Since its debut in 2010, Blue Bloods, a crime procedural drama led by Tom Selleck of Magnum PI fame, has taken audiences by surprise. Fans followed the multi-generational family of cops, the Reagans, for nearly 14 years. They’ve watched the Reagans’ children, parents and spouses each deal with injustices and their familial spats in their own ways – within and sometimes out of the system. With the current season possibly being the last, and with just six episodes remaining, now would be a good time for the mid-season to set up a possible endgame. Instead, Season 14, Episode 13, “Bad to Worse,” looks to be playing it safe by pitting the Reagans against some of the most powerful figures in their sphere – and against each other.
Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck), never one to play strictly by the book, lands in hot water when he tries to ease the mounting tensions between Fire Commissioner Radley (Mira Sorvino) and Mayor Chase (Dylan Walsh) when the latter skips a firefighter’s funeral. Frank’s son, detective Danny (Donnie Wahlberg), is second-guessing his career path right as he and Baez discover a skeleton in a storage unit and a cold case with no lead in sight. Meanwhile, Frank’s daughter Erin (Bridget Moynahan), ever a stickler for the law, comes up against major roadblock on a gnarly case against a former cop — and Grandpa Henry (Len Carious) is slated to testify as a chief witness on the other side of the bench. On top of all this, Edie has to deal with the series’ regular nuisance Nico, who claims he has to donate a kidney while he’s under arrest. With this perfect storm of chaos, things certainly live up to the episode title for the Reagans. It makes for good drama to pit the Reagans in impossible, individual battles. But as a setup for a much-anticipated — and greatly contested — finale, “Bad to Worse” doesn’t quite measure up.
Blue Bloods Season 14, Episode 13 Is More of the Same
The Episode’s Subplots Are Resolved Too Cleanly and Conveniently
On its own merits, “Bad to Worse” is a decent episode. All of its concurrent subplots — the vicious and puerile feud between Veronica Radley and Mayor Chase, Erin and Henry’s entanglement in the case of the violent former cop, the skeleton in the storage space, and the arrest of the organ-donor – feature storylines that aptly go from bad to worse, in the dramatic sense. Things that at first appear small, trivial and frustrating take a turn for the darker, deeper and more psychologically complicated.
Thankfully, this is all in the wheelhouse of the Reagans, whose individual approaches to law enforcement and problem-solving lead to reasonable conclusions. Edie’s bizarre case of the runaway kidney donor ends on a surprisingly poignant note. Danny’s case with the skeleton leads to a serial killer with a terrifying and tragic motive for killing that leaves a trail of devastation once solved. These stories, by themselves, are fine. Like much of Blue Bloods, these subplots serve as vignettes and character studies for the main cast. For the most part, these side stories give the characters’ individual arcs decent development, as they find ways to circumvent loopholes in the system they are dedicated to serving, and ensure justice is done. It delivers that sometimes cozy, sometimes heart-shattering balance of crime and family drama with slight comedic touches.
That said, Blue Bloods has had 13-and-a-half seasons to do this. The end is nigh, and judging from the mid-season premiere alone, one would hardly know it. There does seem to be a slight trail of breadcrumbs leading to a final confrontation — and possible reconciliation — between Frank Reagan and Mayor Chase, whose relationship has been contentious at best. It would be fitting for the borderline cowboy cop to end this series with a showdown against the surly, self-centered Mayor, who has spent much of this season – and this episode – alienating entire communities. It would also be exciting if the coming finale has the two rivals team-up, thus giving them the chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of the other. After all, ruffling the feathers of the Fire Department is rarely a popular move. However, most of the plot points — except Danny’s arc — in “Bad to Worse” are tied up too neatly, leaving next to nothing in the way of a finale’s set-up.
Blue Blooods Season 14, Episode 13 Is More an Anthology of Supblots Than the Final Arc’s Beginning
The Episode Is Carried by the Characters’ Personal Journeys
Although Blue Bloods is a crime drama, at its core, it’s about a family. The show is at its best and most endearing when the family members interact, whether it’s at home or sharing a case. There is plenty of that in this episode, even if everyone’s individual nerves are pushed and frayed to their limits. It’s frustrating to watch Frank have to soothe tempers and petty spats between two difficult sides, but it demonstrates his character growth. Similarly, it’s hard to watch Erin butting heads with Grandpa Henry, but the payoff ends up being one of this episode’s highlights. Edie’s subplot has a lot of emotional weight and catharsis, but it’s weaker compared to the other plot lines.
The strongest story is Danny’s – his case is the juiciest, darkest and most rife with bittersweet drama. Of all the episode’s interwoven storylines, his hints at a possible plot for Blue Blood’s overall finale. Danny starts the episode bemoaning his age and his current career path. The trajectory of the case — which involves multiple cases of harassment, a string of dead women and a sympathetic but monstrous serial killer — clearly takes a toll on him, physically and mentally. Danny’s and Maria’s plot tackles a tricky and thorny topic, and does so in a relatively brief share of time. It’s one of those stories that could have easily been expanded into a full episode in the vein of Law and Order SVU, but as it is, it makes for the best and strongest aspect of this rather disjointed episode.
“Bad to Worse” is a satisfying, if rather unfocused episode, which is frustrating considering it is one of Blue Blood’s seven remaining episodes. Although the individual stories are good, and each has a moment to tug at the heartstrings, it does feel like a missed opportunity to not introduce some final, overarching plot for the entire family to band together to solve, as easily as they do at the dinner table over meatloaf and cabbage. It’s possible that, going forward, the remainder of Blue Bloods Season 14 will drum up a grand Reagan family team-up, perhaps culminating in a clash between Frank and Danny over the family business. As it stands, “Bad to Worse” is decent and reliably enjoyable, sometimes stressful, occasionally devastating series fare, even if it just falls short of greatness. It at least promises some good things for the future, and delivers one of Grandpa Henry’s finest moments.
Blue Bloods Season 14, Episode 13 Is a Decent if Uninspiring Penultimate Chapter
The Episode Leaves a Lot to Be Desired
On a technical level, “Bad to Worse” is solid filmmaking and standard fare for Blue Bloods. Compared to the homier-more down-and-dirty offerings of earlier seasons, which blended procedural drama with the daily lives and squabbles of an entire family of Irish-American cops, Season 14 shows all the hallmarks of contemporary gloss and sheen. Each family member’s story is reasonably well-written and shows solid storytelling. The whole episode offers good family drama and shows the Reagans doing what they do best, tackling tough themes without losing their signature homey appeal. It doesn’t do a lot to set the stage for the finale, at least not explicitly.
At most, this episode ends on a bittersweet cliffhanger. Important relationships are mended, and Frank paves the way for a possible peaceful resolution to Mayor Chase and Fire Commissioner Radley’s feud by calling out their immaturity. The one big stickler is Danny’s future in the family business, if his final lines are anything to go on. “Bad to Worse” leaves a possible trail of breadcrumbs, rather than establish the endgame’s final arc with guns blazing. Had this been any other episode, it would have been solid fare. But as the possible beginning of this long-running and well-loved series’ final chapter, it just leaves viewers impatient for more.
