Blindspot’s sophomore season premiere suggests that the show is not just picking up where it left off, but it’s taking things to a whole different level. The NBC crime drama continues down the twisty and suspenseful path centered on Jane Doe and the mystery of her tattoos, and the shadowy organization that sent her to infiltrate the FBI. But the premiere episode, “In Night So Ransomed Rogue,” feels a little bit like a very welcome reboot, with new characters and a new story arc for the season. And finally, the mysterious organization has been given a name: Sandstorm. The first season had its strong moments, but if last night’s episode was any indication of what the rest of the second season will be like, we are in a for a treat.
1. Jane Escapes the CIA Black Site
The second season premiere kicks off three months after the events of last season’s finale. During this time, Jane has been kept in a CIA black site, being tortured day in and day out. During one of her torture sessions, Jane tries to drown herself, which forces the CIA guys to resuscitate her with an injection. In that moment, Jane wakes up and attacks, and is then brought back to her cell. We then realize that during her attack, the needle stayed in her arm. She takes it out of her arm and waits to use it as a couple of guards come to retrieve her for another torture session. Those poor CIA guys had no idea what was coming, as Jane unlocks her handcuffs and uses them as a weapon to fight back, eventually breaking her way out of the site in classic badass Jane fashion—faster and smarter than every opponent in her way.
2. Jane and Kurt Reunite
The last time these two saw each other, Kurt finally learned that Jane was a mole and that she was not Taylor Shaw. It was an emotional blow that couldn’t have been more painful for Kurt, especially considering the two of them developed feelings for each other. Jane’s escape from the CIA facility had some great action choreography, and it was by no means the exception in this episode, as Kurt and Jane fight in hand-to-hand combat after she pulls a gun on him, but isn’t willing to pull the trigger. They clearly have a lot to resolve, but it was exciting to see them blow off some steam.
3. Jane and Kurt Reconcile
After an interrogation with new character NSA agent Nas Kamal, the rest of the FBI team learns the full extent of what Jane knows, and also of Mayfair and Oscar’s deaths. While Kurt may still feel a little uneasy around Jane (partly because of those buried romantic feelings), he now understands that Jane never wanted to hurt him or the team. She really thought she was Taylor Shaw, and she wanted to be. She too is angry at Sandstorm for all the lies and pain they’ve caused. They both feel betrayed and Sandstorm is responsible—and still out there. Jane tells Kurt, “Let’s make them pay.” These two are still going to be healing from the emotional wounds they’ve inflicted on each other, but when Jane says that line to Kurt, there’s no doubt they’re going to use that anger and determination toward taking down Sandstorm.
4. Zapata Shoots Jane
Once the FBI team decides to work with Jane again, they need her to go back to Sandstorm to act as their double agent. In order to convince Sandstorm that she had a hard time escaping, and to convince them that Oscar died from trying to escape as well, Jane tells Kurt he needs to shoot her. Nothing too serious! Just a clean flesh wound in her side. She tries to prod Kurt by telling him about Mayfair’s death and her last words. Right before Kurt aims his gun—Zapata takes the shot, giving Jane a not-too-serious wound to make her story more convincing. The stakes are higher than ever for Jane in her game of cat and mouse between the FBI and Sandstorm, only now she’s really working for the FBI and wants answers about Sandstorm and her role within the organization.
5. Jane Meets Her Mother and Brother
In what was by far the premiere’s most shocking and unpredictable twist, we learn that Shepherd, Sandstorm’s leader, is not only a woman, but Jane’s adoptive mother. And the man who escorted Jane to meet with Shepherd is her biological brother, Roman. In the first season we learned that Jane may have been born in Africa, and Shepherd’s story confirms this. Jane and Roman were born in South Africa and were orphans raised to be child soldiers. Shepherd claims to have been part of a U.S. military group that freed the child soldiers and she personally took them under her care. With this revelation of new family members along with the departed Oscar having been her fiancé, it seems all the top leaders of Sandstorm are closely knit to each other. Knowing that Jane is related to the leaders of Sandstorm, infiltrating to take them down is clearly going to be more difficult than she previously thought.
Then again, seeing as how Blindspot loves to play around with its twists and untrustworthy characters, who knows if what Shepherd revealed is actually all true. Without a doubt, there are important secrets being kept from Jane, like the newly-revealed fact that one of the members of the FBI team is a Sandstorm mole! If the rest of the new season keeps up with the momentum from this premiere, it’s going to be a very fun ride.