By Mike McCarthy
If you have never heard of Jaimie Alexander before, well you better get acquainted with her, and her body of work, especially the new hit show Blindspot. Jaimie is known for her work as Lady Sif in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but now she is kicking ass as Jane Doe, an amnesiac ex-Navy Seal who was found in Times Square naked and tattooed from head to toe. We have cut back on the shows that we are watching weekly, but adding Blindspot into our list of must watch shows every week.
Blindspot comes at a time where most nights are owned by comic book based shows, which I love, don’t get me wrong, but Blindspot is a great change of pace from what is on television right now. Having a strong female lead character of a show is a nice diverse way to start the new TV season. And by strong I don’t mean just mentally, I mean she will kick your ass, and if you don’t believe me, then watch the first episode and see what she can do. Adding in a great supporting cast with Sullivan Stapleton playing FBI agent Kurt Weller, the lead on her case. Stapleton has played this type of character in the past in the hit Cinemax show Strike Back and he plays the rough and tough agent well. Weller is involved in Jane Doe’s case because his name is tattooed on her back and no it does not have a heart around it. Add in Rob Brown (Coach Carter, Finding Forrester) and Audrey Esparza (Power, Public Morals) as co-stars and you have a great show with some amazing chemistry between characters.
I was trying to decide what this show reminded me of the most and I came to the conclusion that there hasn’t really been anything like it on television so far. It has elements of a lot of previous hit shows like Criminal Minds and Prison Break but those were mostly ensemble and male driven shows. With Blindspot being the hit that it already is, the viewership will be very broad on the spectrum from 15-80 for an age bracket and men and women alike will love this show. The tattoos on the body are very reminiscent of Wentworth Miller’s character Michael Scofield from Prison Break in the way that they will be a treasure map of sorts, not just of who Jane Doe is, but of potential events. I am completely guessing on this, but I think it’s a pretty accurate assessment.
The writers really brought out the delicate side of Jaimie Alexander’s character but not to the point of being frail. Her body is strong and agile while her mind is hiding her past and where she came from and why she she has all the tattoos on her. The development of the character thru one episode is so immense that it will definitely have me coming back week after week to see what Jane Doe remembers and what part of the tattoo has been deciphered.