Warning! Spoilers ahead for the Blue Bloods series finale.The Blue Bloods series finale features an important storyline for Danny, and Donnie Wahlberg fought for it. After 14 years, CBS’ long-running family cop drama officially wrapped up with a send-off to the Raegan family. Admittedly, there is still backlash over the network’s decision to pull the plug on the successful series, but at the very least, it is able to deliver a rather emotional swan song for the beloved project. A part of that is where Danny ends up in the Blue Bloods finale, which Wahlberg was involved in crafting.
In a new interview with Variety, the actor confirms that he talked to the higher-ups in the show to ensure that there’s some progression in Danny and Baez’s relationship. While he wasn’t exactly asking for their partnership to be romantic, Wahlberg wanted to leave the characters with the idea that there’s a possible future with them together, and that’s exactly what he got in the Blue Bloods finale. He also reveals that his scene with Len Cariou’s Henry crystallizes the need for Danny and Baez’s breakthrough. Read his full quote below:
“It was important to [producer] Kevin Wade to not have every partnership turn into a relationship. And I respected that, and I agreed with it. I think it was just probably important for me personally that Danny grows. As the audience started sort of clamoring for a relationship with Danny and Baez, I thought, it’s more important for them to grow and for her to start making an impact on him, and him to really respect her in a way that he hasn’t always respected certain people in the show.”
“I think that was a lot of me really pushing. I pushed a lot for some closure with that. I went to [writer] Siobhan O’Connor, and I was like, ‘Listen, you’ve got to do something. They don’t need to go get married, but something would be nice, just to show that there may be a future for them, or that their relationship has really evolved.’
“I did the scene with Len, and it was just gold. You understand he’s taking Grandpa’s advice. And I thought it was done magically. I thought it was done with respect to the show. It wasn’t ‘Let’s tie this up with a nice bow.’ It’s just a little nod to what could happen in the future for them.”
