Blindspot Review: Brass Tacks / Love You to Bits and Bytes (Season 5 Episodes 9 and 10)
We’re getting ready to say goodbye to Blindspot, and this double dose has certainly leaned heavily into the mythos and history of the show from the last five seasons.
First, let’s talk about that big reveal from Blindspot Season 5 Episode 9, “Brass Tacks”: Patterson’s alive!
It’s really comical that Madeline and Ivy just assumed she was dead after the explosion on Blindspot Season 5 Episode 8, “Ghost Train.” You would really think the mercenary would be the one who’d wait to check on the remains.
However, I’m not complaining because that means Boston and Patterson got to stage a rescue while in genderbending disguises. The reunions are some of the sweetest of the season, and they are richly deserved.
Finally being back in the FBI building, with the team, after not being there the entire season is an almost surreal experience, but it was rewarding to see that the team still has loyal friends at the same time. The way characters come in and agree to cover for the escaping team is a moment where we all need to cheer.
As great as the reunions, and seeing Weitz’s resistance grow is, “Brass Tacks” really serves to drive the plot towards the end firefight. The camera work is magnificent and seeing Weitz and his allies go up against the mercenaries is so rewarding.
But it comes at a cost.
Weitz hasn’t been the easiest character to like during Blindspot‘s run, but the writers have made him empathetic this season and that’s made him much more likable.
The fact that he dies saving the team after spending much of his run on the series being selfish is a great arc for him to end on. His death is heartbreaking, and after butting heads with Afreem over the last couple of episodes, his selfless acts are not only redeeming but surprising.
His death also brings about other implications for the team’s future.
The realization that he was the only friend they had in an FBI regime now in shambles is a gut-punch. He could have been influential in helping to reinstate them, and it’s a major blow that he’s no longer in play.
Another big event from “Brass Tacks” is Madeline Burke’s takedown.
Thanks to Patterson and Boston, the team is able to suss out Madeline’s intended coverup, and leak documents about the real plot to Reade’s former fiance Megan. Megan’s position at the New York Star is very handy at this moment and having her and Zapata connect after the contention that existed between them is very heartwarming.
The fact that she then does it just shows the amount of trust she has in the team.
It feels odd to have the main villain of the season take her own life when it appears that an escape won’t be possible. Madeline has been so formidable, but as we’ve seen her blackmail vanish and her evil plans get exposed, it’s become clear that she’s toothless.
While it might be seedy and underhanded, this also shows her vulnerability and bookends her story nicely in contrast to her arrival on Blindspot Season 4.
While “Brass Tacks” is full of action, Blindspot Season 5 Episode 10, “Love You to Bits and Bytes,” balances action with humor. While the race to find the ZIP bombs is imminent, the reunion of the Three Blind Mice diffuses a little bit of the tension.
Between Heather Burns and Josh Dean, this episode has a lot of guest actors that nail comedy that nails a special breed of comedy. Watching Burns take Rich and Patterson through her work and screaming when she finds the digital door has been messed with, strikes a familiar tone from the firest seasons of Blindspot.
Dean also balances high tension moments well, especially in the scene when he’s standing on a pressure plate bomb. Boston is one of those side characters that adds so much to the scenes that he’s in and he will be missed.
His scenes with Rich are touching, but the bits were he acts like a diva about his weight are even more interesting.
However, these two episodes really bring us to the final scene: Jane locked in a room with a triggered ZIP bomb.
There aren’t words to describe how heartbreaking this scene is.
Jane has talked about how vocal her anxieties are regarding ZIP and what it can do. She’s voiced regret about ZIPing Roman, and the fact that the bombs have to do with aerosolized ZIP seems to scare her deep down.
The fact that she now faces the possibility of the person she’s become being erased is terrifying and it’s not something we want for a character that has come so far.
I’ve talked about how Blindspot is the quintessential show about identity since Season 1. Jane Doe has been created from a blank slate, everything Jane is a choice and influence by the chosen family around her.
Their bonds mean Jane does have something to lose: their relationships, but she also knows that those around her have bonds that will suffer if they are erased.
Kurt just realized the dream that was motivating him on the run, to hold his daughter, Patterson just came back from the dead, Tasha has her baby to consider. Jane is aware of these connections and doesn’t want to see them shattered.
It’s why she tells Kurt not to come in and seals the airlock. She doesn’t have a choice at this moment, but she knows she can save her friends, all who have much more to lose.
What did you think of these episodes of Blindspot? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Blindspot airs Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.
Watch Blindspot Season 5 Episodes 9 and 10 here
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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.