What’s interesting is how Danny Reagan is used within the plot. Naturally, he feels responsible for everything — until Henry Reagan tells him to “think like a father.” This is hitting Blue Bloods‘ underlying theme of family right on the nose. It’s Danny’s appeal to Ramirez as a father that gets him first to let Amelia go, and then to surrender peacefully instead of attempting suicide. Is this a little convenient? Yes. Does it encapsulate just what this show has been about for so many years? Absolutely. In the end, it’s Danny’s perspective as a devoted family man that closes one of the series’ most high-profile cases.
The theme of family also carries over into Frank Reagan’s scenes, as the latest A-list actor Tom Selleck gets to play against is Battlestar Galactica‘s Edward James Olmos. Olmos portrays the father of the man who shot Mayor Chase, and there is another great back-and-forth between these two wily veterans (as still strange as it is to see Olmos portraying a bad guy). Had the show continued into Season 15, this would have been a great character to revisit sometime.
And shippers are even thrown something, too, because after a reference to Danny’s late wife Linda, Blue Bloods hints that Danny and his partner Maria Baez might become romantically involved. Fans have suggested that for a while, but “End of Tour” is not subtle with Henry making his son promise to find someone to come home to after the case ends. And when Danny asks Baez out for pizza afterward, the clear implication is that it could be her. Unfortunately, these and several other plotlines fall into the show’s trap of quickly resolving things either on or off-screen to tie it all up too neatly.
The last few episodes of Blue Bloods have had an ongoing issue with tying up loose ends off-screen in order to get to specific endings. The series finale is another example of that, because many things that could and should have played out are implied or rushed through. Frank’s talk with Lorenzo, trying to get him to give up his son’s location, doesn’t actually feature that pivotal moment. Instead, it just ends, and the viewer later sees Lorenzo being arrested. Eddie is wounded early on, but quickly discharged from the hospital so that she can be part of the hunt to find Amelia, since Eddie’s the character who bonded with the girl in “Life Sentence.”
