S02.E15: Draw O Caesar, Erase a Coward

[formerlyfreedom]

After a set of tattoos produces multiple leads, the team divides into unlikely pairings - Weller and Roman; Jane and Zapata; Patterson and Reade - to chase down a deadly underworld courier.

 

[paigow]

Weller: Zapata was shot...

Jane: [Dumb for exposition for dumber audience] By the guy we were chasing..right?

Weller: He only had a knife...Dun dun dun

Jane: [Dumb for exposition for dumber audience]  How can we find the shooter?

Weller: Ballistics ... yadda yadda yadda...unique....yadda yadda yadda

[twoods]

I guess that Nas is the one that bites the dust? Figured she would when Zapata got shot and was wearing a vest. 

I guess Patterson outed Reade, and will probably not tell anyone else until he harms someone by being in withdrawal at work. Why did they make him a druggie? 

Roman and Jane are still awesome, and I even liked Roman working with Weller. 

[Dowel Jones]

Don't these ultra secret agent types ever look in the car before they get in?

Patterson and Aram need to get together.  They could have an hour long conversation without one completed sentence before interruption.

[mandigirl]

GREAT episode! As suspected, the rationale to have Roman out in the field was completely unrealistic, but whatevs, WOO HOO! Roman being part of the crew was just as good as I thought it was going to be.  Initially I was bummed he was teaming up with Weller. I was stunned that they turned out to have such an unexpected dynamic and I ended up loving it.

I already knew I loved Roman, but this episode made me actually like Weller more too.  He was so supportive of Roman out in the field, complimenting him when he did a good and keeping him focused when he needed it. Apparently, Weller is actually a pretty decent guy. Who knew, lol! I know their current bromance is just being played for more angst later on, but they were a surprisingly good team. 

Quote

Why did they make him [Reade] a druggie?

I get what they're trying to do, I just don't care. And to be fair to Reade, I think is was less the blow in his system, than his unanticipated empathy for the perp that made him let down his guard. Also, it looked like the perp was suicidal, not about to shoot Reade. 

[dwmarch]

Patterson was too kind to Reade by far. She goes for the sympathetic route and tells Reade about her druggie brother that she never talks to. What she should have told Reade is that she is a cop, knows a druggie when she's sitting next to one and he can confide in her or her can answer to OPR. I assume the FBI has a zero tolerance policy on use of hard drugs or any drugs at all for that matter.

It also occurs to me that Reade's girlfriend could be a Sandstorm agent. Because if she's a common druggie, she's incredibly generous, leaving a fat vial of coke behind every time she visits. I was under the impression that druggies were a little more selfish than that.

I hope we get a decent swerve on the Roman killed Taylor's mother plot. Namely, I don't care and neither should Weller. At the very least he shouldn't be surprised. Jane and Roman are trained assassins who had him as one of their primary targets for whatever Sandstorm is up to. So it should come as no surprise that where there has been a mysterious death in Weller's life one of those two might be behind it. So here's hoping that when it does eventually become known to Weller he shrugs and says "I never liked her anyway. Thanks Roman, glad to have you on the team."

[Texasmom1970]

6 hours ago, twoods said:

I guess that Nas is the one that bites the dust? Figured she would when Zapata got shot and was wearing a vest. 

I guess Patterson outed Reade, and will probably not tell anyone else until he harms someone by being in withdrawal at work. Why did they make him a druggie? 

Roman and Jane are still awesome, and I even liked Roman working with Weller. 

I love Archie, but not on this show, she is being wasted in my opinion so is she dies I would be okay with that. Although I also wish someone would take Zapata out or dose her, girl is seriously bitchy and need something to lighten up a bit.

Weller was tolerable with Roman, because Roman makes everything better and more interesting to me. Him and Jane are about all I care to see on the show, oh and Patterson.

[paigow]

Clearly, the next step for Roman is a weekend in Cabo...hearing more Spanish might reveal that Borden & Shepherd used Spring Break as recruiting days...

[saber5055]

Nas retrieves whateverthatwas from the dumpster lid (great stash place, thanks show) and I said to her as she got in her car, "Lock the door and get out of that parking garage before you do anything else." She did not listen to me. This ep helped me get a handle on Weller. Last ep the only time he smiled and "opened up" was as Rich Dotcom's date. This episode he was spending WAY too much time in front of the mirror getting dressed with Roman. I can see him letting Roman "out" more and more, and maybe Weller will come "out" too. That would make a great twist to this show. And when did Patterson, the IT chick, start carrying? She was a little too quick to shoot that guy who, as someone else posted, looked more like he was going to shot himself, not Reade. I am bummed about Jane's boyfriend appearing to be some bad guy. Couldn't she have just had Patterson do a full background check so she could have had a nice homemade dinner? And Roman looks WAY more like trust-fund baby than Weller, while Weller looks WAY more like a personal bodyguard than Roman. Switch roles, please!

[paigow]

2 minutes ago, saber5055 said:

letting Roman "out" more and more, and maybe Weller will come "out" too. That would make a great twist to this show. 

The new triangle: Jane + Roman + Weller

[LisaM]

I liked this episode more than usual. Zapata seemed civil to Jane. Pairing Weller with Roman was a great move; Weller mumbled less than usual. 

When Nas got into the car, I kept saying to myself "check the backseat!". Dope. The FBI can barely protect itself; how are they able to protect others? 

I would be happy with a show based around Jane, Roman and Patterson. 

[djinn]

Finally! They let Roman out in the field, and it worked more than surprisingly well! Weller and him were the best of the three team-ups this episode. I hope we get much more of that. Was that it for Nas? Somehow, I think she may be miraculously be saved - or just incapacitated. Jane's boyfriend remains a mystery.

11 hours ago, dwmarch said:

It also occurs to me that Reade's girlfriend could be a Sandstorm agent.

This thought has crossed my mind too. This girlfriend is incredibly shady and I am appalled that Reade fell for her and her drugs so, so easily.

[omgsowicked]

They talked a lot about being careful with romances and doing background checks... I don't think Oliver's up to anything strange but perhaps Reade's hookup is. dwmarch, I agree, I wouldn't think a druggie would be so generous with their goods. If she's not with Sandstorm, then she's working undercover to figure out what happened with Freddie. With Oliver, maybe his father abused him and/or his mom, so he changed his last name to his mother's, or to "Kind" because it's something he values. I'm into them, so I hope he's legit and that Jane will open up a bit more. Maybe she can't explain everything but it doesn't all have to be off-limits. They played around with the Weller/Jane romance again (I'd almost forgotten that was a thing) so perhaps they'll go back to that because she can be honest with him about her life whereas she may never be able to with a civilian.

I didn't think Zapata would be killed off but I did get worried once she was so pleasant with Jane. A character being super chipper usually equals death, haha. Plus, Zapata's been shooting daggers at Jane non-stop, so I was suspicious of them chit-chatting about relationships.

I enjoyed the Weller/Roman pairing a lot. Everyone should get a chance to work with Roman (he's a great addition to the show) but especially Weller, as it improved his character and acting. And I've never found him attractive but I liked the glasses/cardigan get up.

I knew someone would be hiding in Nas's car, ugh! Drives me nuts when these trained professionals repeatedly forget to check their surroundings.

[thuganomics85]

Is Nas done for?  Unless she can somehow fight off her assailant, I don't see how she can survive.  Wouldn't surprise me if this is it, since they seem to already be struggling with keeping her character significant, despite only debuting this season.

The way everyone got paired up this episode was fun.  Enjoyed seeing Jane and Zapata being civil and even friendly, Patterson and Reade were good (until the very end, when Reade ended up being a major dick), and Roman and Weller was a blast.  Might have been the most I liked Weller.  Glad they are finally letting Roman out in the field.  Of course, him and Weller bonding likely means that when Weller finds out about Roman killing Taylor Shaw's mom, it will be a very bad reaction.

Jane lets Weller's paranoia get to her, foolishly takes Zapata's suggestion of doing a background check on Oliver, finds out he change his name, confronts him, and he bails.  I suspect he's innocent, but I do think someone "close" to the agents will be part of Sandstorm.  Have a feeling it will be Reade friend's ex, who he is foolishly sleeping with and doing cocaine with.  Sigh... stupid Reade.

Fun seeing John Wesley Shipp for a few moments.  

[LisaM]

Didn't Shepherd mention having a mole in the FBI?

[paigow]

8 hours ago, thuganomics85 said:

Is Nas done for?  Unless she can somehow fight off her assailant, I don't see how she can survive.  

Rescued by Sandstorm mole??? 

[LisaM]

I don't see what purpose Nas serves on the show. She was initially investigating Sandstorm for years but it seems that recent events - including Roman's capture - make her less necessary to the search.

[MissLucas]

Well that episode served more proof (if any was needed) that Roman makes everything better. For God's sake show don't kill him off by the end of this season. I loved all the unusual pairings during this episode and the whole approach with the time-stamps. Weller and Roman was the best pair and it would be a nice surprise if Weller could handle the truth about Taylor's mum like a rational human being. As has been said: he knows Roman is/was a killer. But I'm not holding my breath. I'm still not sure Reade's drug addiction is a good idea but Patterson and Reade had an interesting dynamic. As for Nas: girl, you said you'd be careful. You weren't.

On a side note: Another episode where Weller brings up his childhood talking about only one parent. What happened to ma Weller, show?

ETA: Speaking of unusual pairings - how much longer until we finally get to see Roman interacting with Patterson?

Edited February 25, 2017 by MissLucas

[paigow]

3 hours ago, MissLucas said:

ETA: Speaking of unusual pairings - how much longer until we finally get to see Roman interacting with Patterson?

Patterson needs to explain all her shortcut / hip references because Roman has no idea at all....She will love it because she can deliver uninterrupted exposition...

[Kimmel77]

I hope Roman doesn't get fully reformed because he works as a great militant killing machine for evil. Though I suspect his end will come when he sacrifices himself to save Jane which will further fuel Jane's pursuit of evil Shaw.

Reade's drug descent is rapid and not that fun to watch. But liked that Patterson pulled him up on it.

Overall, it was a bit of a slow episode with little story progress.

[blackwing]

I really enjoyed this episode, particular the pairing of Roman with Weller.  I thought it was great at the end of the day how Weller told Jane that he kind of liked Roman, and Jane told him to be careful not to come on too strong.  Weller chuckled and smiled.  THAT is the Sullivan Stapleton that I remember from "Strike Back".  The one who was paired up with his buddy, who laughed and joked all the time, who loved life and smiled.  Not this ultra serious Kurt Weller.

Hopefully they are going to have Kurt loosen up a bit, because I thought he and Roman made a good team.  I find it odd that immediately after a successful mission in the field, Roman has to go right back to wearing his prison scrubs and sitting in that glass cell.  I'm sure prisoners aren't supposed to get alcohol.  If Weller can break protocol to have a beer with his new friend, then why not just let him out of the cell?  I want to see Roman on the team full time.  I hope he doesn't die, I think Luke Mitchell deserves a shot at a long stint on a U.S. TV show.

I couldn't care less about Reade and his drug problems.  He treated Patterson like crap, and she only said something to him because she cares.

[Beatriceblake]

I like Zapata and Reade's characters but I wish they would stop lumbering them with these awful subplots where they do stupid shit that is obviously going to backfire.

Other than that, I feel like they need to make these wheel spinning episodes in the middle of the season more fun. I liked the Roman/Weller and the Jane/Zapata stuff (although it's annoying Tasha's main character note is  apparently now "being single sucks, am I right?").  But otherwise meh. Also if Margery was just a criminal's girlfriend who got into crime for the money, she was surprisingly good at evading the FBI and surprisingly willing to kill people (and not a bad shot). Sometimes it seems like every fifth person in the Blindspot verse had secret black ops training in childhood or something.

Edited March 2, 2017 by Beatriceblake

[John Potts]

OK, this was surprisingly fun. We got a couple of unusual pairings (Jane/Zapata Stubbly/Roman) that worked surprisingly well. I found Zapata's talk with Jane about the perils of dating was surprisingly poignant ("Well I'd run the background check - but that's probably why I'm single!") and I loved the moment when Stubbly flew off the handle at Roman - only for Roman to reveal he'd used his "outburst" to swipe the Doctor's pass (even if he doesn't remember it, Roman DOES have years of training as a covert operative) - mind you, what on Earth the Doctor was doing pitching to Roman about "holistic healing" I don't know (he's a bodyguard, he's probably NOT going to drop $10000 or whatever you charge for your New Age-y bullshit).

On ‎23‎/‎02‎/‎2017 at 8:32 AM, dwmarch said:

Patterson was too kind to Reade by far. She goes for the sympathetic route and tells Reade about her druggie brother that she never talks to. What she should have told Reade is that she is a cop, knows a druggie when she's sitting next to one and he can confide in her or her can answer to OPR

I agree - I would have gone with, "Remember I came to you as a friend first - now I'm going to have to make an official report and you will be screwed when the blood/urine/hair tests come back" (or something along those lines), but it comes to much the same thing.

On ‎25‎/‎02‎/‎2017 at 1:47 PM, paigow said:

Patterson needs to explain all her shortcut / hip references because Roman has no idea at all....She will love it because she can deliver uninterrupted exposition

Anything to get more screentime for my favourite character (and you're so right about Patterson)!

[Bishop]

On 2/23/2017 at 2:27 AM, mandigirl said:

GREAT episode! As suspected, the rationale to have Roman out in the field was completely unrealistic, but whatevs, WOO HOO! Roman being part of the crew was just as good as I thought it was going to be.  Initially I was bummed he was teaming up with Weller. I was stunned that they turned out to have such an unexpected dynamic and I ended up loving it.

I already knew I loved Roman, but this episode made me actually like Weller more too.  He was so supportive of Roman out in the field, complimenting him when he did a good and keeping him focused when he needed it. Apparently, Weller is actually a pretty decent guy. Who knew, lol! I know their current bromance is just being played for more angst later on, but they were a surprisingly good team. 

I agree on all points.  I love Roman as a character, and I loved the pairing of Weller and Roman in this episode.  Part of me thinks that the writers know that they messed up the Weller character from season one, and they want to make him back to the character he was then.  I think they also know that Roman has become a popular character, and so why not combine the two together.  You know what, it worked.  I liked them together in the field too, and their chemistry was really good.  I like that Roman doesn't like keeping the secret from Weller about what he did to Taylor Shaw's mother, and he knows that Weller saved his life at the end.  So I have a feeling that will come into play later on in the season when Roman has to choose sides - because we know it's coming.  I also liked at the very end when Weller brought beers to Roman's cell for them to drink, and Roman admitted that he knows getting his memory back depends on him not being sent to a CIA black ops site, but he also hopes he doesn't remember because he doesn't want to know what else he has suffered and what else he was forced to do under Shephard.   I liked it.  I liked Weller calming Roman down in the truck too when he started to have flashbacks to his childhood traumas.  I liked Weller's "You're not helpless anymore."   I also agree that Roman should not be completely reformed.  I don't want him to be a super nice guy.  I want him to be gray - a good man but quite capable of being scary as hell when pushed.  I think he needs to remain a character on the edge, but I also really hope to see something develop between him and Patterson.  They are both characters with trust issues.  Here's hoping for a season three where those relationships (Jane/Weller, Weller/Roman, Roman/Patterson) can grow.

As for Reade, I'm bored.  I don't like that the writers are making him into an addict.  It's not necessary.  Every character on the show doesn't need their own separate storyline.  It's okay to be part of an ensemble cast while two or three have the main leads.  It happens all the time.  Having Reade as an addict side story is distracting unless it's leading up to something that helps build the Sandstorm storyline, but I doubt it.

Edited March 4, 2017 by Bishop

[Trini]

The cameo was fine and all, but that was kind of a waste of John Wesley Shipp.

Reade is an addict now -- why, just WHY, show??

Both I did like that we had different pairing this episode. (There's another show I watch with a large-ish team, and i wish they'd do more of this.)

Yeah, Nas was pretty unnecessary to this one. And who didn't see the attack coming after she insisted on going alone? ::rolls eyes::