From main characters to guest stars, these are the saddest deaths fans have faced on Blue Bloods

For a show whose characters traffic in the world of detective work, drugs, gangs and killers, death, sadly, very much comes with the territory, whether it’s from people accidentally being put in harm’s way or killed in revenge plots. Either way, the characters — and fans — of Blue Bloods have been through it all.

Over the course of the 14-year run of Blue Bloods, fans have had to mourn the loss of dozens of characters, some who they’ve gotten to know quite a bit and others who were “just” guest stars, but whose performances were so strong that the impact of their deaths resonated just as strongly.

Buckle in, because what we’re about to investigate are the 6 saddest Blue Bloods deaths that we still haven’t gotten over even after all of these years.

6. Lenny Ross: Saddest Blue Bloods deaths

This one hit hard. After the real-life passing of actor Treat Williams, who portrayed Lenny Ross, the best friend of Frank Reagan, Blue Bloods had to find a way to do his character justice. Although the character was only in a few episodes, his presence was felt and he was a genuine part of the Blue Bloods family.

In season 13, it was shared in an episode that Lenny had been diagnosed with cancer. After the actor was killed in a motorcycle accident, Blue Bloods had to find a way to say goodbye to the character. In season 14 episode 3, it was revealed the character died of his illness.

In the episode, audiences find out that Lenny had asked Frank to look after his daughter, who he hadn’t known about until recently. Frank had to decide what to do after Lenny’s daughter is arrested in a bar fight, ultimately reflecting, “He was my best friend and I’m gonna honor that by doing what’s best for his daughter.”

5. Emily Copeland

Season 7, Episode 19, “Love Lost,” highlights a particularly sad death involving a woman named Emily Copeland (played by Stephanie Patent). The show opens with Danny and Baez being called after a man finds his wife dead in her bed. While it looks like she is asleep, it’s revealed that the woman was strangled.

In typical Blue Bloods fashion, the now-suspicious husband is claiming he had nothing to do with it, but soon looks very guilty. What makes this one of the saddest Blue Bloods deaths is that Emily’s husband, Brian (Adam Wade McLaughlin), admits he did kill his wife, but it was at her request. After being diagnosed with late-stage cancer, she didn’t want to live in pain, so he reluctantly abided by her wishes. As a result, Brian was sadly facing a life sentence for his actions.

4. Michael Potter: Saddest Blue Bloods deaths

The loss of Michael Potter was a gut-wrenching one, as he was the son of Frank Reagan’s biggest critic, Reverend Darnell Potter (Ato Essandoh). The Reverend was vocal about how the NYPD needed to do a better job at stopping the exact kind of violent crimes that took his son’s life. Potter is forced to go to Frank for help in finding justice for his son, who it turns out was murdered by one of the Reverend’s former students.

3. Linda Reagan

Although we never actually saw this death, it is one of the most prominent on the series. Linda Reagan (Amy Carlson), who is Danny’s wife, was killed in a helicopter crash while airlifting a patient. The death was not shown, but instead was announced in the premiere of season 8. Audiences did, however, get to see Danny’s grieving process and his adjustment to having become a single father.

But the saddest part of Linda’s death was when it was discovered the crash wasn’t accidental, having been orchestrated by Jose Rojas, leader of a drug cartel. Danny nearly reverts to his old hot-headed, brutal ways when he attempts to kill Rojas, but ends up bringing him to justice instead.

2. Javier Baez: Saddest Blue Bloods deaths

Easily one of the most heartbreaking deaths in Blue Bloods is that of Javier Baez (Kirk Acevedo), who is Maria Baez’ (Danny’s partner) brother. In the season 5, episode 1 episode “Partners,” Javier goes undercover in a dangerous operation for the DEA, which causes issues with his sister and Danny when they discover he may be entangled with the cartel the DEA is after.

In a confrontation, however, Maria Baez is put in harm’s way and Javier must choose whether to save his sister or himself. He ends up taking the bullet and dying on the spot, while his sister cries over him. The way Baez mourns his death is one of the saddest moments in the show’s history as she considers whether things could have been done differently.

1. Joe Reagan

And finally, there’s the loss of Joe Reagan. As the brother of Danny, Erin and Jamie, and son of Frank, Joe was a cop himself who was killed before the series began. Season 1 is largely focused on finding justice for his death and figuring out who was responsible (turns out it was a few corrupt cops Joe was planning to expose). But considering the entire show revolves around his loss  the Reagans’ grieving over his passing, it’s clear this is the death that hits our favorite characters the hardest.