Blindspot Review: Artful Dodge (Season 3 Episode 16)
We finally know what Operation Dragonfly is, and it actually connected some dots! Blindspot Season 3 Episode 16 “Artful Dodge” puts together the dragonfly tattoo that Nas said would make Zapata “really unpopular with her friends,” but leaves us asking if this reveal is going to run through the rest of the season.
“Artful Dodge” rests on the big reveal that Borden is a CIA asset, and that Zapata is his handler. Seeing Ukweli Roach come back to the cast, but on very different terms was very compelling to watch, especially his interest in Patterson.
One of the things that Blindspot did really well in Season 2 was deal with Patterson’s trauma. We got some good snippets of her searching her apartment for bugs, and saw her refuse novocaine when the dentist removed the transmitter in her tooth.
All of these feelings that were playing in the background came to the forefront in Blindspot Season 3 Episode 14 “Everlasting” when Patterson had the conversation with Borden while she’s unconscious. While Patterson never confronts Borden in “Artful Dodge,” seeing him, and knowing that he’ll be going to prison feels like a way to tie up this arc.
Maybe now we cans see Patterson start to have a relationship again. This time, maybe with someone who won’t get killed, and who won’t betray her.
The thing that bothers me about “Artful Dodge” though, is that as much I liked it for dealing with this storyline, it also feels like an easy out for Operation Dragonfly.
Given how everyone was talking about Operation Dragonfly, I didn’t think that Borden being alive, and the operation would be the same thing. The way that everyone who crossed paths with Zapata seemed to know about it, I thought for sure it would be a bigger operation.
Plus, much like Daylight, in Blindspot Season 1, if this is all we see of Dragonfly, it feels like a bit of a one-note storyline.
In my review of Blindspot Season 3 Episode 15 “Deductions”, I talked about how there seemed to be a communication issue with the CIA, and how no one seemed to know anything. Yet, several people seem to know about Operation Dragonfly. The inconsistencies are hard to accept at this point in the game.
Given how much build up there has been regarding Operation Dragonfly and Borden’s resurrection, I hope that both factor into the plot at large, because otherwise, this will feel like another wasted opportunity.
Stray Thoughts:
- Reade is in charge of the wedding cake, and thinks all of them are too sweet? This isn’t going to end well, especially given Zapata’s confession.
- What’s Roman talking about regarding something being irreversible? I assume it has to do with his health, but does that have anything to do with why he’s doing all this? Does it directly relate to the ZIP? And if so, why isn’t Jane showing any symptoms?
- Did anyone notice that Roman’s accent wanes a little when he’s in the hospital with Crawford?
- Speaking of Roman and Crawford: anyone else wondering if that pen actually has a microphone in it?
- Rich DotCom’s review was hilarious. His answers to the questions are exactly what I have come to expect from his character, and I am very glad we won’t see him going back to prison anytime soon for fear of the half-play toilet paper.
- It’s looking more and more like Zapata will question her involvement with the CIA by the end of the series given all the unsolicited advice she was getting.
What did you think of this episode of Blindspot? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Blindspot airs Fridays at 8/7c on NBC.
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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.