BLINDSPOT Recap: “Mom”

By Pauline Perenack

Mommy Dearest

Last week on Blindspot, guest star Rhonda Rousey was a key player in giving the team a major win by inadvertently delivering to them, Shepherd’s right-hand man, Parker. However, regardless of the win and unbeknownst to Weller, his team was falling apart at the seams. Reade found himself considering a change in career, while Zapata began plotting a way around the system to take down Sandstorm. Patterson was losing her grip on reason, while Jane was in a fight for her life as Roman remembered exactly who wiped his memory.

Since we’re at the penultimate episode of the season, let’s recap this week’s episode to see how our team is doing.

Follow the C.O.G.S.

Tonight’s episode, “Mom” was even better than last week’s episode, and thankfully picks up right where we left off, with Jane fighting for her life against Roman. Fortunately, Jane is able to fend him off, and with the help of Roman’s security team, she returns Roman to his cell at headquarters. Unfortunately for Jane however, regardless of what she’s done to help him, Roman reveals his hatred of her.

Meanwhile, Director Pellington is in the building, and has decided to declassify the entire Sandstorm case, making Shepherd and Roman’s faces public. When Jane points out that Roman’s memories are returning, Pellington decides to only release information on Shepherd, and bring Roman to a CIA Black Site to see if his memory recovery can be sped up. Jane, of course, is not too pleased with the decision, since she knows firsthand what happens at those Black Sites.

Zapata has taken it upon herself to break Parker, and discovers that Devon is pregnant. With that information, Weller informs Parker that they can make a deal happen so that Devon won’t give birth in prison. Parker tells them that if they send Devon to London, where she has family, he will give up the location of a server warehouse that holds information on Sandstorm.

With Devon safely in London, and the address of the warehouse in hand, Weller and Jane go out with a team to the location. Instead of finding a server warehouse however, they find an exact replica of their own offices, leading them to believe that Sandstorm is planning an attack on headquarters. They try to send a warning back, but Sandstorm is already there, and have broken into headquarters’ video feed, making it appear as though the building was being stormed.

An alert is sent to everyone inside to evacuate, but after Zapata notices something is off with the video, she and Patterson switch feeds, and see Pellington in a standoff with Shepherd. Realizing the situation, Patterson locks down the building, trapping everyone inside. Shepherd wants Weller’s override code to access Patterson’s files in exchange for Pellington’s life. He refuses, and Shepherd begins executing agents one by one until the agent who brings Weller the code every morning cracks in an attempt to save Pellington and herself. Shepherd however, takes the code, removes the lockdown, and shoots Pellington, killing him instantly.

Knowing Shepherd wants her files, Patterson puts her system on boot mode, buying the team some time. She and Zapata then run to load up on weapons, and meet up with Reade who had a similar idea. The three make their way to the server room, where Patterson can create an electrical surge to destroy her files.

Weller and Jane meanwhile have gained access to the subbasement of the building and find a bomb. With Weller’s help, Jane is able to diffuse it, but remembering the FBI replica they found at the Sandstorm site, she knows there’s another bomb in the gym that must be found. As they go look for it, Shepherd tries to convince Roman to once again join her, while Reade and Zapata hold off Sandstorm agents to give Patterson the time she needs to create the electrical surge, preventing Shepherd from being able to create attacks on DHS sites across the country. However, the win is short-lived, as Parker emerges, shooting Zapata in the neck, and she begins to bleed out immediately.

During the attack, Jane kept hoping that Roman was still on her side, but when she and Weller ran into Shepherd and Roman in the hallways, and Roman began shooting, she knew she had lost him forever. Worse yet, both Shepherd and Roman were able to escape through a hidden hole in Borden’s office.

With the threat to headquarters over for the moment, Patterson informs Jane and Weller that Sandstorm had bombed the FBI buildings in Boston and San Francisco, but four other attacks had been stopped, and there were no civilian casualties.

Jane however, can’t shake the worry that she could end up like Roman – becoming the person she once was – and breaks down. Weller is there for her, and the two have a sweet moment together, but it’s stopped short by the Secret Service who need Weller for something top secret.

As the episode winds down, Shepherd records a video taking responsibility for the attacks and explains her reasons for doing so. At the same time, Weller is brought to a secret bunker along with other heads of government departments including the CDC and CIA, and is welcomed into COGS – the Continuity of Government Subcommittee – a program mentioned throughout the season alongside the Truman Protocol.

As a member is explaining what COGS is for, Weller puts the pieces together, and realizes that everyone in that room are the cogs Shepherd needed to be put together. They’re Phase Two. They’re the successors of the government that Shepherd is about to destroy. Phase Two isn’t over, it’s just beginning.

Save Zapata!

Throughout the season, Blindspot has had its ups and downs, but it is definitely ending the season on a high note. After a stellar episode last week, this week just got even better as Shepherd’s plans began to unfold. Finally, we were able to see Phase Two being launched, and it’s proving to be worse than any of the team had envisioned.

Worse yet, the team had entered this episode in an unstable state, and left the episode with Zapata’s life hanging in the balance. Audrey Esparza has done a fantastic job with the character of Zapata this year, and I really hope that the character isn’t killed off. She’s the glue that has been holding the team together throughout the season, talking everyone off the cliff, while making sure they’re all still pushing forward. Without her, I think the team will really struggle, as will the show as a whole.

Tonight also was a highpoint for Jeller fans with Weller and Jane finally experiencing a tender moment. While it once again was interrupted, it was easy to see that everything these two have been through this year, has really made them grow closer, and pushed them to this moment.

Finally, the introduction of COGS adds yet another layer to Sandstorm’s plans. Will Weller be able to rally the members to help stop Sandstorm before it’s too late? Until next week!