Blindspot’s Jaimie Alexander Kills It as TV’s New Resident Badass: Here’s Why

When Jaimie Alexander showed up to the Emmys wearing a gorgeous, never-before-seen Armani Prive gown, we knew her star power was seriously on the rise. After catching the series premiere of NBC’s Blindspot, our suspicions were confirmed: Jaimie Alexander as the naked, tattooed, and downright fierce Jane Doe is about to rock this television season (and beyond). She seriously impressed us during Blindspot‘s premiere—and not just because she could contort herself to fit into an overnight-size duffel bag. Here’s why Jane is already one of television’s most badass new characters.

She doesn’t take no for an answer. When Jane shows up, she’s in about as vulnerable a state as television could concoct: She’s unclothed, with her memory erased by an experimental PTSD drug, and at the complete mercy of the FBI. But we quickly see that she’s no damsel in distress. While the FBI is still trying to determine if she’s some sort of rogue terrorist during her first interrogation, she demands to speak to someone in charge. After discovering the meaning behind her first clue, she talks her way into an active FBI field operation. And as the special agents are about to close in on their first suspect, she refuses to be left in the car. Before we learn anything else about Jane, we know this: Her will and her mind are strong.

But she’s also got butt-kicking physical strength. The action-drama’s first fight scene? Jane taking on a nasty landlord who was beating up his wife—and his sidekick. Turns out, she’s got insane martial arts skills and can take on two knife-wielding opponents with ease (and some help from a broomstick). Fast-forward to the end of the episode, and she reveals she’s an excellent markswoman, foils a terrorist plot to blow-up the Statue of Liberty, and saves FBI special agent Kurt Weller (who’s leading her case). In short, she’s not someone to mess with.

Oh, and did we mention she’s a Navy SEAL? The first and only female Navy SEAL, to be exact. One of her brand-new tattoos is covering up old ink that indicates her special-ops past, which only adds to her badassery.

And her own dilemma comes second to her instinct to rescue people. Jane’s primary concerns in the series premiere were other people: She saved a young woman from being beaten, Weller from having his throat slit, and thousands of people from a homemade terrorist bomb. Her own crisis—the fact that she has no idea who she is or who did this to her—almost feels like it’s put on the back burner.

But she also might not be a victim. The entire episode, we’re led to believe that Jane’s plight came at the hands of some unknown person. But at the very end of the premiere, we get a flashback of Jane and a mystery-bearded man about to inject her with the PTSD drug. He warns her that it will completely erase her memory, but Jane responds with a firm: “It’s my only choice.” So the question isn’t who did this to Jane—it’s why did Jane do this to herself.

Jaimie Alexander isn’t the only woman killing it on TV this fall—here are 14 more leading ladies to watch this season. And for more on fall TV, be sure to check out all of our coverage here.