Blindspot Review: Though This Be Madness, Yet There Is Method In’t (Season 4 Episode 13)

Here it is, the episode where Madeline Burke solidifies herself as one of the scariest villains in Blindspot’s tenure. Blindspot Season 4 Episode 13, “Though This Be Madness, Yet There Is Method In’t” can’t exist without the talent of Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio and her subtle brilliance.

Madeline has grown leaps and bounds since she first appeared in Blindspot Season 4 Episode 1, “Hella Duplicitous.” So much so that I am actually starting to wonder if her naivete was all an act in those early episodes.

I have spoken before about how Blindspot sometimes feels like it’s missing a formidable villain and how Madeline’s storyline was cold and calculating and everything I wanted from someone who production was setting up to be the season’s big bad.

Madeline is an example of playing the long game. She has venom and fire that is controlled and measured. She also didn’t go into this completely naïve.

Part of what makes Madeline so terrifying is that she doesn’t give her information to every person. With this episode, it definitely feels like she’s playing a long game, particularly when it’s revealed that she falsified the project Arvo documents.

Going into this episode, I honestly worried that Blindspot was tying up several of its plot points too soon. They eliminated Remi, cured Jane’s ZIP poisoning, and now they seemed poised to topple Madeline.

However, the Blindspot writers are handling this villain very well and I hope they continue to treat her with the delicacy.

Madeline works the best when she’s used sparingly and appears enigmatic. I honestly expect to see more of her when an episode centers so heavily around her plot, but I think the moments we get with her are just enough that the character isn’t losing her razor sharp edges.

The cherry on top of this reveal is the introduction of Helios. What is it? What’s her plan? Who is she targeting? And how is the audience going to get clued into that without Zapata running in Madeline’s sphere of influence?

It’s going to be interesting to see where Madeline goes from here, but it also feels like we’ll be getting away from the character for a while now that Zapata has been outed to Madeline. It could potentially be even scarier now that we can’t see Madeline’s every move.

Zapata’s storyline has also been very compelling this past season, and now that we’re at about the halfway point, it’s nice to see it picking up the pace.

The comments made by Winston in Blindspot Season 3 Episode 11, “Careless Whisper,” are a little disconcerting, and “Though This Be Madness, Yet There Is Method In’t” did very quickly lean into the idea that Zapata is going to have to die.

The moment when she makes the decision to stay at the server and push enter is a truly gut-punching one.

Zapata doesn’t have any easy relationships right now, and she often gives off a cold façade, but at this moment we see how much she loves Reade. We get a sense that she wants to be trusted again.

Even her decision to go to Zurich alone because she knows that Reade still doesn’t trust her speaks to that. I am not entirely sure that Zapata can be redeemed fully, but her intention and willingness to try may be enough.

Most of my thoughts this episode are about Madeline and Zapata, but Jane and Kurt’s attempt at a weekend getaway was an adorable piece of fluff too.

I say fluff, because going to a cabin in the woods just reeked of horror movie clichés, that the pair point out over the course of the episode. Honestly, if anyone was going to go through a horror movie plot, it would be these two; to the point where it would have been a cliche.

For all my joking about this setup, I realize that the reason it feels unnatural to me is because it is a mode we haven’t seen the show take before. Jane and Kurt were set up to a couple, but they haven’t had the chance to be.

It makes me wish we’d seen a little more of Jane and Kurt the happy couple before Roman started interfering in Blindspot Season 3. We saw so little of their time in Colorado, and Jane left before they were about to have a big discussion about kids.

It honestly doesn’t feel like in three and a half seasons, this couple has had the breathing space to just be a couple, and through these last few episodes, I’ve found myself really hungering for more of that.

Fortunately, Blindspot seems to have replaced Jane’s identity drama with some more family drama so hopefully, that provides a playground for the writers to work with.

Stray Thoughts:  

• I love how Boston is so intent on replacing Rich and then realizing that he prefers to stay away from being shot at and things blowing up. It’s a choice that he makes for himself after his experience and it’s one that I can respect. Seeing him this last season though has made me really like him as a character, and I’d love to see him work with the team more. You never know when they’re going to need a forger.
• The moment in the woods where Jane suggests lighting a candle for Roman is very poignant. Roman has, for lack of a better word, haunted this season in many ways. It feels right that they’d honor his memory in some way. Especially with new information that he was also actively looking to save Jane’s life.
• Colonel Hacker is a good example of how to react in a crisis. She would make me feel very relaxed if I was on a flight piloted by her and she told me not to panic when the power went out. Such low-key humor.
• It seemed inevitable that Weitz would get fired at some point, the title of Director of the FBI doesn’t seem to come with a long tenure on Blindspot, but I was actually starting to like him. So I am glad that he wasn’t actually fired, after all.

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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