We only have a few episodes left in the freshman season of Blindspot… and we’re focusing on the doctor?
Well, not really. However, Dr. Borden (Ukweli Roach) does get a little more screentime than usual tonight — and it’s a good thing! Thankfully, “Swift Hardhearted Stone” — any good guesses on the anagram? — doesn’t play like one long therapy session. It actually kicks into action right in the first frame.
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It’s during those first few moments where we see the subject of this week’s episode — and it’s downright disturbing. There’s a little girl walking down the street, with one bloody shoe, bloody arms and a notebook. Of course, who she is and why she’s bloody will have to wait. The action quickly flips to Mayfair (Marianne Jean-Baptiste), who is having flashbacks about Sofia (Sarita Choudhury). She’s burning memories of the two as a couple. It seems like she’s still sore about the fact that her ex is still alive — and rightfully so!
The next morning, Oscar (Francois Arnaud) and Jane (Jaimie Alexander) are in a loft that seems a lot less dingy than the two’s typical garage meeting spot. After he talks up jazz a little bit, Jane tells him that she wants to meet the other people in their organization. Instead of making those plans, he hands her a USB thumb drive so she can swipe some FBI files. He also tells her that she will trust him again … at some point.
That day isn’t going to be today, though. Jane watches Oscar leave and then proceeds to follow him.
How far she went is unknown, but Jane got to work just in time to see Weller (Sullivan Stapleton) loading kiddie games into his locker. That’s definitely a way to spark a conversation! The two talk about Weller’s dad and he then invites Jane over for dinner/game night.
Finally, the episode turns back to the girl, just as she’s meeting Dr. Borden. He tries to talk to the girl, but she remains completely silent. Instead, she seems a little preoccupied with drawing pictures — really cool, detailed ones. Of course, one of those drawings matches one of Jane’s tattoos.
Patterson (Ashley Johnson) briefs the team, saying that the picture is a crest of a Syrian terrorist group known as the Ahmadi family. Mayfair says that three members of the family recently entered the U.S. using false papers. Zapata (Audrey Esparza) points out Tarek Ahmadi as the leader of the group and number five on the FBI’s Most Wanted List.
So how is the little girl involved in this terrorist group? That’s what the FBI needs to find out this week!
Mayfair wants to check out the girl’s notebook, but Borden says that could be harmful, since she’s autistic. Mayfair doesn’t seem to care, though. Weller and Borden try to talk to her, but she’s not really in a chatty mood. She does, however, flip to a page in her notebook with a giant, very realistic drawing of Tarek Ahmadi. Weller announces that the terrorist leader is actually the little girl’s father.
The team is introduced to a guy named Russell Franklin (it’s William Ragsdale from Fright Night!), assistant secretary of state for Near-Eastern affairs. He’s apparently been tracking the Ahmadi family for seven years. That introduction is cut short when Patterson bursts in to announce that Tarek Ahmadi is indeed the little girl’s daddy. Franklin says her name is Maya and it appears that she and her mother came into the U.S. with the three missing terrorists.
Borden comes up with a pretty cool way to make contact with Maya. He asks Jane to show off her detailed tattoos. Maya seems pretty amazed, although I think Maya’s pictures are actually much cooler. Jane then shows off an equally impressive sketchbook. Sheesh, I can barely draw stick figures! Jane grabs the little girl’s hand and gains her trust. Maya then turns her sketchbook over to the FBI.
The FBI proceeds to pick apart every picture, with Patterson saying they think a lot of the photos show off places where Maya has been. Mayfair is convinced that the pics show the Ahmadi’s attack plan. Zapata comes in with news that the drawings include a picture of Jeremy Rance, an American journalist. She and Reade (Rob Brown) run through his credentials. “Sounds like a jackass,” Weller says. As usual, he’s right!
Zapata thinks Rance may know what the Ahmadi family is up to, so they bring him in. Of course, he says he can’t compromise his sources. Reade lets him know that if he has any info about the attack, he will spend the rest of his life in jail. He’s still pretty cocky. Zapata then shows him a picture of Maya, but he claims that he doesn’t know her.
Meanwhile, Maya is hard at work creating a new picture. It’s a spot nearby in Hell’s Kitchen, so Jane, Weller, Zapata and Reade go to check it out. Why no backup? Well, maybe they don’t need it. The team pinpoints the apartment they’re looking for in about two seconds. However, no one is inside — at least no one alive.
It turns out that the dead woman is Maya’s mother. Zapata says that her tongue was cut out. Weller thinks maybe she was talking to Rance. They haul him back in for questioning, but he’s still not talking. Jane then shows a picture of the bloody body found at the apartment and Rance caves.
Rance basically says that the mother was shunned back in Syria because of Maya’s autism. He helped her get into the U.S. in exchange for an interview. Unfortunately, he doesn’t know much else because she was killed before she could say anything else.
Weller tells Rance that he’s going to be the next target, but he seems pretty cool with that. In fact, he tells Weller that the FBI should use him as bait.
Well, that idea works. Three attackers are waiting at Rance’s apartment, but they aren’t greeted by the writer. Instead, they get a very angry Weller. It turns out all three are the Ahmadi guys that came into the country illegally. One of them is even the guy that killed Maya’s mother.
Despite taking down those terrorists, the FBI doesn’t seem to think Maya’s nightmare is over. Borden suggests that they take her to his house in the country. Franklin doesn’t think it’s a good idea, so Patterson (nervously) volunteers to help out. Weller then jumps in to say that he and Jane will go, as well. Road trip!
Weller and Jane go in one car, with Borden, Maya and Patterson in another. Unfortunately, they aren’t alone. Two more hitmen are actually en route.
Back at the FBI, Reade calls out Zapata for digging into the Carter files. She throws it back in his face, but they’re interrupted by Mayfair. The three get on the phone with Maya’s grandmother only to find out that her mom was killed because of the drawings — and how they can identify people in the Ahmadi family. Mayfair says that Maya is still a target, so Zapata and Reade race out the door.
Zapata and Reade call Weller and Jane — who are grocery shopping. Doesn’t it seem completely insane that the two toughest FBI members would leave the cabin? Moves like that definitely keep things, er, interesting.
Back at the cabin, Patterson and Borden seem to be bonding when the power goes out. That’s okay though, because Patterson is the bad-ass we all knew she could be. She and Borden start gathering anything that could be as a weapon when they notice that Maya is outside.
Just as Patterson and Borden go out to scoop up Maya, the hitmen pull up and a gunfight breaks out. Inside, Borden puts Maya inside a closet. Patterson shoots one guy and turns towards a window. Just then, a guy appears to shoot her, but Borden kills him with a nail gun. As more assassins start closing in, Jane and Weller arrive with guns blazing.
As the gunfight continues, Patterson, Borden and Maya escape to the roof. Jane helps talk Maya down off the roof and Borden follows. Before Patterson makes her escape, she ignites a fuse that flows down into the gas fireplace. Boom!
After the smoke clears (literally), Franklin arrives on the scene to get Maya. He puts her in a car to take her away, but the FBI protests the move. Just then, Maya opens her notebook and shows Borden a picture of Franklin’s hand. Oh yes, it’s his hand — with his ring and scar to match.
Of course, Franklin freaks out and tries to take Borden hostage. However, Maya saves him by shoving Frankin with the door, allowing Weller to get a clear shot.
It turns out that Franklin was helping to fund the Ahmadis. He goes to jail and Maya goes off to live with her grandmother.
At the end of the episode, Zapata confronts Reade about Carter and Jane goes to work her magic with that thumb drive — just as Weller walks in. She takes him up on his dinner/game night offer, even though she cuts it short to meet up with Oscar. Mayfair also finally makes a date with Alex, but she ends up dead after barely one drink. As Mayfair walks in to find the body, the phone rings. It’s that familiar/creepy voice telling her to stay away from all things Carter!
So after all of the speculation that Mayfair could be up to something, it looks like she’s just as much a victim as everyone else in the FBI. Also, is Jane more into Oscar or Weller? She obviously wants to save her childhood friend, but is there anything else going on there? And finally, does it look like something’s going to happen between Patterson and Borden? I hope not, seeing as how she was just his patient and all.
What are you thinking, Blindspotters? Any predictions for the end of the season? Sound off in the comments section below. We’ve only got a few episodes left!
Blindspot airs Monday nights at 10/9CT on NBC.
LOVED this ep, if only because we finally got BadAss!Patterson – and, wow, did she deliver. Carrying a gun (to say nothing of using it well), rigging the house to blow up, keeping her cool throughout: she was AMAZING.
I agree, it does look like there’s a connection between Borden and Patterson. Personally, I love the chemistry between the two actors, though I’m really not sure their characters should get together romantically. We’ve got enough hookups on this show already (and none of them have turned out well so far)!