Jess vs. The Screen #1: Blindspot

Warning: Spoilers!

I’m all about diving into stories, just like jumping into a pool on a hot day. You might think that as a Film & TV student, I’d be too analytical to really enjoy them, but my studies have only made me love them more. TV has always been my go-to, offering an escape with its complex characters and diverse plots. From the cartoons I watched as a kid to the dramas I binge now, every show has left its mark on me. I love chatting about character quirks, plot twists, and those scenes that hit you right in the feelings. I truly believe stories bring us together, breaking down barriers and building empathy. Whether it’s through casual conversations, blog posts, or reviews, I love digging into stories, which helps me understand them better and connect with other fans. These chats often lead to new insights, making it fun for everyone involved. In the end, exploring stories fuels both my passion and my studies in Film & TV.

The first in my new series of Jess vs. The Screen is Blindspot, which I found on Netflix.

A show that starts with a strong logline: this woman wakes up in a bag that is tagged to the FBI. She is covered in tattoos, which conveniently solve ongoing investigations. Not to mention, her mind was wiped, therefore making her unhelpful to any questioning.

The man featured in the photo is the assistant director of the FBI. His name is Kurt Weller, also tattooed on her back, which leads to more questions from everyone. As the tattoos play a pivotal role, our main character—named Jane Doe—finds herself in the field, which somehow activates her dormant fighting skills. More questions arise from episode to episode, until we ultimately find out she was a Trojan horse sent to infiltrate the FBI. This connection with the FBI assistant director's name tattooed on her back reveals that she is his next-door neighbor who went missing during his childhood. Especially as the whole town suspected his father, relationships are being rebuilt solely due to this woman showing up in Times Square.

There are the many existing troupes within a procedural drama, and while this show offers a different overall plot... The day to day crime-solving repeats cannot be avoided. We have a spunky team of specific characters, who do not budge in their personalities, until the writers need to make a plotline make sense. Our top characters are: Patterson, the tech whiz. Reade, the suave agent. Zapata, a fireball who marches on her own. Finally, Weller is the head honcho that everyone looks up to. I will say the first two seasons are very good as this type of show has been around forever. It's only when those interesting storylines have to stretch themselves past their lifespan, and then we're left with characters completely different.

Jane Doe is at the center of all the issues. She was sent in as a Trojan horse by a terrorist group, which she confusingly follows, until she is revealed to her FBI friends. She becomes somewhat disgraced by them, but slowly works her way up. Also, she is not the missing best friend from Kurt Weller's past. The organization that sent her in knew that it would be life-changing for him, and that he would be controlled by his feelings. Even more so, the guilt of his father being the main suspect was washed away until his father admits on his deathbed where he did bury his son's friend. This is where the show begins to unravel as Weller has been believing the lies. Although it does take time, Jane is able to work her way back into the good graces of her friends at the FBI. At the same time, we are fighting her mother and brother who run the terrorist organization. They take down the operation and her brother goes rogue (after she tries to wipe his memory too) and attacks her new FBI family. She has to go underground as she has a hit for money on her, but years later when she comes back everything is different. Zapata is with the CIA, Reade replaces Weller as the FBI's assistant director. Patterson left for Silicon Valley to make an app called Wizardville. A former hacker that the squad caught in an earlier season is now a part of the tech team.

This changes the dynamics significantly, which is how we know there is really no saving this show.

Reade and Zapata have a terrible "will they, won't they?" This goes on for seasons, only to end in an unhappy ending as the actor for Reade departs the show. They do continue to pursue their love story despite his death in the final season of the show, which feels belittling to rush it all up in a bow.

Lastly, the show starts to really lose the barely stable footing it had. Jane loses her memory after an accident because the memory-erasing drug was killing her, just as it was slowly killing her brother. Her brother was actually killed by his mark, whom he fell in love with. Everyone bends over backwards to help Jane live a long life with Kurt (they got married in an earlier season), which she manages to ruin by keeping information to herself. Over and over in the last few episodes, it feels like déjà vu. It just eventually ends with her dying and attempting to be a martyr, as she has throughout the whole series.

Final overall rating: ☆☆☆ / ☆☆☆☆☆

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