S02.E01: In Night So Ransomed Rogue

[formerlyfreedom]

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After escaping from CIA custody, the team recaptures Jane and convinces her to become a triple-agent within her old terrorist organization where she unlocks some major secrets from her past, while recent betrayals from both sides threaten to tear her and the team apart for good.

[Xantar]

Hey Archie Panjabi! Great to see you! I really wish television producers would realize that you're capable of wearing clothes other than a jacket/skirt combo with knee high boots. It's also interesting that even though her character works for an American agency (the NSA), she's using her native English accent. 

[omgsowicked]

I've been back and forth with how I feel about this show but I'm 1000% into it now. I was unsure about the premise of this premiere, jumping ahead a few months and Jane/Taylor/Alice/Remi becoming a triple agent, but damn, this was good.

Speaking of jumping ahead, that "Three Weeks Later" graphic effect was both cool and out of place. Something I'd expect to see in a movie trailer or something.

So glad we got (what seems to be) legit information about JTAR, and explanations for those flashbacks of her being taken from her home and living with other children. I'm also glad that Roman is her brother, not another love interest. So are they biologically siblings (same blood type) or foster siblings? Just wondering if they were they taken together, if he saw his (their) parents dead too. He seems extremely loyal to JTAR, setting it up for when he finds out she's working against them. There's still a lot to learn, why Shepherd is doing all of this, how she fits in with JTAR's military/training flashbacks, what that unscrambled photo of JTAR is about (also, if Mayfair knew about that, then does that mean she was playing along the whole time? Why?).

Weller: "DEACTIVATE IT!" Patterson: "Stop yelling, I can't code!" Haha. It really helps when they acknowledge Mr. Yells A Lot. (Also, all that drama about them checking for trackers and they barely patted her down.)

I'm also really excited about there being an actual mole. They did kill off Mayfair, so they may be willing to let go of another regular, but I think it'll be one of the smaller roles. I don't think it would make much sense but it would be pretty entertaining if it ended up being Weller.

Nice way to get around Weller shooting JTAR (because then you couldn't root for them). Still meh on that but I'm slightly intrigued by Weller/NSA lady (I remember the actress from Bend It Like Beckham, so I'm happy to see her, haha). I'd rather they just give up on that front, to be honest, but if something has to happen, perhaps that would be OK.

Edited September 15, 2016 by omgsowicked

[Artsda]

I thought it was a great premiere, I enjoyed all the action and drama.

Loved seeing Archie, great addition.

[Solace247]

I really enjoyed this premiere. There was the same FBI hand-wavy illegalities we saw last year, but I really enjoyed having questions answered and the Roman--Sheppard--Remi reveal will hold some wonderful moments in the future with regard to Jane and her loyalties/personal journey.

[dwmarch]

Off to a good start, if I say so myself. Tightly written, action packed and much less FBI chasing their own tail than usual. It seemed like the music was different and they tried some new things like that large title font for the "two weeks later".  Zapata and Reade were great and Patterson did well with what little she was given in this episode. The stakes definitely seem higher and the conspiracy has coalesced into something that actually almost makes sense.

6 hours ago, Xantar said:

Hey Archie Panjabi! Great to see you! I really wish television producers would realize that you're capable of wearing clothes other than a jacket/skirt combo with knee high boots. It's also interesting that even though her character works for an American agency (the NSA), she's using her native English accent. 

It's a great look for her (although a potato sack would work just as well, she's absurdly gorgeous) but I did find myself wondering if she walked directly over from the set of The Good Wife and they didn't bother changing her wardrobe. As I recall her Good Wife outfits featured more leather but knowing this show she'll swap those suede boots for badass shiny leather as soon as there is some ass for her to kick.

Daylight got retconned a bit. Before it was the program that would get you executed for even knowing that it existed. Now the FBI casually mentions it to the NSA and gets a shrug in response.

I'm glad they buried the contrived Taylor Shaw plot. I imagine the fallout from it will continue throughout the season but I think they resolved it well enough by establishing that Weller and Jane both wanted it to be true and the bad guys used that against them.

[Rosebud1970]

A lot to unpack in this one ep. At least, Jane's former conspirators seem to be buying that Oscar was killed by Cade and that Cade is still a factor.

I'm hopeful.

[LisaM]

I liked the Jane/Remy reveal and it is always good to see Michelle Hurd. Still cannot stand how Weller speaks. 

Curious if Dylan Baker is going to stick around. He is a big name to be a guest star each week.

Trying to remember: Isn't Zapata still working for the Congressman who blackmailed her?

[Dowel Jones]

9 hours ago, dwmarch said:

much less FBI chasing their own tail than usual.

You mean like not noticing the presence of two motorcycles in the front yard, and failing to secure them?  I found it funny that after all that m/c chase, the SUV arrives at the scene at the same time.  It's okay, this show excels at bringing the crazy when it wants to. 

I wonder if Archie's outfit was a thumb flick at her exit from TGW.  And how does she manage to keep the shock of hair hanging precisely in front of her ear without ever moving.  Sorry, it was just so obvious to me in every one of her scenes. 

Now that they are positing a much wider conspiracy, will there still be a tattoo of the week?

[thuganomics85]

Not sure what happened, but it seemed to be a lot stronger compared to the majority of the last half of last season.  Still a few far-fetched moments and whatnot, but this episode just seemed to flow better, the action scenes were more competent, and even the writing and story didn't falter.  I wish all of its episodes would be like this.

Certainly doesn't hurt that Archie Panjabi has now joined the cast.  Curious about her actually being in the NSA, but apparently will be sticking around.  It seems like both the NSA and the FBI have the same goal now (take out Sandstorm), but I wonder if there will be some more infighting and struggles going forward.

At long last, we finally get some move movement on Jane.  Unless they are idiots and pull another swerve, she is actually Remy, who lived in South Africa and was trained to be a killer during the apartheid.  She and her brother played by Luke Mitchell (blood relatives?  Or just growing up together?), were then rescued and adopted by this Shepard character, played by Michelle Hurd.  It seems like she is the one behind everything. Jane/Remy is right now working as a double-agent for the FBI now, but I wonder where her loyalties will end up going to.

Good use of the supporting cast as well.  Reade and Zapata's reactions to Jane were interesting, since Reade seemed cautious but more open to welcome Jane back (compared to their issues last season), while Zapata wants nothing to do with her.  Seems like she really isn't over what happened to Mayfair.

And then Patterson almost wins the entire episode by telling Weller to shut it, during the hack scene.  You know you can't just yell at a computer and it will suddenly get done, right Kurt?  He is so the guy who would punch his computer monitor if the internet is running too slow.

Sandstorm has another mole?!  Kind of hope it will be one of the regulars, but I'm guessing it will be someone safe like Director Dylan Baker.

[MissLucas]

That was quite good. Archie Panjabi and Michelle Hurd are great additions - so is Luke Mitchell (Lincoln!) although I'm a bit concerned Remi's got a (foster? biological siblings don't necessarily share the same blood type) brother who looks almost like her dead fiancé. And of course Roman and Remi is a bit too much on the nose but there you go.

I'm glad the main plot is finally moving along although I think some retconning will be necessary further down the line. And what exactly was that thing Shepherd and Roman were looking at in the final scene? And how did Mayfair get her hands on those extremely secret files?

I wish I had Weller's superpower to just yell at people when I demand they do something impossible and they come through.

Anyhow glad the show's back, even if the shaky cam is still too shaky.

[saylubee]

I think the mole will probably be the therapist guy.  It seemed weird to me that he was included in the montage of possible subjects when he was nowhere near this episode.  The Director and the NSA chick seem to be a bit too on the nose for this show.

[FinnishViewer]

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Sandstorm has another mole?!

The logic of having a mole and not using him is kind of strange, if it is one of the characters in the know about Jane Doe. From the mole's perspective, you know that Jane has switched sides, why would you not report back about it to your people? Why would you need to wait for your handler to activate you and ask about it?

[Agent Dark]

1 hour ago, FinnishViewer said:

The logic of having a mole and not using him is kind of strange, if it is one of the characters in the know about Jane Doe. From the mole's perspective, you know that Jane has switched sides, why would you not report back about it to your people? Why would you need to wait for your handler to activate you and ask about it?

Probably because the risk of being caught out is too great.  The idea of a mole is you sit in deep cover, doing nothing to arouse suspicion (which means no contact with your handler) until you get activated.  That way you run no risk of being pegged by a random counter-intelligence sweep that watches you doing something odd.

[paigow]

17 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

You mean like not noticing the presence of two motorcycles in the front yard, and failing to secure them?

Is it SOP to NOT cover all points of egress BEFORE breaching the front door? Hey...maybe that is an upcoming episode title...

[Chaos Theory]

I stopped watching this show mid first season but since it started so early this season I gave it a shot.  I love the concept of taking a bad person and erasing their memories and then throwing them in with good people.   

I may stick around until my DVR starts making me chose again.

[MaggieG]

"I feel like you don't give a lot of pep talks." Patterson, I have missed you!

I'm glad that we finally have an answer on who Jane really is. I really hope they don't somehow retcon that later on. Roman is cute. Hey Michelle Hurd!!

[slf]

So...the FBI knows now that Kurt had strong evidence to suggest that Jane wasn't Taylor Shaw yet kept pushing her as Taylor and....nothing's happening to him? His superiors are a-okay with the fact that he was absolutely the weak link Sandstorm pegged him as and was so easily manipulated? He gets to keep that shiny new promotion? Whatever. 

I think it would've been more interesting for the NSA lady to insist that after the team got Jane back that a new team be assigned to her case (not permanently, of course). Reade is the only one of them (IIRC) that didn't majorly eff up last season and that didn't let personal shit interfere with the investigation. Zapata turned snitch in about a week so she wouldn't get outed as a gambler, dear lord, and Patterson took classified materials home and let a civilian have access to them (that ultimately got that civvie killed), Mayfair was corrupt, and Weller isn't the noble and objective guy the show seems to think he is.

Not to mention, all of these people thought Mayfair was just missing?! For three months?! Terrible writing, imo.

Jane shouldn't be so willing to trust anyone and I don't like how they're writing her as be so willing to try to regain the team's trust. Girl's got bigger fish to fry and the reality is she can't trust anyone working for the government right now. Didn't care for the Weller/Jane fight and I'm calling bullshit on Weller putting Jane on the floor- she's better trained than he is, even if he's bigger. This show wants us to believe she can take out a half dozen CIA guys in a minute but Weller can stop her when he's never been established as a badass fighter? 

Shepherd's lying about almost everything, probably, though I think Alice Kruger is definitely Jane's name and she was obviously trained since she was a child. I don't buy the story of how her parents died and how she ended up with Shepherd. 

Jaimie Alexander/Jane is still the most interesting thing about this show and I hope the show focuses more on her specifically and less on those case-of-the-week bad guys because those are easily the weakest part of Blindspot. Am loving the addition of Archie Panjabi.

Edited September 16, 2016 by slf

[MissLucas]

3 hours ago, FinnishViewer said:

The logic of having a mole and not using him is kind of strange, if it is one of the characters in the know about Jane Doe. From the mole's perspective, you know that Jane has switched sides, why would you not report back about it to your people? Why would you need to wait for your handler to activate you and ask about it?

The mole may not know that Jane has switched sides since they kept her presence in the FBI a secret. More troubling though is that the mole should have known that the CIA had snatched Jane from the FBI as I don't think that was kept a big secret. In other words Sandstorm should know she's lying about the missing three months. Of course if the mole is in deep cover i.e. only delivers info when activated then they wouldn't know. But Jane was missing for three months and they did not activate the mole? I think this requires some vigorous hand-waving.

[FinnishViewer]

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More troubling though is that the mole should have known that the CIA had snatched Jane from the FBI as I don't think that was kept a big secret

This is what I mean. No matter how deep I am as a mole, why wouldn't I inform my people about things that pose a danger to my organization, when I am aware about it. If the *t hits the fan later, do I tell them, oh well, I could have told you about that, but since you guys did not activate me...

[Loandbehold]

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Is it SOP to NOT cover all points of egress BEFORE breaching the front door?

It's like 24 - whenever Jack Bauer told everyone to "set up a perimeter," you knew the bad guy would be escaping.

[Dowel Jones]

And why were there two motorcycles there, if there was only one occupant in the house?  Besides setting up the pretense of a chase, of course.

[paigow]

3 hours ago, Dowel Jones said:

And why were there two motorcycles there, if there was only one occupant in the house?  Besides setting up the pretense of a chase, of course.

She was a collector....or won it in a Fast & Furious moto-cross...

[dwmarch]

12 hours ago, FinnishViewer said:

This is what I mean. No matter how deep I am as a mole, why wouldn't I inform my people about things that pose a danger to my organization, when I am aware about it. If the *t hits the fan later, do I tell them, oh well, I could have told you about that, but since you guys did not activate me...

Upon further reflection, I think Archie Panjabi's character is the mole. She's way too helpful to be NSA and she told them she's part of an off-book unit so they can't exactly call up Fort Meade to check. She's telling them what direction they should be going in and they're dutifully following along, as they tend to do when they're in the midst of a mistake.

[MissLucas]

I think the mole remaining quiet about Remi's whereabouts for the past three months could be explained by an order to lie low and keep quiet though it's still odd. As for the mole's identity - Nas and Pellington are too obvious though Nas is definitely shady. The show will never sacrifice Patterson and I think Reade and Zapata are safe too (not to mention Stapleton). That leaves Dr. Borden, the show hasn't done much with the character so far, he's definitely placed to monitor everything and everyone yet the show can afford to lose him.

[paigow]

If anybody actually listened to Reade regularly objecting to following Jane, the series would be over. This would have defeated his purpose as a mole. So I agree he is not the mole.

[venturestar]

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If anybody actually listened to Reade regularly objecting to following Jane, the series would be over.

I disagree that Reade's objections necessarily mean he's not the mole. It assumes that he didn't have some flexibility in his responses when Jane shows up. If everyone was skeptical of Jane and didn't want her around he could have chosen to be supportive to get her in. If Jane didn't need his support to be accepted he could object to her, granting him more protection as a mole. Now, evidence against him will be more likely to be mentally justified away and if he's suspected as part of Sandstorm he can say, "I didn't even want Jane to be a part of this! Why would I do that as part of Sandstorm?"

Additionally, it gives his voice more weight when he does support Jane. This episode he encourages Zapata to have sympathy for Jane and think of her as a victim. If Weller had said that, it's easily dismissed as him being emotionally compromised. But Reade doing the same surprised Zapata and, I think, had more weight.

[Guest]

On ‎9‎/‎16‎/‎2016 at 6:13 AM, FinnishViewer said:

The logic of having a mole and not using him is kind of strange, if it is one of the characters in the know about Jane Doe. From the mole's perspective, you know that Jane has switched sides, why would you not report back about it to your people? Why would you need to wait for your handler to activate you and ask about it?

I took "activate" the mole to mean that the mole is probably unaware that they are a mole.  Given that they were able to mind wipe Jane, its not entirely out of the realm of possibility that within the universe of the show that they could have kidnapped and brainwashed someone to do something when triggered.

[Texasmom1970]

On 9/16/2016 at 8:42 AM, slf said:

 Didn't care for the Weller/Jane fight and I'm calling bullshit on Weller putting Jane on the floor- she's better trained than he is, even if he's bigger. This show wants us to believe she can take out a half dozen CIA guys in a minute but Weller can stop her when he's never been established as a badass fighter? 

Jaimie Alexander/Jane is still the most interesting thing about this show and I hope the show focuses more on her specifically and less on those case-of-the-week bad guys because those are easily the weakest part of Blindspot. Am loving the addition of Archie Panjabi.

I had the same reaction at first to the fight between Jane and Weller. Then I thought well maybe she was kind of taking it easy on him due to their history as opposed to baddies that  have been holding her for months torturing her. 

I am in this for Jamie mostly, love her,  I could do without almost every one else except Patterson I like her as well. So glad to see Archie, hope they don't screw her character up by trying to force her together romantically with caveman Kurt. Even though I am sure they will still be pushing for Kurt & Jane/Remi.  

[torqy]

Glad that Archie Panjabi landed here. Now that we have both her and Dylan Baker from The Good Wife, I'm wondering if Zach Grenier will be next, fresh from Brain Dead.

I'm wondering if the tats will be more in the background this season. It already has a 24-ish feel.

[blackwing]

I thought this was a great start to the season.  There are still unanswered questions but somehow things don't seem as convoluted or "made up as we go along" as last year.  Regarding the mole, it could be that they are a sleeper agent who doesn't know they are a mole, until some sort of codeword is activated and the repressed memories and mission come flooding back.

I liked the new characters.  Especially Luke Mitchell and Michelle Hurd.  Makes it a bit hard to think of them as the bad guys.  Luke Mitchell seems to always play the same character in his last few series.  The Tomorrow People, Agents of SHIELD, now here.  He's always the young and fresh-faced guy with perfect blond bedhead hair who really believes in his cause.  Although, he wasn't looking that fresh faced here I suppose.  Looked like there was some scar or something under his right eye.  Has that always been there, or is it some kind of makeup to make him look more battleworn?

On 9/14/2016 at 9:09 PM, Xantar said:

Hey Archie Panjabi! Great to see you! I really wish television producers would realize that you're capable of wearing clothes other than a jacket/skirt combo with knee high boots. It's also interesting that even though her character works for an American agency (the NSA), she's using her native English accent. 

She said something about growing up by the Indus River, so that must mean her character is originally from India or Pakistan.  I'm assuming she spent her formative years there, and if so, it doesn't seem unreasonable to me that she'd have her native/English sounding accent.

On 9/15/2016 at 6:24 AM, LisaM said:

Trying to remember: Isn't Zapata still working for the Congressman who blackmailed her?

Wasn't it Tom Carter who was blackmailing her?  He wanted her to put a bug in Jane's safehouse, or he was going to reveal that she stole money to pay her gambling debts or something like that.  She was going to refuse and typed up a resignation letter and was about to hand it to Mayfair.  But then Carter disappeared and I guess she never resigned.

[Court]

Carter was blackmailing her then I thought some other person blackmailed her as well for CIA information. Ok, that's convoluted.

[FinnishViewer]

Also funny, apparently the CIA let Jane have a haircut, because it looked to me, her hair looked the same as in last season.

[Trini]

Glad it seems the show is committed to giving answers about Jane/Taylor/Remi this season (that's all I wanted from Season 1), but this show is still going to be a low priority for me.

[John Potts]

I was going to give this show up after last Season but happened to catch the first episode which managed to pique my interest enough to keep going (more fool me, perhaps!). The unbelievable leaps seemed slightly more believable than last Season and they even tied up some of last Season's loose ends.

FLOVED Zapata shooting Jane. Even if the scene reminded me of Blackadder Goes Forth ("You'll Need a realistic wound..." [BANG] "...that looks pretty realistic!"), it was great that Zapata shot Jane as it was pretty in character for all of them. Though Jane's "brother" really needs to work on his lying, since his showing at that checkpoint was pathetic (though his badassery made up for it somewhat).

On ‎15‎/‎09‎/‎2016 at 3:09 AM, Xantar said:

It's also interesting that even though her character works for an American agency (the NSA), she's using her native English accent. 

Along with growing up in India (for at least part of her childhood) she has to have the most unlikely backstory to wind up in the NSA!

On ‎15‎/‎09‎/‎2016 at 5:29 AM, omgsowicked said:

Weller: "DEACTIVATE IT!" Patterson: "Stop yelling, I can't code!" Haha.

I laughed at that too - I TOTALLY buy him as the sort that thinks "If I stand on top of them and yell, they'll do it faster!" while Patterson is more like me in thinking, "Just give me a few seconds to think and I MIGHT be able to do something, idiot!"

On ‎16‎/‎09‎/‎2016 at 2:38 PM, MaggieG said:

"I feel like you don't give a lot of pep talks."

I rather appreciated her laying on the table that it wasn't a risk free operation, but it was a chance worth taking. FBI agents ought to know there is a chance of injury/death at any time and shouldn't always stop for a group hug.

On ‎16‎/‎09‎/‎2016 at 2:42 PM, slf said:

I'm calling bullshit on Weller putting Jane on the floor- she's better trained than he is, even if he's bigger.

I thought he WAS established to have background as a soldier prior to joining the FBI? Plus, Jane has probably been starved (not that Jane looks any thinner, but that would be hard!) as food (and sleep) deprivation is a standard interrogation tactic. As it was, she STILL beat him and it was only the fact that he had back up that allowed "Team FBI" to win. It was a poor showing by the CIA that they allowed her to escape in the first place, but it looked like only one of them was actually expected to put up a fight (the guy with the gun), the others looked more like techies of some sort or other.

ETA: Anyone got the anagram yet (assuming they're still doing that)?

Edited November 21, 2016 by John Potts

[Pcexbird]

Yeah okay well here I am two years later finally starting this series...impressed. Any others get a ridiculously late start? I think it's nice to have a bit of comic relief by hearing Patterson with her one liners. Alright well back to the show! S02e02 is next...