‘A Bittersweet Goodbye’: Blue Bloods Star Recalls Emotional Final Day

“Cutting Losses” Shows Danny Grieving the Loss of His Wife

The Season 8 premiere of Blue Bloods had to deal with one of the realities of show running when Amy Carlson (who played Linda Reagan, Danny’s wife) left the show. The result was a death narrative for Linda that all happened off-screen. In the show’s arc, Linda died in a helicopter crash on May 28. Episode 1 of Season 8, “Cutting Losses” picks up with Donnie in the aftermath of his loss. Danny (portrayed by Donnie Wahlberg) feels guilty for not having been home enough.

Fans see the tough former Marine visibly grieving during a therapy session and also find Danny lashing out at his sister Erin’s ex-husband for just bringing up the date of the accident. But once again, the show balances Danny’s tragedy with the efforts of the Reagan family to help. Erin enlists Danny’s help on a case when he is considering retiring, and the family gets Danny and his sons a new home.

“Home Sweet Home” Shows Tragedy That Doesn’t Involve Death

In “Home Sweet Home,” Blue Bloods gives an honest portrayal of what life on the streets can look like for children. While the episode has a happy ending, it’s in the context of seeing parents and caretakers abandon a child to pursue addiction, and that gives “Home Sweet Home” a sad and bitter edge to it that the ending isn’t quite able to dull.

While on patrol, Jamie and Eddie come across a homeless boy, T.J., and after they chase him down, they realize that he is 12 years old and has been abandoned by both his mother and his aunt. After getting in trouble for drug use in Baltimore, his mother sent him with some money to his aunt in New York. But it turns out that his aunt is homeless and she disappears, leaving T.J. to believe that her boyfriend has killed her. The story ultimately finds T.J. in a caring foster situation, but the revelation that his aunt wasn’t killed but in fact stole his money for drugs and left him alone leaves a lasting impression on the viewers.

In “Unbearable Loss”, a Father Loses His Son to Violence

Frank Reagan’s Harshest Critic Buries the Hatchet

“Unbearable Loss” combines a father’s tragic loss and the rivalry of bitter critics into one of the show’s top-twenty most highly-rated episodes on IMDB. Reverend Darnell Potter is one of the African-American community’s most out-spoken critics of Frank and the Reagan family, but he seeks Frank’s help to solve the murder of his son Michael to a gunshot.

As the two men attempt to reconcile their differences in the face of Potter’s brash behavior (he brings people to the department he thinks are suspects) and continued misunderstandings, Potter’s raw grief is at the forefront. But in the background is the Reagan family’s lingering grief over Joe, which is what makes this episode so poignant. In the end, Potter asks Frank to speak at his son’s memorial service, which becomes a way for the family to find continued healing.

“With Friends Like These” highlighted the division between firefighters and police officers, but the saddest element of the episode came from Jamie and Eddie. When responding to a person in distress, Eddie and Jamie find a woman who left her home and is struggling with her mental health. With no support system, the woman’s battle against schizophrenia makes for an emotional watch that engages real-world mental health struggles.

The episode gives an honest look into the lives of people who can not get the help they need to care for themselves. It also delivers the heartbreak police officers and others experience when they try to help someone but help comes too late. “With Friends Like These” finds Jamie pulling some strings to get the woman the care she needs, only to discover later that she commits suicide. The tragic end highlights how Blue Bloods is able to present real-world dilemmas without sugarcoating them, which is why it comes in at number 10 on the list.

9“Two-Faced” Depicts A Father’s Love And Its