"Ohana"
Original Airdate: April 12, 2019
Blindspot likes to follow emotionally fraught and nail-biting episodes with a lighter kind of FBI justice, which is what we get "'Ohana." Genetically modified bees are not typically my thing, but we get Bill Nye the Science Guy out of the deal, so it ain't all bad. There's also a holy freaking Moses shocker, which is why I love this show.
CASE OF THE WEEK
Did we know Patterson's dad is Bill Nye? I feel like this is information I would've retained over the years. Suffice it to say, my reaction was along the lines of this:
(Never miss an opportunity to use a Nick Miller GIF. That's a little life tip from me to you.)
I love that Blindspot didn't pretend Bill Nye was anyone, but Bill Nye. It breaks the fourth wall a bit, but who cares? Geek out activated!
Rich and Patterson bring everyone in to inform them Jane has a deadly poison on her body. Not IN her body, but ON in the form of a tattoo — TTX. The momentary confusion leads to some great physical comedy from Kurt and Reade as they take a big step away from Jane. I roared.
TTX is tetrodotoxin and people are dying all over New York City because the poison somehow ended up in cantaloupe. My dad almost died from food poisoning after eating cantaloupe. It was super scary. True story.
They trace the contaminated melons to a research farm where Patterson's dad, Bill Nye, is currently working at with his research assistant, Ginny. Someone has genetically modified bees with TTX using CRISPR technology. So now there's a whole bunch of bees carrying a deadly poison. The cantaloupe became contaminated after the bees pollinated the melon plants.
At first, the evidence and Patterson's jealousy over Ginny makes her the prime suspect. She wrote a research paper on genetically modified bees and was generally acting shifty in the beginning of the episode, but we know the first suspect is never the real culprit. This ain't our first rodeo.
The real culprit is Nick Pomeroy who stole Ginny's research and tries to sell the bees to a defense contractor who wants to weaponize them. Yes, really this is the plot. Team Blindspot stops the sale and Nick dies a brutal death by bee in the process. It is YUCK.
Unfortunately, this defense contractor isn't easily deterred, so they send another team to hold Bill, Ginny and Patterson hostage in exchange for the bees. Thus commences one of the more ridiculous plot resolutions for Blindspot. Ginny and Patterson release the bees, which kills the goons. They are not harmed because they sprayed benzaldehyde all over themselves, which kept the bees away. Don't make me explain how Ginny gets the genetically modified bees back their hive. I'm all science'd out.
Typically, I enjoy a good Patterson-focused episode, but this was a little too much "light and airy" for my taste.
TEAM BLINDSPOT
Patterson spends most of the episode threatened that Bill is replacing her with Ginny, which of course is nutty. Bill is very proud of Patterson and is simply trying to respect her busy and important job. Patterson does have a tendency to hide behind her computer screen, which also seems to apply to her family. Jane reminds Patterson that family isn't around forever and when they're gone, she'll wish she had spent more time with her parents. It hits me right in the Roman feels.
Bill tells Patterson to bring her boyfriend around sometime for dinner and we both had the same reaction: "What boyfriend?" Bill Nye the Science Guy is referencing Rich. Wait a minute. Did I miss a ship rising? I mean... Rich did say he was Catwoman to her Batman. I never really thought romance with the two of them, mostly because Rich seems pretty in love with Boston. I kind of viewed them as platonic soulmates, but I've been wrong before!
Tasha is going full speed trying to track down Dominic. Claudia, her MI-6 undercover counterpart, reaches out and together they get a lead on Dominic. Tasha wants to loop in her team, but Claudia insists on going it alone despite Zapata's protests. We all know where this is headed. Tasha finds Claudia dead. It's pretty devastating for Tasha because she knows it could've easily been her.
Blindspot is leaning heavily into this whole "Tasha hasn't decided what team she's on" plot, which I find to be a bit tiresome because she's clearly chosen the FBI. She's not vacillating. Zapata asked for her job back, she's crashing at Reade's apartment, she wanted to bring her team in to help her. I'm not sure what else Tasha can do to prove she's playing well with others again.
Perhaps, this is less about what's going on in reality and more that Madeline got in Tasha's head. Regardless, she's exhausted of doing this all on her own and Reade FINALLY is there for her in a real way: "I know you have the team, but you also have me. I promise I'll be a better friend to you."
I think Reade has held on to Tasha holding him hostage and lying about well... everything for far too long, but that's Reade. He holds a grudge. He's not as forgiving as Kurt. But finally the wall cracks and the real olive branch is extended. I've missed this partnership. I've missed their friendship.
You may be disappointed at Reade's use of the word "friend," but we have to walk before we can run friends. Reade and Tasha are best friends and they have to get that solid framework back before launching into a romance.
Besides, Tasha is too freaking exhausted to do anything, but sleep on Reade's couch. But the look on Reade's face as he watches Tasha sleep tells us exactly where this is going.
KURT AND JANE
I love my unproblematic ship. Isn't this so nice, y'all? Jeller is the calm in the storm. The anchor couple who tease each other adorably and drink wine post-mission as a prelude to... well, you know. Jane said: "I used to think of Remi as this boogey woman, but she's a part of me." And Kurt replied: "You really believe that?"
YES WE DO, KURT. GET ON BOARD. I was ready to slap him.
Jane is full-on zen after her therapy session and being buried alive. Different techniques work for different people. Let's not judge. What's important is that Jane can look through the safe house memorabilia from her life as Remi without it crippling her. Dare I even say, Jane enjoys the walk down memory lane? When was the last time Jane actually smiled about her past? She's learning how to take the good with the bad.
The bad includes a goth period and some very emo poetry, which Kurt teases her mercilessly about. We've all had a goth phase, Jane; this is a safe space. Mine was more grunge than goth. I was deeply in love with Kurt Cobain and Gavin Rossdale.
Finally, Kurt gets on board. Not that I really believed he ever wasn't, but it's nice to hear it verbalized. I mean, Remi did try to murder him. Just wanted to be sure he's cool with her. I also love that Kurt can recognize there is happiness in Remi's past too; it wasn't all darkness. Jane needs to hear that and be reminded of it. Nobody's opinion carries more weight for her than Kurt's, which is why I've been harping on him the last couple episodes. But I'm good now.
I want them to always be this happy. I don't actually mind the writers throwing drama at Jeller, just as long as it is external and not internal. No more lies, giving each other up for the greater good, or CHEATING.
There is one item Jane doesn't recognize and it's a card from a local women's shelter. She recognizes the name of one the employees at the shelter — Chelsea Chalgren. They haul her in for questioning and she confesses Shepherd came by years ago looking for a "Jessica." Chelsea gave Shepherd whatever information she had so she could track her down. Jane is rightly ticked off because women's shelters shouldn't be handing out information to perfect strangers. Defeats the point!
They believe this "Jessica" is the Sandstorm informant caught on the street camera outside the drop site. Jessica is wearing the same jacket in the video and Chelsea recognizes it. She wants to make her mistake right, so Chelsea agrees to sit down with a sketch artist.
This episode is ho-hum, but it's worth watching for the BOOM at the end. Rich brings the sketch by and Jane recognizes "Jessica." I had prayed it was not another secret kid. And it's not! The sketch looks exactly like Kurt's MOM. And he is none too pleased about it. Yahoo! Let's dig into more Weller family drama. Hopefully, it's less dark than his monster of a father.
Stray Thoughts:
- They went a little heavy on the eye makeup with Tasha. She didn't look exhausted. She looked like she had pink eye.
- Friendship is texting at 4 a.m. asking for bagels. Now I'm craving bagels.
- READE IS GIVING TASHA KEYS TO HIS PLACE. EVERYBODY STAY CALM.
- Kurt is a Bill Nye fanboy and Jane thinks it's the cutest. Kurt is a fanboy about a lot of things.
- Anyone notice that Jeller likes to booze a lot after missions? Respect.
- PEOPLE NEED TO STOP INTERRUPTING MY JELLER SEX.
- "You need someone to film it?" Yes we do, Richard.
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