Blindspot Review: Hero Fears Imminent Rot (Season 2 Episode 3)
Okay, Blindspot, we need to have a talk!
Blindspot Season 2 Episode 3, “Hero Fears Imminent Rot,” starts to chip away at some of the essential questions at the heart of this series and leaves me with one startling image: dying rabbits.
So much happens in this episode, and yet my thoughts keep returning to the rabbits. In fact, this story unfolds so perfectly that I tossed and turned for most of the night and lost sleep over Luke Mitchell’s calculated and venomous delivery.
Sadly, and perhaps this says more regarding what might be my own masochism–Dr. Borden would have a field day with this–that I would have been disappointed if this episode ended on any other note.
It chills me to the bone and makes me genuinely excited to watch next week.
Like most Blindspot episodes, “Hero Fears Imminent Rot” is face-paced and throws a lot of detail at the viewer really quickly, but the character development in this episode is what makes it stand out.
The strongest part of this episode is the way it starts to touch on who Remi was. This is a necessary episode to unpack what we learned in the first two episodes of the season.
While the season premiere “In Night So Ransomed Rogue” introduced us to Sandstorm and to Jane’s family, the brief infodump regarding Jane’s past was too brief and brought up more questions than it answered.
The introduction of her biological brother and adoptive mother provide tangible connections to Jane’s past, connections that demand attention, and perhaps a bit of suspicion.
It was surprising to see this conflict come to fruition so quickly when viewers waited so long for confirmation about whether or not she really was Taylor Shaw. However, knowing that Jane now has to earn the trust of Sandstorm, just like she did the FBI it seems like we’ve just scratched the surface of a deep well of mysteries and questions.
We still don’t know what Sandstorm is planning. Until that is revealed, I am hesitant to form an opinion on whether I should love or hate Roman and Shepherd. Right now, I am just interested in seeing how these storylines play out.
At the heart of Jane and Roman’s conversations is the fact that Sandstorm didn’t expect Jane to come back influenced by the FBI. It’s a fundamental mistake but a giant ocean full of potential conflict.
In the course of her assassination plot, Jane also learns some things about Remi that don’t paint her past self in a flattering light. Remi is a stark contrast to Taylor, the little girl frozen in time, and it’s easy to register Jane’s discomfort.
Now, why do I refer to Jane and Remi as two different people? Because she is. Her actions in this episode show the dichotomy of herself before and after the memory wipe.
While Remi is ruthless and abrasive, Jane is humane and rational.
This alone isn’t surprising. We’ve said before that Jane wouldn’t be the same person after the memory wipe because she was erasing everything that shaped the person who came before. The best illustration of this is the relationship between Jane and Roman.
When Jane hesitates during the assassination Roman has to cover for her with Shepherd. In this moment, Jane and Roman’s roles have flipped. Roman may have been scared and hesitant in the orphanage, but now Jane’s hesitating.
Roman illustrates this role swap through a visceral story about rabbits they were given at the orphanage, told to feed and care for, and then one day ordered to kill. Remi killed her rabbit instantly, but when Roman couldn’t the people in charge of the orphanage killed the rabbit for him.
In remembering this story, Roman sees a way to save his sister and perhaps get Remi back.
Remember, Roman knows the plan. He played a part in sending Jane to Kurt and setting her up to be Taylor Shaw. Over the course of Season 1, Jane embraced the idea that she was Taylor Shaw and her connection with Weller grew.
Now, Roman sees how that connection has changed his sister. Instead of the ruthless killer he grew up with, she’s now like Weller & Co and the only way he knows to help her is to eliminate that connection. That’s why it’s chilling when he says:
ROMAN: I am going to find your rabbit and I am going to make it bleed.
First, I have to give kudos to Luke Mitchell for being able to make me shake in my boots with a single line. Second, Roman’s last words in this episode are bone-chilling and up the ante very early in the season.
The rabbit is also an effective metaphor, but it also called to mind visions of Anya from Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
There is a bit of an echo to when Oscar threatened Weller’s life, but I always thought that Oscar’s threat seemed a little half-hearted. I am actually scared of Roman.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out in the coming episodes. The way that the writers and creators are handling Jane’s two identities and loyalties is really intriguing and I hope it continues because we don’t have a whole picture of Remi yet.
A personality isn’t made out of a few sprinkled facts and a few dead bunnies, and I think we should look forward to seeing both Remi’s history and Jane’s reactions.
Until then, there will be many dreams about rabbits. Thank you Luke Mitchell!
What did you think of this episode of Blindspot? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Blindspot airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC.
Lauren Busser
Lauren Busser is an Associate Editor at Tell-Tale TV. She is a writer of fiction and nonfiction whose work has appeared in Bitch Media, Popshot Quarterly, Brain Mill Press Voices, and The Hartford Courant.