These past two episodes of Blindspot have been somewhat of a split in quality. I’ve made repeatedly clear over the season so far that the tattoo-of-the-week cases are far less interesting than virtually everything else going on, and so the bulk of Scientists Hollow Fortune didn’t resonate especially well with me, given that there was more focus on saving Charlie than there was actually investigating the ‘Zip’. Erase Weary Youth, however, learnt a lot from the midseason finale. Circling somewhat back to the Russian spy story from that episode, which wasn’t at all interesting, didn’t provoke much optimism from me, but the shift in focus towards the hunt for the mole made for a far more entertaining episode.
In hindsight, it was perhaps obvious that Fisher would turn out to be the mole, and it comes off as quite an easy out. But it was less about the outcome than it was the journey that got us there. Fisher’s in-depth investigation made for a good hour, as all of the secrets and illegal activities that have been gradually building throughout the season came to the surface. Even though Fisher was attempting to frame Jane for being the mole, the way his investigation played out portrayed her in a much more negative light than I had expected, and much more negatively than she would want, especially given that now she has both Mayfair and Reade suspicious.
With her relationship with Oscar developing (albeit in a ‘one step forward, two steps back type’ way) and her persistent sneaking away from her detail earlier in the season, it was inevitable that eventually, someone would want to look into her. This sets up a nice arc to develop over the course of the remaining ten episodes, and I do wonder where this will all lead come the finale. Presumably, the truth will come out, and given Jane’s actions in Scientists Hollow Fortune, that truth could be pretty ugly by the time it is revealed. Replacing that pen may have only been a test of trust, but things will only get bigger.
Of course, that has come to a temporary halt after she walked away from Oscar and decreed that she’s done with these secret missions. That won’t last too long - I’d be surprised if things weren’t back on track between the two by the end of the next episode - but for now, the brakes are on. Also worth noting with Oscar is that he revealed Orion to be where Jane “died”, though we later discovered that to be an operation that went sideways, resulting in her going off the grid. Again, this is going to play out over the remainder of the season, though I’m beginning to get a touch frustrated with this constant tiptoeing around Orion that reveals very little each time it’s mentioned.
Elsewhere in these episodes, Reade was dating Sarah Weller. Well, until Kurt found out and put an end to it. Weller’s explanation for his disapproval was sound, and given that I’m not sure I like the idea of them as a romance simply on a character level - if Reade’s only real purpose was to be romantically involved with Weller’s sister and vice versa, that’s not a particularly good way to utilise characters - I support this break-up.
Notes:
- Some nice development between Weller and his father in Scientists Hollow Fortune, as Kurt found out that his dad was a depressed alcoholic and was going to commit suicide on the night that Taylor disappeared. Really, Blindspot shouldn’t just drop and forget about this and actually use it as a character story.
- Zapata called out the CIA, who may or may not have still been listening inside her apartment, and immediately received a phone call. From whom, we don’t know, but I’d imagine that call was no coincidence.
- I desperately want to give “Scientists” (from the episode 12 title) an apostrophe.
What did you think of Scientists Hollow Fortune and Erase Weary Youth? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
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