All 5 Seasons of ‘Blindspot,’ Ranked Worst to Best

In early June, NBC’s Blindspot finally had its long-awaited streaming debut on Netflix. Within a few weeks, the show had already shot into the Top 10 most-streamed shows in the U.S. and several other territories. This was to be expected, considering that the crime thriller was also a big hit when it initially premiered as a network show, averaging 10 million viewers per episode.

Created by Martin Gero (better known for Stargate Atlantis), the series stars Jaimie Alexander as Jane Doe, later identified as Alice Kruger, a woman who is found naked in the middle of New York’s Times Square. Even more interesting, her body is covered in tattoos, and she has no idea who she is and how she got here. She soon becomes the center of a major FBI investigation when it’s discovered that each tattoo contains a key to insight into an unsolved crime. Also starring is Sullivan Stapleton (from Strike Back) as FBI agent Kurt Weller.

Each chapter of the show is worth the viewer’s time, but how do the seasons rank against each other?

5

Season 4

After ZIP poisoning causes Jane to revert to her former identity of Remi, the FBI finds itself in a race against time to decode her tattoos, stop the terrorist group known as Sandstorm, and cure her before her body organs wither beyond repair. By mid‑season, Jane reconciles her conflicting personalities and kills Sandstorm’s leader, Shepherd. However, the plot keeps thickening. Powerful businesswoman Madeline Burke takes over HCI, engineers a major blackout on the Eastern Seaboard (Project Helios), and pins it all on the FBI team. Events culminate in a showdown in Iceland and end with the protagonists being branded fugitives.

The Past Creeps Back

Despite its coldly realistic approach to its do-or-die events, Season 4 is far from impartial, and it’s evident that the writer’s room’s sympathies are with Jane, who is constantly depicted as a victim of inept circumstances, even when she is engaging in malice. As it is, viewers end up with a formulaic and mostly plodding chapter whose only virtue is to remind us all that the highest offices in the land are occupied by some of the most malicious people.

However, it would be unfair not to praise Jaimie Alexander for her compelling performance. It’s impressive how she seamlessly switched between Jane’s compassionate, heroic side and Remi’s cold, calculating persona. Such duality makes the season enjoyable and raises important questions about mental health.

4

Season 3

Jane believes she has found peace after marrying Weller and relocating to Colorado. Unfortunately, she is targeted again, forcing her to disappear to keep her family safe. More than a year later, she reappears with new bioluminescent tattoos. The reunited FBI‑CIA composite team thus springs into action, linking the events to Jane’s estranged brother Roman, who was behind a $10 million bounty on her.

While at it, a plot involving refugees and nuclear warheads is uncovered, and the FBI director is also outed for being dirty. As the season ends, Jane is forced to kill her father figure, Crawford, to save Roman, but he still dies anyway. Additionally, Jane is revealed to be suffering from ZIP‑poisoning.

Relationship Problems

In some parts, the season is fun, introducing us to an assortment of characters who don’t mean well. It’s amazing how several of the episodes properly delved into the labyrinthine schemes and shameless deceptions that helped line the pockets of a few powerful individuals in the worlds of espionage and law enforcement. All this time, the public gets hoodwinked with mirage-like short-term results.

Unfortunately, the season is somewhat overloaded, especially at the midpoint. For example, Reade’s romance arcs and Zapata’s CIA storyline feel like mere distractions. Weller’s conflict with Jane, due to the revelation that he killed her daughter, is also dragged out for too long. And while Roman is a great villain, others like Hank and Blake aren’t properly fleshed out.

3

Season 1

The first season treats us to a very memorable opening. We see Jane, naked in Times Square, her body covered in all kinds of weird tattoos, one of them directly mentioning FBI Agent Kurt Weller. The bureau thus brings her in so that she can help decode some of the clues and thwart crimes as they try to establish her real identity.

Slowly, fragments of Jane’s past come back to her, and we soon learn about classified government programs and major conspiracies. The season ends with Jane being arrested by Weller, who is mad at her for pretending to remember childhood memories.

Who Is She?

Sullivan Stapleton and Jaimie Alexander each turn in a powerhouse performance, but both are pretty well eclipsed by François Arnaud (best known for playing the cardinal Cesarie Borgia in The Borgias). He is truly terrifying as Oscar, his character a grotesque amalgam of Michael Langdon from Alias (given the way he manipulates Jane) and Peter Quinn from Homeland, with a touch of Daniel Plainview thrown in for good measure.

However, there’s no doubt that the season would be better if there weren’t too many case-of-the-week episodes. All these kinda overshadow the main conspiracy revolving around Jane’s identity. Supporting characters often feel underdeveloped, too. For example, Zapata’s gambling issues and financial struggles are only glossed over.

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2

Season 5

Two months after the drone strike that killed Reade, Jane, Kurt, Patterson, and Zapata are still in hiding. The team thus regroups to rescue Rich, who is still in CIA custody. They also aim to clear their names, but that will be hard, given that Madeline Burke is now in charge of federal law enforcement. She has many devious plans, including using ZIP memory-wiping bombs.

The team tries everything it can to stop her, including infiltrating CIA black sites and looking into Scotland Yard, where Roman had stored critical intel linked to Madeline’s ZIP plan. She is eventually cornered, prompting her to commit suicide.

The Saga Ends

Talk of ending on a high. It would be unfair to criticize anything from this particular chapter. Many characters are put in harm’s way in Season 5, and everyone comes out forever changed. Filmed mostly from the face, but literally acting on her knees, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio does a remarkable job of channeling all the dark thoughts of the primary antagonist.

Great finales also matter, and Season 5 delivers one. Each of the core characters gets emotional closure. In addition to that, the action is faster-paced than it has ever been. Even better, there is an ambiguous ending that’s structured as a Rorschach Test. In one, Jane survives. In another, she succumbs to ZIP poisoning. It’s up to fans to choose their preferred outcome.

1

Season 2

Jane consents to becoming a triple agent upon getting recaptured by Weller and his FBI team. Major revelations pop up, notably that Sandstorm’s leader, Shepherd, is Jane’s adoptive mother, and that she has a sibling named Roman (a major cog in the conspiracy wheel). The plan now is to make her infiltrate Sandstorm so that the bureau can take down the organization from the inside.

The Pieces are Coming Together

Tuck in Blindspot among shows that get better in Season 2. The second chapter is a technical and visual marvel, effectively melding great sound, dusk-hued light, crane shots, and mirror effects. Most importantly, it is excellently scripted. We see the relationship between Jane and Weller deepening, so there’s an important emotional anchor to all the action. The revelation that Shepherd is Jane’s adoptive mother also makes us look at the protagonist in a different way. Before, it was easy to trust her, but now, fans cannot help but wonder whether she can be compromised.

Beyond that, the narrative is more precise. Unlike the first season, which had many standalone tattoo cases, each artwork is now tied to the larger conspiracy story more closely. The feeling that an overarching mystery gives is more euphoric than that of the come-and-go storylines.