Blindspot Review: Mom (Season 2 Episode 21)

Give me a second to snap out of “deer-in-the-headlights” mode, because Blindspot Season 2 Episode 21 “Mom” is a fantastic penultimate episode.

Hot on the heels of a renewal announcement from NBC, Blindspot delivers an action-packed episode that not only gives us thrills, but also provides us with some much-needed answers, and a dash of some fluffy shippy moments.

First, let’s talk about the main action in this episode. Sandstorm has penetrated the FBI, and it isn’t going to end well. I usually expect shows like Blindspot to end with a big bombastic firefight, but Christmas came early, as Shepherd and her Sandstorm team craft a cunning infiltration.

This is what a formidable adversary looks like.

The FBI has been one step behind Sandstorm for a while, but most of the times Sandstorm manages to evade capture seem like dumb luck. This is the first time that the two sides appear equally matched and it’s much more engaging and much more tense.

These scenes consist of two enemies locking horns and refusing to let go. Shepherd’s not shaking her fist like Dr. Claw from Inspector Gadget and saying, “I’ll get you next time Weller! Next time!” She’s got a plan and she’s executing it.

And most importantly, she’s executing it well.

Listen closely to the dialogue when Shepherd first enters the FBI, and you can hear the military experience and the competency behind her commands.

Michelle Hurd steals the show in the episode, walking a fine line between a sincerity and trigger-happy ruthlessness. Her performance here cements my belief that Shepherd is the most formidable baddie this season.

It isn’t just the hostage scenes that Michelle Hurd shines in. Her scenes with Roman are also very interesting in that Shepherd seems sincere. It makes you realize that although you’ve been following Shepherd and Sandstorm for the entire season, you really can’t tell if she’s being genuine or not.

This brings me to Roman’s storyline. After seeing Roman in a cell for the last half of the season, we finally see him remember that Jane shot him with ZIP at the end of Blindspot Season 2 Episode 20 “In Words, Drown I.”

The episode opens with the fight, which led to him being brought back to FBI custody. So it’s no surprise that Shepherd finds him, and offers him a way out of the cell.

It is surprising that Roman seems to side with Shepherd.

But let’s be clear–these two have issues. Roman did try to kill Shepherd, and Shepherd did try to kill Roman. So I have a question: what the heck happened in that room that made Roman decide to shoot (and miss) at Jane?

I’ve enjoyed seeing Roman and Jane’s relationship grow this season, but I am sort of pulling for a Romane friendship ending. I don’t want to believe that Roman is on Shepherd’s side, but since we don’t know what happened in that room we can’t make a judgement yet.

So let’s hope that they’re saving that nugget for the finale.

The fact that Roman is able to recover some very recent memories does leave interesting possibility open for Jane.

Mind you, we don’t have a direct comparison of how much ZIP Jane was injected with compared to Roman, but if it’s wearing off, it does set a precedent that Jane’s “permanent amnesia” could also eventually reverse.

Still, Jane has now spent two seasons developing a new personality and new relationships, so while the possibility of Roman returning to his old self scares her, it doesn’t necessarily mean she’ll experience the same thing.

This revelation does lead to some very touching Jeller moments. I’ve hoped that Jane and Kurt could reconcile their differences over her not being Taylor Shaw for some time now and it seems like they started to during Blindspot Season 2 Episode 19 “Regard a Mere Mad Rager.”

Of course, just as they’re getting closer, two secret service agents come in and break them up. They escort Weller to a bunker where he is told that in the event the entire line of succession is wiped out, he and several other deputies will become “the new government” and his job is basically to stay in the bunker until a threat passes.

Surprise, this is The Truman Protocol. Remember, that document they procured from Kiva that was mostly redacted, save the signatures of every President since Truman?

My first question: while this is an interesting concept, how does The Truman Protocol reconcile itself with the line of succession? Wouldn’t there be someone from the line of succession in the bunker with them?

My second question: what happened to Shepherd’s proclamation that Weller must die from the end of Blindspot Season 2 Episode 19 “Regard a Mere Mad Rager?”

Since then, Shepherd hasn’t really made an active attempt to kill Weller. While I’m not complaining, I am wondering where this fits in her plans. Although, I imagine now if she’s able to eliminate several federal buildings, all of the standing government, and congress, then Weller is small potatoes.

Maybe the threat is coming in the season finale, along with a bigger and more calculated attack.

Stray Thoughts:

• Reade wants to go to Quantico. It doesn’t seem like the right decision at the start of the episode and it definitely doesn’t seem like a good decision at the end of the episode. Why? Because Zapata got shot. It’s an interesting role reversal from the mid-season finale, but do you really think Reade is going to leave now?
• Patterson’s power surge is epic. She’s definitely like a sci-fi captain setting her ship to self-destruct so the bad guys can’t get it.
• Did Shepherd’s “victory” speech give anyone else chills?
• Is anyone else wondering where the heck Nas is in all of this? I keep expecting her to come out of the shadows and step back into the game.

What did you think of this episode of Blindspot? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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Blindspot airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC.

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