Blue Bloods had an amazing series finale, but it proved why this show should continue!
Caution: This article contains SPOILERS for the Blue Bloods series finale
The Blue Bloods series finale was a wild affair as a gang began a series of attacks in a plot for amnesty for their members. That included gunning down Mayor Chase, who, in his hospital bed, gave Frank the “keys to the city” to do whatever it took to quiet the chaos.
Eddie and Badillo were also attacked, Eddie wounded while Badillo was tragically killed. Jamie and Joe teamed up to hunt down the killer, and Eddie got the honor of cuffing the guy.
Frank had his hands full trying to stop the gang war, eventually getting an imprisoned leader (Edward James Olmos) to help quiet things down. Meanwhile, Danny and Baez discovered that foe Carlos had abducted his daughter after she called Eddie for help. They tracked him down, with Danny managing to arrest the guy rather than let him kill himself. The main plotline ends with Badillo’s funeral, attended by all the Reagans and half the NYPD, with Frank honoring the man’s sacrifice.
But the bigger turns were in the personal department. First, after a talk with Henry on how he brings his work home with him as “you have no one to bring it home to,” Danny realized it was time to open up. That meant asking Baez out on a dinner with her interested. Meanwhile, after talking about their renewed relationship, Erin and Jack decided to remarry in a low-key ceremony.
Fittingly, the final scene was a big family dinner with the long-absent Nicky and Jack attending. Erin was about to announce her engagement when Eddie entered with her old baby crib…which she wanted to use for her and Jamie as she was pregnant.
And so Blue Bloods ended with so much that means it should have continued.
Why Blue Bloods should continue
On the one hand, it’s a good wrapup for the series. We see Frank in command for a bit, we see the entire family finally together, Erin looks happy, Jamie and Eddie are about to be parents, and Danny is ready for a new romance with his longtime partner. It’s a good sendoff after 14 seasons.
The issue is that it also leaves fans wanting so much more. The obvious is the idea of Eddie as a mom, as she’ll no doubt stay on the streets as much as she can before she has to go on leave. She and Jamie have to face the realization that it’s dangerous being cops and parents, and that could add some drama to things. Eddie is also still feeling the loss of Badillo and the fun idea that she has a son, and she names him after her fallen partner.
Erin’s plotline is also interesting, with her and Jack trying again. The rest of the family will have feelings on that, given how they saw the pair split before and Jack thinking Frank doesn’t like him. It would also have been good to see Nicky react to her parents reuniting and even how this could affect Erin’s job as a D.A. marrying a defense attorney could lead to conflicts of interest.
There’s also Danny and Baez, as the pair have always had a great bond, and seeing it become a potential romance would have been great to see. There’s the risk of how it would affect their partnership and even if they could work together (although Frank might give them a bit of leeway there) yet, the actors’ chemistry has been terrific, and it’s long overdue for Danny to find a new romance.
It may be good for some fans to imagine how this goes on and for the show to end on a creative high rather than keep creaking along like too many other series do. It hints that the story of the Reagans is never truly over and will continue through generations. Yet given all these plot threads, so much in the air, to just leave fans hanging seems unfair. Blue Bloods has always been about the Reagan’s journey as a family as well as cops and promising some major developments and not following through on them is annoying.
Granted, it’s not by choice, as it was CBS that canceled the show when the producers definitely wanted to continue. The writers did craft a finale that paid tribute to the sacrifices of the NYPD and left everyone on a good note for the future. It just seems too bad fans won’t get to see more of that journey to make this a good finale yet frustrating to imagine what could have been.
Blue Bloods seasons 1-14 are streaming on Paramount+.