'Borrow or Rob' brought back a fan favourite or not so fan favourite character. Really, any episode revolving around Rich Dotcom is a hate it or love it type of episode depending on whether you find his humour funny or annoying.
The pairing of Dotcom with Weller did provide an offbeat, but fabulous character dynamic to the episode. Over the course of the series it seems Stapleton can't play any other emotion than angry, even in his softer moments he seems pissed off, which can sometimes be a turnoff. However, it makes fun television when Weller's anger is in response to the irritability of Rich. The two naturally play well off each other - Weller constantly having to tell Rich to "focus" made my day. On top of it all, the whole date thing and the dance and Weller being mistaken as a beefy prostitute was classic.
Boston also provided some funny banter with Rich, as well as and especially with Patterson too. We learn Boston had everything in his past - success, money - yet he turned it all away for a life of crime so he can spend it with his love. This was not really necessary to know of a secondary character, but it was nevertheless a sweet moment.
It was great to see Patterson out on the field for once and her remark to Boston, "it's not exactly Comic-Con for me either, dude," after they were assigned together, was too funny.
As far as the case of the week goes, it was largely forgettable. The episode was mainly about the origins of Rich. Jane took a backseat this week from most of the proceedings, which is refreshing, but not entirely a positive thing. Without Jane doing her usual butt-kicking, it did not really feel like your typical action-packed Blindspot episode, but more like a backdoor pilot for a comedic, Rich-centric show - an idea I could actually warm up to.
The scenes we did see Jane in was with Roman and Naz, as they investigated their childhood home. Roman continues to be the highlight of this second half of the second season. Luke Mitchell has definitely brought some much needed energy into this show and his fury as he looked at the framed family photo and as he screamed at Jane as to why she is not angry herself, was resoundingly emotional. The reveal that he killed Emma Shaw, Taylor's mom, only adds more complexities to his relationship with the team.
Overall, it can be argued that focusing an episode on a character that only appears once in a new moon is a waste of a week. However, there is no harm from haveing a break from the main story, especially when the episode was as entertaining as 'Borrow or Rob' was.
7.5/10
