Well, it’s about time we received some long-awaited answers to the questions that have been lingering in our minds for the past few months. Blindspot does a good job of making sure there are enough questions going around that they can get away with not answering a couple of them over the course of a few episodes, but at least they eventually do come around to giving answers rather than waiting until the season finale. This week’s episode revisited some of those questions that haven’t been explored for a while, but of course there’s still plenty we don’t know.
A lot of time has passed since we’ve seen a black-and-white flashback of Jane’s pre-memory-wipe life. This time, it’s revealed she was in the military and was recruited into “Orion,” the mysterious word present-day Jane is aware of but doesn’t know what it is. We still don’t know what it is, but of course we’re given an answer that only brings about more mystery. When Jane asks Oscar what Orion is, he answers, “Orion is where you died,” and then the episode ends. Well, okay then. So apparently Jane died? Probably figuratively…right? I mean, unless she’s been a zombie this whole time. As is the case with a lot of the reveals in this show, it answers one question but then poses more. And even though Jane is now in contact with Oscar and wants him to answer all of her (and our) questions, he gives a lame excuse why he can’t tell her everything right now, but will as time goes on.
Finally, Kurt talks with his father about what he was doing the night Jane disappeared. His father reveals that he did not kidnap Taylor Shaw; he was alone that night planning to kill himself, but ended up deciding against it and came back home. But why didn’t he tell anyone? He could have avoided a lot of trouble and neglect from his children if he’d been upfront about that night. Kurt’s father exclaims, “Who was going to believe me?” Well, no one if you keep all of that information to yourself. It’s a touching moment between Kurt and his dad, but at the same time it comes off as a cop-out. Kurt’s dad didn’t kidnap Taylor yet he was convicted for it but didn’t tell anyone what he really did that night because he was afraid no one would believe him. Huh? Unless Kurt’s father is hiding something, this is a lame excuse.
The most random subplot yet occurred in this episode. Kurt’s sister, Sarah, is secretly dating Edgar. She asks him if he’s told Kurt yet, to which he replies he hasn’t gotten the chance. She seems all smitten with him, and since Edgar hasn’t told Kurt yet it probably means Kurt is not going to like it when hears about it. But what is this leading to? Why would we care that Sarah is dating a member of the FBI team? This is more random than Zapata’s gambling addiction subplot, although that did come to serve a purpose. So while this new development may seem unnecessary, there’s a good chance this will lead somewhere that will have an impact on Kurt and/or Jane.
While “Scientists Hollow Fortune” was a slight improvement from last week, the show is still lacking. Sure, the story is progressing and we’re learning more about Jane, but there’s some sort of disconnect regarding the tattoo mysteries of the week. They simply don’t come off as exciting as one would expect. To compare it to its NBC cousin, The Blacklist, that show’s bad guy of the week typically adds a unique flavor to that episode, offering some pizazz to make the main characters’ mission exciting. Blindspot often fails to offer that kind of exhilaration with its weekly tattoo mysteries. The strongest points of the show are Jane and Kurt and their ongoing quest to find out who Jane is. While their progression is a result of the weekly tattoo mysteries, this procedural element of the show fails to offer much substance. Specifically, it’s the weekly bad guys related to the mysteries who rarely offer any impact. On occasion there are villains who bring about thrilling conflict for Jane and the FBI team to overcome, but a majority of those storylines are infrequently memorable. If Blindspot wants to improve, more well-developed antagonists are needed to add that unique weekly pizazz to the show that only few Blindspot villains have achieved.