Tag: sullivan stapleton

Blindspot Episode 2: 5 Things We Learned

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blindspotEpisode 2 of NBC’s Blindspot brought more clues, a few explosions and a gun battle, culminating in a possible connection between the two lead characters. Let’s recap with 5 things we learned Monday night.

*Kurt Weller and Jane Doe may have know each other as kids. When he was ten years old, Weller’s friend disappeared. Before she was taken, there was a tree accident that left the girl with a scar on the top of her back, a scar that Jane also has. Could this mystery woman be Taylor Shaw, Weller’s friend who vanished? Blood tests come back next week.

*Is Jane a Navy Seal or an assassin? Another memory shows her taking out a priest at a church for a flash drive, something that makes Jane question whether she will like the person she eventually remembers. The weapons training also brings back the mysterious ruggedly handsome man(IMDB with that description, not me) who may be connected to Jane. Maybe the person who sent her on this amnesia driven mission.

*Another clue brings the FBI agents and Jane to a former Army pilot suffering from PTSD and someone who could be operating as a drone pilot with ridiculous levels of government clearance. The team checks him out, spooks him, and his house explodes. After they question his commanding officer, her car explodes. Another explosion rocks the agents outside the fellow army officer who may have turned the pilot in when he went off the edge. This sets them on a chase for him and the girl he kidnapped.

*The tattoos may seem like dead ends at first, but there is a connection between the army officer, Musgrave, they question and the fact that Weller may know her from his childhood. Are they leading the agents away from something bigger or direct clues to something she may not even be able to fathom?

*The end finds Jane grabbed in her apartment by the rugged bearded guy who keeps following her around. Who is he and what did he do to her? More importantly, did she tell him to do it?

That’s the clue in the finale. The man telling Jane she had this all set up, leading me to question whether we can really trust her in the end. Weller and her will go down a romantic plot angle that may doom the show, but I think in the end, she will be as mysterious and deadly as any suspect they chase. I don’t trust the wickedly beautiful and deadly Jaimie Alexander. Do you? Are you tuning in next week for another dose of Blindspot? I am. This rabbit hole is getting more interesting every commercial break.

Blindspot is an intriguing blend of thriller and mystery

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blindspotNBC’s new show Blindspot gets right to the point in its pilot. The hour opens in Times Square where a police officer comes upon a bag lying in the street. It’s a large bag and seems to be moving. The bomb squad comes in and when the bag is opened, a beautiful scared woman(Jaimie Alexander) crawls out of it. She is covered in tattoos, doesn’t know who she is and has an FBI agent’s name(Sullivan Stapleton) on her back in black ink. This is the jumping off point of NBC’s Blindspot.

Immediately, the FBI wants to know why Kurt Weller’s name is on this Jane Doe’s back. Is he a clue or is there a connection to her past? It doesn’t help that her memory is shot and she can’t recall how she got there. The hour sets off a chase around the city as the agents locate and decipher addresses, names and clues on her body.

She can fight and handle a gun, as Weller finds out. Is she a Navy Seal? Is she a member of a secret militia? Are there plans in NYC for a terrorist attack? At first she seems harmless but as the minutes go by, her skill set is revealed and she becomes more interesting and dangerous. The show ends with a big clue as to what happened to her and how she got into that bag in Times Square and will likely be the crux of the show. That is what is her allegiance? Which side is she working for and will it be revealed too late?

ABC’s Quantico is trying something similar, putting a group of young agents in the aftermath of a bombed federal building and seeing which one is guilty? Blindspot is keeping it more simple and encasing Weller and this woman into the center of the story. If she knows what is going on, why is his name on her back? What’s the catch there?

The actors are perfectly cast, which doesn’t mean they will be up for Emmy’s. This is entertainment folks and nothing more. This won’t replace your Mad Men fix but it may give you a different shade of Showtime’s Homeland without the melodrama of Claire Danes’ bipolar CIA agent. Alexander is beautiful but has a sexy combo of Lena Headey and Angelina Jolie action to her forte and Stapleton is an easy hero to like and sympathize with.

How long can Blindspot go? My wife commented about the limited shelf life of a story about a woman covering in tattoos and she is on to something. What happens when all the connections are made and the bad guys are found? Does the show run out of bullets? I don’t think so and I will explain.

Each season, if picked up, will be around 26 episodes. One of the pros and cons of a network show is an extremely long season(premium cable’s 10-12 episode format is much better) so Blindspot will be a slow reveal but there are directions to go. What if in the end they find the baddies but Jane Doe has a secret plan? What if she gets away and becomes the antagonist? What if there is a mole in the FBI? Terrorism plots carry tons of juice and threads so stay tuned.

The show has shot 8 episodes and will probably not shoot more until NBC asks for more. Network shows don’t give a long leash to a fall prime time show so Blindspot has some lifting to do. I think it has potential but only time will tell.

After one hour, are you in or out?

Tweet me @buffa82.

Gearing up for NBC’s Blindspot

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A naked woman covered in tattoos is found in Times Square with your name across the middle of her back? If you are FBI agent Kurt Weller(Sullivan Stapleton), this is a problem, a clue, and a potential storm of confusion wrapped into one. It doesn’t help that the Jane Doe comes in the form of the beautiful Jaime Alexander(Thor). This is the basis of the new NBC series Blindspot, a show hoping to do big things for the network as the new shows start to unfold this fall.

The discovery of Alexander’s woman in the streets sets off a web of conspiracies and a hunt that will culminate in a connection back to Weller. Why is his name on her back? Who put it there? Who put her in New York? Is there a terrorist attack planned? The good thing about a new series with very little clues is that it remains unpredictable. This will extend the series past other more functional and safe shows. Creator Martin Gero has executive produced short run series like Dark Matter, The L.A. Complex, and Bored to Death. Blindspot is his baby and hopefully a chance to get a full season of episodes.

The show co-stars Audrey Esparza and Rob Brown, but appears to be a show centered around Alexander and Stapleton. You’ll know him from the Cinemax series Strikeback and the 300 sequel, Rise of An Empire. You’ll know Alexander from her role in the Thor films, The Last Stand and a number of TV series including Showtime’s Nurse Jackie and HBO’s The Brink. Here is a show that combines all the easy juicy elements of entertaining television. Thriller plotted storylines involving terrorism. Beautiful women. Men with just the right amount of facial hair and good action. Are you in?

If you want a serious thriller with some mystery and juice hanging off the end, give Blindspot a shot. Come back here for a weekly recap of each episode.