'Blindspot' Recap: Tattoos Thwart School Shooting
Warning: This recap for the “In the Comet of Us” episode of Blindspot contains spoilers.
This week, Blindspot stepped up its game stylistically by giving us multiple perspectives in the same time frame, but falters in the story itself. Reade’s snazzy new bow tie and Tasha’s strut as she shows Patterson the tattoo she’s cracked more than make up for the episode’s deficits though.
The Tattoo
Numbers inside a handprint-shaped tattoo are the winning championship scores of the Hudson University football team. It’s the same football program that recently ousted its star player, Levi Hart. Tasha’s gambling addiction led her to make the connection.
The Plot
Reade knows the Hudson defensive coordinator, Coach Jones, and while visiting him to learn more, there is a mass shooting. The team splits up and we see the action from four POVs. Tasha finds Jones shot in the leg and is chased by one of the shooters as she tries to get him to safety. Jane takes that shooter down while he’s distracted by Tasha. Weller finds the other shooter is Hart, but an explosion gives Hart time to escape. Reade is captured by Hart and discovers that they’re after Jones, who has been molesting children for years, including the shooters. Reade tries to get him to surrender, but he won’t, and is killed by Weller.
Missteps
A couple of things don’t really add up with this episode, and it’s hard to tell if they’re deliberate red herrings or just mistakes. The line, “You can’t hide from this. You have no idea what’s coming,” really makes it sound like this small sports scandal would lead to that kind of larger corporate/national security-related conspiracy. But it turns out to be a simple plan for revenge against a pedophile. So why are they also trying to maximize civilian casualties? That bomb isn’t going to help them get Coach Jones or the president who helped with the cover-up.
And the coincidence that the team is there at precisely the same time the shooters enact their plan? Often, when the team investigates, their presence forces the criminals to initiate their plan, which leads to the action. This time, it’s pure happenstance. If this story ties into another (like the Russian traffickers from earlier in the season), then this episode is brilliant. But if it’s just an ordinary one-off, then it was sloppily done, with far too many loose ends and coincidences.
Related: Read all of our ‘Blindspot’ Recaps
Flashbacks
The structure of the episode is great; introducing Reade’s tie and Jane’s tea and then going back to see where those decisions came from is a fun way to peek into the team’s lives.
It’s good that Tasha’s going to Gambler’s Anonymous, although hopefully they’re not setting up the leader of the group as a love interest for her. Though, knowing her luck, he’s probably just a spy sent to seduce her and get her to turn on Mayfair.
More from Reade’s tailor, please. If we don’t get to see him with Sarah, at least let’s get to see him be human with someone outside of work.
Weller has brought his dad home for hospice care. Not to be cruel, but now that they’ve gotten closure and forgiven each other, why is he still here? Kurt’s interactions with his sister and nephew are more fun and, while he’s bedridden, those two seem to have disappeared. Step up, old man! Either put on an impossibly cute gall bladder costume like Sawyer did or move on.
How do you feel about Oscar now? We all knew he was sleeping with Jane to “handle” her. Now he’s getting too close. Genuine emotion or not, he’s still playing games with her head and, on top of that, he’s asking her to do the same thing to Kurt. Oscar manipulating Jane with sex to manipulate Kurt with sex is awful, and this is all going to lead to an awkward holiday party where the entire team sleeps with each other for the season finale.
Blind Thoughts
Using a spatula to cauterize the school president’s gunshot wound seemed needlessly painful — like Jane turned into a 13th century leech doctor for a moment — but, after it was revealed that she had been helping cover up all that child molestation, it turned out to be a very good call. She should have smacked her in the face with that spatula a few times too — y'know, for medical reasons.
Was Reade’s tie supposed to make him look like he’s in the Nation of Islam? That, or some sort of Tucker Carlson clone?
Sophia fakes her own death, then shows up out of the blue, asks for money, and leaves? What is that about? Other than the fact that it almost certainly means she’ll be actually dead by next episode.
Line of the Night: “All I was gonna say is this is really expensive, really nice scotch. So you’d better drink it.” Now that’s the kind of lecture you want to get from a boss.
Blindspot airs Mondays at 10 p.m. on NBC.
