Blue Bloods

I also enjoyed S14.E4 ∙ Past is Present. The synopsis lists three plotlines: "Danny reunites with a troublesome teenager from a past case when the youth finds herself in danger; Frank faces a difficult personnel decision; Jamie grows suspicious when Henry is asked to be interviewed for an investigative web series." There was also a fourth plotline with Mario Vangelis possibly being a target for assassination.

Even though this episode had four plotlines going, it didn't seem overstuffed. To me the most important plot was the "difficult personnel decision" involving McFadden, the son of the man who murdered Joe.  I was pleased that plot seemed to get more screen time than the other three.  I liked that Frank seemed to wait until after Mike (Malevsky) McFadden and Joe Hill had met, and had talked for a bit, before making his decision.

I was thinking that the situation would be resolved by having McFadden transferred to another police department. It will be interesting to see if the character of McFadden returns in a future episode.

I also enjoyed S14.E5 ∙ Bad Faith. Once again there were so many plotlines going on that the synopsis couldn't list them all: "Erin is designated to lead a federal investigation into corrupt horse racing; Jamie investigates a drug trafficking operation involving rival gangs; Danny and Baez look into a series of assaults in Little Vietnam." There was also a fourth plotline with Frank navigating the possibility of the NYPD unions merging with Teamsters, which at first glance seems to give the episode its title.

However, this title also applies to the other plotlines. One could say the US attorney's office acted in bad faith with Erin, and that Jamie acted in bad faith with his boss by going over his head. Likewise, Danny was acting in bad faith with Sonny, initially questioning if he had truly reformed.

Once again, even though this episode had four plotlines going, it didn't seem overstuffed. To me the most important plot, given the stakes involved, was Frank's decision whether to endorse the Teamster's bid to take over the NYPD unions. This plotline gave us a really good scene with Garrett Moore (Gregory Jbara), who has been hanging out in the background this season.

The other significant plotline to me was "Jamie investigates a drug trafficking operation" with its potential consequences to his career. The scene with Jamie and his boss at the end was satisfying, both in terms of the resolution and the how the scene was done.

The other two plotlines were also well handled, but I wouldn't have necessarily minded dropping one of them to devote more time to the first two plots.

I found that plotline confusing as well. From what I gathered, the guy who was tied up was the killer of the child, and the father with the knife was plotting revenge but didn't go through with it.

I imagine both would be arrested, but the father would probably ultimately end up with probation given the circumstances.

I also enjoyed S14.E7 ∙ On the Ropes, but I felt some of the plotlines could have benefited from additional time. For example, "Jamie works to bust scammers who are defrauding the elderly" featured technology with terrifying implications. But that story was dealt with perhaps too quickly, although Captain McNichols' assist was a nice touch. Furthermore, the plot of "investigate a series of mysterious deaths at a hospital" is a story that could have had an entire feature film devoted to it, and did - Coma (1978).

But the stories of "Anthony is determined to take down an attorney who exploits the law for his own financial gain" and Sid wants to settle a beef at an NYPD boxing event were the right length IMO.

I agree that S14.E8 ∙ Wicked Games was good. I was glad to see that the plot of "Danny and Baez are on edge when Sam Evans, a serial killer who once targeted Baez and her daughter, is released early from prison" seemed to get the bulk of the screen time. The plot of "Jamie and Anthony team up on an investigation involving one of Anthony's criminal informants" was good too; it was nice to see them working together. The other two plots involving the transfer of Abigail Baker's husband, and Captain McNichols' workplace romance, seemed to get the least amount of screen time, but also seemed to be, IMO, the least interesting. Overall the episode seemed to juggle its multiple plots well.

I'm sorry to see this series end, it's the only current scripted show I watch anymore.

I also enjoyed S14.E9 ∙ Two of a Kind. It was nice to see Sean involved in the plot for a change. Good point about him being completely unprepared to fight. You'd think he would have at least armed himself with mace or pepper spray.

There were four plots again in this episode: "Danny gets involved when Sean becomes the latest victim in a series of robberies on Sean's college campus; Erin grows suspicious of an overworked attorney who she believes isn't acting in his client's best interest", as well as Eddie & Badillo investigate an apartment robbery where something unusual is going on between the tenants and the landlord, and Jamie & Joe Hill are assigned to ride together after an off-duty brawl.  And yet, it seemed that the right amount of time was devoted to each plot.  Kudos to the creators for striking the right balance and finding time for the character moments you mentioned.

The first time I read the article, it made no sense to me. Why cancel Blue Bloods, only to create an "extension" series. But then it dawned on me, this move would be an opportunity for CBS to renegotiate everybody's contract. The show's cast is large, and having done it for fourteen years, probably well compensated.

CBS could just create a show in the Blue Bloods universe, cast a bunch of young unknowns, and have them be the leads. The familiar characters from the original series could become supporting players, brought in as guest stars as needed for that week's story. The young unknowns need to talk to the A.D.A. Erin Reagan? Bring in just Bridget Moynahan as a guest star, at a fraction of her current salary. The young unknowns get in trouble and are called down to 1PP? Bring in Tom Selleck and Abigail Hawk as guest stars, at a fraction of their usual salaries.

That's not to say I like the idea, I don't. But we're talking about a network that has previously demonstrated they will show profitable crap (Hawaii Five-0 reboot) for ten seasons, while cancelling an excellent, highly rated, and popular series after four and a half seasons, just because they don't own it (Person of Interest). Considering CBS' past mercenary behavior, this move makes perfect sense.



Unnamed CBS Executive