So far the second season of Blindspot has been all about the characters dealing with the new way the world looks after the revelations at the end of Season 1.

Jane's learned her real identity, Weller's coping with his father being a murderer, the rest of the team is back to not trusting Jane and the shadowy government forces are now represented by Nas Kamal.

Blindspot Season 2 Episode 3 is continuing along those lines, but it's also finally starting to move away from that as a focus and back into the actual investigating of cases.

"Hero Fears Imminent Rot" does a solid job of keeping the tension up about the bomb plot and also getting the other members of the team involved in the crime-solving. As Patterson (Ashley Johnson) noted earlier this season we can't always rely on Nas and her magic phone, just like we couldn't always rely on Jane and her special abilities.

In this episode it's Weller that's front and center in the case of the week, and with good reason. Remember that when we met him he was supposed to be a top special agent, so he should be given opportunities in the episodes to act as such. Watching him work, how he's willing to put his life on the line, is a reminder that he really is as good as we've been told he is.

It's a little dramatically convenient that he doesn't remember he's got his own impending family to worry about until he's in the thick of the hostage situation, but we'll just chalk that up to him being exceptionally focused. Especially because Sullivan Stapleton is once again really strong in these scenes.

He's a total action hero, but he's also a remarkable actor – like how Weller is a tough agent but also has a huge heart.

It's also a nice touch that Reade gets to be the guy who shoots up the bomb, because any time Rob Brown is given a scene he tends to steal it, and this is no exception.

It'll be interesting to see how far Blindspot chases the sexual abuse storyline that was introduced last season, because that's a major opportunity for him to get character development when he and Zapata are often left in supporting roles as the show focuses on Weller, Jane and now Nas.

Speaking of Zapata (Audrey Esparza), kudos to her for stepping up and involving herself in Reade's subplot, being there for her friend and also doing more than just reverting to criticizing Jane.

The series has often used Zapata as the voice of objection and in Blindspot Season 2 most of what she's been given is once again representing the team's doubt regarding Jane.

Nobody has ever addressed how Zapata herself turned on her team last year - and that probably won't happen given that both Tom Carter and Bethany Mayfair are dead – so we really need to find Zapata something to do that also fleshes her out more. Being there to support Reade, and continuing to grow that friendship, is a step in that direction.

Of course, the person with the least screen time by a mile is Dr. Borden (Ukweli Roach). We've gone whole episodes without seeing him but Season 2 seems determined to get at least one scene in there each week.

"Hero Fears Imminent Rot" is his most screen time so far but that's because the show is finally hooking him up with Patterson. While this feels really obvious and a little like it's just giving these two something to do, it's probably also as close as we're going to get to levity in the immediate future, so we'll give it a pass.

The underlying meat of the episode is whether or not Jane should be considered a killer, and the differing opinions expressed by Roman, Weller, Nas and even Jane herself.

We went over similar ground in Blindspot Season 1 as Jane asked whether or not her past actions reflected on her present but now in Season 2 she's not speculating. She's actually seeing proof of her past actions and the present organization they're tied to.

You can do this. It's who you are.
Roman

Permalink: You can do this. It's who you are.

First we have to answer the question: is Jane a killer? We tend to side with Weller, and point out that even if she has certain inclinations, what she's done – or rather what she hasn't done – since coming back speaks for itself. She obviously has a whole laundry list of sins from her Sandstorm days but she's made a concerted effort to move on. However she still has to convince people like Zapata and Nas otherwise.

That's actually more interesting than Jane's angst. We've gone over her inner conflict in other episodes, but what "Hero Fears Imminent Rot" brings to light is the conflict at the top between Weller and Nas for control and how that affects the team as a whole.

This is the most heated disagreement they've had and the first time we've seen her do something major that goes completely against what Weller would do.

This is Weller's team in title but Nas (like Carter before her) has no problem strolling in and throwing her weight around, and that's a big hurdle. Can Weller reassert his authority over the FBI squad or are they going to turn into puppets of Nas and her NSA Powers That Be?

Can he or Jane convince her that Jane needs to be looked at differently, or is she always going to see Jane as a tool in the overall scheme of things and act accordingly – possibly putting Jane in trouble the same way she could've gotten Weller killed?

"Hero Fears Imminent Rot" has definitively amped up the internal power struggle and the underlying ideological disagreement, and that's something that will be fascinating to explore.

Carter was an out-and-out villain who showed up to menace the FBI team when it was convenient; Nas is someone who's in every episode, that they have no choice so far but to collaborate with, and between her and Weller is everyone else stuck in the middle.

Blindspot sometimes doesn't get looked at as a complete ensemble show. Often people focus on Jane and forget that there's a half dozen other characters involved, and the show has been guilty of leaning that way too. But this particular episode is excellent at making the entire team part of the game both in terms of its individual plot and the big picture.

As much as we still have to explore about Jane, Sandstorm and who she wants to be, all of that also has ripple effects on everyone else and everybody is going to have to get on the same page if they want even a chance at succeeding in Season 2.

If you want to rewatch "Hero Fears Imminent Rot" or catch up on any of the Season 2 episodes so far, you can watch Blindspot online and get caught up before action continues next week.

Blindspot Season 2 Episode 4 is titled "If Beth" and airs on NBC next Wednesday, Oct. 5 at 8/7c and we'll be back afterward to dissect that episode.

What did you think of "Hero Fears Imminent Rot"? Give us all your thoughts, feelings, possible clues and conspiracy theories in the comments.