The 100th episode of a TV show is always big, but when it’s also the series finale, you also want to make it as memorable as possible and end on a high note. On NBC’s Blindspot, the team – comprised of Jane Doe (Jaimie Alexander), Kurt Weller (Sullivan Stapleton), Tasha Zapata (Audrey Esparza), Patterson (Ashley Johnson) and Rich DotCom (Ennis Esmer) – finally ended their battle with the evil Madeline Burke (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio), thereby clearing their names, but their final mission still isn’t entirely complete and they’ll have to work together to save the population of New York City, yet again.

During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, showrunner Martin Gero talked about bringing Blindspot to an end, honoring both the 100th episode and the final episode in one, doing a deep dive back into the series in order to return to everything that they wanted to circle back to, when they gave the final episode to the cast, how they react at the table read, and what the last day on set was like. He also talked about the recent eight-episode straight-to-series order he got from NBC, to do a coronavirus era comedy, and why Connecting will be cathartic for everybody that watches.

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Photo by: Scott McDermott/NBC/Warner Brothers

Collider: Not only did you have to do a 100th episode, but it was also your series finale. Honoring both of those things at once, when did you know what you wanted that to look like and how to weave those two things together?

MARTIN GERO: I think it’s actually a relief, to be honest. Having to do a 100th episode and a final episode this season would have been a nightmare to try to figure out how to do a massive giant episode, in the middle or towards the end. So, it takes the pressure off of the 100th, with the fact that you can just do it as the series finale.

With this last episode, you essentially revisit everything that’s come before in this series. Before this episode, did you have to go back over any of the previous episodes, or had you kept some kind of chart or list of everything that you wanted to bring back into the show, for this last episode?

GERO: I definitely did a deep dive, back into the pilot, and as a room, we did a re-watch of the seasons, just to make sure that we were putting back all of the things that we needed to put back. We wanted this whole season to be a fond celebration for the fans, knowing that we were turning the lights off, one room at a time. So, you can’t help but look back, as you bring something to an end.

When did you give the final script to the cast, and what sort of reactions did you get from them, as far as how they felt about where everything ended up?

GERO: I think they felt really great. We gave it to them halfway through the season because that’s when we started shooting it. Around Episode 6, we sent out the script with an explainer about, “Here’s what’s gonna happen in the episodes you haven’t read. And then, this is the finale.” It was a weird way to do a table read for the finale, in the middle of the season, but it allowed everyone to keep the context for everything in their mind. I think people were really thrilled with how it turned out. It felt like a really original way to do a finale that feels super satisfying and really emotional, at the end. People got choked up at that table read.

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Photo by: Barbara Nitke/NBC/Warner Brothers

What was the last day on set, and what was the actual last scene that was shot?

GERO: The last scene that was shot was the dinner, at the very end of the episode. That was great because there were so many familiar faces around, on the last day. It was very surreal. It was weirdly a big day, so we had to get a lot of stuff done. We were cleaning up the end of Jane’s big final fight, and then shot the dinner. And then, we had the one shot of the very opening of the show, with the water falling on Jane. It was a big day, but it felt very celebratory. It was really nice. A lot of people came to set that we hadn’t seen in awhile. It very much felt like high school graduation.

It was recently announced that NBC gave you an eight-episode straight-to-series order for a show about the coronavirus era, called Connecting, and it’s also being described as a comedy. How on earth are you finding comedy in what we’re currently experiencing? Is it cathartic to do something like that?

GERO: Yeah, that’s mostly what it is. It’s a cathartic TV show. For me, when we all went into shelter in place, a crazy thing happened, which was that I just started talking to my friends a lot more, for a lot longer and in a much more deeply profound and deeply hilarious way. Where there is tension, there is comedy, and there’s a lot of tension right now. When you read about the show, you’re like, “Why the fuck would I watch that? That’s crazy!” But when people read the script, they’re really excited because of a couple of things. One, it is really funny. It feels very reflective of this moment, in a Norman Lear-ish way. We’re able to talk about this very unique moment in time, in a way that helps us all process it. And also, at the same time, it feels like comfort food. Blindspot, essentially, was a comedy, for the last couple of years, and I think we found a way to have jokes in serious situations. I hope you give it a chance. It starts about two weeks into the pandemic and goes from there, so it’s a little behind where we are, but it’ll slowly catch up, in real time. We’re working with some of the most incredible writers that I’ve ever had the opportunity to be in a room with, and I think it will feel really unique and really funny. Also, don’t you feel like when you watch TV now, everything is feels like sci-fi, or you’re watching it with the same nostalgia for the ‘80s that you’re giving to January. Nothing feels like it’s speaking to this moment. It’s an opportunity to speak to this moment and to have everyone feel reflected on television, in a way that, like you said, could be really cathartic for everybody that watches.

Check back after the episode airs for my spoiler chat with Garo. The series finale of Blindspot airs on NBC on Thursday, July 23, 2020.

Christina Radish is a Senior Reporter of Film, TV, and Theme Parks for Collider. You can follow her on Twitter @ChristinaRadish

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Photo by: Scott McDermott/NBC/Warner Brothers