Blue Bloods has come to an end. The CBS procedural concluded 14 seasons of storytelling with a tense episode that brought the entire Reagan family and their allies together on the same case, one that made each of them take stock of their lives.
In “End of Tour,” deadly mayhem spread throughout the city after a supreme court judge was murdered and NYPD officers (include Eddie and Badillo) and the mayor were targeted in a string of coordinated attacks orchestrated by the united gangs of New York. They were demanding amnesty for the release of their imprisoned members and others awaiting trial. The judge wasn’t the only person who died in the violence.
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Eddie (Vanessa Ray) and partner Badillo (Ian Quinlan) were having a casual day at work when the shooting began. Eddie was shot, but it wasn’t life-threatening. Badillo, however, sustained major injuries that led to his death as some fans predicted based on the series finale funeral photos. In a private moment in his hospital room, Mayor Chase (Dylan Walsh) told Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) to disregard the chain of command and metaphorically take the “keys to the city.” This was the mayor’s way of telling Frank to use whatever means necessary to bring these people to justice. He needed the NYPD commissioner to act like a cop again, and that’s what Frank did.
Frank used the power of his office to question the imprisoned Lorenzo Batista (Edward James Olmos) in an off-the-books interrogation. He was gathering intel about Lorenzo’s son, Alejandro, who was one of the people involved in planning and executing the attacks. Frank told the resistant Lorenzo that life in prison is better than death for his son, saying that he would give anything for his eldest son, Joe (a cop who died on the job before the events of the series premiere), to be alive, even if it meant having to spend all of his time with him during prison visiting hours.
Danny (Donnie Wahlberg), Baez (Marisa Ramirez), and Eddie worked together to find Carlo Ramirez (Manny Perez), who previously had to flee the country but returned for vengeance and to reclaim his daughter. Henry’s (Len Cariou) advice for Danny on how to catch Carlo was also family-oriented: “Think like a father.”
Jamie (Will Estes) had family top-of-mind as he worked to bring his wife’s shooter and Badillo’s killer to justice. His nephew, Joe (Will Hochman), helped. And the idea of cops being targeted made Erin (Bridget Moynahan) fear losing another brother, so she worked with the NYPD on the hunt to find the attackers.
There were sad and happy endings in the episode. Badillo’s funeral was meant to be a display of the sacrifices made in this line of work. There were some unexpectedly romantic moments later on, like when Erin and Jack (Peter Hermann) decided to get remarried in private. In a moment that was sure to be exciting for Danny and Baez fans, Danny made good on his promise to his grandfather to go looking for love after this case was over. He asked Baez out for pizza after the dust settled, telling her that he was fulfilling a promise to his grandfather.
The last Reagan family dinner saw both of Danny’s sons back as well as Erin and Jack’s daughter, and Jamie and Eddie revealed that they were expecting a baby. There wasn’t a dry eye around the table as the series came to a close. The final shot was a frame of Selleck’s Reagan smiling at his family.
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