Ladies And Gentlemen, Our First New Show Renewal #Blindspot #DVRRewind #NBC #Renewed

Ladies And Gentlemen, Our First New Show Renewal #Blindspot #DVRRewind #NBC #Renewed

All pictures courtesy of NBC 

So, I'm switching up things a little as I'm doing a DVR rewind slightly earlier than usual by doing it in the middle of the week. Technically by the time you read this, it'll be Thursday and not Wednesday which is when I'm writing it, but who cares about semantics. It's time to talk the latest episode of Blindspot.

But first the big news. After weeks of trying to figure out if Jane Doe was really what the American people wanted, and giving into a full season order for the freshman crime procedural drama, NBC executives finally pulled the trigger and renewed Blindspot (#Blindspot) for a second season. For fans of the show this is clearly great news. Not only do we and all of you late comers get to see Jane/Taylor's journey play out for longer than a year, we also get to obsess over what each tattoo means and the will they/won't they dichotomy between her and Weller. So again, if you haven't seen the show and are looking for a new show to watch that you know won't be canceled anytime soon, then you might want to use some of the upcoming Thanksgiving and other Holiday time not just shopping but bingeing on the first half of the season and see if you like it. There's also my Blindspot three week roundup post which you can access by clicking the tag Blindspot at the bottom of this article.

Now, on to the actual episode. This week's episode saw the group tackling another corruption scandal. Picking up mid-scene from the previous episode, Agent Weller and his boss who's named Bethany (a black Bethany? Well, I never met one but I'm sure they exist) discuss the secret program she was a part of a long while ago. Code-named: Daylight, it is revealed in flashbacks as she tells him about it that it was a joint program between the FBI, CIA, and the White House Political Director (uh, what?), led by the President's Chief of Staff. What it did was compile a mass of illegally obtained data that posed actionable threats in the form of terrorism or other criminal activity. Essentially it was the Patriot Act on steroids, spying on the American people to protect them from the few evil-doers.

Begrudgingly agreeing to use the program, Weller's boss needed a way to launder the illegally obtained info so that it would appear legal. She created a fake snitch story and pinned it to an already known criminal that they caught last week. Incensed by his mentor's law-breaking, Weller stays upset the entire episode which, frankly, isn't that much of a difference in his facial expression as any other time--when will this dude start smiling more? With that in the back of his mind and flashbacks of the genesis and use of the program sprinkled through the episode, Weller must focus on figuring out the next case.

For a brief moment, the writers tease us with a potential case that has nothing to do with Jane's tattoos when two cops are shot dead in the street. A message written in blood (or possibly just red paint) reads "Butcher the Butchers." The loving term "Butchers" is used for the street name for the cops of the 65th NY precinct as just last year the cops set off a racial riot when one of them gunned down an unarmed black man. Though some of the cops got fired, everyone was on high tension in the neighborhood ever since. Now with the cop murder and the Butcher nickname used, they think it's a revenge killing. And, oh yeah, Jane had a tattoo of a butcher's knife with 65 written on it and surrounded by what first looked like sniper crosshairs.

The normal jockeying for power between the Feds and the cops aside, Weller and his crew take over the case and talk to the man's partner. While interviewing her, they realize that the cops all wear body cams in that precinct as part of the pilot program before rolling it out nationally. Using the footage from the dead man's body cam, they find a scuffle between him and a pro footballer (the American kind). They track him to his house where he is throwing a party filled with scantily clad women. Naturally, he runs, they pursue, Jane tackles him.

Back in interrogation, he tells them that the cop tried extorting him after catching him sleeping with a man a week earlier (he was still snugly in that closet). The man wanted 50,000 from him every month.

As it turns out, the footage on the body cams logs to a computer any cop can access, meaning the dead cop wasn't the one looking at and using the footage. Figuring out that the crosshairs on Jane's tattoo aren't from a gun scope but a camera, they discover that two other officers were behind the extortion who they go to ply the man's widow for anything she might know.

A big shootout at the woman's house ends one cop's life and puts the other in the hospital. But wait, the twist which I saw coming from a mile away, was that it was really all orchestrated by their captain, who Bethany takes out with a strategic car crash as they ride to see the hospitalized officer. Congrats all around, the show winds down with Bethany flashing back one last time to see the glory of her bad wig as the Political Deputy woman committed suicide after growing a conscience. Surprise, they were in love with each other and the Politico wanted to run away to Hong Kong. Somebody finally pointed out that Jane has been wearing the same crusty clothes more than Bill Cosby wears sweaters (now if we can change up that hair too), the other FBI agent who made a deal with the CIA deputy knows he holds the power and Weller took a huge step toward forgiving his father by having a drink with him. Next week looks pretty good. Hopefully it leads to an explosive mid-season finale.

What do you think? Were you as tired of seeing Jane wearing the same sweaty white under-tank too? Do you think blonde computer tech girl will get back with her nerdy boyfriend? Will Weller ever trust his boss again? Let me know in the comments below (hint: click the no comments button if you see no comments).

Check out my new comedy novel Yep, I'm Totally Stalking My Ex-Boyfriend. #AhStalking

If you’re looking for a scare check #AFuriousWind, #DARKER, #BrandNewHome or  #ThePowerOfTen. For those interested in something a little more dramatic, check out #TheWriter. The full first season is out now NOW exclusively on Amazon. If you like fast action crime check out #ADangerousLow. The sequel A New Low will be out in a few months. Join us on Goodreads to talk about books and TV, and subscribe to and follow my blog with that Google+ button to the right.

Until next time, "so you have a closet full of poorly worded hipster tees?"

P.S. Sure, Jane's shirt is far from a hipster tee, but she wears it in both an ironic and utilitarian manner. They don't give her enough money for clothes? Wait, are they even paying her? Huh? I'll think of something better next time.

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In Need of a Hand, An Inhuman Plan, And Don’t Take the Fish Oil, Dude! #AgentsofSHIELD #AgentsofSHIELDSeasonFinale

In Need of a Hand, An Inhuman Plan, And Don’t Take the Fish Oil, Dude! #AgentsofSHIELD #AgentsofSHIELDSeasonFinale

 

  All pictures courtesy of ABC

Wow! Like... totes-ma-goats wow! Wowzereenie, Mr. Feenie! Those are a few ways in which I’m trying to show you wa-how I feels about this season finale. All joking aside (don’t roll your eyes at me. You know your inner-child got at least a chuckle from one of those silly things), I really loved the finale. Maybe it is because I just saw #AgeOfUltron earlier and had some interesting feelings about that movie or maybe it was just because it was a kick-butt finale. I don’t know but let’s find out together.

There was so much going on in this two-hour season finale, but first I must stop and thank God and the inventors that blessed us all with the power of the DVR. I was watching both the Cavs/Bulls game (#NBAplayoffs, #gocavsgo) and this at the same time. I had to rewind after to catch Agents from the beginning but it was worth it.

We began with a pretty good fight between May and Skye/Daisy. At first May Mr. Miogi’d/Bruce Lee’d Skye by blocking her every move without much of a muscle-twitch. I nearly thought she was going to turn into Neo and start seeing green numbers scrolling through the matrix, but “Quake” quickly got her act together and actually moved May with a few strikes and kicks. She ended the short battle by using her powers (total cop out) and going off with her family. Meanwhile Jaiying implemented her plan to make it look like SHIELD attacked the Inhumans by instructing her goons to take over one of the quinjets and fire on the compound. After the dust settled, the Inhumans escaped to another secret hideaway with Daisy and Raina in-tow, while Coulson’s brood got away with minimal casualties and Mr. Hyde.

For much of the show we switched back and forth between Daisy slowly learning that her mother was evil (courtesy of Jaiying killing Raina right in front of Skye by accident, something that made old flowers seem like a sacrificial rose), Coulson questioning Mr. Hyde about his wife’s plan against SHIELD, and Ward and Agent 33 trying to get Bobbi to confess to her transgressions against 33. Honestly, the third story was a bit of an add-on that I could take or leave and served little importance accept but to show that Ward is still trying to be an evil mastermind (of which he is not) and to show Bobbi getting shot in the back of the head/shoulder? I wasn’t quite sure where the bullet actually went but I know it wasn’t a nice place. They telegraphed the play of Agent 33 dying as soon as May said she wanted to go and kill Ward. That was probably the most obvious part of the story but again I let it go because it wasn’t very important at all. After Bobbi got back to SHIELD near to death, she did her best Tony Stark impression and said how she couldn’t do this anymore, though she’ll probably be back for next season (hopefully, they actually explain that return). Moving on!

 

The two important story-lines of the night came from Mr. Hyde and from Skye. Their ability to track white nightcrawler—I mean, the inhuman with no eyes now gone, SHIELD had no advanced warning when he transported a few Inhumans onto their ship and took it over from the inside. Jaiying imprisoned her own daughter, saying that it was for her own good and that this was a war started by Agent Peggy Carter’s people when SHIELD first came to fruition. While she may have a point, she is also ruthless and bloodthirsty and kills a few high-ranking agents with the use of a crystal. With the help of Mac, Skye breaks out and seeks to try to stop the complete spread of the mist through the entire ship as there are plenty of agents still unaffected by the mist and the takeover. Jaiying’s goal is to put the mist into the fan/ventilation system, as well as to lure as many agents to the ship as possible to have them breathe the mist. Skye plays directly into this plan, sending out a help beacon to all of the agency and attracting Coulson’s attention.

Meanwhile, Coulson interrogates Daisy/Skye’s father about his wife’s intentions. He discovers that the man wants to kill as many agents as he can while there and will use a transforming elixir of his own creation to do it. He morphs into Quasimodo—I mean, Mr. Hyde and runs around like a monster destroying various rooms but not really killing anyone (#NotTheBestDayEver). He and Coulson have a heart-to-heart when he’s pinned against the wall. It is revealed that he only became a monster and only killed all of these people because it fulfilled Jaiying’s desires. He only wanted his family back. He only wanted to be loved. He only wanted her to be... her again. But now that Daisy is in his life and is so benevolent, Coulson convinces him that his wife’s actions will destroy the girl. He agrees to help SHIELD for Daisy’s sake.

It all culminates in one epic battle after the next while on the SHIELD ship. Daisy/Skye/Quake fights with a few different Inhumans until finally meeting her mother and nearly dying at her hands (her mother tries sucking the life out of her which is how she stays alive and youthful). She halfway ruins her mother’s plan by sending the ship with all the crystals into the ocean. In possibly the saddest family reunion, Mr. Hyde manages to stop his wife from killing his daughter only to bearhug Jaiying to death. After all was said and done, he’d have to serve his punishment as a vet living with no memory of his family after a mindsweep courtesy of the MIB... or the Tahiti program, whichever.

Coulson, Fitz and Mac all got into a fight with the no-eyes man and managed to trap him in the ventilation room. It was Fitz who accidentally killed him as the man ghosted into the end of a pipe he was holding. In dramatic fashion, upon dying the man dropped a crystal, hoping to break it on the floor and kill them all. In a second of harrowing heroism, Coulson dove forward and caught the crystal. His arm began to turn a blackened ash, causing me to almost completely lose my sh! Then Mac made me jump up and yell, “what,” as he axed the man’s arm off before the blackness could spread, Ultron-Klaue-ing off his left arm. Wow!

At the end, everything was settled. Coulson would survive having one arm. Ward is trying to become the new head of Hydra—good luck with that. Skye has been put in charge of a new secret division of powered people. And even Fitz and Simmons flirted with going out to dinner. And then I lost my crap again! First, they showed that the crystals that were on the quinjet that sank into the ocean mixed with the water, was taken in by the fish which were caught and pressed into fish oil supplements. That could kill or transform millions of people, though to be fair probably not that many Americans as we are not nearly health conscious enough to be taking fish oil. Seriously, no matter where I go I always see the same dusty fish oil supplement bottles in stock. When was the last time you bought and used some? But the second and most depressing part of the show was the fate of Simmons. Gasp! Sigh! I’ve already said how cute and all-around charming I think that Simmons and Elizabeth Henstridge is, so when it happened, I wanted to throw something at the TV. Messing with the secret rock/liquid thing that was previously in the SHIELD ship, she went to close its door back when it turned into a liquid washed over her, then sucked her back into the solid rock-like form. The question: What the hell just happened to her? Please don’t be dead!

So, what did you all think about the season finale of Agents of SHIELD? What do you expect from season 3? While I still believe that Spider-man is going to be the catalyst for the civil war events (you can read that article here), they could use this newly formed team led by Quake to sub in for the New Warriors also. Do you think it will serve a big role in continuing to set up the events of civil war or do you think they should try to do their own thing? As always, let me know in the comments section below.

As always leave your comments below (click the no comments button if no one has commented yet). I look forward to reading your opinions. Follow me here and on Twitter. Join me on Goodreads in the group Books Similar To Breaking Bad, Scandal and other Popular TV Shows and check out my books on Amazon. #BrandNewHome is on Amazon for just $1.00 until Monday (check recent posts for a better description). #Darker is coming in June and so is #TheWriter. Also, look for the short story #ThePowerOfTen also out now for $1.49 or check out the books I already have up there.

Until next time, If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball.

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