The police procedural Blue Bloodswill bow out later this year; hopefully, the final season lives up to fans’ expectations. Although it’s ending soon, the show has had remarkable longevity, pulling in consistently solid ratings since its debut in 2010 (even if the last few years haven’t been quite as successful as the show’s early days). This makes it one of the longest-running crime shows ever. The series’s success lies in the way it weaves together the professional and personal lives of the Reagans, a multigenerational family of law enforcement officers in New York City.
At the heart of the story is patriarch Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck), the steadfast NYPD Police Commissioner. Selleck’s performance is topnotch, but it’s also a great bit of meta casting, evoking his legendary role in Magnum P.I. Like most long-running shows, Blue Bloods can be a little repetitive and formulaic at times but, at its best, it makes for a compelling mix of crime-solving and family drama. Here are the ten episodes that nail this recipe the best.
10.“The Thin Blue Line”
Season 7, Episode 22
“It comes soaked in blood.” Season 7 concludes with this incendiary episode in which the Reagans face down both a vengeful cartel and a serial killer. The volatile situation causes conflict between Frank and the Mayor; a subplot that plays out in surprising ways here. Danny’s (Donnie Wahlberg) story also gets dramatic after he intercepts drug money without a warrant, angering the FBI. “The Thin Blue Line” is particularly intriguing in how it contrasts Danny’s and Jamie’s (Will Estes) approaches to policing.
Where Danny is a maverick and rule-bender, Jamie is straight-laced and by the book. In one hard-hitting moment, a superior tells Jamie that he would have been promoted long ago if he was only more like his brother. The show resists easy answers and instead remains ambiguous, with both of these strategies producing some positive and negative outcomes in this episode. The brothers are like two sides of one great cop. They each need to learn from the other to rise to their full potential.
9.“Partners”
Season 5, Episode 1
“I’m a thick-headed Irish mutt who barged in here without thinking about the consequences.” Aside from Season 1, Season 5 is perhaps the show’s strongest, producing several notable and well-crafted episodes. It bounced back strongly from a decidedly lackluster fourth season. This uptick in quality begins with the very first episode, which has three main plot threads concerning Jaimie, Danny, and Frank.
Jamie is conflicted about his romantic feelings for his partner, Eddie Janko (Vanessa Ray). Meanwhile, Danny deals with the fallout from a drug bust gone horribly wrong. Finally, Frank faces tough decisions at work that place his friendships and duties at odds. The episode is a bit of a rollercoaster, visiting both negative and positive fates on the main characters. Frank, especially, caves under pressure and gives in to the mayor’s requests. This is very out of character for him and foreshadows the even greater difficulties he faces later in the season.
8.“Excessive Force”
Season 5, Episode 4
“How much mercy am I required to show?” In “Excessive Force,” Danny finds himself under scrutiny when a suspect he arrests claims that he pushed him out of a window. This accusation leads to a community outrage and internal investigation, putting Danny’s career and reputation on the line. A zealous pastor intends to make an example of Danny, though he also tells Frank that he’ll make the situation go away – if the commissioner fires his son.
This episode is great because it plays on Danny’s reputation for breaking the rules and letting his emotions get the better of him. Although he’s innocent, the accusation could be true, given everything Danny’s loved ones know about him. Indeed, the episode throws Danny’s daredevil nature into conflict with Frank’s ironclad sense of duty. After all, Frank prides himself on being the kind of officer who would choose the badge over his own blood, meaning he’s now tortured over whether to believe his son. Potent, dramatic stuff.
7.“Forgive and Forget”
Season 5, Episode 2
“It’s always personal for him.” “Forgive and Forget” builds on the solid foundation laid by “Partners”. This one revolves around police mistakes and misdeeds and the different ways the characters respond to them. In one case, an officer reports another’s misbehavior and is shunned by the rest, branded as a rat. In another, Frank suspects a cover-up concerning a longtime friend on the force who accidentally shot his partner, and wrestles with how to handle it.
Blue Bloods is at its most interesting when confronting its characters with tricky ethical dilemmas. The show frequently serves up painful choices, where the Reagans must choose between their conscience and their closest relationships. This episode is probably the best example of this, where every course of action available causes the characters pain of one kind or another. The writing is thoughtful in this one, with the scenarios feeling believable and inspired by the real world.
6.“Something Blue”
Season 9, Episode 22
“When I am in this office, I only take one side: the truth.” In this season finale, wedding bells are ringing for Jamie and Eddie. But as the Reagan family prepares for the joyous occasion, tensions rise due to differing opinions. In particular, Eddie has work conflicts with her future sister-in-law, Erin (Bridget Moynahan). At the same time, Frank is concerned about Jamie’s choice to marry a fellow officer, fearing the risks involved.
This episode is full of touching moments, like Frank’s toast and Eddie asking him to walk her down the aisle. There are some family dust-ups but, overall, the tone is lighthearted and humorous. The crime and action are relegated to the backseat, although there’s a solid subplot about a dead man and his obsessed girlfriend. “Something Blue” is yet another dependably well-done season-ender for the series that benefits by switching up the tone from what the viewer usually expects.
5.“Justifies the Means”
Season 11, Episode 16
“Whatever it takes, from each of you, bring him back alive.” After undercover cop Joe Hill (Will Hochman) has his cover blown, Danny and Jamie take up his task of tracking down a gunrunning syndicate. Their abilities complement each other perfectly in this one. It’s another case of the Reagans coming together for a shared task, with parallels to a similar story arc in the first season concerning Joe’s father. Their efforts lead them to New England, where they find a massive weapons cache – as well as the gunrunners.
The episode culminates in a big firefight, with bullets flying in all directions and bodies dropping left and right. It’s one of the show’s tensest set pieces, like something out of a Western. In addition to the action, there’s also a moving act of self-sacrifice. In typical fashion, the episode ends with the classic Reagan family dinner, but the mood this time is a mix of relief, gratitude, and heartache.
4.“The Blue Templar”
Season 1, Episode 22
“We all die, Sonny. It’s just a question of when.” “The Blue Templar” is a gripping season finale in which long-standing mysteries and deep-seated conspiracies come to a head. Frank and his family uncover startling truths about the Blue Templar, a secretive group within the NYPD implicated in corruption and the murder of Frank’s son, Joe. The stakes are high and emotions run hot, with several characters torn between family loyalty and their duty to the force.
The plot is intense in this one, and the performers rise to the occasion. In particular, Michael T. Weiss is fantastic as the corrupt cop Sonny Malevsky (even if his surname is just a little too villainous to take seriously), as is Selleck as his complete inverse, the sage and honorable Frank. This is Frank at his most commanding, mustering all his authority and moral fortitude to lead both the police department and his family through one of their toughest trials.
3.“The Art of War”
Season 5, Episode 22
“Doing the right thing is rarely easy.” Season 5 maintains its high level of storytelling til the very end, culminating in a satisfying finale. “The Art of War” plunges the Reagan family into turmoil after Danny’s wife Linda (Amy Carlson) is shot during a gang-related hit. As she fights for her life in the hospital, Danny sets out in pursuit of the perpetrators, driven more by revenge than justice. Frank pleads with his son to rein in his rage, while also throwing himself into the investigation.
There are a lot of narrative twists and turns in this one. The characters get delightfully devious, using trickery to outsmart the bad guys and get hold of the information they need. For example, they use makeup to deceive a gangster into thinking one of his family members has been beaten. Similarly, Frank drops the bomb on a criminal serving a life sentence that the officer he had killed had taken an oath with the Federal Marshals, making his murder a federal crime carrying the death penalty.
2.“Family Secrets”
Season 10, Episode 19
“Killing him won’t make you feel any better.” This episode is all about parent-child bonds. It’s revealed that Frank’s deceased son Joe had a son, the aforementioned Joe Hill, who is now also working in the police force, though he doesn’t know about his Reagan heritage. Joe’s mother asks Frank to transfer him to a safer role within the police, despite his passion for his job as a detective.
The subplots mirror this central theme. For example, Eddie struggles with whether or not to have children, a question that is thrown into stark relief when she and Jamie find a baby abandoned outside the precinct. All the storylines are well-executed and the characters’ motivations are relatable. Once again, the episode concludes with a family dinner, this time with a new member present. In this regard, “Family Secrets” focuses on human drama rather than procedural tropes, resulting in one of Blue Bloods’s finest installments.
1.“My Aim Is True”
Season 8, Episode 22
“I will always have your back.” After six wrongfully convicted men are released from prison, a series of drive-by murders begins targeting the officers responsible for putting them behind bars. Frank feels guilty about the miscarriage of justice, but the threat posed to the family forces them all into action. It’s thus a great episode that sees the Reagans working together to stop the bad guys, each contributing their own special skills.
This episode has it all: murder, romance, moral dilemmas, a criminal mystery to solve, some big surprises, and a sweet, uplifting ending. After many seasons of fretting over whether he can be with Eddie romantically and continue to work with her, Jamie finally proposes, revealing that no rule forbids spouses from being police partners. This conclusion is a little soppy, to be sure, but it’s undeniably feel-good and a fantastic way to end off the season. It’s the quintessential Blue Bloods episode, containing everything that makes the show appealing.
