Blindspot Review: Droll Autumn, Unmutual Lord (Season 2 Episode 11)

Blindspot is wasting no time digging into Roman’s wiped memory, and I am loving it!

Jane and Roman’s relationship steals the show on Blindspot Season 2 Episode 12, “Droll Autumn, Unmutual Lord,” but it isn’t all sunshine and roses.

Jane is a very nurturing presence on this episode, wanting to care for Roman in the same way she was cared for in Season 1. Their scenes together are touching and perhaps a little sad.

Luke Mitchell and Jamie Alexander are both amazing in their roles, and I love the little nuances this story-line is bringing to their relationship. Plus, Mitchell is really digging into this new side of Roman, and I’m enjoying seeing his character’s vulnerability in recent episodes.

However, these scenes also drive home the point that Roman isn’t going through the same process as Jane, simply because Jane is there and she knows him.

In one scene, which calls back to the very first episode, Jane brings Roman coffee and a cup of sugar cubes, and talks about how Borden got her to feel comfortable making small choices. The difference comes into play with this one exchange:

ROMAN: It looks like you chose for me.

JANE: Well, you like coffee, with as much sugar as it’ll hold. I know you. So, unlike me, you don’t have to start from scratch.

Jane’s role on the team has flipped and she is now Roman’s Weller. Jane and Patterson discuss this, along with Jane’s objectivity. Patterson thinks that’s what Roman needs:

PATTERSON: Weller wasn’t objective, and he bought out the best in you.

Throughout Season 1, Weller and Jane’s relationship relies on the notion that Jane is Taylor. Everything Weller does for her is based on the notion that she is Taylor, and the memories that Weller has of the young girl who lived across the street.

What I can’t shake, is that while Weller’s almost certain that Jane was Taylor Shaw, the big reveal at the end of Season 1 is that Taylor is dead. Which makes me wonder, is it possible Shepherd is lying and they’re not really siblings?

Blindspot is a show that I find myself going into with trepidation each week. The larger mystery of what Sandstorm is and exactly what they are trying to accomplish with the tattoos always comes from a second-hand source.

Jane has no proof that Roman is actually her brother, but she knows what she’s been told, and she isn’t objective where Roman is concerned. Regardless, she’s completely devoted to him and believes he doesn’t need to be a killer.

Which makes the findings of Dr. Karen Sun, that much harder to accept.

Nas brings in Dr. Sun to evaluate Roman. Her questions lead to the conclusion that Roman suffers from extreme antisocial personality disorder and that the best course of action is to lock him in an institution for the rest of his life.

When Dr. Sun presents her findings, it brings up another difference between Jane and Roman. While Dr. Sun states that the conditions at the South African orphanage destroyed his capacity for empathy and love, Jane argues that she grew up in the same place, in the same way.

The fact is, that while Jane and Roman grew up in the same environment, their experiences aren’t identical. We haven’t seen much of Jane’s childhood yet, so we can’t be sure of her memories from that period.

Something tells me this character arc is going to be like peeling back the layers of onion, for both Jane and Roman.

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.

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