Blindspot – The Tale of the Book of Secrets

By starrymag | February 14, 2019

By: Jessica Wolff

 

As she’s wheeled into her room, Jane Doe (Jaimie Alexander) tells Kurt Weller (Sullivan Stapleton) that she wants her vision back and to beat her illness so she can go home. Weller tells her that Patterson (Ashley Johnson) and Rich Dotcom (Ennis Esmer) are also there to see her.

 

Weller helps Jane into the bed and tells her that Patterson and Rich found a billionaire, Ken Lee (Louis Ozawa Changchien), that has the cells they need to cure her. Jane asks how they’re going to get the cells, and Weller suggests they can find something to trade.

 

Edgar Reade (Rob Brown) and Tasha Zapata (Audrey Esparza) tell Boston Arliss Crab (Josh Dean) about Madeline Burke’s (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) plan to hack and crash a plane and ask him to pose as Del Toro in their undercover operation. Boston is skeptical that he’ll pass as Del Toro and asks why they’re not recruiting Rich. Reade explains that Madeleine knows that Rich works at the FBI, and Zapata tells him that Madeleine killed the previous hacker.

 

Boston is disturbed it’s a suicide mission and refuses to go. Reade offers him immunity, and Boston declares that he should have led with that. Zapata shows Boston a replica of Madeleine’s desk paperweight that will hack into her files and asks him to swap it for the real one. Zapata warns him that Madeleine will test his hacking ability, but Boston isn’t scared.

 

Patterson and Rich visit Lee, who is hesitant to shake their hands due to the germs. They tell him about Jane’s condition and ask for his cells to help her. Lee refuses to give away the hard to acquire cells for charity, and Patterson suggests they give him the book of secrets in exchange for the cells.

 

Lee doesn’t know that they’re talking about but recognizes the book after Patterson explains it. Patterson tells him they have it, and Lee agrees to the deal. Rich explains that they need to get it from their vault, and Lee gives them forty-eight hours to bring it to him. As they walk out, Rich reminds Patterson that they don’t have the book. Patterson tells him that they have forty-eight hours to save Jane’s life.

 

Rich questions how Patterson knew to bargain the book despite not being sure it exists, and Patterson points out that Lee is a hypochondriac that collects medical rarities. She shows him a picture of snake knives that were in Lee’s house, and Rich is touched that she read his report on the Book of Secrets. Patterson suggests that Roman’s cache is pointing to finding the book to trade rather than finding a cure for zip poisoning inside the book.

 

Rich shows Reade and Afreen (Ami Sheth) an elaborate PowerPoint presentation about the book, and Reade questions why this is the first he’s hearing about it. Patterson explains their plan to trade it for the cells, and Afreen questions how they can trade it if they don’t know where it is.

 

Rich presents his theory of three explorers that went to three different South American countries to search for the book. Patterson recognizes a photo in his presentation from Roman’s cache and determines the book is in a Peru cathedral after highlighting the difference between the two pictures.

 

Weller tells Patterson he’s not coming with them, explaining that he wants to stay with Jane if it ends up being her last moments. Patterson tells him Jane’s going to pull through, but Weller refuses to leave her side. Rich attempts to convince Reade to let them take a private jet, but Reade refuses. Reade tells him the mission is unsanctioned, as it’s illegal to take any artifacts out of the country.

 

Patterson and Rich arrive in Peru and go to the cathedral. They find an engraving of snakes in one of the bricks, and Rich declares this clue is just the beginning of their search for the book. Patterson sends Reade and Afreen a picture of the engraving, and Afreen matches it to a mural in a local bed and breakfast. As they walk away, a shady man (Martin Velasquez Leon) follows them.

 

Zapata walks into Madeleine’s office with Boston, and Madeleine is pleased she’s brought Del Toro. Boston plays Del Toro as arrogant, and Madeleine gives him a test to prove his abilities. He isn’t happy about the older laptop, but Madeleine tells him it shouldn’t be a problem if he’s as good as he says. She has him transfer funds from one account to another and instructs Zapata to keep an eye on him as she leaves to take a call, leaving a guard to watch them.

 

Patterson and Rich arrive at the hotel and they see the mural in the lobby. Patterson notices that the snake’s tongue is an arrow pointing upward, and the owner (Priscilla Lopez) greets them. Patterson requests a room, but the owner tells them she’s booked. Rich pretends that he and Patterson are newlyweds and apologizes to her for forgetting to book their room for the honeymoon.

 

The owner suggests a nearby Holiday Inn and Patterson plays along by getting upset at having to stay at a chain hotel. The owner offers to let them stay in her father’s study and they tell her that would be great, as long as it’s okay with her father. She tells them her father died, and they recognize his name as one of the explorers Rich had previously presented, Alejandro. Outside, the man reports that Patterson and Rich checked in to the hotel.

 

Weller takes care of Jane, and Jane admits she thought they would grow old together. He assures her they will, but she points out that he’s never turned down an assignment before. Weller tells her he’s her husband first and an agent second, promising they will find the cells. Jane admits that she’s scared, and Weller admits he is too.

 

As she takes them to her father’s study, the owner tells Patterson and Rich that they just brought a bunch of his old writings down from the attic. Patterson tells her that she doesn’t have to move them and asks more about her father. The owner explains that her parents were explorers that searched for artifacts in the 40s and 50s and that they hid their findings to prevent them from being stolen.

 

Once she leaves, Rich is excited about all of the potential clues in the room while Patterson feels guilty about lying to the owner. Rich reminds her they’re doing this for Jane, and that they can find a way to steal the book back and return it once they succeed. Rich sees that some mosaics on the wall match the mural downstairs, and Patterson realizes the gauges inside are set to fixed numbers. Patterson enters the numbers to find coordinates nearby.

 

Madeleine returns and is upset that “Del Toro” hasn’t finished the test yet. Boston finishes it soon after, and Madeline thanks him, calling him by his real name. Zapata insists that Boston is Del Toro, but Madeleine tells her that her research has proved that Boston is an FBI consultant. Zapata tells her that Boston has a bunch of different aliases, and that he faked a nuclear attack on New York.

 

Boston angrily tells her not to blow his aliases, and calls Madeleine’s test “amateur hour.” He pretends to have a diva meltdown and Zapata declares that she’ll take him out. Madeleine stops her and Boston switches the paperweight while she and her guard are distracted. Madeleine apologizes to Boston, telling him she has more work for him.

 

Patterson and Rich go to the coordinates and split up to look for clues. Rich finds a brick with an engraving matching a drawing in Alejandro’s study. They pull it out but find the compartment inside empty. They are upset that somebody got there before them, but Patterson finds more engravings on the brick.

 

Rich realizes that some of the engraving is binary code, and Patterson questions how that’s possible if Alejandro hid the book in the 40s. They see another engraving that says, “RB 4 RB” and Patterson determines it means Roman Briggs for Remi Briggs. They conclude that Roman created a clue so that they would be the only ones that could find the book.

 

Patterson has Reade and Afreen pull up a file from one of Roman’s caches that she’s never been able to open and has them try the coordinates of their location as the password. The password works, but the file asks for a second password and shows a picture of a crest. Weller updates Jane and describes the crest, which Jane recognizes as being the South African seal found on Roman’s coin.

 

Jane suggests the password is “I got you something,” and Afreen enters it. The password works and she opens a file labeled “Map.” However, the map is a collection of dots and they find a note from Roman to Jane that admits he never solved this puzzle. Weller reads the message to Jane, who believes that the puzzle is unsolvable.

 

Patterson and Rich see the map, and Rich questions if it’s even a map at all. Patterson suggests he didn’t have all the information, pointing out that Roman never got to see Alejandro’s notes. As they look around, Rich finds a matching document and they determine it’s a map of Machu Picchu. Patterson determines that archaeologists stopped excavating there in the 40s and that it would be a safe hiding place after that.

 

Rich and Patterson arrive at Machu Picchu and determine that the marked endpoints on the two maps are starting points which would meet in the middle. Patterson uses math to calculate the midpoint and find an engraved stone indicating that an Incan telescope was found there. Patterson uses an app she developed with her dad to determine the star map on the date.

 

The star map is an outline of an Incan god that Rich remembers passing a stone marked with it. Arriving at the location, Patterson stands guard as Rich digs up the book. Rich is disappointed that the book merely contains herbal remedies, but Patterson reminds him they can trade the book to save Jane.

 

Weller tells Jane that Rich and Patterson are close, but she doesn’t believe it. He asks if he would lie to her, and she admits she wishes she could see his sexy crooked smile. Jane tells him she loves him, and he tells her not to say it like it’s the last time. She tells him she’ll always love him, and he urges her to rest.

 

Outside, Weller makes a call and asks to talk to Lee but is told that he’s out. Weller remembers Patterson telling him that Lee hasn’t left his house in years, and Patterson and Rich are ambushed by Lee and his men at gunpoint when they return to the hotel. Lee thanks them for finding the book, telling them they’ll pay with their lives. Patterson reminds him they had a deal, but Lee demands they get down and Rich slides the book to him.

 

As Lee picks up the book, the local police arrive to apprehend Lee and his men. A flashback reveals that Weller informed Reade that Lee wasn’t home, and Reade told Afreen to call the local police after she located Lee’s phone in Peru. Patterson tells Lee that they have a new deal, offering house arrest for the cells and declaring that the book is staying in Peru at the local museum. Lee agrees to the deal and Rich hands him a phone to order the stem cell transfer.

 

Patterson and Rich return to the hospital to find Jane walking around the hospital. They are thrilled that she’s doing better, and Jane thanks them for getting her the cure. Rich argues that his desire to find the book is what saved her, but Patterson argues with him. Jane thanks everyone and Rich asks Reade if this qualifies him for a promotion.

 

Reade asks Rich to find Zapata and Boston’s location, admitting that they haven’t checked in. Rich and Patterson are confident they’ll be able to track their phones, but Madeleine tells Zapata and Boston that they’ll be moving to a second location, ordering them to surrender their phones. Madeleine refuses to tell them where they’re going but declares that they’ll have completed the hack by that night.