Blue Bloods season 14, episode 18, “End of Tour” wraps up the series’ 14-year run with an ensemble story featuring the Reagans racing against time to protect the city from a gang’s spree of violence and intimidation. Blue Bloods’ cancelation is disappointing, considering how popular the police and family drama still is after over a decade on the air. However, its final episode offers an intense case that leads to a near-perfect conclusion for each of the main characters.
“End Of Tour” ties up a loose end from a previous storyline: Carlos Ramirez (Manny Perez) escaped in a helicopter at the end of Blue Bloods season 14, episode 11, after a failed attempt to kidnap his young daughter but returns to cause more trouble in a story that forces Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) to look harder at his personal life and leads to some happy news for some other characters. The finale also reveals each Blue Bloods character’s fate in an ending that honors the show’s legacy of putting family at the center of each story.
Danny & Baez Open The Gang Mayhem Story As They Investigate A Judge’s Murder
The Crime Seems Like An Isolated Incident At First In Blue Bloods’ Final Episode
Danny and Baez (Marisa Ramirez) open the last episode by arriving at the scene of the latest homicide they’ve been assigned to. The case involves a judge who was shot to death while sitting in her yard reading the newspaper early in the morning while her husband was inside and heard nothing. This suggests a hit orchestrated by someone the judge put in jail, but it is not immediately clear that it is the work of the Ace Double Tres.
The pair talk to the judge’s husband and find out that she had been receiving death threats that she ignored despite his pleas to take them seriously. Later, Danny and Baez learn that the judge’s killer forced her to record a video shortly before executing her where she says that police, judges, and jurors’ lives are in danger until gang members in jail are released. This video not only connects the judge’s murder to other violent crimes across New York but provides an inadvertent clue when the cops realize they can see the killer’s face reflected in the judge’s sunglasses.
Badillo Is Killed During An Ambush On A Call With Eddie
Badillo Leaves Behind His Mother & Foster Son In Blue Bloods
Eddie (Vanessa Ray) and Badillo’s (Ian Quinlan) normal day is turned upside down when a call comes in about a potential carjacking. The pair rush to the scene, but as they get out of their squad car, a motorcycle pulls up to shoot at them. Eddie fires back and hits one of the assailants despite getting shot in the arm. After subduing them, Eddie finds Badillo lying on the ground, bleeding out. This leads to some meaty scenes for one of Blue Bloods‘ best characters as Eddie begs Badillo to stay alive and later learns that he has died.
Badillo’s death is devastating for Eddie and heartbreaking for his mother and the foster son he left behind. However, at his funeral, Badillo’s mother is given the gift of an NYPD flag to honor Badillo’s service, and a cop places Badillo’s police cap on the head of the boy, who Badillo helped take care of after the child’s biological father died in the line of duty.
The Cops Link The Mayor’s Assassination Attempt & The Kidnapping of Amelia Ramirez To The Judge’s Murder
The Ace Double Tres Threaten To Keep Hurting Public Officials
More violent crimes occur throughout the city at the hands of the drive-by motorcycle gang, culminating in the mayor getting shot at a press event where he is designating a building used in the Underground Railroad as a historical monument. The mayor’s security team seems absent until after the shooting, although nothing comes of this. Instead, Frank (Tom Selleck) visits Mayor Chase (Dylan Walsh) in the hospital, who tells him he’s giving Frank the keys to the city, saying: “You drive us out of this.“
While Frank is speaking with Mayor Chase, the DA’s office receives a threat informing them that all gangs are now united and will not stop their reign of terror until “hostages are released,” referring to their desire that members in jail be let go. Further investigation determines that Carlos Ramirez is behind the gangs’ new alliance, causing Danny to realize that Ramirez’s daughter Amelia is in danger of being kidnapped or killed, tying the case to Ramirez’s disappearance at the end of Blue Bloods season 14, episode 11. Unfortunately, Amelia disappears before Danny and Baez can protect her.
Joe Convinces Jamie To Help Him Find Badillo’s Shooter
Jamie Wants To Stay At The Hospital, But Joe Tells Him That Won’t Do Any Good
Although Eddie is in no real medical danger, Jamie (Will Estes) wants to stay at the hospital to support her while she processes her grief over Badillo’s death. He and Joe (Will Hochman) talk in the hospital waiting room, demonstrating a marked difference in their relationship from the past, as Jamie accepts Joe’s support. However, Joe disagrees with Jamie’s decision to stay put while Badillo’s killer is still on the loose, saying” “You her doctor… or are you the cop that collars one of these guys?” Thus, Jamie reluctantly agrees that his best move is to help find and arrest the shooter.
This decision leads to a new partnership between Jamie and Joe, which later ties directly into the wrap-up of Joe’s storyline. While the two have butted heads while working together in the past, this time they work together perfectly to find and take down the shooter. Jamie makes only a half-hearted effort to insist they do things by the book, dropping it without a word when Joe points out they’ve already ignored protocol to gain access to the perp’s pregnant girlfriend. The two’s last-minute teamwork leads to the shooter’s arrest later.
Eddie Demands That Danny Let Her Help Find Amelia Ramirez
When Amelia Calls Her, Eddie Refuses To Be Sidelined
Eddie also has a special relationship with Amelia Ramirez, whom she and Jamie fostered for a few days in Blue Bloods season 14, episode 11. Additionally, she’s frustrated with being cooped up in the hospital while Badillo’s killer is at large, and she can’t help avenge his death. Thus, when Amelia secretly calls her and whispers that she’s scared before being forced to hang up to avoid getting caught, Eddie becomes determined to help.
Eddie meets with Danny in the hospital waiting area and demands to work with him in the investigation, telling him not to baby her or sideline her. Surprisingly, Danny makes no effort to talk her into resting and recovering, likely because he understands the need to get to work after a devastating loss. Instead, he tells her she’s the “toughest cop [he knows]“ and agrees to work with her to find Badillo’s shooter.
Erin & Jack Decide To Secretly Get Married
The Proposal Comes After Jack Does A Major Favor For Erin
Erin (Bridget Moynahan) and Jack (Peter Hermann) work together to help Frank locate a confidential informant whose son is a person of interest in the mayor’s shooting. For a brief second, it seems as if their relationship will fall apart as quickly as it began, as Jack is reluctant to do this favor without assurances that Frank will drop his grudge against him for breaking Erin’s heart when they divorced and is only willing to get the information Frank needs if Erin considers it a favor to her rather than Frank.
After Jack finally comes through, Erin tells him that Frank was heartbroken that they split up and that, furthermore, they work well together. Thus, Blue Bloods takes a break from the intense drama for Erin and Jack to have a serious talk about their relationship status that they didn’t have earlier. While this talk doesn’t completely make up for Blue Bloods cheating the audience out of experiencing their reconciliation, it does allow them to take the next step on-screen, and the two decide to secretly wed at City Hall and not tell the family until after it is done.
Frank Uses Joe’s Death To Find Out The Mayor’s Shooter
In A Chilling Showdown With A Prisoner, Frank Reagan Appeals To A Father’s Love
Two legendary actors deliver one of their best performances when Frank Reagan confronts Lorenzo Batista (Edward James Olmos), the long-imprisoned father of the man who shot the mayor. Batista refuses to tell Frank where his son is. From his perspective, Frank is the villain who is trying to get him to “rat out [his] son with a blurry video and a Judas,” while he is the hero protecting his child. Frank has little leverage in the situation because Batista is already serving a life sentence, so threats of additional jail time are meaningless.
However, Frank eventually gets the upper hand in an unusual way. He tells him that his son was killed by the police and that if he could choose between his son being alive and incarcerated and his murder, he would choose to visit his son in prison as much as possible, adding that he knows too well how the alternative feels. This speech helps convince Batista to talk, thus honoring Joe’s memory by using it to get justice and restore order to the city.
Henry Advises Danny About His Professional & Personal Life
The Oldest Reagan Has A Small But Important Role In The Blue Bloods Finale
While Henry (Len Cariou) doesn’t have a large role to play, his conversation with Danny is a pivotal moment. Danny comes over to talk to him about his fear he brought the violence upon the city, but Henry astutely points out that Danny can’t follow his advice not to take work home, saying: “you don’t have someone not to take the job home to.” While Danny initially resists talking about this, he eventually promises he will rectify that after the case is over, thus resolving Danny’s main story of not wanting to move on after Linda’s death in Blue Bloods season 8.
Danny Finally Finds Carlos & Amelia, Leading To An Intense Confrontation
Danny Must Talk Carlos Out Of Hurting Himself
Danny and Baez find Carlos and Amelia, breaking into the house where Amelia is being held. Carlos reassures Amelia she is safe and allows Baez to accompany her upstairs so that he can confront Danny alone. Carlos then makes an unmotivated threat to hurt himself, pointing his gun at his chin, but Danny points out that he would only traumatize Amelia further if she lost him so soon after her mother’s murder. Ultimately, Carlos surrenders, and Amelia is reunited with her worried grandmother.
Eddie Honors Badillo During His Shooter’s Arrest
Eddie Uses Badillo’s Cuffs To Restrain The Shooter
Jamie and Joe use the shooter’s girlfriend as bait, making sure he knows she went into labor. They are able to arrest him when he comes to the hospital to look at his baby in the nursery. After they subdue him, Jamie tells Joe that “cuffs are coming,” and calls for Eddie, who arrives to cuff the suspect with Badillo’s cuffs. Thus, Eddie is able to honor her late partner and use his cuffs to get justice for his death.
Danny Takes Henry’s Advice & Asks Baez Out
This Blue Bloods Relationship Begins But Doesn’t Move Too Quickly
With the case resolved, all that is left is to wrap up the characters’ storylines. Blue Bloods’ Danny and Baez get the perfect ending, with Danny asking Baez to have pizza and her accepting his invitation. This short scene avoids the problem of their relationship moving too quickly while honoring their long friendship and suggesting it could grow into something more after the final credits roll.
At The Final Reagan Family Dinner, Eddie Announces Her Pregnancy
The Reagan Family Celebrates Together One Last Time
The Reagans gather for the final Blue Bloods family dinner, where Erin plans to tell the family that she and Jack have remarried. However, Eddie comes in with a wooden high chair that was hers when she was a baby, explaining that she and Jamie plan to use it with their own child. As the series draws to a close, everyone celebrates the fact that Eddie is three months pregnant.
Joe Hill’s reaction is particularly poignant, as his opinion that the baby is lucky to be a Reagan demonstrates his changed feelings toward the family. Erin chooses not to share her news right now so that the family can celebrate the pregnancy together, and Blue Bloods ends its run with Frank expressing his gratitude for and pride in all of his family members before Jamie says Grace.
