Blindspot Finale: [Spoiler] Is "Definitely Dead"

[Warning: This article contains spoilers about the Season 1 finale of Blindspot. Read at your own risk!]

Blindspot's Season 1 finale cleared up a few mysteries, but still left fans with plenty to ponder until the show returns in the fall, starting with: Who is Shepherd?

The mysterious figure, seen only in shadows in Jane's (Jaimie Alexander) flashbacks, is apparently the mastermind behind Jane and Oscar's (Francois Arnaud) entire memory-erasing plan, even though this is the first we've heard mention of him/her. What we do know is that Oscar is so terrified of Shepherd that he tries to re-erase Jane's memories since their plan has gotten so far off-course, what with her actually starting to like the people at the FBI and all. And elsewhere in the hour, we learn that Weller's dad actually was telling the truth on his deathbed - he did kill Taylor Shaw all those years ago and buried her body. After finding Taylor's skeleton, Weller (Sullivan Stapleton) realizes Jane has been lying to the FBI all along, and arrests her.

So, in some ways, we're back at the beginning. Who is Jane Doe? TVGuide.com chatted with Blindspot creator Martin Gero to find out where the show's heading in Season 2, and to find out if there's any way Oscar could have survived that inferno.

Fall TV Preview: Here's all the new shows heading your way

TVGuide.com: Before the show even premiered, you said you had Season 1 mapped out in its entirety. Did you end up changing anything?
Martin Gero: We were able to follow that plan pretty closely. Obviously you call some audibles as you move through the year. You get a sense of what your show does [well] and what your show does better. For us, the final moment of the finale was something I pitched along with the show. It was part of the initial pitch, so it was pretty exciting to be able to actually see that through. ... Those last three episodes followed the plays pretty quickly, because we'd spent so much of the year talking about them and getting ready for them and laying the groundwork.

It seems like no one is ever really dead on TV anymore. Did Oscar definitely die in that fire?
Gero: Yeah, he's definitely dead. We have a rule, for now at least - maybe we'll break it in Season 4 - but I think if you see someone die on camera, it's safe to say they're probably dead. ... With Sofia, you never saw her die, so it felt like it wasn't a cheat to bring her back.

Now that Weller's father is dead, will we ever know the details behind Taylor Shaw's kidnapping and murder?
Gero: We're trying to figure out where to draw the line about how much to give away. It's pretty grisly, as you can imagine. You can imagine why he killed her, and it's not good. ... It's not something we're leaning into real heavy, that's for sure.

We still don't know the details of Orion, or who Shepherd is. How quickly will we get answers to those questions?
Gero: You're going to find out who Shepherd is and what Orion is in the first episode of Season 2. ... Shepherd is vastly important in Season 2.

NBC moves Blindspot to Wednesdays, and other upfronts news

Is Shepherd someone we already know?
Gero: No, it's not.

Is it possible that Weller's connected to this whole thing on a different level than we've seen?
Gero: I think that's probably a safe bet.

Oscar says that Phase 1 of their plan was to get Mayfair out of the FBI, but Phase 2 sounds like complete anarchy. How is that going to play out?
Gero: This group that Jane belonged to has a pretty big and serious plan, and that'll be the crux of Season 2, trying to stop them.

In your mind, is Jane still a sympathetic figure? She made some aggravating decisions in the episodes leading up to the finale.
Gero: Well, I never want to aggravate viewers. But, no, I think she was trying to find her footing, and I think the connection she felt with Oscar is pretty extreme. For someone that has no memories, somebody that actually has a connection to her past of course is going to be a real intoxicating thing. So, I think she let it get away from herself a little bit. But now, after the events of [the finale], I think she sees them for what they are, which is a terrible, terrible, brutal organization. And that's just not who Jane is anymore.

The finale ends with Weller handcuffing Jane. Presumably their relationship is on hold again, but what can you say about Weller's emotional state?
Gero: He's pretty angry. (Laughs) He's got a lot of anger. Obviously some of that is directly squared at Jane, but also a lot of that is certainly projected from his father and stuff like that. So, he doesn't quite know where to put that anger or what to do with it. And I don't want to give away too much from Season 2, but I think we've designed a way for him to not have to let go of all of that anger in the first episode. His relationship with Jane - they have an indelible bond, but I think it's definitely going to be challenged in the first few episodes.

Fall TV Scorecard: What's renewed? What's canceled?

How much of Season 2 do you have mapped out?
Gero: We [returned to the writers room] in April. ... The first week, we spent just talking about Season 3, to be honest. ... Essentially we work backwards, so we figure out, what's the finale in Season 2 and then we move backwards from there.

Will we see a different version of Jane in Season 2?
Gero: Yes. The great thing now is that it's all on the table. Everybody knows everything now. And so, this kind of subterfuge that was happening between our leads is just not sustainable anymore. So, whether they like it or not, they're going to have to start to work together as a team.

Is any information going to come to light that will make Jane regret killing Oscar?
Gero: I don't want to give away too much for Season 2, but I think in the moment it was the right decision to make. She didn't want to kill Oscar. She wanted to bring him in, but the fight got a little out of hand.

The fight between them looked pretty physically demanding.
Gero: We really put them through the wringer by the end of it. Just burning that barn, that's the hottest I've ever been. I was 150 feet away from it when it went up, and it was like melting my face off. So for Jaimie to be inside of it, and then running around it and doing that whole scene, [she] and her stunt double Heidi, it was really some amazing stuff to watch.

What else should fans be thinking about while the show's on hiatus?
Gero: Cade is still out there. That'll be dealt with very early in the season. This Shepherd character is vastly important to the series in Season 2. ... There's a secret message locked away in the show, with the titles, and if you follow us on Twitter, we'll be doing kind of a summer of puzzles. I don't know if you've noticed on the show, we love puzzles. (Laughs) There'll be some great early access stuff and some really fun things to tide you over, over the summer and get your Blindspot fix.

What did you think of Blindspot's Season 1 finale?