Finale Prep: ‘Blue Bloods’ Overview Before Saying Goodbye

If you’re a fan of police procedurals or television dramas, there’s a solid chance you’ve seen your fair share of Blue Bloods episodes. The hit series, which initially premiered on CBS back in 2010, recently concluded in an explosive finale that shocked fans and brought in massive ratings. Whether you’ve been following the Reagan family’s journey from the very beginning, or just started binge-viewing your way through the series on Paramount+, you’ve surely spent ample time thinking about how the series would play out in the long run. Chances are, even if you’re a Blue Bloods super-fan, you may be a little fuzzy on some of the show’s fine details, considering the length and longevity of its illustrious run. Luckily, we’ve got you covered, with a comprehensive guide to the entire series, right up through the finale.

Please be advised that the following write-up will contain major spoilers for the entire Blue Bloods series, so feel free to bookmark this page and return later if you’re not caught up just yet. If you’ve been feeling a little lost watching the final season these past few weeks, or simply haven’t had the chance to tune in to the show for a while, this examination of Blue Bloods should give you all the requisite background information necessary to enjoy the long-awaited finale.

What Is the Premise of ‘Blue Bloods’?

Blue Bloods centers on a family with the surname Reagan, who spans generations of police and police adjacent public servants in the city of New York. Patriarch Frank Reagan leads the clan as the NYPD commissioner, having inherited the position from his father, who retired years before the show kicked off. Prior to the narrative of Blue Bloods, Frank lost a son named Joe, who served as an FBI investigator uncovering police corruption within the NYPD. His other two sons, Danny and Jamie, serve as a detective and sergeant, respectively, and frequently clash over their differing approaches to the law and its impact on the citizens of New York. Frank’s daughter Erin also works in the criminal justice system, serving as an assistant district attorney working with the state to put criminals behind bars.

Blue Bloods is generally considered to be an episodic show, following a different disconnected story in each episode. This means that you can watch reruns out of order and still enjoy individual episodes without their greater context. Still, each season carries an overarching narrative that culminates in massive changes throughout the series. In the first season of Blue Bloods, Jamie graduates from the police academy and follows in the footsteps of his older brother by joining the NYPD. The FBI attempts to recruit him for the same cause that his brother Joe died for, but he chooses to investigate Joe’s death independently. Like his brother, Jamie is targeted by crooked cops and is even the victim of an assassination plot, though he ultimately manages to survive. For 22 episodes, each centered on the Reagan family combatting crime from their respective positions, Jamie manages to expose police corruption, and even gets Frank to lead a task force to take down a group of crooked cops who call themselves the Blue Templars.

Subsequent Seasons Raise the Stakes

After finally rooting out the individuals behind the Blue Templars and even getting a confession from the ringleader of the operation, the Reagans rest easy knowing Joe didn’t die in vain. Still, there’s a lot more than your run-of-the-mill petty crime terrorizing New York City, meaning there’s a lot more for the family to fight about. As the seasons of Blue Bloods carry on, the Reagan family clash over their handling of organized crime, terrorist threats, and public health emergencies, all while routinely meeting for Sunday dinner. Season two of Blue Bloods specifically introduces a pair of warring gang factions called the Cavazerre family and the Sanfino family. As the fight between these mob organizations continues to spiral out of control, it impacts every facet of the city, from bought and paid-for politicians to the destruction of local businesses. The gang war even culminates in the release of a biological weapon.

Luckily, Frank Reagan and company can stop the Cavazerres and Sanfinos before they can endanger the lives of everyone in Manhattan, though the prosecution of these gangsters only leads the Reagans further down the rabbit hole of organized crime and city-wide corruption. Season three sees an array of criminals becoming even more brash than ever before, with one career baddie by the name of Benjamin Walker even kidnapping a police officer to lure Danny into harm’s way. Danny also faces a series of hardships when he is framed as a drug trafficker by police Captain Derek Elwood, who takes issue with the Reagan’s firm position against corruption. As this is going on, Jamie develops PTSD in response to a shooting incident after a civilian attacks him as a means of committing suicide by a cop.

The Reagans Face Corruption From the Top Brass

With the whole of New York’s populous seemingly losing their minds, the mayor’s office calls on Frank Reagan to crack down on poor living conditions in the slums, exemplifying the role of police within their community. Frank’s efforts are ultimately curtailed at every turn, however, with government agencies and political red-lining hampering efforts for community outreach. In the fourth season of Blue Bloods, Danny attempts to arrest a repeat murderer who killed his father, though representatives from Homeland Security assert that the man is untouchable because he is working for them as an informant. Frank refuses to press on his son to back down, and Danny eventually makes the arrest anyway, leading the man to snap and attack the courthouse with a stolen service weapon from a court security officer.

This serves as one of many instances of the Reagan family’s repeated insistence on doing the right thing harming their behind-the-scenes relationships with the city. Despite these roadblocks, the Reagan family all do their best to form meaningful relationships with their community. Jamie partners with a local big-brother group to mentor kids in danger of being recruited by gangs, as Erin fights to remove corrupt officials from the district attorney’s office. These themes echo throughout seasons five and six, which see Frank clashing hard against the mayor of New York. Throughout these seasons, two major concurrent arcs see the Reagans investigating a possible terrorist plot against Manhattan while an ongoing Mayoral election threatens the chokehold Mayor Poole has over city resources. Eventually, these two plot lines come together in a major snafu, as Poole pressures Frank to step down from his role as police commissioner.

Frank Reagan and Mayor Poole’s Tumultuous Relationship

The season six finale, titled “Blowback,” brings the contentious relationship between Frank Reagan and Mayor Poole to a fever pitch, as the two butt heads over the shooting death of an NYPD officer. The officer was the victim of public retaliation after leaked body cam footage exposed his role in an incident apprehending a group of young thieves, which resulted in shots fired, leaving one teenager dead. Reagan blames the mayor’s office for their fiery rhetoric against the NYPD and even calls on the D.A. to investigate the source of the leak, which he believes to be Poole himself. Though it ultimately turns out that the mayor had nothing to do with the video leak, Poole feels personally responsible for the public’s degrading trust in law enforcement and even prepares a farewell speech with the intention of resigning from his office. Though Frank and Poole have their differences, Frank ultimately comes to convince the mayor that he’s done more good for New Yorkers than bad, and asks him not to resign.

Season seven of Blue Bloods primarily serves as a return to normalcy for our core cast of characters, though continued gang wars all over New York continue to keep the Reagans busy in all facets of life. In one critical episode, Frank meets with a notorious incarcerated crime lord, who is serving time for the murder of the former chief of police. The crime lord, as expertly portrayed by rapper Method Man, claims that he is the only man in the city with enough street cred to stop the violence, though Frank is ostracized for meeting with him in the first place. Throughout the season, Franke and Poole continue to butt heads, and the mayor ultimately resigns after his frustration boils over into physical violence against the Reagan family patriarch. At first, this seems to be a net positive for the police force, though Poole’s no-nonsense replacement kicks off season eight by immediately trying to fire Frank for his long record of disobedience, setting a thin-ice tone for the entirety of the season.

The Reagan Kids Work To Take Down Different Organized Rackets

One of the key elements of each season of Blue Bloods is the show’s reactionary response to pop culture and modern police stories in real life. In season eight and beyond, this becomes increasingly clear, with plot lines centering on a human trafficking ring, a drug cartel operating South of the border using American funds and more. Erin specifically uses her connections at the district attorney’s office to uncover a massive trafficking ring reminiscent of Jeffrey Epstein’s social circle. The offenders in the case are so powerful, wealthy and corrupt that they manage to infiltrate the justice system at every turn. The first judge assigned to the case is murdered, and the scene is made to look like a suicide. As Erin goes further down the rabbit hole, she flexes her detective skills in the series, taking the fight out of the courts and into the streets.