Without a doubt, this week’s episode of Blindspot has been the best yet of the series. The show hit its stride in “Authentic Flirt” with an exciting tattoo case, a well-written bad guy and a major death of the season. With only one more episode left until Blindspot goes on break for a couple of months, a lot is escalating for Jane, Kurt and the rest of the FBI team.
Blindspot has had some fun and exciting tattoo mysteries the past couple months, but the case this week was the most exciting one Jane and Kurt have taken part in so far, as they have to retrieve a list revealing all of the names of people hiding under the Witness Security Program (WITSEC). Kurt and Jane have to go undercover to a black tie party as world-class assassins. Most previous episodes took time to focus on subplots regarding Jane’s past, and while this installment managed to fit in another clue or two, this was the first case of the week that truly felt like it deserved full attention. It wasn’t exactly groundbreaking for network television, but what made it so great was simply how fun and exciting the whole thing was. Their mission to get the stolen list was presented so that it actually felt like there was a lot on the line—they were all alone, without backup or weapons. And let’s not forget that fight scene with Jane and Kurt against the other buyer of the list. We haven’t seen a fight sequence that well choreographed since Jane’s fight in Chinatown way back in the pilot. Blindspot has marketed itself as a thrilling and unusual mystery series. While there have been past episodes that were fun and action-packed, “Authentic Flirt” took it all to another level.
And for the first time in the series, the bad guy of the week was actually really unique. Gord Enver, a tech mercenary who made a bunch of money after investing in Bitcoin, decided to legally change his name to Rich Dotcom. He’s got the mansion, the manpower and an immature yet villainous persona (imagine Aziz Ansari as a Bond villain). He appears friendly at first, shows off his wealth, but has diabolical intentions selling WITSEC’s database. And yet, throughout it, we see what could only be described as complete immaturity coming from him, as he asks Jane and Kurt fanboy questions, thinking they’re assassins, and even asks if they’d be open to a threesome
Throughout the episode, Patterson’s now ex-boyfriend, David, still misses her and hopes that maybe if he helps solve more tattoo mysteries, she’ll come back to him. Unfortunately, David still doesn’t quite grasp that secret FBI cases are dangerous for a reason, and so the episode concludes with his death. Of all the characters to kill off in the show, this was a great direction for Blindspot to take. David really didn’t provide anything fundamental to the series, but he was also an innocent and likeable character, making his death a little more heartbreaking—the poor guy just didn’t deserve it. And his death will likely serve as a catalyst for new emotions to explore in some of the characters. Patterson and Jane are likely going to be the most affected. Patterson, because she had a relationship with him and they only recently broke up, and Jane who will probably feel guilty because her tattoos are now responsible for a person’s death.
Not only did the episode end with this sudden death, but it also left us with a couple of other big reveals. In the beginning of the episode Zapata was given a listening device from Carter (that old asshole) to plant in Jane’s safehouse. Instead, she throws the small device away and tells Carter she’s planted it. So while Zapata may slowly be making her way back towards the light, she still has Carter on her tail. Guerrero appeared at the end in prison and was stabbed to death, with Mayfair later standing over his body, leaving us to wonder if she had anything to do with that. And then we had our first clue in weeks regarding the man with the tree tattoo. We now learn that Jane was probably engaged to him as we see her dangling a ring on her finger in one flashback, and then in another she’s handing it back to him (while he’s in the middle of drawing a bird, the same one that is tattooed on Jane’s neck).
Blindspot has never been a bad show. If you’re looking for a series that’s thought-provoking and explores philosophical ideas, then you’re going to be very disappointed. But, for a show that’s semi-procedural and focuses on action and mystery, this is a very satisfying series—and “Authentic Flirt” presents Blindspot as a show that has the potential to get better and better.