EXCLUSIVE: 'Blindspot' Boss Talks Surprising New Bombshells and an Explosive Death: 'It's a Huge Blow'

By
NBC


Warning: Spoiler alert! Do not proceed if you haven’t watched Wednesday’s return episode of Blindspot.

Well, that was a doozy.


Blindspot
returned for the remainder of the second season on Wednesday night, with an episode that had everything you’d want from the action drama: an explosive death, another internal leak, an ultimatum that may change the team dynamic, and an episode-ending abduction.

Jane (Jaimie Alexander), Weller (Sullivan Stapleton) and company finally gained an upper hand against Shepherd (Michelle Hurd) and Sandstorm, after learning that Shepherd implanted a bug in Patterson’s (Ashley Johnson) tooth in order for her to gain significant intel. After spreading misinformation to lure Shepherd’s minions into a trap, Patterson came face to face with her ex and mole, Borden (Ukweli Roach), only to witness Borden sacrifice himself by blowing up the cabin.

RELATED: 'Blindspot' Gets a 'Hamilton' Boost With Javier Munoz

Meanwhile, Reed’s (Rob Brown) struggle with drugs jeopardizes his standing with the team. After being given an ultimatum by Tasha (Audrey Esparza) to come clean to Weller, she takes matters into her own hands, leaving Reed’s future with the team in limbo. And who was Nas’ (Archie Panjabi) inside source in Sandstorm? The one and only Cade (Tom Lipinski), who warns the team that the impending (and mysterious) Phase 2 is bigger and deadlier than they can fathom.

ET jumped on the phone with Blindspot creator Martin Gero to get the scoop on the aftermath of the latest episode (is Jane in danger?) -- and if the latest victim (R.I.P.!) is really gone for good.


ET: Is Borden dead? Is that the end of him?


Martin Gero:
The world is a big place, but yeah. He’s blown up and certainly he’s not coming back this season. As of right now, we don’t have a plan to bring him back any further. Yeah, he’s dead.


Was there an alternative outcome that you were considering?

The actor who plays Borden, Ukweli Roach, is a phenomenal talent and we’re so lucky to have him on the show. But the story just went that place. The second that we really zeroed in on the fact that he was the mole early in our season one breaking, we knew eventually in probably season two he would have to die. It’s a real drag, because he’s such a great guy but this was purely for story reasons.

RELATED: 'Blindspot' Star Michelle Hurd on Shepherd's 'Twisted' Fixation on Weller


I mean, we didn’t exactly see his body. Is there a chance he could return in the future?

The show does flashbacks very well. When David died, he came back as a ghost. We love Ukweli and would love to work with him in the future. But that’s all I’ll say for now.

NBC


Patterson sees Roach’s final moments and his decision to sacrifice himself instead of turning himself in. Because of her experience, is the road ahead going to be a difficult one for her?

I think so. When David died, she thought she could lose herself in the work and that would be a distraction from having to deal with David’s death. It’s impossible to do that now with Borden because Borden is so closely tied with her work. Her respite of her life used to be her work, and now that’s not the case. It’s going to be really tough for her emotionally going forward. The fun part of our show is everyone is dealing with a lot; they always take a moment to help each other. They take turns being the one that’s a mess, so she’ll have her friends there when she starts to redline.


It was a nice twist to introduce another internal leak, which turned out to be Patterson unknowingly providing intel to Sandstorm. Is this the end of the leaks?

Yes, absolutely. This was really the episode where the tide turns. It has been so frustrating for them because Sandstorm was always one step ahead, and they couldn’t figure it out. Well now they’ve finally figured it out. They removed [Patterson’s] molar but they’ve also taken Borden off the board. In Roman’s absence, [Borden]’s really become Shepherd’s main lieutenant, so it’s a huge blow against Sandstorm and now the noose begins to tighten.

RELATED: 'Blindspot' Sneak Peek! Jane Lies to Roman About Who Wiped His Memory


The episode ended on Jane and Oliver getting captured. Is that Shepherd remaining one step ahead of the team?

We’ll see! All I’ll say is Oliver is not the person we thought he was.


The ramifications of Reed’s drug abuse come to a head in this episode, and after being given an ultimatum to come clean, which he doesn’t take, Tasha comes clean for him. Where does Reed’s future with the team lie now?

Reed is recovering, or is dodging recovering, from a major psychological trauma and he hasn’t been handling it very well, as we have seen. As most victims of abuse -- and especially recovered memory -- have to deal with, the back half of the season has really been about Reed trying to at least get on the path to recovery. That story is going to go through a lot of ups and downs, and currently, we’re just in a down swing for him. The team really cares for each other and they’re not going to leave him out in the cold for very long. He’s in a lot of trouble. He messed up.


How does this affect Reed and Tasha’s relationship?

It’s going to be bad. The next episode is not a great one for Reed.


Was it always the plan to bring Cade back into the world again and have him be Nas’ inside source in Sandstorm?

The reason we didn’t kill him at the end of his last episode [“Older Cutthroat Canyon”], he was a very dangerous thing to have dangling out there. We knew we needed him; he was going to be Jane’s cover story and so, for us, to have him be alive and potentially foil Jane’s cover story was dangerous and exciting. When we started coming up with the Nas character, we asked “Who is her mole?” Right from the beginning, Cade seemed like the most reasonable one because at the end of season one, he was very against everything that the bad guys were doing. He’s already got a lot of baggage and Tom [Lipinski] is such a phenomenal performer too, we were trying to create opportunities for him to get back on the show.

RELATED: 'Blindspot' Boss on Winter Premiere Shockers: There Will Be 'Payoff After Payoff'


Does the team feel like they have a handle now on Shepherd’s up to with Phase 2?

No, that’s the scary thing. It’s a big win but we still don’t know what Phase 2 and they still don’t know where in the world she is. Every episode they’re going to get a bigger piece [of the puzzle]. There’s a very satisfying end to this story in this last chunk of episodes.


Is there any worry about the constant buildup to whatever Phase 2 is?

No, we’re very confident. How we work is we go backwards so when we started the season, we try to figure out what the last two episodes are so if anything, we’re excited to finally get to it. We want to show everybody what Phase 2 is. There are some massive reveals that bring everything into clarity in a way that is going to be so satisfying for people. We can’t wait to show them.


Weller still remains a key piece to Shepherd’s puzzle. Will the team get answers soon as to why she still believes he’s useful to her cause?

You’ll get pieces as we go. It’s not an all-at-once information dump.


Are we heading toward Roman being out in the field again?

There are going to be key moments. He’s never going to be like Jane, where he becomes a member of the team, at least not this season. But there are definitely moments where it makes sense to bring him out because again, they’re trying to jog his memory. With Jane, the more she was out in the field, the more memories she was able to recover. He’s not going to be confined in his cell for the rest of the season. There will be moments where he’s coming out. Luke is an extraordinary performer and we want to use that character as much as possible.


Blindspot
airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.