The conversation at the Reagan family dinner in Blue Bloods season 14, episode 16, entitled “Gray Areas,” explains why this episode is disappointing. Blue Bloods‘ cancelation news meant that “Gray Areas” is the third-to-last episode of the series. It features several storylines, but the most memorable is Frank’s latest battle with Mayor Chase, who wants the governor to send the National Guard into New York City to help reduce crime. Frank feels this is a bad idea that undermines the NYPD but is having a hard time getting the mayor to back off.
During the Blue Bloods family dinner scene, everyone discusses their week, and the kids encourage Frank to find a solution to the problem posed by the mayor’s proposal. The entire scenario is similar to the ones in many of Blue Bloods‘ best episodes. However, neither this story nor any other plants many seeds for the finale, so the audience is left just as much in the dark about what will happen as they are before watching “Gray Areas.”
The Reagans Say Their Week Has Been Uneventful In Blue Bloods Season 14, Episode 16
They’re Right That Nothing Special Happened
The Reagan family dinners in Blue Bloods usually include lively conversations about what’s going on in each character’s storyline. However, in “Gray Areas,” no one has much to say about their week, claiming that it was uneventful, and the conversation eventually focuses mostly on Frank and his storyline. This comment is surprising, considering that just as much happened to each Reagan during this episode as during any other. However, for the most part, everyone’s cases were similar to issues they’d handled before, so there wasn’t much to say.
Danny and Baez were investigating the murder of an MMA fighter while Erin was trying to figure out whether a star law student who had been arrested for drug dealing was guilty, but there was nothing unusual about these cases. The only one that might have been worth talking about was Jamie and Eddie’s efforts to protect Badillo from the consequences of smoking weed at a charity event. It would have been interesting to hear all of the Reagans’ perspectives on this issue, but unfortunately, there wasn’t much discussion about it.
Blue Bloods Season 14, Episode 16 Does Really Feel Uneventful
It Was A Solid Episode, But Nothing More
This would have been an average episode in general. However, “Gray Areas” was the third-to-last episode of the entire show, and these last few episodes should be used to set up the series finale. There was little to no movement in any storyline other than Frank’s final mission to save Mayor Chase, and even that was subtle. It is especially disappointing that there was no mention of Jamie and Eddie’s plans to start a family, as they could have questioned their decision after learning that Badillo is trying to be there for his late partner’s son.
The fact that Jamie and Eddie’s family planning decision hasn’t been mentioned since Blue Bloods season 14, episode 11 suggests that the series will again conduct business as usual until the last minutes of the final episode.
Blue Bloods made a similar mistake with Jamie and Eddie’s wedding in season 9, as the big event was only the last few minutes of a regular episode, disappointing those fans who were excited about this relationship development. The fact that Jamie and Eddie’s family planning decision hasn’t been mentioned since Blue Bloods season 14, episode 11 suggests that the series will again conduct business as usual until the last minutes of the final episode.
What Else Needs To Happen Before Blue Bloods Ends
Several Storylines Need To Be Wrapped Up
There are now only two episodes of Blue Bloods left, which means the series will have to work hard to wrap up several arcs. So far, little is known about what will happen in the finale, but it has been confirmed that Jack and Nicky are returning. Jamie and Eddie’s family planning story will likely result in pregnancy by the end of the series, and the police procedural also needs to put Erin and Jack back together as well as allow Blue Bloods’ Danny and Baez to admit their feelings for one another.
With so little time remaining and so much left to do, Blue Bloods cannot afford another episode that doesn’t make significant moves toward wrapping the series up.
Blue Bloods is supposed to end with the entire family working on one case, likely related to Mayor Chase since Frank will go on one last mission to save him. Hopefully, this story will begin during the penultimate episode, rather than the series offering another ordinary episode in between “Gray Areas” and the series finale. With so little time remaining and so much left to do, Blue Bloods cannot afford another episode that doesn’t make significant moves toward wrapping the series up.
