S02.E12: Devil Never Even Lived

[formerlyfreedom]

When an unusual tattoo leads back to Roman, the team must decide whether to send him into the field...to go undercover with a dangerous biker gang.

 

[slf]

This episode wasn't very well-written, everything was pretty on-the-nose. I knew immediately that Roman of course would've been involved with the redhead and that she would hit him. I've seen that very scene play out a thousand times. Sometimes this show gets a little cliche. Of course Roman was going to have to shoot Reade and Weller to prove himself. Of course Kat was going to die in his arms. Roman deserves better, like Jane does. I did like Roman and Jane's conversations back at the FBI, tho.

Weller's pretty much getting what he deserves, lol. He has zero ability to remain objective and make logical decisions. But his scene with Jane at the end was kind of nice, reminded me of their scenes from last season.

Reade and his friend's ex-girlfriend? What the hell? I mean, it's better than having him and Zapata moon awkwardly over each other but I'm not sure by how much.

So Shepherd attended Weller's basketball game and he knew her. That's actually not surprising. There's nothing inherently special about Weller that the head of the (supposedly) most dangerous terrorist organization in the world would care about him. I doubt he's a double agent, tho that would certainly be interesting and different; both leads turn out to be operatives for the bad guys- don't think a show has ever done that before. But this show has always had a hard-on for Weller's (non-existent) impeachable honor so it'll will be something boring.

[dwmarch]

1 hour ago, slf said:

Reade and his friend's ex-girlfriend? What the hell? I mean, it's better than having him and Zapata moon awkwardly over each other but I'm not sure by how much.

Assuming we are watching a show in which the plots at least try (but most often fail) to make sense, she's a cop investigating him. She didn't really say much about Freddy and her decision to jump into the sack with Reade on their second meeting (not second date, second meeting!) suggests that she has other motivations than mourning her depressive druggie ex who has been avoiding her for a month. If there is one thing the Blindspot team is exceptionally good it, it's being compromised by the people they are sleeping with.

I think the dramatic tension would have been better if Weller was the one who shot Kat. He comes through the door, encounters chaos, fires at the closest person with a gun... and accidentally guns down Roman's ex. There was an opportunity there... is Roman really okay with Weller killing his ex? Is Weller okay with knowing he shot the wrong person? Et cetera. Instead, Weller is upset because he bought the expensive crib and he's only going to get part-time use of it.

However, Weller should take some consolation... He tells Jane that Allie is moving to Colorado and he is dumped by Nas and later that evening Jane is at his door with beer and a smile. If only she had kept the leather and slutty makeup on instead of changing into green khaki! Eh, maybe she's saving that for Phase Two.

[Trini]

Like, WHAT are they even doing with Reade?? The entire thing with his friends ex was unnecessary and made no sense. And we were only just getting over the awkwardness of trying to pair up him and Zapata.

When Roman said they 'could still run away together' I knew that chick was toast. The only good thing was that Roman got to remember some things.

I am shocked -SHOCKED- that Sandstorm got the real HMX.

Shepherd was at Weller's high school? Who caaaaaaares....?

[omgsowicked]

So now Borden's capable of designing some kind of weapon and is high up enough to be bossing people around? Is this another act or is this who he really is? Either way, it feels like a stretch to me.

Patterson pondering if there's another mole on the team... yeah, you! I still think Sandstorm put a bug in her ear, or at least, I hope they did and there isn't another active mole.

Did the FBI not have a photo of Shepherd, or a sketch? Seems strange that Weller only now remembers her. Curious to see what their connection is. I doubt he's a double agent... or at least, not an active one. His breakup with Nas was as boring as their relationship. But I did feel slightly bad that he got dumped right after the mother of his child told him she was moving away. As for Nas, they keep having her bring up how she messed up in the past, so I hope whatever happened is interesting enough.

Reade and Freddie's ex... it hit skip so fast. Why?? dwmarch, I like your idea that she may be an undercover cop. Sucks that Reade and Zapata are both stuck with crappy stories (in my opinion).

Roman and Roman/Jane continue to be the best part of the show for me. Good thing Kat was killed because that would have caused a lot of trouble... but at least they know he was capable of love, which is something that (shady) therapist lady said he couldn't do.

[Bishop]

Just a warning - This is going to be a long post because there was a lot to chew over last night.

I thought the episode was very good.  It held my interest until the very end, and for the most part, the writers have quickly fixed what has been the biggest problem with the show this season.  That problem being Weller.  Goodbye Nas!  I don't care how fast it happened.  I don't care that realistically, they would never just break up and become instant colleagues again.  I don't care.  I'm just glad Weller and Nas are no longer a thing and the office, for the most part, is back to normal.  Aye-freakin-men!  I also loved that Weller and Jane were back to being the characters they were at the end when Jane visited him at his apartment.  I was afraid Nas might be there, but nope, Weller was alone, and he and Jane felt normal again.

Reade and Zapata are also back to being colleagues.  There was no sign of Zapata harboring secret feelings for Reade and I'm happy about that.  It does seem like Reade is the new Weller in terms of hooking up with two different women in the same episode (and one of them made no sense), but I don't care.  As long as Reade isn't with Zapata and it's not affecting the team dynamic.

Now to  best part of the episode - the Roman/Jane dynamic.  The episode basically centered around one question - Is Roman capable of loving someone?  That was the crux of the episode.  Was the psychiatrist correct in that Roman didn't love Jane and was not capable of caring about anyone?  At points in the episode, I truly wondered if Roman was, indeed, an anti-social personality, and you could see the fear on Jane's face at different points that perhaps her brother IS the anti-social that she's been told he is, but I still believe he is not.  I have to say, I loved watching Roman and Jane in undercover mode.  It just works for me, and I love watching Weller and the team be a part of it all too.  I think it all works.  Anyway, the most important moment in the episode for Roman's character is in that initial flashback when he first sees Kat.  In it, we see Roman in bed with Kat, and the she wants to run off with him.  She tells him that she can see that he hates being told what to do by Remi and Shepherd (that's a really interesting point).  It's the first implication that Roman is not the good little soldier who likes doing what he does.  Then when he's talking to Remi, she is cold and detached and tells him that he is not going to be seeing Kat ever again because Shepherd thinks he's getting too close to her.  It's over.  Roman realizes that his sister ratted him out.  In that flashback, it's Remi that is cold, without emotion, and without empathy.  Roman admits to his sister that he really likes Kat.  He doesn't say he loves her, but that he really likes her.  There's nothing wrong with that.  Roman does't have to be in love with her, but the fact that he admits he likes Kat and wants to continue to pursue the relationship tells me that Roman is not without feeling or not capable of love.  Remi, in contrast, seems heartless.  She doesn't care that her brother likes Kat or that her brother seems happy.  She wants him focused on the mission, and the mission is the only thing that matters.  So Roman breaks it off with Kat.  We don't know how Roman felt afterwards, but we do know that Roman in some ways resents his sister and Shepherd.  I say this because he admits it a few episodes back when he and Jane are on that mission to get the chip, and Roman lashes out at Jane for turning him into the psychopath she believes him to be, and that he doesn't enjoy killing, and that she chose to abandon him by wiping her memory.  

Roman comes across to me as a man who actually wants to be loved and wants to love but he's been told his entire life not to allow emotion or feeling to get in the way of anything else.  So he keeps people at a distance.  That's different than not being capable of loving someone.  He was told to kill his rabbit that he loved, he was told to break up with a woman he liked, and he was told to get over losing his sister when she chose to forget him - and all for the mission.   It was just remarkably sad.  It was also sad watching Jane come to the realization of what she had done.  In that closing scene with Roman in his cell, she wasn't surprised when he told her that she forced the breakup, and when Roman felt he might not be capable of love, Jane was reassuring, but you could see the doubt on her face when he turned away.  It all left me wondering, and that's a good thing.  I don't think the episode was predictable for that reason.  

Last, the Weller reveal at the end that Shepherd watched him while he was in high school.   Could Weller also be one of Shepherd's soldier orphans like Remi and Roman?  Weller had no mother, and he was estranged from his father.  So the opening was there.  Hmmmmm

Edited January 19, 2017 by Bishop

[Traveller519]

12 hours ago, dwmarch said:

Assuming we are watching a show in which the plots at least try (but most often fail) to make sense, she's a cop investigating him. She didn't really say much about Freddy and her decision to jump into the sack with Reade on their second meeting (not second date, second meeting!) suggests that she has other motivations than mourning her depressive druggie ex who has been avoiding her for a month. If there is one thing the Blindspot team is exceptionally good it, it's being compromised by the people they are sleeping with.

However, Weller should take some consolation... He tells Jane that Allie is moving to Colorado and he is dumped by Nas and later that evening Jane is at his door with beer and a smile. If only she had kept the leather and slutty makeup on instead of changing into green khaki! Eh, maybe she's saving that for Phase Two.

Haha! So true about the people everybody sleeps with being the downfall. Everybody, next time you're feeling randy, hop on Tinder and find a nice barista, pilates instructor, construction worker, somebody not tied into the global conspiracy.

I do think Khaki is the way to Weller's heart though. Maybe some Velcro and Kevlar too.

 

That ending though, the terribly photoshopped yearbook picture, the Shepherd's been watching you forever motif... I audibly laughed.

[saber5055]

Thought the yearbook photo reveal was the best part of the episode. Finally, some connect. I'm hoping Shepard is going to be some rejected Weller high-school love interest. Although I'm not sure how that would work, given that Shepard is supposedly Jane's mom and Jane is supposedly Weller's age. Oh well.

[Texasmom1970]

The main thing I got from this episode was Jamie should wear that shade of lipstick more often. I loved it.

Glad Patterson read the riot act to Nas, its about time someone said it. Also so glad her and Weller are history. The writers must have been listening to me when I said there were too many women cluttering up his life.

[mandigirl]

This episode got my attention back in a big way, likely because, as Bishop said, the focus was on the strongest elements of the show: Jane and Roman. Loved the undercover stuff, and Roman shooting Weller and Reade.  

I think the ironic thing is that wiping Roman's memory may be what ultimately turns him into a psychopath. I rewatched the earlier episodes, and it was clear that he loved Jane and was able to communicate that love: hugging her, crying when he missed her, etc. Having him forget all the positive relationships that likely pulled him back from being a stone cold killler- -with his sister, mother, to an extent, Kat, and then everyone telling him what a horrible person he is is definitely more unhealthy than where he was before.

I can see Roman becoming my favorite character on the show, but that depends on the writers. If the show is smart, they'll keep him as this gray character now working for the good guys, a little dangerous, a little on edge, but trying to find his way. If the show is stupid, they'll have him remember Jane wiped him and go off he rails as a psycho villain. Having Roman as a villain makes about as much sense as having Borden now be some criminal mastermind. Guess only time will tell...

[twoods]

WTF with Resde and friend's ex girlfriend. There was absolutely no build up for that- looks like they want Zapata to get mopey fast.

Poor Roman- he looks so lost. He's going to lose it when he finds out Jane wiped his memory. She should have told him from the beginning- I know it's for the drama but their relationship is the best thing about this show and I want it to continue into next season.

Did they full body scan Patterson to make sure that Sandstorm hasn't bugged her?

[paigow]

True or False: Parker is NSA mole

Borden looks like he is in charge of Ark construction...

Edited January 20, 2017 by paigow

[Bishop]

9 hours ago, mandigirl said:

I think the ironic thing is that wiping Roman's memory may be what ultimately turns him into a psychopath. I rewatched the earlier episodes, and it was clear that he loved Jane and was able to communicate that love: hugging her, crying when he missed her, etc. Having him forget all the positive relationships that likely pulled him back from being a stone cold killler- -with his sister, mother, to an extent, Kat, and then everyone telling him what a horrible person he is is definitely more unhealthy than where he was before.

 

I think the mind wipe helped Roman break free of his sister and Shepherd's control of him.  In the flashback, we get a real look at Remi's influence and isolation of Roman.  Even the idea that Roman might be getting closer to someone else, and she reigned him in.  I'm sure she used the "I'm the only family you have, and I'm the only one that is going to have your back."  Roman said as much to Kat.  So in that regard, the mind wipe helps.  However, true to your point, Roman doesn't remember how much he loved his sister or how she loved him (and I believe she did as Remi).  So it's this fine line to walk for him as a character.

Quote

I can see Roman becoming my favorite character on the show, but that depends on the writers. If the show is smart, they'll keep him as this gray character now working for the good guys, a little dangerous, a little on edge, but trying to find his way. If the show is stupid, they'll have him remember Jane wiped him and go off he rails as a psycho villain. Having Roman as a villain makes about as much sense as having Borden now be some criminal mastermind. Guess only time will tell...

I agree completely.  Roman needs to remain a gray character - not all good but not all bad either.  The minute he becomes a psychopathic killer bent on revenge, it's over for the character.  It's one thing to kill as a brainwashed and abused child, but now he has options with the mind wipe.  To start from a new perspective, and I think/hope the writers are smart because they fixed the Weller problem pretty quickly when the ratings started going down.  They removed Allie and Nas from his life as romantic partners and refocused the Weller/Jane relationship.  I don't know what they were thinking when they came up with the "lets put him in a relationship with three different women all at the sametime" scenario, but at least it's gone.  I would love to see more of Weller/Jane and Jane/Roman and eventually Roman/Patterson because  I think these are the shows strongest characters when written well, but I can also see Roman and Reade on missions and Zapata/Patterson.  The core cast is good and the characters are good.  So now it's just up to the writers to craft better, more focused stories and forget about all the romance stuff.  It should either happen organically or not at all.

Edited January 20, 2017 by Bishop

[Latverian Diplomat]

On 1/19/2017 at 0:09 PM, saber5055 said:

Thought the yearbook photo reveal was the best part of the episode. Finally, some connect. I'm hoping Shepard is going to be some rejected Weller high-school love interest. Although I'm not sure how that would work, given that Shepard is supposedly Jane's mom and Jane is supposedly Weller's age. Oh well.

Maybe Weller had a hot for teacher phase? :-)

Shepherd has never been a very realistic character. Loads of resources but no clue to her real identity? Maybe  a backstory will make her more interesting.

Borden seems like a completely different person now. He slid easily into the domineering management style Shepherd's org seems to run on.

7 hours ago, Bishop said:

I agree completely.  Roman needs to remain a gray character - not all good but not all bad either.  The minute he becomes a psychopathic killer bent on revenge, it's over for the character. 

I guess it depends on what you mean by psychopath? I agree that the revenge motive is tiresome and they are hitting that note hard (though mostly it seems, for the sword of Damocles over Jane's head that she is the one that did his mind wipe).

On the other hand, though Kat getting conveniently mortally wounded was terrible and predictable, I liked Roman's response to it, "I felt nothing for her." A high functioning goal directed psychopath with no empathy except maybe for Jane(?) is more interesting to me than anything else they've done with Roman so far.

Is Prima a big enough brewery to buy a product placement? Or does someone on staff just really like it?

[Bishop]

6 hours ago, Latverian Diplomat said:

I guess it depends on what you mean by psychopath? I agree that the revenge motive is tiresome and they are hitting that note hard (though mostly it seems, for the sword of Damocles over Jane's head that she is the one that did his mind wipe).

On the other hand, though Kat getting conveniently mortally wounded was terrible and predictable, I liked Roman's response to it, "I felt nothing for her." A high functioning goal directed psychopath with no empathy except maybe for Jane(?) is more interesting to me than anything else they've done with Roman so far.

But I don't think Roman ever loved Kat, which is not the same as not being able to love someone.  There were two instances where Kat told Roman she loved him (one when they were in bed, and one when she had been shot) and both times he didn't answer her back.  However, when he was alone with his sister, Remi, and she was telling him that Shepherd didn't like him spending so much time with Kat because he was losing focus, Roman admitted that he liked Kat.  Clearly Roman felt something for her.  There was no reason to manipulate his sister or pretend that he liked Kat if he didn't.  He just wasn't in love with her at that point, but I think he liked the idea of being on the road with her and living his life apart from his sister and Shepherd.  Kat said that Roman hated being ordered around (which I thought was an interesting insight since we've been led to believe that Roman seemed comfortable in his role as terrorist/soldier).  The more layers that get peeled away from Roman, the less I believe he's a psychopath.   The doctor said that Roman never loved Jane and is incapable of loving her.  We've seen clear evidence that the opposite is true.  Roman lashing out in anger at his sister for putting the mission ahead of him and wiping her memories; him weeping in her arms when the pain of past memories and of losing his sister overwhelmed him; and when he was faced with the option of shooting his sister or staying true to his "mother" and the mission, he chose his sister - and took a bullet for it.  Later on when he's bleeding and Jane is tending to the wound, Roman is upset about what he was forced to do - save her and shoot their "mother," and that he wasn't sure what he was suppose to do at that point.  I don't believe a psychopath would react that way, with those emotions.  He wouldn't care.  He certainly wouldn't care about a woman and her child in a diner and whether or not they got caught in the crossfire of a gunfight, but he was.  At the same time, there is a layer of gray with Roman.  When Kat was shot and had died, Roman didn't really have an emotional reaction.  That isn't normal, but then I thought about it, and the fact that he has no memory of this woman, apart from one or two flashbacks, would explain his lack of emotion.  For him, without a memory, she's a stranger, and you would feel bad at the death of a stranger, but you wouldn't be crying or emotional either.  So that's one explanation for Roman's lack of reaction.  I noticed one other thing in rewatching the episode - Kat said that the old Roman would have been the one to suggest killing the two cops to prevent them from talking, and she also said the old Roman would never have held her hand.   What was twisted was when she said that she preferred the old Roman, the colder, more distant Roman who didn't do public displays of affection.  So what does that say about Kat?  She likes the colder, detached killer/assassin over a warmer, perhaps more affectionate version of a human being?  That may explain why he never fell in love with her.  

For me, psychopath means that a person is incapable of caring about anyone and therefore, unable to connect with anyone emotionally or mentally.  For someone like Roman with mad fighting and killing skills, that would be a very bad thing.  A psychopath has abnormal and violent behavior, but Roman demonstrated restraint when he was about to go out and take on the guards.  Remi reminded him that those people don't know that they are on the wrong side.  A psychopath would have still gone out and killed them all.  Why would he care?  Roman did the opposite.  He spared all of them when he easily could have killed them.  So I'm going to take him at his word that he doesn't like to kill, and I also think Roman was right when he said that even if he was a psychopath or had those tendencies, it's because Remi (and Shepherd) turned him into one.  That flashback was telling in that Remi didn't seem the slightest bit happy that Roman was happy and that he liked Kat.  In fact, she looked pissed about it.  She basically told her brother "Dump the girl that you clearly like and never see her again with no explanation, and tomorrow I plan on wiping my memory and forgetting all about you."  Is it any wonder Roman has social issues?  I do think he is anti-social, but not to the point of being a psychopath or even a sociopath.  He's just a man who has been severely abused throughout his entire life and has never been allowed a normal existence.  I'm not sure Roman understands what a normal relationship is or what love actually looks like.

Edited January 21, 2017 by Bishop

[thuganomics85]

Ha, at this point The FBI is doing Sandstorm's job for them.  Just handed them a bunch of deadly explosives!  Classic FBI!

What the fuck, Reade?  Getting it on with Freddie's girlfriend?  Maybe crushing on Zapata wasn't the worst idea ever after-all.  There was something suspicious about her sudden turnaround, so I wonder if she is up to something when it comes to him.

Yay, Weller and Nas are already done!  Of course, this will likely just set things up for Weller and Jane: Part 2.

I get a kick out of how Borden is suddenly so sinister all the time, now that he is back with Sandstorm.  He was just missing an evil looking cat.

So, Shepherd apparently knew Weller from back in his military academy days, and that is going to be part of the reason why she has taken such an interest in him.  And it sounded like Weller remembered her too.  Hmm....

At this point, the Jane/Roman relationship has become the best thing about this show by a mile.

Always good seeing Charles Halford.  Still miss Constantine.

[mandigirl]

18 hours ago, Bishop said:

I think the mind wipe helped Roman break free of his sister and Shepherd's control of him.  In the flashback, we get a real look at Remi's influence and isolation of Roman.

You see, I see it the exact opposite! Wiping Roman IMO shows Jane's continued need to control him. Nothing's changed in their dynamic. While I believe Jane's heart was in the right place, she CHOSE to be wiped--Roman didn't.  She had changed, so felt that Roman should change too. Sandstorm was no longer her family, so Roman had to integrate into her new family, whether he wanted to or not.  Heck, Jane couldn't even let him figure out if he liked coffee or tea!! She told him he liked coffee. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't- that's not really the point. Even now, she's not giving him the chance to make decisions about what he actually wants and likes, even with something as small as his Starbuck's order.   By wiping him, she's created a world where he's entirely reliant on her ("I know you better than any one.") and she can reshape him into what she thinks is best. So far, even with the mind wipe, Roman hasn't been able to make any real decisions for himself, he is just falling into the decision's Jane has set up for him.

3 hours ago, Bishop said:

I noticed one other thing in rewatching the episode - Kat said that the old Roman would have been the one to suggest killing the two cops to prevent them from talking, and she also said the old Roman would never have held her hand.   What was twisted was when she said that she preferred the old Roman, the colder, more distant Roman who didn't do public displays of affection.  So what does that say about Kat?  She likes the colder, detached killer/assassin over a warmer, perhaps more affectionate version of a human being?

Kat liked him for who he was-- someone who wasn't overly demonstrative (she doesn't seem like the touchy feely type either) and who "took care of business", with the meaning it holds in their world. Frankly, out of the three of them, Remi/pre-wipe Jane, Shepherd and Roman (pre-wipe), Roman seemed to be the best adjusted out of all of them!

Edited January 21, 2017 by mandigirl

[MissLucas]

Has the actor playing Reade done something to piss off the writers? That plot with Freddie's ex was the most implausible thing in this episode (which given this is Blindspot is quite telling). Of course this will sooner or later backfire by her figuring out at least partially that Reade had a hand in Freddie's disappearance and then Zappata has to kill her before she puts Reade's and her own career to the grave.

This show is doing wonders for my low blood pressure. I spend every episode waiting for them to kill Roman. No way he's going to get a happy end no matter how hard Jane tries. But his story is so compelling it keeps us from wondering what the hell Sandstorm's real agenda is. And as usual his scenes with Jane are fantastic. Still waiting for Patterson to come around and give him a chance - I'd love to see these two interact (no ships required). Sooner or later someone from the team has to start bonding with Roman and Patterson seems to be the best candidate. Btw. I still don't trust the shrink-lady.

I guess Shepherd is somehow related to Weller. She can't be his mother - the timeline won't work as she had her ovaries excised at 17, is mid 40's and Weller is 35. She had a younger brother who died at 25. But I wonder if she had a sister she just never mentioned for good reasons. Just like the show never mentions Weller's mother *wink-wink*

[Bishop]

On 1/21/2017 at 2:38 AM, mandigirl said:

You see, I see it the exact opposite! Wiping Roman IMO shows Jane's continued need to control him. Nothing's changed in their dynamic. While I believe Jane's heart was in the right place, she CHOSE to be wiped--Roman didn't.  She had changed, so felt that Roman should change too. Sandstorm was no longer her family, so Roman had to integrate into her new family, whether he wanted to or not.  Heck, Jane couldn't even let him figure out if he liked coffee or tea!! She told him he liked coffee. 

You make valid arguments, but what colors the argument for me is that Jane is trying to save her brother.  So even though I agree that her actions are making decisions for Roman, she isn't doing it as an act of malice.  She was actually worse than Roman pre-wipe.   If you watch Remi in action, she seems to have no moral grounding.  She is totally committed to the mission, and although she loves her brother, she was willing to wipe her memory knowing full well that she would forget him.  She realized how horrible a person she use to be, and that she's a better person now.  She wants that for her brother as well.  Is it right for her to choose that for him?  I guess it depends on pov.  She wiped his memory against his will, but is there a chance he will be grateful to her later on?  Maybe, maybe not.  That's part of the story.  SHE is hoping that he is grateful, and I'm hoping the writers don't turn him into the psychopath that everyone claims him to be.  You're not wrong, but I just feel that by Jane wiping his memory, she's actually giving her brother a chance to make choices in the future that are different from the man terrorist Shepherd (and Jane) groomed.  

Quote

Kat liked him for who he was-- someone who wasn't overly demonstrative (she doesn't seem like the touchy feely type either) and who "took care of business", with the meaning it holds in their world. Frankly, out of the three of them, Remi/pre-wipe Jane, Shepherd and Roman (pre-wipe), Roman seemed to be the best adjusted out of all of them!

But Kat is a sociopath.  She likes a guy who kills without hesitation and is detached, emotionally.  That's not normal.  Also, whose to say that Kat really liked him for who he was?  Roman/Ian was a good, loving person at one point and was basically beaten and abused into this terrorist lifestyle.  That's not liking him for "who he was."  Whose to say that this mind-wiped version of Roman is the true Ian?  It's hard to say, but it's why I'm intrigued by the writing and this particular storyline and character and where it might go.  It's fun to pick apart.

Edited January 23, 2017 by Bishop

[paigow]

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/sociopath-psychopath-difference#2

According to this, Roman is more likely a sociopath than a psychopath....

[Bishop]

On 1/24/2017 at 7:21 PM, paigow said:

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/features/sociopath-psychopath-difference#2

According to this, Roman is more likely a sociopath than a psychopath....

The descriptions can both relate to him - and Jane.  I think it's more accurate to say that Roman is an abused man suffering PTSD, and since the man has never really known love, he doesn't know how to traverse social relationships.  Even when he admitted to his sister that he liked Kat and liked spending time with her, Remi and Shepherd immediately ended it.  Shepherd (and I think Remi) didn't like the idea of Roman connecting with anything or anyone outside the mission.  So even when he tried to engage with others socially, he was stopped, and yet, Remi had a love affair with that guy (can't remember his  name) who worked with her in Sandstorm.  So I guess you can only have a social relationship with like-minded terrorists.  Or maybe Roman was just not allowed.  Either way you look at it, it's sad all the way around.  

Edited January 27, 2017 by Bishop

[Chas411]

Roman and Janes relationship is the only interesting thing about this snoozed fest. 

[Beatriceblake]

I liked Jane's worry about Roman's moral development as we saw all these flashbacks showing that she had some problems in that area as well.

The rest of it though was annoying. I definitely think Patterson is the one who was bugged during her medical attention and whatever they are doing with Reade is deeply uninteresting. Also the Reade and Zapata plots are always so half-hearted, like they are in there so the actors have something to do rather than because they are particularly relevant or interesting plots. And I want Tash to get a plot that isn't her doing a load of self-destructive stuff (be it gambling herself into debt or involving herself in covering up a murder).

I liked the Weller/Jane scene at the end but his judgement is awful and also he might want to look at things he signs while making loads of enemies trying to fight Sandstorm!