Blindspotting Season 2 Episode 8 Review: Return to Ithaca

Blindspotting Season 2 Episode 8, “Return to Ithaca,” finds the Turner family ostracizing Ashley while Earl and Miles navigate life post-prison. It almost feels like a series finale instead of a season finale, with each main arc wrapped in a lovely narrative bow. 

That’s not to say there’s no room for a third season. However, if this is the end, it’s a satisfying one, albeit it’s coated in bittersweetness — more so on the Ashley and Miles side of things. 

NANCY: One minute, he’s doing a five-year bid. Next minute, he’s getting walked out of prison. He’s not thinking straight. 

Jasmine Cephas Jones and Rafael Casal deliver understated, vulnerable performances, with their characters’ complex emotional lives bleeding between the lines. The end montage chronicling Ashley and Miles’ romance during his incarceration is beautifully structured, especially with them standing in silence as they bare their souls. Words aren’t needed here because of Jones and Casal’s powerful work. 

It’s an intriguing choice not to rely on the typical couples’ fight that occurs after a cheating reveal. We didn’t get an explosive argument between Ashley and Miles. Earlier in the episode, she tells Rainey she doesn’t know what Miles is thinking, but once she stands in front of him, she understands him at a visceral, bare-bones level. 

When we get Ashley and Miles in the same space, they don’t need words. Their relationship transcends verbal dialogue. It’s almost refreshing how in tune they are with each other’s body language and internal mechanisms. 

RAINEY: Did you know the Ghirardelli family crypt is right over there? It’s huge. All that chocolate money. 

“Return to Ithaca” also showcases a badass musical number featuring Earl and Miles, with both Casal and Benjamin Earl Turner getting to put their rap talents on display. It’s a reminder of Casal and Daveed Diggs’ incredible lyricism and knack for deliciously poetic language. 

Listening to their rap is a writer’s dream. Plus, the choreography of the number and the prison setting launches it into the stratosphere. Blindspotting consistently pushes the boundaries of creative expression in the TV space, and this scene is no exception. 

“Return to Ithaca” also chronicles the moments leading to Miles’ arrest, shedding much-needed context on that event and why Ashley shunned her brother from Sean’s birthday party in the season premiere. It’s a wonderfully full-circle bit. Ashley even purchases two bottles of wine, which she bought for the previous New Year’s celebration when Miles got arrested. 

EARL and MILES: Each minute feels like 10. Every week is a month. A thousand years in a second. A life goes out in a snuff. 

These details are invaluable to us viewers as they paint a fuller picture of our characters and their roles in the narrative. Earl’s PTSD is gracefully tackled by the writers and Turner, who doles out a nuanced performance. LeVar Burton’s cameo is a reminder of the legendary actor’s compelling onscreen presence, even in a few-minute scene. 

Overall, “Return to Ithaca” is a tender, moving meditation on the power of forgiveness and how we process trauma, primarily through the lens of our imbalanced justice and incarceration systems. Everyone embarks on a new chapter, from Janelle packing for her return to Bali and Mustafa to Trish and Jacque defining the parameters of their friendship. Earl reconnects with his father while Miles adjusts to his life in the outside world. Ashley reckons with her mistake and mends fences with Rainey. 

It’s difficult not to think of this outing as a series finale. But, as mentioned above, there are narrative threads worth exploring in a potential Season 3. When did Collin get out of prison? Will Ashley and Miles continue living with Rainey? How will the gang adjust once Janelle moves back to Bali? 

Blindspotting Season 2 is a delightfully playful story that artfully dives into our core players and tests the limits of our imagination via stunningly creative bursts of magic. It doesn’t simply dip its toes into the fantastical — it submerges itself wholly. The season showcases the series’ cheeky humor and knack for tugging at the heartstrings. Here’s hoping we get a third season. 

Stray Observations: 

• I love the meaning behind the title. Ithaca is the homeland of Ulysses (aka Odysseus), where his wife Penelope waits 20 years for him to return from the Trojan War. We see Miles’ journey home after his incarceration to his Penelope — Ashley. 
• I always forget that this show takes place in 2018. If Miles had served his full sentence, he’d be getting out this year. 
• Blindspotting should make it a seasonal tradition of showing Collin in the season finale in some jaw-dropping moment. Of course, we saw him in episode six, but still. 
• Ashley’s bedroom is envy-inducing. That window! That view!
• LeVar Burton needs to have an expanded role in Season 3. I love his scene with Earl in “Return to Ithaca.” Watching Earl and his father mend fences and rebuild their relationship while working in the restaurant would be fun. 
• If you look closely, you can see Ashley’s outfit from “The Good, the Bad, and the Thizzly” in the corner of her room. 

What did you think of this episode of Blindspotting? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Blindspotting Seasons 1-2 are now streaming on Starz.

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