Blindspot Review: The One Where Jane Visits an Old Friend (Season 4 Episode 16)
There’s a mix of character development and plot on Blindspot Season 4 Episode 16, “The One Where Jane Visits an Old Friend,” and it’s a mix that works well for this hour.
After the events of Blindspot Season 4 Episode 15, “Frequently Recurring Struggle for Existence,” it makes sense to take a moment and unpack what’s happening to Jane. She very quickly accepted that she was fine and that Remi was a part of her, but the memories were never addressed, and how she was supposed to deal with two different sides of herself is essential to how the series continues.
“The One Where Jane Visits an Old Friend,” does a good job of showing Jane going to see different therapists. Showing her talking to two different therapists with two different reactions relays the experience of looking for a therapist really well. You do need to find a therapist that fits and for Jane that would be a tall order.
She’s had a very unusual experience and trying to find someone who would understand the layers of her life is a bit like unwinding a ball of string. It’s easy to see how Jane would get disheartened when she talked to Weller, it’s a relatable performance from Jaimie Alexander and it feels completely natural for Jane.
It’s becoming much easier to feel in pace with Jane and Kurt’s relationship now that we’ve been sitting with it for a few episodes.
I mentioned in my review of Blindspot Season 4 Episode 13, “Though This Be Madness, Yet There Is Method In’t,” that the fluffier Jane and Kurt scenes feel odd because that isn’t a side of their relationship we’ve gotten to really dig into. The more time the writers spend giving us moments like this where they can demonstrate how much they care about each other, the more natural it feels, and the more this relationship finally feels established outside of the FBI.
Honestly, when Kurt first suggested that Jane go see a therapist, my thoughts immediately went to the place of, “Oh this isn’t going to end well.” Mostly because I was thinking of Robert Borden.
Having Jane decide to go visit him and talk out what she was feeling about being Remi and Jane felt like a natural decision. Given their history, I thought they probably needed to have it out now that Jane could remember Remi’s life and is having an emotional reaction to her memories of Remi.
Borden’s realization that Jane, Remi, and Alice are all really one person is a very interesting take. From the beginning, I’ve always seen Jane and Remi as two people with different motives and allegiances. Borden shifts that thinking into a new perspective. Jane and Remi are the same person and their basic motivations are the same, there’s just a different perspective.
Borden’s suggestion feels a little bit like a coping mechanism for Jane, and it seems to work. Yet, the shift still wouldn’t have happened without the introduction of ZIP, so her course was fundamentally altered. Jane may have to accept Remi’s choices and actions as part of her past, but that doesn’t mean that Jane didn’t get a fresh start. It doesn’t diminish what she is now.
While Jane is making sure she’s in the proper headspace to return to work, the team is tracking down Madeline. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio continues to be one of the best villains Blindspot has ever had.
We still don’t know what Helios is or what she’s planning after she failed to take down Air Force One, but she’s cunning enough to know how to cover her tracks and that makes her scarier than any other villain that we’ve seen so far. The scene where she’s meeting with the HCI Global Board Member and kills him because she saw too much fear in his eyes is such a captivating scene to watch.
When they arrest Madeline and her goons it feels like a shame that they’re going to bring her into custody, but the final twist with Jane being drugged by Dominic has just upped the ante. Given the promo for next it looks like Madeline’s games are just beginning, so we can’t say she’s down for the count yet.
“The One Where Jane Visits an Old Friend,” is a good mix of character and action, and even though it looks like the game might be coming to an end, I really don’t think Madeline is going down that easy. Not when Weitz is in her back pocket.
Stray Thoughts:
- Kudos to Kurt for telling the team about Jane talking to Borden and Patterson is a very mature person for being okay with it. I still remember when Zapata came out with the news that Borden was still alive last season and I could just imagine how much that would have blown up in Kurt and Jane’s face if they kept that a secret.
- Boston and Rich are adorable.
- The scene where they arrest Madeline couldn’t have gone down any other way than having Zapata bring her in. Zapata is clearly dealing with some trauma at the top of the episode, and while I don’t think her arrest fixes it, there’s definitely some form of closure there.
- Does anyone else wonder what the heck Madeline wants with Weitz? Is he some kind of pocket ace?
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.