Blue Bloods is just one episode away from its midseason 14 finale, and the Friday, May 10 episode was chosen to end on a lighthearted note with the Reagan family ahead of the upcoming holidays.
The main plot of the episode focuses on Danny’s (Donnie Wahlberg) son, Sean (Andrew Terraciano), who was mugged on his college campus. Danny is shocked to discover the theft (the attacker stole Sean’s backpack containing his wallet and laptop) at work instead of directly from his son. Sean is afraid to admit that the thief got away instead of fighting back himself like his police family did. Of course, Danny wants his son to be protected, so he reminds him that it’s better to be stolen than hurt—or worse.
Sean wants to be a hero like his family. When Sean witnesses a classmate being attacked by the same man, he helps out at a cost. He is slashed in the hip with a box cutter and hospitalized, but fortunately the attack is only superficial. Most notably, Sean sees the attacker’s face and recognizes him as someone who works in the school’s dining hall.
This leads to the discovery that the head of school security, a former cop who gave Danny intelligence earlier in the episode, is running a crime ring on campus that helps ex-felons find work. He helps these men identify vulnerable students who are then targeted for theft. Danny arrests him, and Sean receives a thank you day for his bravery. The Reagans’ dinner that week is filled with laughter as they affectionately tease Sean about his love life, ending the episode on a sweet note.
Elsewhere in “Two of a Kind,” Jamie (Will Estes) and Joe (Will Hochman) were caught on camera arguing after a disagreement in a bar. Family patriarch Frank (Tom Selleck) disciplined his son and nephew with threats of workplace disciplinary action but ultimately decided that damaging their reputations was punishment enough. Frank showed empathy and intelligent understanding when Jamie and Joe seemed unable to get along.
Joe’s father, Joseph, never knew that Paula Hill was pregnant with their child. Joe’s family connection was discovered after Joseph’s death, meaning Joe was welcomed into the family through trauma. Frank understands that the pain Joe and Jamie share is part of what unites them and part of what makes them “frustrated.”
This week’s main case is about a member of the Reagan family, and a work tragedy that turns into a family tragedy makes for a more personal episode of Blue Bloods. In next week’s midseason finale, guest star Aidan Quinn will play a hot-headed detective named Gus Vanderlip, who is “dangerously determined to discover how a rapist he arrested ended up back on the streets. Will Frank and Danny understand his anger when they’ve recently had to deal with deeply personal issues at work?
Blue Bloods will return in the fall of 2024 after next week’s episode. The series finale will premiere in December.