Who is Jane Doe?

If you're a fan of procedurals, then the mystery-infused drama Blindspot is definitely worth a look. The series starts by presenting the viewer with its first major conundrum: who is the woman that was found in the nude inside a travel bag in New York City's Times Square? The show features Jamie Alexander as the mystery's main character, and much of the series is dedicated to finding precisely who she is. Fortunately, the show does have police procedural elements, and the woman who goes by Jane Doe throughout most of the early series has many of the tools she needs to help solve crimes.

While Jane is an amnesiac, this doesn't mean that she isn't ready to help the NYPD; she clearly has fight training on par with Special Forces, and she also has a skill set that might be valuable for someone working in espionage. Jane works with Sullivan Stapleton's Kurt Weller, who seems to have a history with the amnesiac and serves as the head of an FBI agency called the Critical Incident Response Group. Like other two-person crime dramas, Blindspot almost entirely revolves around the relationship between these two protagonists. Similarly to shows such as The X Files, there's more than a little spark between these two characters.

When she is discovered, Jane is covered with tattoos that all seem to provide clues about various crimes, and it's this major plot point that makes Blindspot so unique when compared to other crime dramas. It's also clear that these tattoos are recent and that the amnesia suffered by Jane was drug-induced, so discovering the origin of these two things provides much of the story impetus of the series.

Also, Jane isn't completely without memory; Blindspot is quick to point out that there are some shreds of a past life in the head of Jane, and solving crimes with the NYPD seems to help stir these recollections. Unlike many of the procedurals currently on the air, many of the cases solved and worked on during the entire run of Blindspot are on the federal level, so there's a somewhat bigger scale to the storylines.

The standout feature of Blindspot is its sometimes frenetic action; the star of the show, Jamie Alexander, does many of her own stunts, and she has even had more than a few injuries during filming; in fact, she's even broken bones. For every episode, Jamie, who is also known for her role as Sif in the Thor movies, has to don the character's tattoos, which cover her entire body. In fact, it usually takes more than four hours to apply all of the tattoos to her body during every Blindspot shoot, so you have to appreciate her professionalism.

Also, she had to undergo Navy SEAL training for the role, and she also trained with DEA agents so that she could realistically use guns in the role. As a result of her training, the frantic action is portrayed perfectly in the series, and as a result, it's very easy to be entertained by Blindspot.

The Cast of Characters

While many of the plots center around the two main characters, Blindspot does have its share of strong supporting personalities. Each of the characters has believable flaws and quirks, and each adds a lot to the overarching story. Here are a few to consider:

• Jamie Alexander as Jane Doe: Throughout the series, Jane's story changes from mystery character to lover, and at a point, she even serves as something of an antagonist. Throughout the series, the characters try to help her regain her memories, and despite her lack of a past, she forges some strong relationships in the present.
• Sullivan Stapleton as Kurt Weller: As the leader of his own FBI unit, Kurt is brought into the mystery of Jane Doe because of the fact that his name appears on her body as a tattoo. There's something about Jane that reminds him of his past, and as the series progresses, he starts to get answers as to why he feels this way.
• Audrey Esparza as Natasha Zapata: Natasha secretly has a gambling addiction, but she's also a very competent FBI agent that serves under Kurt. She has an extensive history in law enforcement, and she excels when performing deep cover assignments. She also has feelings for Edgar Reade.
• Rob Brown as Edgar Reade: When it comes to Jane, it's safe to say that Edgar Reade has a safe amount of skepticism. He's never been comfortable with the concept of following Jane's tattoos in order to solve crimes, and he doesn't keep this fact hidden. He works under Weller on the FBI as a special agent, and eventually, he is rewarded with a promotion.
• Michelle Hurd Ellen "Shepherd" Brigs: Shepherd serves as the series antagonist, and she's proven to be a very manipulative villain for the show. She has a close relationship with Jane that's revealed over the course of the first three seasons. Shepherd is a major general with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.

Blindspot was developed for television in 2015, and it was during this time, Jamie Alexander was known for her Marvel Cinematic Universe role. The series was created by Martin Gero, and the show will have a total of five seasons before it ends in 2020. This show stands out a bit because of the fact that it was one of the rare recipients of "a back nine order," which means that it was popular enough in its initial season one run for NBC to want to order additional episodes before season two.

Mystery is at the core of Blindspot, so if you love a good "whodunit," then this is an excellent series for you to get to know. The actors all are convincing, and the action is amazingly performed and paced. Additionally, as the series goes on, the characters definitely evolve, which is sadly not something that happens in every series in the crime drama genre.