One of NBC’s most innovative and exciting conspiracy thriller procedurals, Blindspot, has officially arrived on Netflix and has since been trending in the Top 10.
It’s no surprise, as the series is positively thrilling, filled with action, and features an engaging mystery that keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout.
One of the first mysteries of the series surrounded Taylor Shaw. So, who is she? What’s her connection to Kurt Weller? And how does Jane Doe factor in?
We’re breaking it down.
**Brace yourselves for spoilers up to the Blindspot Season 1 finale.
Taylor Shaw Was Kurt Weller’s Childhood Best Friend
From the Blindspot series premiere, a mystery surrounded Jane Doe and why this mysterious, hot, tattooed woman in Times Square specifically had a tattoo that mentioned Kurt Weller at the FBI.
I’ve heard of “tramp stamps,” but this? Something else entirely!
Anyway, this set up the prospect of the two being interconnected in a way beyond normal, and it led to Weller having a personal investment in this case and Jane Doe’s identity.
His connection with Jane was instantaneous, or as much as you can tell given the fact that Weller notoriously was emotionally constipated and had the expressive range of Grumpy Cat.
The series quickly introduced the name “Taylor Shaw” and revealed that she was Weller’s childhood best friend — a precocious tomboy with pink flowered rain boots whom young Weller absolutely adored.
Taylor Shaw was Weller’s next-door neighbor and best friend when they were five years old, which is when she disappeared without a trace.
It was common for Taylor to spend a lot of time at the Weller’s house, and she’d also accompany them on camping trips to Fort Boone on the Pennsylvania border. Obviously, this is crucial information for a reason, so take note!
Taylor’s Disappearance Explained
In many ways, Kurt Weller’s inspiration for entering the field of law enforcement stems from his experience with Taylor Shaw.
He turned his trauma into a calling, and that’s how he essentially became one of the most badass agents in the FBI, until Jane, who outmatched him in badassery, but I digress.
One Sunday evening, he and Taylor were playing together while Kurt’s father, Bill, threw a dinner party. It wasn’t uncommon for Taylor to spend nights at the Weller home, so it wasn’t out of the norm that she’d have a sleepover with the Weller kids.
Hours after they had gone to bed, young Kurt woke up and went looking for Taylor, but she was nowhere to be found. However, Kurt does notice his father coming in late at night with muddy shoes that he hoses off.
Nothing good ever comes from late-night traipsing through muddy areas, am I right?
Daddy Weller Connects to Taylor Shaw
It raises alarms for young Weller, and they continue blaring when the entire community starts searching for Taylor, but they don’t get very far or discover anything of significance.
Bill Weller becomes the primary suspect, but because he had an alibi that evening, allegedly driving three hours away to retrieve alcohol for the party (Did you guys know you can’t buy booze in some states on Sundays? It’s awful), the police were never able to charge him with anything.
However, it doesn’t stop the entire community from believing he was responsible for decades. The court of public opinion is sometimes harsher than the justice system!
And the entire Weller family lived in the shadow of Taylor’s disappearance thanks to Daddy Weller.
Is Jane Doe Taylor Shaw?
The short answer is no.
Blindspot Season 1 unfolds several mysteries simultaneously, including whether Jane is actually Kurt’s long-lost friend, Taylor.
One of the key moments that prompts a typically guarded, analytical Weller to believe that Jane Doe is Taylor Shaw is that Jane has a similar scar on the back of her neck.
Weller recalls the moment when Taylor slipped while they were playing and fell, sustaining an injury that still makes him feel guilty. Weller’s recollection of his five-year-old self does some serious heavy lifting in this series, as you’ll see.
After making the association, Weller has Patterson run Jane’s DNA, and it confirms that she is Taylor Shaw.
However, a few days later, Jane loses a tooth in a fight on a case during Blindspot Season 1 Episode 4, and Patterson runs an isotopic test on it, which reveals that Jane Doe was born in Africa, not Pennsylvania, meaning that she cannot be Taylor Shaw.
It also means that the original DNA test was a fluke! But it results in another web of secrets and lies because who faked Jane’s DNA and the scar and pointed her in the direction of Weller?
Why was this all part of some elaborate plan to get to Weller? Oh, in true Blindspot fashion, it gets much deeper and messier.
We learn in the Blindspot Season 1 Finale that Oscar, who appears in Blindspot Season 1 Episode 6, reveals that he works with someone named Shepherd. They are behind erasing her memory and implanting and manipulating memories that led her to believe she was Taylor Shaw.
It subsequently puts her in a precarious situation as she commits to a charade that ultimately betrays Weller.
What Happened to the Real Taylor Shaw?
By Blindspot Season 1’s finale, we learn that Jane is not Taylor Shaw. We also figure out what happened to the real Taylor Shaw.
Kurt’s father, Bill, confesses on his deathbed to killing Taylor Shaw. He claims it was an accident, and he tells Kurt where to find the body.
Bill buried the real Taylor Shaw at Fort Boone, the campground that was her favorite place in the world.
Weller digs up Taylor Shaw’s body and finally has closure on what happened to his childhood friend.
She did, in fact, die that evening, and Jane Doe is not Taylor Shaw.
If you haven’t figured it out already, Blindspot loves to traumatize the hell out of Kurt Weller, all while he delivers one facial expression in response to every bit of news he gets.
The series also enjoys disrupting the dynamic between Kurt and Jane, and that includes undermining the idea of them having a cutesy “Friends to Lovers” meets “Boy/Girl Next Door” love story amid all the conspiracy and angst.
But that’s a conversation for another day.
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