Blindspot Review: The Big Blast from the Past Episode (Season 4 Episode 14)
This is an episode that could be classified as rare form. Blindspot Season 4 Episode 14, “The Big Blast from the Past,” walks that line where the developments are infuriating, but also show some growth in Blindspot’s storytelling.
Blindspot Season 4 started with three big problems: Remy’s return, Jane’s ZIP poisoning, and Madeline’s takeover of HCI Global. Right now, the show has burned a lot of plot quickly, and while that’s not always a bad thing, it’s worrisome going into the back half of a season.
“The Big Blast from the Past” is a setup episode, laying the track for the last half of the season while giving viewers and emotional crux to rest on.
Let’s start with the biggest misdirect Blindspot has given us this season: Weitz’s duplicity.
Oh, Weitz! You really had us trusting you, but then “The Big Blast from the Past” came along. Now we’re over here kicking ourselves for not seeing this coming.
Weitz’s duplicity isn’t much of a reveal if you think about it. Historically, the role of FBI Director seems to be cursed. Whoever gets it ultimately ends up dead or in prison. Weitz though, he really had us lulled into a false sense of security.
But “The Big Blast from the Past Episode” shows us exactly how far Weitz is willing to go to protect himself, and it isn’t comforting. It’s hard for me to do anything but shake with rage after watching Weitz play the good guy this season on Blindspot Season 4 Episode 6, “Ca-Ca-Candidate for Cr-Cr-Crime,” and empathizing with him on Blindspot Season 4 Episode 13, “Though This Be Madness, Yet There Is Method In’t.”
Yet, as mad as I want to be that yet another Director of the FBI turns out to be duplicitous it’s also a credit to the writers with their misdirection. Weitz is already a character that isn’t instantly likable. He’s ambitious and making a run for political office.
Watching him attempt to do “the right thing” was subverting expectations, causing the audience to believe that the writers were going to break the curse of the FBI Director this season.
While the reveal that Weitz is really crooked isn’t much of a surprise the final reveal, that Madeline was behind the copycat bombs all along, was well-timed to keep us engaged in the story.
In previous seasons, I’ve talking about how Blindspot’s “big bad” doesn’t always pay off like it should. It doesn’t seem formidable and therefore there’s no tension. Finding out that it’s Madeline blackmailing Weitz is the needed hook to keep viewers involved with the big picture.
It also leaves a small window through which Weitz could possibly redeem himself, and what he does with that is going to make all the difference.
While the overall structure of “The Big Blast from the Past,” feels full of plot devices, it is a good way to unpack some of the Reade and Zapata baggage that took place during the time jump between Blindspot Season 2 and Season 3.
Reade and Zapata’s relationship is complicated and messy, and Audry Esparza and Rob Brown’s performances make them compelling characters to watch.
When it comes to Reade and Zapata’s relationship, it’s hard to root for them as a couple. I can’t see this ending in more than tragedy, especially with the prophesized ending on Blindspot Season 4 Episode 11, “Careless Whisper.”
It isn’t until sitting back and thinking about “The Big Blast from the Past,” that I realize that this was a Jeller-lite episode. The time jump between Seasons 2 and 3 always felt rushed, giving viewers just the basic pillars for which to fill in the time these characters have spent apart.
The case didn’t involve much of Kurt and Jane, because they were supposed to be in Colorado, and it gives us a glimpse into how different the show would be without them. However, the show is built around Jane’s tattoos, so while this setup is nice for an episode we need to get back to that center pillar.
Jane’s mysterious inheritance from Shepherd is another interesting set up for the rest of the season. If the writers are able to keep up the tension they’ve built up then Blindspot could finish Season 4 strong.
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.