8 Years Later, Blue Bloods Fans Are Still Furious Over This Major Character Death (& a Dark Theory Claims She Was Murdered)

Despite falling viewership in its final seasons, Blue Bloods remained a standout on network TV. The show’s focus on the Reagan family helped to set it apart from other police procedurals, as the familial element became its most prominent feature. Every dinner table scene, heated conversation between relatives, and celebrated promotion made for more drama that helped to distinguish the series. The show remains entirely unique, though CBS is hoping to replace it with the Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg)-led spin-off Boston Blue, which is already filming and is set to premiere in Fall 2025.

If Blue Bloods was loved because of the familial concept, it also suffered the most from losing core members of its cast. After all, most other procedurals can see stars leave for other projects without too much explanation. They can excuse officers transferring to other cities, retiring, or simply finding another profession. In this show, however, every major cast member happens to be a member of the Reagan family. Even if they leave the police department, they should still appear for family dinner. An actor’s exit is simply more difficult to excuse, which meant that the show occasionally needed to permanently kill off major cast members. One of those deaths proved to leave a lasting stain on the show, and one fan theory only made it darker.

Linda Reagan’s Death Remains Controversial

Losing Linda Changed Everything

Linda Reagan (Amy Carlson) was a major part of the show from seasons 1 through 7. As Danny’s wife, she was a crucial part of the Reagan family, even if she was not involved with the NYPD. Originally a stay-at-home mom, she quickly found a place as a nurse, given her intense love for helping others. She even managed to support other members of the Reagan family by offering medical advice and support, going so far as to save Henry from a heart attack. It is difficult to deny just how important Linda was to the show, which is what made her exit so painful.

While Linda appeared to be perfectly fine in Blue Bloods season 7, she did not appear in season 8. She died in an apparent helicopter crash between seasons, which left a devastated Danny to deal with the aftermath of her sudden and unexpected death. The decision to kill Linda remains extremely controversial, given that audiences had no opportunity to adapt to the idea of her death. Between seasons, she simply died, and there was a significant time jump before viewers could see Danny’s reaction. It made her death feel contrived, because there was never an opportunity for the closure of seeing her go. She was simply there, and then she wasn’t, which naturally made viewers reticent about her death.

Why Linda Left Blue Bloods

Amy Carlson Was Forced To Leave

Linda died because of a devastating plane crash, but the show never planned to have her die such a brutal death. After all, if her death was the plan, then it would have been shown on-screen. Instead, Amy Carlson left Blue Bloods for more practical reasons, and it was never actually her decision. Between seasons, her contract expired, and she simply was not invited back to continue the show. Carlson firmly disagreed with her character’s fate, having wanted to see her death on-screen instead of as a vague off-screen fate that audiences would never have the opportunity to witness. In fact, when speaking with Deadline after the season 8 premiere, Carlson bluntly expressed that she “was not invited” back and shared her displeasure:

I could’ve shown the death. I guess it would’ve been nice for the fans to see her demise, to be a participant in it, and that was my vote for the fans. I’m not sure how I would’ve chosen it, but I just know that for the fans to have a way to grieve, to move through it, I think it would’ve been nice for them. That’s just what I hear from them all the time, ‘we really want you to come back’, and I’m like, that’s impossible. But they also say ‘we wish we could’ve mourned the character’.

Having been forced to depart the series, Carlson never had the opportunity to provide closure to viewers, which was never her plan. She expressed that she did not know that she would not be invited back after the season 7 finale, but that it is a normal part of life in Hollywood. Unfortunately, she simply never had a say in her character’s fate, her exit from the show, or the way that Linda’s death was handled. That contributed to the controversy, as viewers quickly realized that the cast was just as blindsided as they were by the decision. It would be disappointing if Carlson left the show of her own accord, but the decision to dismiss her meant that her death could have been handled much more smoothly. As Carlson explained, it would have allowed audiences to “mourn” Linda just as strongly as Danny did. Without that closure, it simply gave way to a series of dark theories about her death.

A Dark Blue Bloods Fan Theory Redefined Linda’s Death

It Could Have Been a Murder

As soon as Linda died in such a bizarre and unpredictable way, viewers quickly began speculating about the underlying cause of her death. After all, Blue Bloods is filled with criminal activity, so it only made sense that someone could have gone out of their way to hurt Danny by killing his wife. It made sense, given that Danny was targeting the cartel during the season 7 finale. With powerful enemies looking to strike back against his family, it would only be natural that they would choose to attack the easy target: Linda. Danny dismissed the idea initially, but the show would later go on to confirm speculation about her death.

After Carlson left the show, season 9 revealed that the cartel actually did kill her character. Luis “The Panther” Delgado (Lou Diamond Phillips) confessed that the cartel targeted Linda’s helicopter. He quickly admitted to his involvement, and Danny would later discover that fellow cartel member Jose Rojas (Danny Trejo) was the one who killed her. Danny would eventually capture Rojas, though he was tempted to kill him outright. It was a moment that proved speculative viewers right, but it was also a sign of Danny’s growth and contributed to his eventual acceptance of her death. However, it also meant that Linda’s exit was even more tragic than it initially seemed, as Danny was the cause of his own wife’s demise.

It has been eight years since Linda’s death, and Danny has found closure in the aftermath. Viewers, however, have never had the chance. The dark theory about Linda’s murder proved to be correct, but even that was not enough to truly make the loss acceptable. She deserved to have her death appear on-screen, instead of being nothing more than a depiction of the aftermath. Any viewer that is still angry about Linda’s death is rightfully upset, because even Carlson wanted more from the loss. While Blue Bloods was a fan-favorite show, it failed its audience by assuming that Linda’s death did not need to appear on-screen. She deserved better, and so did the viewers.