Blindspot Season 2 Episode 10 Review: Nor I, Nigel, AKA Leg in Iron
Brittany Frederick
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Season 2 of Blindspot has been hit and miss. With Blindspot Season 2 Episode 10, the show starts to put itself back on the right track, but still has some underlying concerns to fix even as it spins its story off in a new direction.
"Nor I, Nigel, AKA Leg In Iron" picks up immediately after the events Blindspot Season 2 Episode 9. It's literally right afterward – Weller and Nas still have dirt on their clothes from the explosion that killed a dozen FBI agents, and Blindspot wastes no time in showing us that it was Patterson who took the bullet.
It's really not a shocking reveal if you think about it. The victim was either Patterson or Borden, and Patterson is the only one that has any true emotional value to the audience anymore. Now that we know that Borden is Sandstorm's mole we don't care if he gets shot, set on fire or stuffed into another duffel bag. He deserves it.
So poor Patterson gets to be shot, pass out from blood loss, and spend most of the episode being tortured by Shepherd. Maybe it's because Ashley Johnson is so gosh darn adorable, but the scenes of Shepherd puncturing her eardrum with a giant needle are worthy of cringing.
That doesn't stop her from being sassy, though.
Borden: The government that murdered her is the same government you work for. You are on the wrong side.
Patterson: I am? Your side sounds really cool, so you should just go ahead and untie me. Because I'm converted.
Borden now has license to be a complete jerk and he basically is. The show has him sort of, kind of object to Shepherd torturing the woman he supposedly loved, but that's about it unless you consider volunteering to mercy kill her a plus. It's great that Ukweli Roach has more screen time but it hasn't solved anything.
Watching Borden get punched in the face by Weller is oddly satisfying. The fact that he gets away is not. He could have been a really great character and the mole twist gave him history, but now he feels like just another bad guy.
And by the way, he still calls her Patterson? A woman he's dated, slept with and allegedly loves? Blindspot is trying really hard not to tell us her first name.
If you kill her, your judgment's being clouded by emotion. Not mine.
Borden
The other ethical dilemma in the episode is how Jane handles Roman now that she's done to him what was done to her. Obviously she wants to be more compassionate but she ends up telling him that Shepherd, not her, wiped his memory. That will without a doubt come back and bite her by the end of Season 2.
Having said that this is a note that Blindspot should come back to and explore thoroughly. Jane having to look at essentially her situation from the other side could bring a lot into focus for her. And making her the puppet master is a thorny idea that provides so much for her to be challenged by.
I know exactly what you're going through right now. It's hell. I know that. I need you to trust me.
Jane
We also get the obligatory scene where the FBI heavy (this time played by Dylan Baker) treats Roman like a criminal, showing him the photos of the dead FBI agents before pulling him out of the team's custody. It feels like everyone not on the CIRG squad is incapable of human empathy.
The FBI wants to have Roman sent back to the CIA but Weller threatens to quit unless he stays and Nas is allowed to remain with the team. Weller must have dirt on somebody somewhere, because that's a lot of weight he's throwing around.
Setting aside how plausible that is Luke Mitchell is fast becoming the best thing about Blindspot. Just like Jaimie Alexander was able to make us fully dive into Jane's search for self in Blindspot Season 1, Mitchell is doing the same thing in Season 2. He's heartbreaking even as he's stabbing people with forks.
We can't leave this episode without discussing Reade kissing Zapata. What?! Much like the Borden reveal, it's nice that Audrey Esparza and Rob Brown have something to do, and they do work well as a pair. But as Zapata says, they're just friends.
There's no need for them to be romantically involved. Not every partnership has to be romantic. And Blindspot has enough romances it can't manage.
There's Weller and Nas, Weller and Allison and the baby, the fail of Borden and Patterson, and the lingering possibility of Weller and Jane. Let's not mess up Reade and Zapata too.
I'm so sorry. Kurt, I'm sorry. I didn't know it was a trap.
Jane
But where is this all ultimately going? This episode doesn't provide a whole lot of answers and falls into some of the holes it already has struggled with this season.
Even if you concede that the whole focus of this episode was going to be rescuing Patterson, the show still has her magically uncover not one but two clues at the end. It's getting a little reliant on Patterson and her magic computer skills.
Reade is basically sidelined – which is fair given that the episode starts right after he almost died – and Zapata does make that one break in the case, but it still feels like Blindspot puts them off together too much when it could integrate them into the main plot more.
Instead we get more of Shepherd, who continues to be an uninspiring villain, and Borden gone bad while Weller seems more worried about Nas leaving than anything Jane's going through.
It's not a total loss. The fight between Roman and the Sandstorm operatives in the diner is one of the coolest fight scenes all season, and Mitchell's performance is the best of the bunch. Alexander continues to wring all the emotion out of Jane's battle between heart and head.
And at least Patterson was rescued and not needlessly killed off. This is an episode that's entertaining, but it could have been more. Not to mention that it doesn't seem to have corrected any of the concerns fans had about the first half of Season 2.
This episode is like reading the prologue of a novel. It gets you started but you really have to keep reading to learn anything. Let's keep reading and hopefully what we've seen this week will pay off in week two or week three.
If she wanted to play us, her best move would be to stay in our ranks.
Nas
Blindspot Season 2 continues Wednesday at 8/7c on NBC with "Droll Autumn, Unmutual Lord." Until then, if you want to re-watch "Nor I, Nigel, AKA Leg In Iron" or any of the season so far, you can watch Blindspot online.
Be sure to leave your thoughts on the midseason premiere in the comments. Was it a satisfying return for you? Did it just create more questions? Is there anything you're particularly curious about for the rest of the season? Tell us your thoughts and then join us next Wednesday for more.
Brittany Frederick is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.
