Who is Shepherd in Blindspot? Everything to know about the character from the NBC crime drama

Shepherd, born Ellen Briggs, is a brilliant but disillusioned young woman in Blindspot. Her family was once destroyed by a toxic chemical pill under the negligence of the government, causing them all to die of cancer, while Ellen lost her fertility. Traumatized by the incident, she channeled her energy to reach a position of authority and gain access to some classified information and formed a terrorist organization, Sandstorm.

She trained two loyal operatives and orchestrated years of covert attacks, believing her work was a contribution towards "saving" America from itself. The NBC crime drama Blindspot positions Shepherd as a complex, brilliant and utterly dangerous figure, while the strong background story adds emotional layers to her character.

Who is Shepherd in Blindspot?

Shepherd's original name is Ellen, and she is a former Major General in the US Army who then leads a terrorist organization, Sandstorm. After losing her whole family to a terminal disease, she is fueled with the belief that “America needs to be saved from itself.” She possesses the philosophy that America needs to dismantle itself and rebuild.

When she is on her mission, she discovers an Apartheid-era academy in South Africa where children were being trained as soldiers. She felt furious and ended up freeing them while adopting two of the siblings. Alice and Ian Kruger later became Remi and Roman, the two loyal operatives in her organization.

She connected with more people who have suffered government negligence. Together, they planned out several covert plans to destabilize the US government infrastructure.

Shepherd's manipulation escalates during the final stages of their mission, with her amassing weapons and chemical agents globally and trying to turn Jane's loyalty again towards Sandstorm. Jane, aka Remi, was found naked in Times Square, covered with some absurd tattoos that were actually the clue to a conspiracy.

Jane's memory was erased, and she was sent to infiltrate the FBI as per Shepherd's order, but soon she gained her own morality and saw beyond the influence. Remi finds her voice, which rewires her to be loyal to the FBI and not turn to Sandstorm again.

This is how Shepherd's arc finally ends in Blindspot

Blindspot then introduces a US government-backed Project Daylight, and Shepherd is now aiming to take down people who are involved in it. This is how she wants to overthrow and reset the government.

Three months later, Jane returns to Sandstorm after being covert and clueless in the FBI. Shepherd tells Jane her true identity and the connection between Roman and her. However, she can notice a change in Jane's mindset. Concerned about Jane’s allegiance, Shepherd ordered Roman to stay away from Jane to prevent him from being influenced.

Roman and Shepherd also show Jane a memorial of Orion. By the end of the show, Jane exposes Shepherd in front of the FBI, and in return, Shepherd stages a fake Manhattan attack. Shepherd ties up Jane and leaves her to watch the FBI collapse the Sandstorm headquarters.

Shepherd escapes her looming end, but her organization is exposed and dismantled by the US government.

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Blindspot wrapped up in 2020 after 5 fabulous seasons and around a hundred episodes.

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