Blue Bloods gets better and better. The closer this series gets to the end, the more heartbreaking it is that it's leaving the airwaves.
Blue Bloods Season 14 Episode 9 featured an innocent man paying a steep price when Erin called out his lawyer's misconduct, Eddie dealing with a case that seemed to belong in an advice column, and Sean trying to handle the aftermath of a mugging on his own.
Even the Jamie/Joe story, which looked silly in the spoiler video, was must-see TV.
Danny's Story Was Exactly What I Expected
Almost all the predictions in the Blue Bloods Season 4 Episode 9 spoiler post about Sean and Danny were correct, but that's not because the writing was bad.
It was almost inevitable that Sean would feel he shouldn't have become a victim because he comes from a family of cops or wonder what Danny would have done.
If Linda were alive, she would have put Danny in his place. No college student wants their father to write an excuse note to their professor to get them out of an exam, and no professor would accept one.
Danny's overprotectiveness came from a good place. He hates seeing his son hurt and wants to do whatever he can to make it right.
That's why the crooked cop at Campus Security got away with robbing students for so long. Most students were too hyperindependent to want the NYPD involved, so it was easy for the campus cop to convince them not to file a report and leave it to him.
When Danny questioned him initially, he didn't give off many signs that he was guilty, though in retrospect, I should have known. The friendly neighborhood cop turns out to be the perp so often that it's a tired TV trope.
From the second Danny suggested his sting idea that involved Sean sitting in the squad room waiting, I knew the chances were precisely zero that Sean would follow directions.
Sure enough, Sean got cut, which earned him a lecture from his shaken-up father, but it also led to the cops cracking the case and Sean getting a date, so he probably didn't learn much.
Cop: You're not gonna believe the word of some felon over me. I'm a cop.
Danny:: You're also an idiot.
Sean got to be in on Danny arresting the crooked campus cop, too. The guy was every bit as much an idiot as Danny thought, falling back on the "you can't believe witnesses cause I'm a cop" defense, which Danny didn't buy.
Danny should have let Sean help him cuff the guy. That would have satisfied Sean as the case came to a close!
Danny and Sean's father-son relationship is one of the best parts of Blue Bloods, and it's been missing for a while. Danny may not always be the best father, but he tries his hardest and is desperate to protect Sean, who is equally desperate to prove himself.
I especially appreciated Danny telling Sean that his safety is more important than his possessions, which is also good advice for audience members. Not everyone knows not to fight back against a robber, so that message was essential to get out there.
Erin's Case Was Surprisingly Moving
Erin Reagan is my least favorite character most of the time. She's inherited Frank's rigid adherence to values, but it doesn't feel like a matter of integrity with her as much as it is that she judges others for not measuring up.
Her attitude and inability to admit when she's wrong aggravate me, so most of the time, I prefer her to have the smallest storyline of all the Reagans.
This time, her story was surprisingly nuanced and emotional. Erin went out of her way to get justice for a wrongly accused defendant, only for the person she was trying to help to get killed.
Anthony went from bemused that Erin would try to keep a guy out of jail who he thought deserved to be locked up for a long while to supportive of her goal and her after the man was killed.
Anthony was right that it wasn't Erin's fault. Looking the other way while Marcus' lawyer sacrificed his client's freedom wouldn't have been justice, and there's no guarantee that someone wouldn't have stabbed Marcus in jail.
Erin's work gave Marcus the best chance of a life with his daughter. It sucks that he died before he could get to enjoy it, but that's the way it is sometimes, and that certainly wasn't Erin's fault.
Eddie's Story Was the Weakest of the Hour
I love Eddie, but giving domestic advice isn't part of her job description. I felt like Kyle's dilemma belonged in Ask Amy, and it was silly that Eddie was telling him what to do about the affair he had.
I knew Paulina had framed Tina for the burglaries the second Eddie discovered the couple had a secret storage unit. If Kyle hadn't stashed the stolen goods, the only person who could have been Paulina.
Badillo was sure the landlady was lying about running errands all day and was jealous of Paulina and Kyle's relationship. He had it all wrong, but the most exciting thing about his opinion was that he knew who Gladys Kravitz was.
Eddie: How do we know the florist didn't mix her up with someone else?
Badillo: He's the neighborhood Gladys Kravitz.
I pegged him as too young to have watched Bewitched on Nick at Nite or TBS (the two places I found the show when I was a kid), so I didn't expect that reference from him.
When Badillo's pop culture knowledge is the most exciting part of a story, something has gone wrong.
Eddie was far more interesting when she asked Frank to reconsider making Joe and Jamie ride together. She wasn't concerned about Jamie handling himself in a rough neighborhood. She didn't trust Joe, and I couldn't blame her.
Joe and Jamie's bad blood stems partially from Joe ignoring Jamie's orders the last time they were on a mission together during Blue Bloods Season 14 Episode 2, which caused a dangerous situation.
Frank Again Came Up With a Solomon-Like Solution
The fistfight between Joe and Jamie was silly and unnecessary.
Jamie is generally level-headed. He must have drank more than it seemed at that bar because that's the only explanation for coming to blows with Joe over Joe using the name Hill instead of Reagan.
Sid and Abigail were right that in the end, it was two off-duty cops blowing off steam in a stupid manner, but Frank couldn't ignore it.
I am not talking to children. I am talking to men, or at least I hope so. You two are New York City cops. We break up street fights. We don't start them.
Frank
He shouldn't have had to tell Jamie and Joe that cops aren't supposed to be getting into street fights. Their behavior was childish and ridiculous, and Joe wasn't much better for most of the ride-along.
Joe's attitude was insufferable, as usual. It was disturbing that some cops would purposely scare off the perp so they wouldn't have to waste time arresting and booking the suspect when they had something else to do. If Jamie was never pressured to do it, that's a good thing.
Joe sneering at the Reagans for having integrity is getting old, and I thought he was done with that.
I hope he is now.
Frank's punishment made sense.
He knew Jamie would do his best to keep them safe, and he wanted these guys to decide to get along. I also agreed with him that the police department doesn't need to make headlines by Frank coming down hard on his son and grandson for acting like idiots while off-duty.
I had to wonder what Jamie's supervisor thought. Jamie just got promoted within the Field Intelligence Office and suddenly wasn't available because he had to ride a beat even though he hadn't been a beat cop in years.
As Frank said, the guys damaged their reputation. If Frank retires at the end of the series, it'll be harder for Jamie to replace him as commissioner with this black mark against him.
Your turn, Blue Bloods fanatics.
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Blue Bloods airs on CBS on Fridays at 10/9c. New episodes drop on Paramount+ the day after they air.