Friday, November 17, 2017

Blindspot 3x03 Review: "Upside Down Craft" (Three Blind Mice) [Contributor: Jen]


"Upside Down Craft"
Original Airdate: November 10, 2017

Blindspot's "Upside Down Craft" zeroes in on the dynamic duo of Patterson and Richdotcom. Hijinks and hilarity ensue as we discover what these two have really been up to the last two years. We also get a peek inside Kurt and Jane's married life together and it's even better than we imagined.


CASE OF THE WEEK


"Upside Down Craft" opens on Kurt and Jane arresting Kevin Loewe for securities fraud, three counts of manslaughter, and an act of terrorism. Wow, this guy has been busy. Reade and Zapata retrieved incriminating emails off Loewe's computer, which the team uses as evidence against Loewe. The tattoo has already been solved — it's what led them to Loewe. The microscopic luminescent specs across Jane's back make an alphanumeric fragment when Patterson squishes them all together. The number is in the same sequence the FBI uses to catalog anonymous FBI tips.

The tip alleges that Loewe is responsible for a train derailment that killed three people. Why would a billionaire want to derail a train? He would if he's one of Wall Streets top financiers and shorted the railroad company stock. Loewe made $350 million in one day after the train crashed.

The case was dismissed due to lack of evidence. However, the emails Reade and Zapata pulled off his computer are plenty to put Kevin Loewe away for years. Easy, right? Tattoo solved! We can all go home. Truth be told, I glanced at my watch and we were only 10 minutes in, my friends. This is a little too easy.

Loewe's attorney insists he is being framed by anonymous hacker group called The Three Blind Mice. Patterson starts getting antsy. And now things are starting to get interesting. Patterson and Richdotcom are two of the Three Blind Mice. They worked with another hacker named Electra to take down all the untouchable criminals — the ones they knew were guilty but couldn't prove it. Think Robin Hood meets Mr. Robot. Everything was going great until their illegal hacks became a little too illegal for Patterson's comfort. So Patterson and Richdotcom left, but Electra kept going.

The only thing keeping Patterson and Rich from being identified is Electra doesn't know who they are. All their hacks were done anonymously, in case one of them was ever caught. Patterson and Rich are able to track down Electra, whose real name is Kathy Gustafson. She doesn't hold up against the interrogating for long, primarily because she's so annoyed that the FBI is going after the wrong criminals. Kathy put back emails that Kevin Loewe deleted. She handed them Loewe on a platter, but instead they are focusing on her illegal hacks.

Kathy insists that Loewe is about to strike again. He shorted a bunch of Volta Motors stock. She's anticipating another accident like the railroad. And... she's right. Volta Motors is rigged to explode. Kurt and Jane arrive just in time to kick butt and stop it.

Unfortunately, Kathy isn't playing with a full deck. She figures out Patterson and Richdotcom are the other blind mice. She's desperate for them to start hacking with her again, so she kidnaps them. She wants Patterson and Rich to hack Loewe's gulf stream and crash it. Three people were killed in the railroad accident Loewe caused, and one of the victims was Kathy's brother. I sympathize with her grief and rage, but she put a shock collar around my Patterson's neck. The girl has got to go.

The team figures out something is seriously wrong when Patterson declines Weller's invitation to game night with an email signed with her FIRST NAME. Of course, we don't get to know what her first name is because Martin Gero is a meanie.


Rich pretends to help Kathy while he alerts the team to their location. Patterson busts out her inner Jane and stops Kathy from shooting an unconscious Rich just as the team shows up.

Honestly, these "Patterson is kidnapped" episodes never get any easier on my blood pressure.


TEAM BLINDSPOT


It is a relief to know that Patterson and Rich only hacked together and weren't... well, you know. Richdotcom's addition to Team Blindspot has been like manna from heaven. His snappy repartee with Patterson (and the entire team, frankly) infuses Blindspot with badly needed comedy without making the show slapstick or gimmicky. It was amusing to watch Rich debate with Patterson over coming clean and try to sway her moral compass slightly left of due North. By the time the two are kidnapped, we are supposed to be worried that Rich is going to sell Patterson out or help crash a plane to save his own skin. Of course, he doesn't and instead helps save the day. The intent is to gain Patterson's — and the audience's — trust. Richdotcom is all in on Team Blindspot.

Reade puts it all together, but instead of charging Patterson and Rich, he more or less hypothesizes what happened: "It's a shame we don't have any hard evidence, because if we did I'd be forced to charge those two members to the full extent of the law." Awww, that was all big brotherly of Reade. And totally something Kurt Weller would do. You're doing fine, Mr. Assistant Director of the FBI.

Roman put those tattoos on Jane's body so Patterson and Rich's activities would be exposed. His efforts to break apart Team Blindspot fail spectacularly. With all the secrets the team has kept from one another, exposed and rebuilt trust, Roman is going to have to do a lot better than secret hacktivism. However, the team did put away an untouchable criminal (Kevin Loewe), so Roman's promise that he's trying to make the world a better place holds true.

KURT AND JANE


Married Jeller is fantastic.


There is flirting and heart eyes galore. The entire opening and closing sequences are something straight out of fan fiction. I adore how unabashedly in love these two are. From suggestive comments about ditching clothes and keeping handcuffs to vegan lasagna and smoochy "I love you" hugs and kisses, Kurt and Jane are just so happy to be happy. Kurt pretending to drag Jane to the shower with him and Jane's laughter filling their apartment — these are the little moments fans crave. They are so warm and intimate, and Jaimie Alexander and Sullivan Stapleton play them so realistically, I almost feel like an intruder peeking in on something private. I'm going to keep on peeking though because I can't get enough of the Wellers.

THE WELLERS. I love typing that. They host game nights with Team Blindspot and cuddle on the couch together while Reade and Zapata argue over who is better at playing Patterson's app. They work effortlessly as a crime-fighting team because of their trust and mutual respect. Their scenes are dripping with chemistry. Kurt and Jane are obliterating the "Moonlighting Curse" with every episode. They continue to be far more interesting married than they ever were separated.

Of course, we know the happiness won't last because this is Blindspot. Roman is determined to ruin Jane's happy ending, but he's revealed a flaw. Roman doesn't really understand relationships and the bonds formed between people who care for each other. He thought Patterson and Rich's secret was enough to separate them from the rest of the team. He wasn't even close to doing that. Jane's K&R secret was meant to be a blow to the Weller ship and yet they kept right on sailing. I think Roman underestimates the bond between Kurt and Jane because that connection isn't something Roman can even fathom right now.

Of course, the secrets will get bigger and the damage will be worse. Roman still has a few tricks up his sleeve. However, this is more than the calm before the storm. Our peeks into the Wellers happy ending are meant to show us what Kurt and Jane are fighting for.

Stray Thoughts:
  • Reade and Zapata's reaction to Kurt and Jane's dirty talk over the comms is priceless.
  • "Oh my God, she's gonna make us play The Hunger Games isn't she?" How did we ever live without Richdotcom in every episode?
  • Richdotcom's office is in a broom closet. That's awesome.
  • "You better put a ring on that before I do." If Blindspot is moving back to friendship with Reade and Zapata, they need to do a better job. Between Zapata's adoration for Reade's girlfriend and their adorable yet competitive banter over Patterson's app, they sound more married than Kurt and Jane sometimes.
  • "I have a lot of new tricks." Everything Jane said to Kurt this episode sounded super dirty to me. I like it.
  • Kurt calls Jane "love." I'm dead.
  • Yes, that was Heather "Describe You Perfect Date" Burns from Miss Congeniality playing Kathy.




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