Blindspot – ‘Ohana

By starrymag | April 18, 2019

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

Ginny Kelling (Colby Minife) is startled by Nick (Tobias Segal) while working in a lab. He asks if she knows how dangerous it is for her to be there late, and Ginny apologizes before leaving the lab. Edgar Reade (Rob Brown) finds Tasha Zapata (Audrey Esparza) sleeping in the conference room and Zapata grabs him as he wakes her up.  Zapata apologizes upon realizing that it’s him and explains she’s been trying to find evidence of where Dominic has gone. Reade tells her that nobody expects her to find him on her own, and Kurt Weller (Sullivan Stapleton) and Jane Doe (Jaimie Alexander) bring her bagels that she had texted at four in the morning about.

 

Rich Dotcom (Ennis Esmer) comments on Zapata’s appearance and asks Patterson (Ashley Johnson) if she’s noticed. Zapata snaps at him, and Jane tells her she needs to take care of herself. Weller tells her to go home and rest, but Zapata tells them she doesn’t have an apartment anymore. Reade gives her the keys to his apartment and orders her to rest. Jane looks through the items recovered from the Sandstorm warehouse and tells Weller that it has helped her accept that Remi is a part of her.

 

Rich explains that a tattoo on Jane’s body points to a deadly food poison that has been linked to several different incidents. Later, Patterson reports that the cases were all linked to a batch of cantaloupe from the same research facility. She explains that the cantaloupe experiments might be the tip of the iceberg and Reade tells Patterson to come with them to investigate the lab. As they arrive at the facility, Patterson finds her father, Billy Nye the Science Guy (Bill Nye) working at the lab.

 

Patterson tells the team that Bill is the lead consultant as the facility. Rich offers his sympathy for her father being a criminal, but Patterson insists that Bill wouldn’t kill people. Rich questions why Bill didn’t tell Patterson about his work, but Weller argues he couldn’t because of an NDA. Reade tells them they have to treat Bill like any other suspect, and Patterson asks to talk to him.

 

Patterson asks Bill questions while Rich assumes his guilt. Patterson tells Bill that he taught her to trust the evidence and that the evidence is pointing to him. Ginny calls the accusation preposterous and Bill introduces Ginny as his research assistant. Bill and Ginny list all of the projects they’ve been working on and identify that the cantaloupe is being used in a bee experiment. Patterson tells him that poison doesn’t just end up in cantaloupe and Ginny asks if she’s checked the water supply. Patterson tells her that she’s already sent someone to check it. Rich is surprised but plays along. She tells Bill that they will be treated as suspects until they can find evidence to the contrary.

 

Jane finds a business card in her old possessions that she doesn’t recognize. Patterson theorizes that the card belongs to the person who was seen entering the facility before they recovered everything explaining that the stain on the card matches the fabric dyes of the person’s jacket. She tells them the card is for a nearby women’s shelter and Jane recognizes one of the founders, Chelsea Chalgren (Nancy Lemenager) who Shepherd had once mentioned.

 

Rich tells Patterson that the water supply didn’t contain the poison and that the water supply would affect the entire facility instead of one greenhouse. Patterson suggests that Ginny could be responsible for the poisoning, but Rich suggests that Patterson is jealous of Ginny’s relationship with Bill which Patterson denies.

 

Zapata gets a call from Claudia Murphy (Britne Oldford), who requests that they meet in person to talk. Rich and Patterson report that they’ve also found evidence of a bacteria that bees leave when they pollinate, and Patterson suggests that the bees are being genetically modified through the Crispr technology. Weller requests that they find a Bill Nye video explaining the concept, arguing that he makes science fun.

 

Patterson argues that she can be fun too, but Rich plays a clip from an old episode where Bill explains genetic modification. Rich shows them an article he found about modifying bee populations written by Ginny, and Patterson declares that she knew Ginny was behind it. Reade reports that the bees are missing, and Weller declares that the bees could kill millions of people if released.

 

Ginny denies Patterson’s accusation that she’s poisoning people, arguing that her research paper is theoretical. Patterson tells her that several people are dead and demands to know where she took the bees. Patterson shows her a form she signed off on, but Ginny tells her that she was celebrating her birthday at Bill’s house at the listed date and time. Ginny explains that she’s trying to help people by creating vaccines through pollination.

 

Patterson tells Bill that Ginny is their main suspect and gets mad at him for not inviting her over for a birthday celebration in years. Bill tells her they invite her but she’s always busy. Bill tells her that he warned Ginny not to modify animals like he once warned her not to build a super computer. Patterson argues that she didn’t kill anyone, but Billy argues that Ginny didn’t either. Bill tells them that he left Nick in charge of the lab that night and Reade promises to look into it.

 

In Reade’s apartment, Claudia tells Zapata that they assigned her to a desk after Madeline was arrested and they agree that Madeline’s plan is far from over. Claudia gives Zapata a drive, telling her she’s the only one she trusts with it and that the drive contains intercepted text messages from Dominic.

 

Jane shows Chelsea Shepherd’s picture, but Chelsea insists she’s helped hundreds of women. Weller warns her lying to the FBI is a serious crime, and Chelsea tells them that she helped Shepherd look for a woman named Jessica. They show Chelsea the photos of the person entering the facility and she identifies her as Jessica as she was wearing the same jacket the last time that she saw her. Chelsea tells them that Jessica is probably a fake name but agrees to give her description to a sketch artist.

 

Patterson reports they haven’t been able to find Nick and that he was having financial trouble. Ginny tells them Nick found her in the lab after hours once and they conclude that Nick had co-opted the experiment. They speculate that Nick must be selling the bees as Nick tells his contact to meet to complete the sale. The team works to track Nick’s location and Ginny makes an impassioned speech defending bees. Patterson gets notification of a wire transfer to Nick and she and Rich work to figure out the source.

 

Zapata struggles with decrypting the drive and tells Claudia she sent it to the FBI, arguing that Patterson can decrypt it. Claudia tells her she wanted her help, not the FBI’s and Zapata suggests they’re too close to this. She finds a new angle, suggesting they track the phone’s serial number to the location it was purchased. Zapata tracks the phone to a convenience store and finds that the phone was purchased yesterday. Security footage shows a man avoiding eye contact with the camera as he buys the phone. Zapata tells her she’ll send the footage to her team, but Claudia tells her she’s the one who failed the mission. Claudia declares she’ll figure it out on her own and leaves the apartment.

 

Rich and Patterson track the wire transfer to a defense contractor and Bill determines that the bee’s stings are deadly as well. Ginny declares this is all her fault and Rich uses the conditions necessary for the experiment to narrow down the location of the sale to a warehouse recently purchased by the contractor. Weller and Jane interrupt the sale and the bees are accidentally released when the containment unit is shot in the shootout. Jane locks the truck door as Nick is killed by the bees inside. Patterson reports that Bill and Ginny are back at the lab trying to cure the infected bees, and Jane suggests she help them, telling her she shouldn’t pass up opportunities to spend time with family.

 

Patterson goes to the lab and offers her help. Bill tells her they can’t remove the toxin from the bees and Ginny tells her they’ll have to kill them. Patterson urges them to find another solution, insisting they can’t just replace the bees with new ones. Bill asks Ginny to give them a moment and assures Patterson he isn’t replacing her with Ginny. The moment is interrupted as Dr. Sudz Sutherland (Kathleen Mary Carthy), Chaz (James T. Alfred), and a burly goon (Adam Lindo) come in, holding Ginny at gunpoint.

 

Zapata looks over the security footage and matches a tattoo on the man’s arm to one pictured in her file of Barry Wallace (Slate Holmgren), who has MI6 connections. She calls Claudia, who confirms she’s met Wallace and declares that she needs to do this on her own. Zapata urges her to wait for backup, but Claudia refuses and hangs up. Patterson surrenders her gun and Sutherland declares they’re there to collect the bees. Bill warns her of the dangers, but she threatens to kill him if they don’t. Chaz recognizes Bill, but Sutherland tells him she doesn’t care who he is. Patterson offers to take them to the bees if they let Bill and Ginny go, but Sutherland refuses and forces her and Ginny to go with them.

 

Rich tells the team that the agent Patterson took over for hasn’t returned and Reade tells Jane and Weller to make sure everything is okay at the lab. Sutherland orders Patterson and Ginny to extract the bees, but Patterson asks them to give them space to work. Sutherland gives them five minutes, and Patterson whispers to Ginny that they’re only going to pretend to release the bees.

 

Patterson urges Ginny to remain calm and Ginny admits all of this is her fault. Ginny tells Patterson that Bill talks about her all the time and questions how she could ever compare to her. Patterson assures Ginny of her brilliance and Sutherland tells them to hurry up. Weller and Jane find the agent dead in the hallway and find Bill with Chaz.  Bill sees Weller and distracts Chaz as Jane sneaks in and tackles him to the ground. Weller checks on Bill, who explains the situation to him and declares he’s going with them to save Patterson.

 

Patterson brings two spray bottles over, explaining that they’re necessary for the release. Sutherland demands they hurry up and Patterson explains the scientific principles, changing the details to subtly indicate the plan to Ginny. Patterson releases the bees and she and Ginny spray themselves with the spray bottles. The bees kill Sutherland and the goon but leave Patterson and Ginny unharmed due to the sprayed chemical. Ginny is able to lure the bees back into containment and Patterson compliments her work. Bill embraces both of them and Patterson confirms that Ginny was able to contain every bee.

 

Zapata calls Reade to request backup but finds Claudia’s body near a dumpster. Reade approaches Zapata as the crime scene is processed and she admits that it could have been her. She admits that she’s forgotten what it’s like to work with other people and Reade admits he hasn’t been there for her. He promises to be a better friend and they’ll catch Claudia’s killer together. The team welcomes Zapata back and offers condolences for Claudia. Patterson tells her she was able to decode some of Dominic’s messages where they see that Barry and Dominic are discussing Helios. Zapata explains Helios is Madeline’s plan and that they’re not done until they stop Dominic.

 

Bill tells Patterson how proud he’s always been of her. Patterson suggests she come over that weekend and Bill tells her to bring her boyfriend. She is confused, but Bill tells her he’s referring to Rich. Patterson assures him he’s not her boyfriend and Reade tells Zapata she can stay as long as she’d like. Zapata tells him she’ll start looking for an apartment tomorrow, and Reade offers to go with her. They tease each other and Zapata falls asleep on the couch soon after. Jane tells Weller she feels like everything is finally how it’s supposed to be, and Weller tells her he’s enjoying learning about every part of her. Their kiss is interrupted by a knock at the door. Rich shows them the sketch of the Sandstorm informant and they recognize it as Weller’s mother.