What Happened to Linda on Blue Bloods?

Linda Reagan was a beloved character on CBS’s police procedural Blue Bloods for seven seasons before abruptly being killed off. Linda was the wife of lead character and detective Danny Reagan, and the mother of his sons Sean and Jack. Linda served as Danny’s moral compass, often giving him emotional support and helping him navigate the difficulties of his job.

Linda’s death came about because the actress who played her, Amy Carlson, chose to not renew her contract after Season 7. Because Amy Carlson wanted to leave the show, Linda was never going to remain a main character. However, how Blue Bloods killed her upset many fans and was disrespectful to the character. Many viewers felt that there was a better way to write Linda’s death, or better yet, not kill her off at all.

UPDATE: 2024/07/31 14:59 EST BY BRIAN CRONIN

I’ve updated this fine piece to give more details about the motivations in the Blue Bloods universe for WHY Linda was killed off.

What Happened to Linda on Blue Bloods?

Linda Reagan (Amy Carlson) sits at the dinner table with a glass of wine in Blue Bloods.

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Amy Carlson appeared as Linda Reagan in 155 episodes of Blue Bloods, beginning with the pilot in 2010 and ending with “The Thin Blue Line” in 2017.

- Amy Carlson appeared as Linda Reagan in 155 episodes of Blue Bloods, beginning with the pilot in 2010 and ending with “The Thin Blue Line” in 2017.

Linda Reagan’s death was revealed in Blue Bloods‘ Season 8, Episode 1, “Cutting Losses.” Her death was only revealed, as it did not happen on-screen. In between seasons, Linda died in a helicopter crash while on duty as an ER nurse. “Cutting Losses” took place several months after the helicopter crash, so while Danny was still grieving, he was further out from the immediate aftermath.

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The Reagan family, led by Tom Sellick, in Blue Bloods.

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Why Did Linda Really Die in the Blue Bloods Universe?

In the last episode, Amy Carlson appeared in before she left the series, Season 7’s finale, “The Thin Blue Line,” Danny gets personal with a drug cartel, targeting their money supply. They retaliated by setting fire to Danny and Linda’s home, and burning it to the ground. When Linda died in a helicopter crash, Danny obviously didn’t think that the two events were connected. However, he might have been wrong.

In Season 9, Lou Diamond Phillips had a story arc throughout the season as Luis Delgado, a member of the drug cartel that was responsible for torching Danny and Linda’s home. When confronted about it, Delgado not only gladly confessed, but he also dropped a bombshell on Danny by hinting that the drug cartel caused Linda’s death. Later in the season, after Delgado went to work for the DEA as an informant (a role somewhat forced on him by Danny intimating to Delgado’s people that he was a snitch), Delgado outright told Danny, via video camera, that the cartel intentionally crashed Linda’s helicopter.

Later in the season, a drug cartel member, Jose Rojas (Danny Trejo), murders Delgado’s wife. It was Rojas who orchestrated Linda’s death, and Danny and Delgado team up to take Rojas down. After they have captured Rojas, Delgado urges Danny to kill him, as he is responsible for the deaths of both of their wives. Danny wants to, clearly, but in the end, he refuses to throw away his belief in the justice system, and he instead arrests Rojas. He later visits Delgado in prison offers his condolences on the death of Delgado’s wife, and offers to keep an eye on Delgado’s children while Delgado is in prison. Delgado accepts his condolences AND his offer of help. With him having solved Linda’s murder, Danny eventually learned how to deal with Linda’s death healthily, and he carried her memory with him through Season 13. However, if Linda hadn’t been killed off, Danny never would have had to carry this burden at all.

Blue Bloods Didn’t Need Linda To Die

Linda Reagan and Danny Reagan stand side by side and look upset in Blue Bloods.

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A main character’s death in a long-running television series is always difficult. Whenever fans have been with a character for as long as seven seasons, there is usually an emotional attachment. Therefore, Linda’s death happening off-screen was a dubious decision as it did not allow fans to get the chance to say goodbye to a beloved character. Furthermore, the reveal of her death taking place several months after the fact meant that the audience missed out on the drama that would have directly followed her death. As heartbreaking as it would have been to see Danny and the rest of the Reagan family react to Linda’s death, it would have made for much better storytelling.

Blue Bloods also could have written off Linda Reagan in such a way that she did not need to die. Amy Carlson stated that she was willing to return for guest appearances, so if Linda had not died she could return occasionally like Chicago Fire has done with several characters. Viewers love getting to see previously departed characters, such as when Jackie Curatola came back for the Season 13 finale. While Blue Bloods would have had to come up with a good reason why Linda couldn’t be as present in the story, anything would have been better than how Linda’s story ended.

Why Did Blue Bloods Kill Linda Off?

Amy Carlson as Linda Reagan on Blue Bloods

Although Blue Bloods worked Linda’s death into the storyline for its eighth season, it wasn’t always part of the plan to kill her off. In fact, the real reason for Linda’s death came as a result of behind-the-scenes issues regarding actress Amy Carlson’s contract, which came to an end with the show’s seventh season. After seven seasons on the popular police procedural series, Carlson allegedly made the decision not to return. However, her character’s sudden and upsetting death was not her idea at all. In an interview with Deadline shortly after the episode first aired, Carlson stated that she was surprised by the manner of Linda’s death, stating plainly that, had the decision been hers, she “wouldn’t have done that.”

While it could be easy to see Linda’s offscreen death as Blue Bloods jabbing Carlson for deciding not to return for future seasons, that isn’t necessarily the case. It may simply be that the show’s writers saw an interesting opportunity to throw a wrench into Danny Reagan’s storyline by putting him through the death of his wife. Even so, Linda’s death is disappointing for many reasons. It is unfortunately difficult to find a well-written female character in a police procedural, making Linda a standout character in her genre. By killing her off so suddenly, Blue Bloods alienated many viewers who identified with her character. Moreover, the finality of her story makes it nearly impossible for the actress to return in future episodes, unless it takes place in a flashback or dream scenario, severely limiting any possibility thereof.

Blue Bloods Has The Perfect Opportunity To Bring Linda Back

Blue Bloods has one more opportunity to bring Linda Reagan back in its upcoming final season. The announcement that Blue Bloods will end with its fourteenth season may have been surprising to some people, especially after its delayed production due to the actors’ and writers’ strikes over the summer. However, the show’s upcoming finale gives the long-running procedural the chance to tie up loose ends from the past thirteen seasons, including the unhealed wounds from Linda’s death. While Blue Bloods has yet to bring Linda back in a flashback, dream sequence, or similar scene, the emotionality of such a long-expected return could work in the show’s favor during its final season.

Linda Reagan was an integral part of Blue Bloods for seven years, helping flesh out the world of the series, as well as its supporting cast. It would only be right for her to make a return, no matter how small before the Reagans take their final bow next season. It would be a disservice to Linda’s memory if Blue Bloods left her out of the final season entirely. It would be far more appropriate to allude to her in some way, perhaps with one final flashback of better times, when Linda and Danny were together and happy.

At the end of the day, Linda Reagan was a lovable character who offered a lot to the show during the time she was on it. For the fans who were upset by the way she was killed off, the negative reaction was a testament to the love that Linda inspired. Regardless, she deserved a better ending than the one she was given.

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