Thursday, November 17, 2016

Blindspot 2x09 Review: "Why Let Cooler Pasture Deform" (Revelations and Cliffhangers) [Contributor: Jen]


"Why Let Cooler Pasture Deform"
Original Airdate: November 16, 2016

My trepidation for "Why Let Cooler Pasture Deform," Blindspot's midseason finale, was at an all-time high for the series. I participated in some general musings on Twitter over the extreme likeliness that Dr. Borden was the mole:


 

Martin Gero liked that last tweet. When I explained to Mr. Gero that liking it did nothing to ease my concerns, he liked that tweet. Gulp.


CASE OF THE WEEK



Sandstorm is ready to kick off their final phase and Roman shows up to bring Jane along. The first red flag is when Roman removes the hood early. He explains that she's not going back to the FBI, so he can do away with silly things like protocol. Uh-huh. Or he took the hood off early because they are going to kill you, Jane. I'm just brainstorming options. Run, baby girl, run!

Jane finds Sandstorm's evil master plan in a filing cabinet and locates a hidden phone that was manufactured in 2006. What's more surprising is that Jane's spidey sense is not going off. Seriously girl, think. Mama Sandstorm just leaves everything in a filing cabinet?

Jane describes her location to Patterson utilizing a few specific details she cobbled together with her other five senses during the drive. It reminds me of the movie Sneakers. Really great movie — I highly recommend it. One of the "sneakers" is blind and is able to piece together a hidden location based off of Robert Redford's character's sound memory. Basically, this a long way of me saying Patterson continues to be awesome.

Sandstorm's plan is to blow the power grid and send the United States back to the dark ages. Interesting. A little anti-climatic, but interesting. Of course, they aren't really launching the final phase. This is all a trap to kill both Jane and her team. Roman gives Jane a piece of gum and SHE CHEWS IT. Again I say, seriously Jane? Don't eat the freaking gum! You know better than this.

Mama Sandstorm ties Jane up in a chair and explains she knew all along her daughter was a traitor. She tells Jane she's not the only one who can infiltrate the FBI. Mama Sandstorm makes a reference to knowing Jane's psychology and Jane finally puts it together: Borden is the mole.

And Jane is forced to sit and watch as her family blows up her other family. Nas realizes that what is happening is a trap, but it's too late. The team goes BOOM. Then Mama Sandstorm tells Jane that Roman is going to kill her.

Dun dun dunnnn!

TEAM BLINDSPOT


We knew it was Borden. We hoped for Nas, but we knew it was Borden. Oh, the pain! Our poor little shipper hearts. After losing David, it's just painful to watch Patterson suffer another romantic loss.

Borden being the mole wasn't actually the surprise. The surprise was his connection to Jane. He was married to the doctor who saved Jane after the CIA bombed her Seal team. She lived with them for months and grew very close to both Borden and his wife. That is, until the CIA bombed the farming village and humanitarian aid hospital in an effort to kill Jane. She was out walking with Borden at the time, so the CIA didn't kill her. They did, however, kill Borden's wife. He hated Jane for what happened to his wife, which explains why he had no problem spying on her. However, he hated the United States more, which is explains why he's working for Sandstorm.

Patterson goes to David's apartment and he's pulled out his wedding band, which is immediately noticed. The ring looks exactly like the one Jane drew Patterson. It was a memory she recalled but couldn't place. All Jane knew was that it was important. Patterson rapidly puts it all together because she's Patterson. And then she pulls a gun on Borden. As they fight, I recalled all the times they trained together. Little did Patterson know she was training with the man she'd eventually be fighting for her life against. The gun goes off and... STAY TUNED!

NOOOOOOOOOOO.

It was at this time that I started throwing things at my television. No, you did not leave us with that cliffhanger, Blindspot! We have to wait until January 4th to find out whether Borden or Patterson survived. Not cool! Listen, it's Patterson. Patterson survives because I simply will not accept any other reality. That's what's happening. End of story.

Personally, I feel Blindspot definitively closed the book on any Nas suspicions. I know there are many who aren't big fans, given the Jeller implications, but Nas is really growing on me. Now that we have this whole mole business out of the way, I can enjoy any contributions she makes to the team without the shadow of suspicion.

Zappata makes it out of the blast, but Nas and Reade are trapped under the rubble. Reade's leg is caught under a huge piece of concrete and Nas desperately tries to free him — without success. The scenes between Reade and Nas, as they face impending death, are really quite touching. Nas feels horribly guilty for leading the team into an obvious trap, but Reade reassures her by saying: "We're a team. Teams live and die for each other."

It's Reade's way of saying that Nas is part of the team. He's also made peace with dying. If he dies, so be it; but at least he's going out protecting and fighting for the people he loves.

Of course, Weller shows up at the last second, and he and Nas are able to pull Reade out. Truthfully, I thought Nas was a goner when that second explosion went off, but Weller was able to pull her out as well because... of course he was. He's Kurt Weller.

The one person on Reade's mind while he was trapped was Zappata. When he wakes in the hospital, he makes a tearful confession to her. He was there when Coach Jones was stabbed. Reade could have called for help, but he just watched him die. That's why the timelines don't match up. Reade tearfully apologizes to Zappata for lying to her. Zappata speaks for us all when tells Reade she already knew.
It's such a beautiful moment of unconditional love, understanding, and acceptance. Ugh, these two. I love them so much.


TEAM SANDSTORM


This family is so messed up. Mama Sandstorm knew Jane was loyal to the FBI and wanted to kill her weeks ago. What kind of a mother is this woman? Oh, that's right. The worst mother ever.

She tells Roman that it's time to kill his rabbit, and it sent a chill down my spine. This woman is twisted. Mama Sandstorm expertly manipulates Roman into believing the love he has for Jane is controlling him — that Jane is a threat to his survival. If Roman kills Jane, then he'll be free. Essentially, Mama Sandstorm is trying to kill the last bit of humanity, the final piece of human connection, Roman has. She is no different than the people who held them captive for years and turned them into assassins.

It's all another test though. When Roman points the gun at Mama Sandstorm and fires, she knows where his true loyalties are. It erupts into a brutal fight with the two children squaring off against their mother. Every family fights, but this certainly is another level, isn't it? It'll add some perspective the next time my family disagrees. At least we aren't resorting to hand-to-hand combat.

Mama Sandstorm shoots Roman and Roman shoots Mama Sandstorm, but they are both shoulder wounds. Roman isn't able to kill his mother, but this points to the humanity he's is holding onto. Jane wants to arrest her mother. She doesn't want to kill her, so all will live to fight another day.

Jane and Roman escape to a nearby safe house. It's the same place where Jane's tattoos were done and her memory was wiped. Interestingly enough, Roman isn't thrilled with Jane any more than he is Mama Sandstorm. He views her as a traitor. Roman may even hate her. He just can't kill her.

Jane is encouraged by Roman's inability to kill her. We're not grading on a curve here, folks. Jane believes if given the same chance, Roman can become someone different like she did. Okay Jane... whatcha talking about? Are we thinking a nice cup of tea with Weller? Nope. Jane picks up a syringe filled with the same drug that wiped her memories and plunges it into Roman's neck.

Holy crap. That was cold, Jane. I know she believes she's doing this for the right reasons, but wow. Jane made the choice to have her memories wiped. Remi did it to herself. Making that decision for Roman is such a violation of any bond or trust they shared that it's a little hard to get my mind wrapped around it.

Jane's memory loss gave her a fresh start. This will give Roman's humanity the opportunity to break through all the darkness like Jane's did. Also, Jane will have greater influence and sway over Roman now, so she can help guide that process — much like Weller did for her.

However, none of that can erase the fact that this wasn't of Roman's choosing. Jane's been through hell and she's condemning her brother to the same. Nor is the memory loss any guarantee that Roman will become a kinder and more compassionate version of himself. Nor, for that matter, does it change the fact that when Roman gets his memories back (because someday he will) the broken trust between them will probably be irreparable. It may even push Roman further down a darker path and he will be no better off than he is now.

While her intentions may be good, and motivated by love for her brother, Jane's actions are not that different from Mama Sandstorm's. She seeks to control Roman. At the end of the day, Jane didn't have enough faith that her love would be enough without the drug.

KURT AND JANE


There wasn't a ton of movement on the Jeller front this week, but that's okay. We're in this for the long haul. Nas' survival and decidedly un-mole-like behavior probably means her relationship with Weller will continue. I know there are many who aren't a fan of this storyline, but I'm not particularly worried about it. All roads lead to Jane, so I'm more or less interested how Blindspot routes this back to her.

There was a small moment, when Jane was the phone with Weller, and she doesn't think she'll make it out alive. Jane was about to tell Weller something, but he stopped her. What she was going to say, we'll never know. But given where these two started, I think we can see their progression — slow as it may be.

Interestingly enough, Sandstorm didn't want to kill Kurt. They had other plans for him. What those plans are I don't know, but I am actually more interested in finding out Kurt's connection to Sandstorm than I am about anything else involving the storyline.  Hopefully, they will begin to shed some light on it when the show returns in January!

7 comments:

  1. A great review as always. Thanks for your insights :)

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  2. I noticed a little more of Jeller in some scenes when Weller makes it clear that he is not only going to get Sandstorm, but to make sure Jane is well. He cares about her future.

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  3. I find it completely unnecessary those random relationships, (Kurt and nas). If is necessary make obstacles (i dont think), they should put the character alone. The ratings dropped, If canceled it was not for lack of warnings

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  4. I still hate Nas. Just saying. (I could rant about her for daaays. All the rants.) But what really bugged me, is how after the explosion, absolutely no one worried about, or looked for, Jane. Like, this was clearly a trap right? They know she's in danger, but they don't really seem to give a shit. Also, Kurt called for Nas first when he got on site, so. Cue load dramatic groaning and internal soul pain.

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    1. You're said it! No one seemed to give a second thought about Jane's well-being or even if she survived the blast. That made me grit my teeth! I expected Kurt to search for Jane or ask Zapata or Nas if they had seen her or like that. I really can't stomach Kurt and what he's become. His treatment of Jane since her return from the CIA black site is totally unacceptable! My wish for Kurt right now is to have the shit beat outta him, and also, for him to have extreme emotional distressed at seeing Jane enjoying another man's attention and company. That would be truly epic!

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  5. Nas is still an evil pimple on Weller's butt that needs to popped and all the puss squeezed out and dumped in the hazmat bin!!! How anyone can soften towards Nas is completely lost on me! She's still a conniving and calculated weasel plotting bitch whose main goal moving forward is her singular-sighted mission to takedown Sandstorm ~ at all costs! Even, I venture to say, at the loss of Jane's and the rest of the Team's lives!!! Including Weller's. And don't say that isn't a strong possibility! Because it damn well is...!!! Nas is only focused on her objectives against Sandstorm which has obviously consumed her for the past 6 years. And that "golden key" she so insincerely "gifts" to Patterson as a symbol of her trust of Patterson for her (Nas') life's work ~ is soooo manipulative. Nas' repartee with Patterson was enough to make me regurgitate my onion dip all over my glass coffee table!!!! Gawd, it is my highest hopes that Nas dies completely in the back half of season 2. Nas is so deserving of being killed off by anyone of the primaries; be it Jane, Reade, Zapata, Patterson or even numb-nuts, Weller himself! Now that would indeed be poetic justice if it were Weller! Ha! No tears, but lots of Cheers!!! Nas is such a negative element to the entire storyline. Her job was over the minute she got the Team together, in an uneasy truce, to combine their efforts against Sandstorm. If Nas had just stayed in that capacity without sexing with Weller, she might have been okay. But the Weller/Nas shit is just too disgusting and pukey. Of all the irritations that have prompted many of the viewers to leave the show, the Nas/Weller hook up is right at the top of the list for sure!!! If the writers and Gero get rid of her boney ass and concentrate on repairing Jeller sooner than later, there may be a chance for Blindspot to survive. Rekindling the Jeller romance along with fixing the other storyline issues may recapture viewership... if it's not already too late.

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  6. I will say this episode was the best one of the season so far, but the whole Nas and Weller story line is such a story line from a soap opera. They have no chemistry what so ever, it's actually painful to watch. She drives me crazy. When she comes on the screen with Weller I leave the room or mute their dialogue, and they have made Weller a man-whore. First he gets Ally pregnant but they aren't together, now he is sleeping with his co-worker, and may or may not have feelings for his co-worker Jane. Honestly I don't want Jane with Kurt. He is a douche bag and I'm surprised he doesn't have an STD. Lol. In my opinion I don't care if the writers come back and he realizes how much he loves Jane, or they were married before, or they have kid together or whatever crap they make up. His character is disgusting. How sad is it when this last episode when they building was bombed I kept hoping, Hey maybe they can get Reed out and then Weller and Nas can die together. The end. Lol. I loved this show last season. The writing was amazing, the production was amazing and now this season it's like a high school drama class wrote it, and tried to copy Days of Our Lives. Good job guys!!!

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