#ellen briggs

Start with their names. Renaming children you adopt is a red flag in itself, essentially stripping them of one of the only gifts their original parents were able to give them. But renaming children as old as Roman and Remi were, who lost their parents due to violence the way they did, is downright cruel. It's an excision of their life with their parents, and the start of her molding them into what she wanted. Shepherd adopted them for herself, not for them. She raised them from childhood to be soldiers, not loving or happy people. And the names she chose for her "family" are also very telling.

First, her own name. Shepherd. Someone who guides the herd. Then Roman and Remi...it's giving Romulus and Remus, the twins who founded Rome. They were the children of Mars, god of War. They were abandoned at birth and adopted by...a shepherd. At one point in their story, Remus is captured by the enemy and rescued by Romulus. But ultimately they fought over where to establish their great city, and Romulus murdered Remus and became the sole founder of what would eventually become the Roman Empire.

Not only was Shepherd setting up her "children" to be her generals in the war she wanted to start, I believe losing Remi was not just a possibility but part of her plan. Roman is volatile but malleable, a follower for both Remi and Shepherd. But the Remi we see in flashbacks was a natural leader in ways that would be threatening to someone as manipulative and controlling as Shepherd, who claims to want an end to corruption and tyranny...but does she?

In the flashback with a young Kurt, I'd argue she lets her true desires slip. What she truly seeks is power. She doesn't want to take boots off necks, she just wants to be the one wearing the boots. And she doesn't want to be the face of power, but she does want to be the one pulling the strings. If her plant succeeds, she'll be the face of a revolution and can "cede" power to her handpicked leaders...but she'll still have the firepower and leverage.

But Remi is a staunch idealist and true believer in the cause who still does care deeply about other people. She was always going to see Shepherd for what she is eventually. Hell, maybe she did, and we just don't have that piece of the puzzle yet in season 2.

The point is that Sandstorm could have gotten those clues to Weller and his team in other ways, arguably ways that would be less messy and full of unexpected problems and variables. Erasing Remi's memory mainly serves one key purpose: it eliminates a threat to Shepherd's power. Either Remi becomes someone vulnerable who can be more easily manipulated, or she dies in the course of the mission.

Elnor: *willingly gets slapped around a bunch*

Raffi: Distraction over! Elnor they're yours!

Elnor: *ninja murders a ton of people with ultimate hand to hand combat moves, ends by viciously yet casually slashing some guy's throat*

Raffi: *vaguely disgusted, wrinkle-nosed 'did you have to?' glare*

Elnor: What? I was told to improvise.

~~~~~

Shepherd: *Exists*

Shepherd: *Raises Roman and Remi*

Shepherd: Hello Kurt. Marriage advice? Couldn't be my Remi? Ohhhh...Jane then.

Shepherd: *continues to exist as herself*

BLINDSPOT REWATCH 2021 ~ S02E10 ~

Random fact about me: when I was nine, I had an eardrum rupture due to otitis. I don’t remember much about that (it’s been almost twenty years since then) but I do remember how bad I felt. I remember the pus, I remember feeling dizzy and nauseous but above all, I remember the pain.

What I find a little strange is that we know that Nas called Shepherd’s organisation Sandstorm, for ease of reference... but did Shepherd come up with her own name for the group?

Maybe she thought that if they didn’t have a name, they’d be less likely to be caught.

So I may be late to the party here, but didn’t the writers say in the season two DVD extras that Roman and Remi were named that way for Romulus and Remus, from the old myth?

Here’s the Wikipedia text:

Romulus and Remus were born in Alba Longa, one of the ancient Latin cities near the future site of Rome. Their mother, Rhea Silvia was a vestal virgin and the daughter of the former king, Numitor, who had been displaced by his brother Amulius. In some sources, Rhea Silvia conceived them when their father, the god Mars visited her in a sacred grove dedicated to him.[2] Through their mother, the twins were descended from Greek and Latin nobility.

Seeing them as a possible threat to his rule, King Amulius ordered them to be killed and they were abandoned on the bank of the river Tiber to die. They were saved by the god Tiberinus, Father of the River, and survived with the care of others, at the site of what would eventually become Rome. In the most well-known episode, the twins were suckled by a she-wolf, in a cave now known as the Lupercal.[3] Eventually, they were adopted by Faustulus, a shepherd. They grew up tending flocks, unaware of their true identities. Over time, they became natural leaders and attracted a company of supporters from the community.

When they were young adults, they became involved in a dispute between supporters of Numitor and Amulius. As a result, Remus was taken prisoner and brought to Alba Longa. Both his grandfather and the king suspected his true identity. Romulus, meanwhile, had organized an effort to free his brother and set out with help for the city. During this time they learned of their past and joined forces with their grandfather to restore him to the throne. Amulius was killed and Numitor was reinstated as king of Alba. The twins set out to build a city of their own.

After arriving back in the area of the seven hills, they disagreed about the hill upon which to build. Romulus preferred the Palatine Hill, above the Lupercal; Remus preferred the Aventine Hill. When they could not resolve the dispute, they agreed to seek the gods' approval through a contest of augury. Remus first saw 6 auspicious birds but soon afterward, Romulus saw 12, and claimed to have won divine approval. The new dispute furthered the contention between them. In the aftermath, Remus was killed either by Romulus or by one of his supporters.[4] Romulus then went on to found the city of Rome, its institutions, government, military and religious traditions. He reigned for many years as its first king.

So what are the Blindspot parallels?

They were suckled by a she-wolf, who the writers paralleled with Shepherd in the season 2 featurette. If you look at the Wiki entry for Faustulus, the shepherd who raised Romulus and Remus, it looks like the writers smushed together Faustulus and his wife, since it says: “In Roman mythology, Faustulus was the shepherd who found the infants Romulus and Remus, who were being suckled by a she-wolf, known as Lupa, on the Palatine Hill.  He, with his wife, Acca Larentia, raised the children.[1][2] In some versions of the myth, Larentia was a prostitute (in Latin a lupa, 'she-wolf').” Not that I’m saying Shepherd in the show was a prostitute, but since the wolf was known as Lupa...

Romulus and Remus disagreed about which hill to build on and Remus chose Aventine Hill. Avery is the name of Remi’s daughter in season three. I’m sure that’s no accident!

The bird tattoo on Jane’s neck must refer to the ‘contest of augury’ referred to in the Wiki article. Augury is the practice of interpreting omens from the perceived flight of birds. Omens predicting the future and tattoo clues predicting future crimes... Hmmm...

Interesting that in the original myth, Remus is killed by Romulus. It’s a shame Roman wasn’t the one to give the ZIP to Remi, ‘killing’ her and birthing Jane in her place. That would have been a cool parallel.

Nas + Shepherd = Kabriggs