and informs them of Devon’s stabbing, but assures them that Devon is going to be okay.  Weller plans to get Devon transferred to FBI custody, but Zapata argues that she is more likely to lead them to Parker if she helps break Devon out.  Weller tries to argue, but Zapata tells him that she’s not asking for permission and demands their help.  In the weight room, Weller approaches Roman and asks to spot him while he’s lifting.  Instead, he presses the weight into his neck and confronts him about the memory.  Roman apologizes for not telling him sooner and Weller puts the weight back into place.  He assures Weller that the old him died when Sheppard erased his memories and asks Weller not to blame Jane.

 

Patterson, Weller, and Jane discuss the plans to help Zapata break Devon out of prison.  Zapata turns the burner phone into a tazer and takes out the correctional officer before dragging her away.  She goes into the infirmary and rushes to Devon’s bed.  She tries to convince her to escape, but Devon tells her she can’t leave.  With some convincing, she gets her to get up.  Weller goes into the prison, posing as an electrical engineer.  A male correctional officer (Aaron Morton) refuses to leave Weller’s side as he works, and Weller fakes a cough to get him to leave.  Once he is gone, Weller calls Patterson.  Though Patterson needs time to figure out which wire he needs to cut, Jane sees Zapata and Devon leave the infirmary.  Patterson quickly tells him which wire to cut, and the power goes out in the prison.

 

As they dodge guards and inmates, Liz and her friends confront Zapata and Devon.  They begin to fight each other, and Patterson tells Jane that they have to get to the on-site backup generator.  The correctional officer breaks up the fight and Zapata and Devon run outside in the chaos.  Jane shoots out the back-up generator and Zapata helps Devon climb over the electric fence to escape.  They jump into the car left for them and they drive away to safety.  Jane and Weller listen in on Zapata and Devon as Devon offers to drive them to a remote location to hide out after refusing to call her boyfriend.

 

Weller mentions his conversation with Roman, and Jane tells him to be angry at her instead.  Weller tells her that Roman said the same thing, and is frustrated with both of them.  Jane reminds him that Roman is not the same person as she is not the same person she was before she came to the FBI.  Weller talks about how Taylor’s mother told him never to give up searching for Taylor, and that he can’t stand her being killed because of her connection to him.  Jane empathizes with him and assures him that they will get Sheppard and every person connected to Sandstorm.

 

Zapata notices that Devon is bleeding out, and recommends getting her to a doctor.  Devon reminds her that she forced her out of the infirmary, and Zapata asks if there is she can call for help.  She hands Devon a phone and she calls Parker.  Jane and Weller listen in as Parker tells her to meet near a deli.  Weller tells Patterson to send backup to the location.  Devon pulls the car into a scrap yard, and Zapata questions their stop.  Jane tracks their location and figures that they are two miles away.  Parker pulls up, and Devon tells Zapata that she used a code to misdirect the location.  Devon embraces Parker, and Zapata stuffs the phone in her shirt.  Stepping out of the car, Parker identifies her immediately.  Zapata tries to fight back, but he knocks her out.

 

Jane and Weller arrive at the scrap yard and find that everyone is gone.  The signal on the phone is dead, but Patterson uses traffic cams to pinpoint where Parker and Devon have taken Zapata.  Parker and Devon open the trunk where a bound and gagged Zapata has been stuffed inside.  Devon is mad that she didn’t see through Zapata’s concern, and Parker tells her that they will use Zapata as bait to lure Weller.  Patterson’s computer starts glitching and she pushes Stuart up against a wall and demands to know who he is working for.  After he insists that he made a mistake, Patterson apologizes and excuses herself.

 

Weller tries to talk to Patterson, but Stuart answers.  He tells them that Zapata’s phone briefly reactivated and gives them the address.  Jane tells Weller about the location, and he suggests that they split up when they get there.  Jane and Weller lead separate groups into the warehouse. Weller finds Zapata tied to a chair in the middle.  As Weller pulls out her gag, Devon shoots at them.  Jane enters from above with her team and approaches Parker and Devon.  Weller replaces Zapata’s weight on the pad with a refrigerator and she runs to safety.  Jane fights with Devon and uses her as a shield against Parker’s bullet.  Weller sneaks up behind Parker and knocks him out with his gun, declaring that they’ve got him.

 

Back at headquarters, Weller questions Parker about Sandstorm, but Parker refuses to talk.  Weller is confident that he can get him to talk eventually, but Zapata is skeptical.  Zapata is furious and she doesn’t want her life-threatening mission to provide zero answers.  She suggests other methods to get him to talk, insisting that there are no rules when it comes to Sheppard.  Despite his objections, she reminds him that Parker tried to kill him today as well.  Patterson meets with Dr. Sun and insists that her attack of Stuart was an overreaction.  Dr. Sun asks Patterson if she trusts herself since Borden, and Patterson admits that she doesn’t.  She breaks down about his violation of trust and how she never got closure for what he did.  Weller approaches Jane and tells him to postpone dinner.  Assuring her that he knows that Roman isn’t the same person, Weller is having trouble forgiving them.  Jane admits that she wish she could change the past.

 

Zapata visits Edgar Reade (Rob Brown), who apologizes that he couldn’t be there for her during the mission.  Zapata questions whether they should bend the rules to get answers, and Reade reminds her that the FBI has rules.  Roman cuts his hand while cutting vegetables and Jane bandages his hand up.  He has a flashback to Jane wiping his memory and gets mad at her for lying to him.  Jane tries to apologize, but Roman grabs the knife and lunges for her.