S02.E04: If Beth

[formerlyfreedom]

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Nas and Weller navigate their new dynamic as co-leaders during the team's hunt for a museum gala assassin, who turns out to be harboring a dark secret; Jane starts to see a softer side of her old organization.

 

[blackwing]

Hey hey!  I solved an anagram!  It's "The FBI".  I am so extraordinarily proud of myself! :P

[K.M.]

6 hours ago, blackwing said:

Hey hey!  I solved an anagram!  It's "The FBI".  I am so extraordinarily proud of myself! :P

That seems more likely than "The Fib", although that would probably work too. :-)

[twoods]

Reade, please don't do anything stupid.

All those angsty anvils between Weller and Jane. Just let those two crazy kids be happy for a change.

I like that Jane is conflicted between the FBI and Sandstorm, especially after Shephard's story. Still doesn't make what they are doing right, but it makes me wonder if Jane will turn on the group especially how they've been treating her lately. 

[Black Knight]

Are Nas and Weller going to have an argument every week about whether to send a particular person out into the field, with them alternating being right? She was right the first time, wrong the second, right the third. Of course Weller was a huge ass to her when she was wrong, even though she'd been nice to him the week before when his choice got someone killed, and she was nice again tonight.

Loved the 15-year-old girl trying to kill Weller. Right on, girl! Smart instincts! I'm only sorry she didn't succeed. Once a-freaking-gain Weller was an ass in the situation: Dude, you just shot her father to death in front of her. Why would you even try to say anything to her? She's not gonna hear you. STFU and let someone else on the team, who didn't shoot her father, do the talking.

Weller sucks, period. I hear that SS was charming and wonderful on another show - that's great and all, but he seriously drags this show down. Yes, part of the problem is the writing for the character, but part of it is SS. And what does Blindspot decide to do but double down on making Weller a special snowflake that Sandstorm has been watching for 20 years? Sigh.

I do really like Jane's conflict. She's in a no-win position. Sandstorm is planning on killing lots of people, but the other side ain't exactly the good guys either. Her brother is psycho, but she spent months being tortured thanks to Weller having a sad that she wasn't Taylor Shaw. And they all, on both sides, act like her behavior is outrageous when it's basically born out of all of them being assholes. She could get onboard with Shepherd and Roman if they weren't murderers. She could get on board with the FBI/CIA/NSA government alphabet soup if it wasn't continually being shown to be corrupt in itself and full of corrupt individuals. One family sent her into the worst mission ever and the other family let her be tortured, and nobody really tries to look at the situation from her perspective (except when they want to manipulate her). And she can't just peace out because that would buy her a one-way trip to another CIA black site. Yet way more time is devoted to Weller angsting over far less.

[omgsowicked]

So much went on in this episode but I really enjoyed it.

The big 3D text was as jarring as it was the first time but I'm glad they did it again, so it's established as a "thing" they're doing, not some weird one-off.

Another undercover operation means another opportunity to see them all dolled up. I'm cool with it. That quick shot of Weller's insulted face after Jane referred to him as her brother made me burst out laughing. I was happy he got zinged after being his usual hardass self with Nas re: Reade, who's unraveling rather quickly. When that old school friend called him a good friend, I was like, "and the same can't be said for you!" I'm glad Reade's been able to open up, that this hasn't been his season-long secret, but unfortunately, the therapy session made me a bit uneasy, knowing Nas is listening in on everything.

I remember Jonathan Patrick Moore from The L.A. Complex so it was fun to see him here as Oliver. Actually, that's at least three actors from that show who have been on Blindspot now, if I remember correctly (Joe Dinicol aka David, and Ennis Esmer aka Rich Dotcom). (I like this kind of thing, lol.) I hope we get to see him again.

Roman is still uncomfortably unstable but I liked that he tried to show Jane (and the audience) why she did all of this in the first place, and that he told Shepherd she was wrong for acting like Jane should just magically get on board again because "reasons". Now we know Shepherd's motivation. She keeps swinging back and forth, this episode being more motherly... but another ominous comment suggesting the obliteration of the planet.

Hope Reade doesn't do anything stupid. Any ideas what Zapata might want from Shadowcat? Her last two moments were about Reade (at his apartment and calling him), so something about him? Or is this some mole bait? She's already been a mole so I hope she isn't again... though on the other hand, that could be a nice little trick. I'm glad Weller and Nas had a little bonding sesh, hopefully they'll stop butting heads all the time, I'm over it. Also, Sandstorm's been watching Weller for 20 years? Hot shit. I wonder why they did that.

Weller: "OK, we killed your dad right in front of you, come on out!" Dude.

Jane: "It's possible to lie to someone and still love them very much. *stares at Weller*" Bro.

[dwmarch]

I feel that if and when the team should have to get ridiculously over-dressed for a heist that they are fated to fuck up, Rich Dotcom should be a mandatory guest.

Speaking of which, Patterson... damn girl! I am sorry I ever disliked you! All dolled up she burnt my apartment down and all I could say was "yeah, I get it."

Also, look what Zapata can do when she breaks out the leather jacket of badassedness!

The bad guys have not been watching Weller for twenty goddamn years. They would have died of boredom.

[slf]

17 hours ago, Black Knight said:

Weller sucks, period. I hear that SS was charming and wonderful on another show - that's great and all, but he seriously drags this show down. Yes, part of the problem is the writing for the character, but part of it is SS. And what does Blindspot decide to do but double down on making Weller a special snowflake that Sandstorm has been watching for 20 years? Sigh.

I do really like Jane's conflict. She's in a no-win position. Sandstorm is planning on killing lots of people, but the other side ain't exactly the good guys either. Her brother is psycho, but she spent months being tortured thanks to Weller having a sad that she wasn't Taylor Shaw. And they all, on both sides, act like her behavior is outrageous when it's basically born out of all of them being assholes. She could get onboard with Shepherd and Roman if they weren't murderers. She could get on board with the FBI/CIA/NSA government alphabet soup if it wasn't continually being shown to be corrupt in itself and full of corrupt individuals. One family sent her into the worst mission ever and the other family let her be tortured, and nobody really tries to look at the situation from her perspective (except when they want to manipulate her). And she can't just peace out because that would buy her a one-way trip to another CIA black site. Yet way more time is devoted to Weller angsting over far less.

All of this. Fans of Stapleton's previous show swear by him but he still doesn't work for me. The weird way he delivers his lines here, the way he strains his eyes, all the glowering. I figured he'd grown on me but it isn't happening. I don't think he's strong enough to carry this show so I wish they wouldn't focus on him quite so much or at least keep his limitations in mind. Making Weller the focus of a Sandstorm op for 20 years? God I rolled my eyes so hard. OF COURSE this has to be about him. The tattoo on Jane's back made sense when they were trying to pass her off as Shaw; they didn't need to come up with another connection. Makes me worried that either a) a great deal of the angst w/r/t Sandstorm will be given to Weller when it should go to Jane, and b) they might still make Jane Taylor Shaw. Gero said last year that she absolutely was just that Taylor might not have been who Weller thought she was. I thought they'd put that to bed with the series premiere now I'm not so sure.

Jane should be the focus of the show, imo, and you nailed why on the head perfectly. She really is in a no-win situation. An abducted child forced to learn murder who was tortured and traumatized and raised as a soldier. And no one really acknowledges that or what it means for Jane. She's never gotten to be her own person. No family but Roman, no friends, no regular experiences as a child or teenager. She's lost twenty five years of her life to this and she's only thirty. And now she has to deal with her 'family' which is full of unstable murderers and the FBI, which is corrupt and has made it clear they'll basically let the CIA take her back to one of their torture rooms if she doesn't do what they want her to. Which could get her killed. 

Man. Fuck all of them. Jane should seriously go rogue at some point.

[Dowel Jones]

On 9/29/2016 at 11:04 AM, blackwing said:

Hey hey!  I solved an anagram!  It's "The FBI".  I am so extraordinarily proud of myself! :P

Shoot.  I had it down as Thief B.  Well, anyway...(tips hat).

[Mack]

These people ARE assholes, but what bugs me more is that they're incredible fucking hypocrites. I don't know if it's the characters with short memories, or the writers, but seriously. Everyone hates on Jane because she lied and let Oscar access FBI systems (and a pen). They walk around with those holier-than-thou glares, but reality check?

Zapata SOLD classified FBI documents to Tom Carter for her own personal MONETARY GAIN. Reade lied to Mayfair, and hid the evidence from the surveillance tape, because someone was threatening the people he cared about - which is exactly why Jane has told them she did what she did, to keep Oscar from killing THEM. Even Patterson shared classified FBI files, and got someone killed. And what did Mayfair say to her at the time? Something about everyone deserving a second chance. 

I realize it's not all on the same level, but you'd think it'd at least cross their minds that they're far from honest, respectable agents. 

On another note, it's weird that we've been given almost no sense of how Patterson feels about Jane, given that their friendship was a pretty big focus in the latter half of last season. She had a moment of mild horror when she found out Jane had been kept at a black site, but otherwise it's like she doesn't care one way or the other. What's up with that, show? 

And Ali. Fucking Ali. Is it too much to hope that she's somehow the mole? I realize she's not actually FBI. But she does often work with them. I wouldn't mind the stretch in logic, if it meant we could get rid of her. 

[Trini]

Yeah, the Jane/Sandstorm/Shepherd part is what's keeping me around for now. Do NOT need more Weller involvement.

[Chaos Theory]

Who am I suppose to be "rooting for" the FBI or Sandstorm?   I don't think I like anyone on the FBI that isn't Patterson but Sandstorm seems to be a little too terroristy,.  Maybe Jane will kill them all and she and Patterson will go rogue together on a lovers spree of death and science and debauchery.

Oooh season three anyone?  

[withanaich]

I don't think we can root for anybody, really. Maybe we should just be rooting for Jane to extricate herself from this mess. 

The funny thing about them trying to make Weller super-speshul is that even HE looks like he barely cares about it. 

[snuffles]

21 hours ago, slf said:

Jane should seriously go rogue at some point.

Totally, could be the new "Nikita". As long as she has Birkhoff joining forces with Patterson. They'd be unstoppable.

Most hilarious exchange was when Nas and Weller were arguing about the meaning of Roman taking Jane to Lake Aurora. Jane was all, "you know I'm standing right here?" They keep treating her like she is some slow, troubled child.

Why must we be teased with more Weller family drama? It seems to me, if you are pregnant, you probably should give up your highly risky Federal Marshall day job and stick to a desk job until you at least give birth.

[thuganomics85]

Hey, it's Inspector Riley from Luke Cage!  Shouldn't you be busy dealing all the shit going down in Harlem, right now?  At least the character got to see her daughter again, even though she's likely still getting hauled away, due to whole killing two people thing.

Well, I guess I can't complain too much about any episode that finds a way to get Jaimie Alexander, Audrey Esparza, Ashley Johnson, AND Archie Panjabi in formal dresses, and looking gorgeous.  Not sure if a tech aganet like Patterson would actually go into the field in real life (Ha!  Like this show is even trying to be real...), but at least she didn't get choked to death.

Reade seems to be getting worse.  At least Zapata got rid of his friend who was bringing drugs into his house, but now he's stalking the coach.

Weller is still going to be a father.  Great.

Shepherd and Roman give Jane a bit more info, about how Sandstorm started because Shepherd use to live at Lake Aurora, and a company was dumping toxins in it, that killed her family and made her unable to have children.  Yep, it may not be right, but I guess I can see that causing someone to go a bit terrorist on them.  Meanwhile, Nas reveals to Weller that Sandstorm has had Weller in their sights since way back in the Academy.  I wonder how he got picked.  He didn't even have his scruffy beard back then!

[Trini]

Also, props to that stuntwoman who got thrown through that glass!

[paigow]

3 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

Maybe Jane will kill them all and she and Patterson will go rogue together on a lovers spree of death and science and debauchery.

Oooh season three anyone?  

Call it Thelma & ?????

[xtwheeler]

So, the source at Sandstorm who was supplying Intel to the FBI went silent 6 months ago. Does that line up with Jane popping up at the FBI? Could she have been the source? 

[paigow]

On 07/10/2016 at 6:08 PM, thuganomics85 said:

Meanwhile, Nas reveals to Weller that Sandstorm has had Weller in their sights since way back in the Academy.  I wonder how he got picked.  He didn't even have his scruffy beard back then!

"Old Weller" probably sold Kurt to Sandstorm in exchange for covering up the Taylor Shaw murder....Kurt is the mole!

[slf]

7 hours ago, xtwheeler said:

So, the source at Sandstorm who was supplying Intel to the FBI went silent 6 months ago. Does that line up with Jane popping up at the FBI? Could she have been the source? 

I was wondering that too. Jane was with the CIA for three months and before that she was with the FBI for at least 5-7 weeks. It's entirely possible she was Nas' source and went dark when she found out about her new mission.

Edited October 9, 2016 by slf

[MissLucas]

On 6.10.2016 at 11:15 AM, dwmarch said:

I feel that if and when the team should have to get ridiculously over-dressed for a heist that they are fated to fuck up, Rich Dotcom should be a mandatory guest.

He! That was my first thought too when I heard they were attending a gala! But dear lord, then they gave Jane that evil pompadour and put her in a dress that made her look like Helen Bonham Carter's younger sister (I guess there are worse things to look like but she was veering into goth territory in that get-up with the heavy make-up). Patterson won this outing hands-down: best dress, best make-up, best hair and best damn accessory ever: a cute clutch with built-in tablet *grabby hands*

Sandstorm's time-line makes no sense unless Sandstorm is older than Shepherd. We were told she was with the army when she freed Remi and Roman which must have been around the same time Sandstorm started to observe Weller. And yeah, major *eyeroll* at another attempt to make him special. And was Shepherd the one ordering someone to observe and videotape cadet Weller because she knew that in about 20 years she'd use him to infiltrate the FBI by using the little rabbit-killer she had just adopted? Also: Nas said they only started to notice Sandstorm 6 years ago. Does that mean Shepherd played an incredible long-con and planned her apocalyptic revenge for about 14 years?

On the plus-side: I've finally found Reade's plot compelling - his quest to retrieve his memories mirrors (to some extent) Jane's. Speaking of Jane: I'm with all of you who think she's about the only person left on this show worth rooting for. I do hope she was indeed the Sandstorm source - that would be a neat twist.

Edited October 9, 2016 by MissLucas

[Trini]

3 hours ago, MissLucas said:

and best damn accessory ever: a cute clutch with built-in tablet *grabby hands*

If this isn't already a real thing for sale, it should be!

[romantic idiot]

No place in the clutch for clutch type things though. 

Thought Naz (or Naaz) was looking gorgeous too, though her gown didn't seem that practical for chasing. 

Regarding the mole, I'm hoping it turns out to be Roman, because then the siblings can be together, save each other. Yep, as usual Luke Mitchell has somehow managed to make me root for him. Even if he is playing someone completely different than John or Lincoln. 

[xander874]

I hate Fuller. I hate his mumbles. I hate his tiny mouth. I hate his neckbeard. And now he is a special snowflake? Maybe he secretly has a bomb implanted in him that will explode soon and we will be rid of his boring annoying face.

But, damn Kalinda (I'm terrible with names) was looking super hot in her dress.

[Bishop]

On 10/6/2016 at 1:50 AM, Black Knight said:

She could get onboard with Shepherd and Roman if they weren't murderers. 

Jane was worse than Roman.  The only reason she's not murdering just like him is because she had a memory wipe.  Jane is actually more ruthless and deadly than Roman.

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Yet way more time is devoted to Weller angsting over far less.

I like Weller, although I can respect those who don't.  We all have characters we like or dislike, but I do like the dynamics between Jane and Weller.  That being said, I wish the writers would spend more time exploring Jane and Roman's relationship too.  We only get snippets here and there, and I would love to know a lot more about their childhood.

[Black Knight]

38 minutes ago, Bishop said:

Jane was worse than Roman.  The only reason she's not murdering just like him is because she had a memory wipe.  Jane is actually more ruthless and deadly than Roman.

Jane was worse than Roman - at least, that's what we've been told, although I'm not inclined to disbelieve it because it's a pretty typical trope. That said, it doesn't change what I wrote, as this Jane isn't that Jane, this Jane doesn't want to be that Jane, and this Jane isn't cool with Shepherd and Roman being murderers. As such, I don't think your use of the present tense is correct. She'd have to start murdering innocent people first. And sure, it's because of the memory wipe, but that's a pretty big reason, as it wiped away all that conditioning she's had since she was five years old. This is 100% nature Jane, not a combination of nature and nurture (a word that hardly seems appropriate given her childhood), and nature Jane is much more decent.

(It's kind of funny how like Dark Matter this show is in some ways. Jane is basically Two - both women used to be very ruthlessly sociopathic due to an absolutely shitty and abusive early life, but after their memory wipes are fundamentally better people who really don't ever want to be what they were before their memories got wiped. I'd love a Jane/Two conversation. I've said it before, but if only this show would choose to follow that show's footsteps regarding the annoying lead male, too.)

[Bishop]

On 10/17/2016 at 9:05 PM, Black Knight said:

Jane was worse than Roman - at least, that's what we've been told, although I'm not inclined to disbelieve it because it's a pretty typical trope. That said, it doesn't change what I wrote, as this Jane isn't that Jane, this Jane doesn't want to be that Jane, and this Jane isn't cool with Shepherd and Roman being murderers.

Understood.  I don't disagree with you.  

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As such, I don't think your use of the present tense is correct. She'd have to start murdering innocent people first. And sure, it's because of the memory wipe, but that's a pretty big reason, as it wiped away all that conditioning she's had since she was five years old. This is 100% nature Jane, not a combination of nature and nurture (a word that hardly seems appropriate given her childhood), and nature Jane is much more decent.

I don't know about that.  It seems fairly convenient that Jane, as a youth, had no problem snapping a rabbit's neck when her younger brother couldn't do it, and he was punished by having to listen to his rabbit die a slow, horrible death.  That seems like "nature" to me, in terms of Jane.  In fact, I could argue that Roman is more an example of "nurture" than "nature," since he couldn't kill the way Jane could at a young age.  So if Jane started out as the more prized pupil than her brother - in Shepard's eyes - I'm guessing it's because she was more ruthless.  It's an interesting debate to have, which is why I wish the show would focus more on the Jane/Roman relationship.

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(It's kind of funny how like Dark Matter this show is in some ways. Jane is basically Two - both women used to be very ruthlessly sociopathic due to an absolutely shitty and abusive early life, but after their memory wipes are fundamentally better people who really don't ever want to be what they were before 

Agreed.  I think it helps tremendously that Jane doesn't have the baggage of the memory of her childhood, and without that baggage, she is able to fashion a new path for herself.  Her brother doesn't have that option, and with the mental abuse that Shepard loves to deal out that he's not as good as his sister doesn't help either.  

Edited October 19, 2016 by Bishop

[MissLucas]

On 18.10.2016 at 3:05 AM, Black Knight said:

I've said it before, but if only this show would choose to follow that show's footsteps regarding the annoying lead male, too.

Amen! (We might have to deal with an AU Weller but that's a small price to pay.)