Blindspot – My Art Project

By starrymag | October 26, 2018

By: Jessica Wolff

 

Thirteen years ago, Andrew Jackness (Vincent Ticali) asks Jason Stack (Tim Guinee) if anyone will know what they did as he carves a map into metal. Jason replies that the right people will, and the engraved map is placed in FBI headquarters. In the present, Jane Doe (Jaimie Alexander) declares to Roman (Luke Mitchell) that she hates Kurt Weller (Sullivan Stapleton) and wants revenge. Once Roman tells her the plan, Jane asks how they’re going to do it. Roman reminds her that it’s her plan, as he’s a hallucination.

 

Jane decides that they need to start by finding Shepherd and breaking her out. Roman assures her she can do it, but Jane tells him none of their plans will mean anything if she’s dead. He tells her that he’s not alone, as he will guide her. Jane reminds him she’s dying, but Roman assures her that his data caches will lead to a cure. She asks why he didn’t use the cure on himself, and Roman suggests he just wasn’t able to get it in time.

 

Rich Dotcom (Ennis Esmer) welcomes Weller back to the FBI. Edgar Reade (Rob Brown) asks if there’s been any leads on Dolan’s contact, and Patterson (Ashley Johnson) reports that Dolan met someone before he died that she’s working to identify. Rich reports to Reade that he has news on Tasha Zapata (Audrey Esparza), showing him a photo of Zapata in Paris with Blake. Reade questions what Zapata is doing with Blake, believing she would only go to Blake if she was under duress. He asks Rich to keep digging, but to keep it secret until they have more information.

 

Patterson reports to the team that Blake’s plane crashed, and that Madeline Burke (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) is now in charge of the company. Weller asks what they know about her, and Reade orders them to find more information on Burke, privately asking Rich to find out who was on the plane.

 

As Rich and Patterson walk by the engraved map, Rich recognizes the shape of New Zealand matches the shape of a tattoo. They find other irregularities in the map and Rich suggests they get an art expert to look at it, specifically Boston Arliss Crab (Josh Dean). Patterson accuses him of just wanting to see Boston, but Rich argues that his expertise can help them save lives.

 

In the lab, Rich asks Boston if he wants anything. Boston tells him it won’t be necessary as he’s figured the map out. Boston explains to the team that the map is laced with a super magnetic material in certain parts of the map. He demonstrates by throwing a metal powder at the map, which sticks to the magnetized parts. They do a reading of the magnetic parts and add the number together to lead to a website with an address.

 

Reade thanks Boston for his help, but Rich wants credit for bringing him in as well. Reade offers Boston a chance to help with future cases, and Boston jumps at the opportunity of leaving house arrest. Reade tells Jane and Weller to investigate the address, but Jane suggests that Patterson go instead for her puzzle expertise. Reade likes the suggestions and assigns Jane and Patterson to the investigation. Weller argues he’s cleared for fieldwork, but Reade wants his help in investigating Burke.

 

As Jane and Patterson investigate, Jane asks if they have the right address. Patterson finds an ATM, that lights up and starts talking to them. The ATM asks if they want to make a transaction, but Jane points out they don’t have a pin. Patterson finds irregularities with the pattern on the screen and solves the puzzle. Upon entering the pin, the machine identifies them, and the room fills with knockout gas.

 

Jane and Patterson wake up and find they’re in a server room. Jason tells them to drop their weapons and phones, and Jane demands to know who he is. He identifies himself as being a part of an underground NSA operation called Zero Division. He explains that they have people in all of the agencies sharing information to gain intel, explaining that it allows them to help people without bureaucracy. Jane asks what he wants, and Jason explains that there is an imminent attack, requesting specific FBI case files to stop it.

 

In Paris, Zapata meets with Burke, reporting the biographical information about Burke she’s created for the FBI, asking what she should let the FBI find next. Burke tells her that she wouldn’t want the FBI to know that she felt relief at her husband’s death. She explains that she saw an opportunity when Crawford died, and she pushed her husband out of the way, so she could take it. Burke details her murder of her husband, poisoning his coffee and enjoying him realizing she was behind it. Zapata promises the FBI won’t know about it, and Burke tells her they’re going to Stockholm.

 

Reade brings in Jake Keaton (Chad Donella) on the case, and Keaton asks if he’s heard from Zapata. He tells Reade that she’s hard to find, and Reade expresses his concern that she was on Blake’s flight. Reade is surprised that Keaton doesn’t know anything about it, and Keaton tells him that the CIA is questioning Zapata’s loyalty. He adds that the CIA views Zapata as a mess to clean up, and that they will increase their efforts to find her if they know about her meeting with Blake.

 

Patterson and Jane report they don’t know the second location, as Jason made it impossible for them to figure it out. Weller reports that Kamal says that she has no knowledge of Jason or the operation, but insists the tattoo is there for a reason. Patterson tells them that Jason’s intel seems legitimate, but the requested files were unconnected cold cases. Rich argues that this all of this is a trap, and Patterson suggests they bring Boston back to help them investigate. However, Rich doesn’t like the suggestion and suggests they should bring in someone else.

 

Boston identifies the creator of the map as Jackness but adds that he died a few years ago. Keaton suggests that Jackness’ university was known as a center for Russian espionage, and the team speculates that the operation has multiple government agents presenting intel to the Russians. Reade mentions that black sites might be involved and asks them to investigate. Later, Jane suggests to Roman that Jason could know how to find Shepherd. Roman asks if she’s up to the task, and Jane challenges him to stop her.

 

Patterson, Rich, and Boston report to Reade that Jason was found in an old photo with Jackness and they found an ID card labeling him as a visiting professor. They tell him that Jason’s real identity is Boris Solokov, and Boston suggests they use the new intel to figure out how he is being funded. Rich suggests that Boston go back home, but Patterson insists Boston needs to stay.

 

In Stockholm, Kira Evans (Gloria Reuben) finds Zapata sitting in her kitchen. Kira points her gun, but Zapata tells her she emptied the bullets. Zapata informs her she doesn’t work for the FBI anymore and she’s with Burke now. Zapata requests the copy of Crawford’s hard drive from her safe and promises she won’t hurt her if she hands it over.

 

Keaton tells the team the CIA helped Boris’ family defect to the US, and he doesn’t know they’re living with new identities under CIA protection. Jane suggests that she and Patterson return with the requested files. Weller suggests they stake Boris out before the gas comes back into play. Keaton argues that Boris intends to use them not hurt them, and Reade agrees with Keaton. Patterson suggests they can create an antidote to counteract the gas, so they can figure out where they’re being taken. Boston brings in scones for the team, and Weller asks why Rich never brings them scones as he notices Jane taking photos of the screens.

 

Kira hands over the hard drive, and Kira tells Burke that she never underestimated her. Burke comments that it’s a shame she’s loyal to a dead man before shooting her, handing the gun to Zapata, and telling her to take care of it. Patterson identifies the chemical in the gas and tells Reade her team is working on an antidote. Reade admits he’s uncomfortable with handing files over to a Russian spy, and Boston suggests he forge them. Rich is against the idea, and Reade agrees that they need to bring the real files to sell the operation.

 

Weller tells Jane he wants to talk to her before she goes out, but Jane tells him he has nothing to worry about. He is worried that the gas might affect her zip poisoning and confronts her about taking photos of the screens. Jane lies that sometimes it’s hard to remember details, and Weller reminds her that she promised he’d be the first person to tell if this was happening. She apologizes but calls him out for trying to get back out in the field in his condition like she is. Jane assures him that she’s just trying to help people and Weller promises to drop it.

 

As Zapata stages the murder to look like a break-in, she hears a noise. She searches the house and finds Kira’s Daughter (Mia Fowler) hiding in her closet. Zapata puts her finger to her lips and closes the door. Jane and Patterson approach the ATM and Patterson puts the pin in. Patterson is knocked out by the gas, but Jane isn’t as a flashback reveals she switched the powder in Patterson’s pill with sugar before Weller approached her.

 

As Boris approaches, Jane gets up, steals his gun, and points it. She tells him she wants to make a deal, telling him she knows who he is. Boris asks what she wants, and Jane asks for all the files related to CIA black sites in exchange. He asks why he should trust her, and she tells him that she’s not really with the FBI and his family is alive. Boris accuses her of lying, but she proves it by showing the photos she took of Patterson’s screens. Jane promises the location in exchange for the files but warns him that Patterson will wake up soon.

 

Rich informs Reade that Zapata was on the manifest for Blake’s fight, but Reade refuses to believe it. As Boris uploads the files, he attempts to process the revelation of his family’s defection and asks why she wants the files. She answers that it’s about family, and Boris discretely pushes a button under his desk.

 

Rich is surprised that Boston is still there, and Boston taunts him that Reade wants him around because Rich is underperforming. Keaton informs the team that a Russian hit squad with ties to Boris has been activated. Weller blames Reade for sending Jane and Patterson on the mission, and Rich breaks up the argument to suggest they track the hit squad’s phones to their location. Rich and Boston argue over who is more equipped to track them, and Weller yells at them to hurry up.

 

Rich gives the team the location, and Boris sees the FBI arrive. Boris and Jane point their guns at each other, and Jane insists she’s telling the truth. Boris threatens to kill her if she doesn’t tell him his family’s location, but Jane refuses until she has the files. Jane tells him that they’re running out of time and asks him to pretend to hold her hostage to prevent Weller from shooting him. She asks him to keep their deal a secret, and Boris pretends to take her hostage as the FBI enters.

 

Boris refuses to let go of Jane, and Weller shoots him at Jane’s signal. Jane pockets the drive as Patterson wakes up. Jane explains that she woke up before Patterson, and Weller blames himself for her being out on her own, promising to be there from now on. Rich approaches Boston in the locker room to say goodbye and apologize for his behavior. Boston thanks Rich for not telling the FBI of his house arrest violation, and Rich admits that he went crazy when he thought Boston was trying to steal his job. However, Boston tells him that he does intend to steal his job and Rich threatens to tell them about the violation. Boston counters that there’s so much he can tell them about him and tells him to enjoy his last days as consultant.

 

Roman tells Jane they can’t find Shepherd without the complete files, but Jane points out that the FBI confiscated Boris’ servers. Jane suggests that a certain morally grey hacker can help her with a push. Roman warns her she needs to find Shepherd before they transfer her, and Jane tells him it’s only a matter of time until Patterson finds out she is Dolan’s contact. Jane prepares a needle, telling Roman that it’s going to be hard to keep up the Jane act with Weller in the field. Roman comments that killing Weller is a good plan if she’s capable of it, and Jane is offended by the implication. Weller comes in and Jane hides the needle. He asks what she’s hiding behind her back, and Roman tells Jane to kill him.