It’s no accident that two of the most enjoyable Blindspot episodes have excluded the show’s usual forays into foreign espionage or domestic terrorism. All too often, the FBI story lines feel shoehorned into the beginning and end of an episode, with fewer than a couple of minutes to observe each characters’ quirks and fears outside of a threatening call to action. It’s in episodes like “Mans Telepathic Loyal Lookouts” that we’re allowed a deeper inspection of Blindspot’s psyches. And this week, loony little Patterson is up to bat.
You’ll recall that, last week, we left Patterson in a Brooklyn restaurant discussing crossword-puzzle clues with her dead boyfriend. This week, we join her right where we left off, as she follows a scavenger hunt devised by David. Beginning with a miniature, wooden sheep atop a dessert, Patterson races around the city picking up additional clues to a tattoo that David solved before he got offed by the Russian mafia. The pieces of the puzzle lead to an antiques store in Tribeca, whose owner is a maniacal schizophrenic seeking a young girl “to sacrifice under Taurus.” Poor, sweet Patterson just happens to be that girl — and wakes up in a basement, Silence of the Lambs–style, with her hands tied around a wooden beam. This is one of the creepier moments of Blindspot to date, especially when combined with Patterson’s shaky grip on reality as she talks through every move with her boyfriend’s calm, but decidedly imaginary apparition.
When Patterson doesn’t show up for work, her team knows something must be wrong; above all, Patterson is punctual. Tracking her moves, they discover the antiques shop and learn that the mentally ill owner has a senator brother, who had given favors to Big Pharma in return for major cover-ups of his misdoings. When the FBI team arrives, it’s too late; Patterson has already been secreted away to the murderous brothers’ cabin in Long Island. Bravo to the writers for nailing the parallel-discovery-escape scene, wherein Patterson realizes she’s in the middle of nowhere with no one to save her. Though it was obviously coming, the suspense is well-executed.
The FBI team does eventually arrive to save a muddied and hypothermic Patterson, who had been kept alive by her subconscious conjuring of David. By the episode’s end, Patterson is somehow back in Brooklyn — never mind a hospital stay or treatment for shock or any trauma for being kidnapped by a psychopathic murderer. Standing outside of their favorite restaurant, she bids farewell to our favorite bespectacled ghost. R.I.P. David, for real this time.
You’ll also recall that we left Jane and Oscar in a rather passionate moment last week, the aftermath of which we glimpse during this episode’s open. The two are breathing heavily, astonished by one another. They eat some post-coital soba and dance in each other’s arms to a Patsy Cline song. By the end of the episode, they agree their escapade was a mistake — which means, of course, they hop right into bed again. But not before Oscar presents Jane with photos of her childhood to prompt memories that he requests she share with Weller. And then they have sex.
Weller continues his infatuation with Ali, through tickle fights and invitations to family dinners. She joins him for a meal with his nephew, Sarah, (who is dressed in a gallbladder costume?) and his father, during which Weller makes a heartfelt toast to the joys of becoming closer to one another. He even shares a teary hug with dear old dad. Later that night, his father collapses in what seems to be a heart attack. My suspicions about Weller’s father continue. This may be too farfetched, but could the “heart attack” be something more shadowy?
The mystery of Mayfair’s involvement in dirty deeds grows deeper, as the ambitious U.S. Attorney Matthew Weitz pressures Zapata to provide him with insider information. Also getting pressure from the anonymous masked man who knocked him out several episodes ago, Reade’s conscience gets the better of him and he confesses the threats to Mayfair. She slaps a detail on Reade and Sarah, which suggests that he and lady Weller are destined to get back together. Meanwhile, Mayfair starts up a flirtation with a woman in a bar, which is too well-timed to be a coincidence. Is Mayfair getting set up? It’s tough to get a read on her true motivations. Half the time, it seems like she got caught up in a difficult situation. The other half the time, she appears to be a mastermind. Just a hunch: We’ll get an answer in the final third of the season.
Tattoo Meanings:
- Through the long and winding scavenger hunt, we discover that the bull from a couple of episodes back has a double meaning. Its eye lines up with a constellation, Andromeda, which leads Patterson to the Buffalo Bill antique-store scene. FUN.
Blindsides:
- This week’s anagram translates to “in almost the last place you look.”
- The scene with the automated wind-up puppet is delightfully creepy. I’d love to see the outtakes of Ashley Johnson’s reactions.
- Why is Zapata’s character so swayable? I’d like some back story on why she’s such a flip-flopper, and from where her gambling addiction stems.
- Reade’s loyalty bores me. I wish he and Zapata were on the same underhanded page.
- Zapata’s line about being a nerd in high school is great. I’d love to see more self-conscious humor injected into Blindspot. The ladies always kill it on that front.
- Patterson likes Borden. I TOLD YOU SO.
