Blue Bloods Season 14, Episode 15 Review: One Character Nearly Dies In an Eye-Opening Hour
Blue Bloods Season 14, Episode 15, “No Good Deed” nearly gives fans a heart attack — for a good reason. The CBS show teaches a bunch of lessons in this installment, which effectively balances all of its multiple storylines. And while the different plots are a little contrived in places, the entertainment value is strong enough that those bits can be reasonably overlooked.
“No Good Deed” is named because of Eddie Janko-Reagan’s story, in which she witnesses a police recruit foil a hostage situation — but then learns his heroic act is likely to cost him his place at the academy. Meanwhile, a drug investigation almost downsizes the Reagan family, yet that’s part of an effective storyline for Danny Reagan and Joe Hill. Everything serves its purpose in an episode that gets the long-running show back on top form.
Blue Bloods Season 14, Episode 15 Has a New Hero
It’s Not a Reagan Who Saves the Day
The person who has the most jaw-dropping moment in Season 14, Episode 15 isn’t a member of the Reagan family. It’s Jaylen Davis (played by Jelani Alladin, whom some viewers will recognize as Kristoff in the original cast of Frozen: The Broadway Musical). When Eddie and her partner Luis Badillo respond to an attempted robbery, it escalates into a hostage situation. But Jaylen is also in the building and tackles the suspect while his attention is on the two officers. Unfortunately for him, Eddie’s husband Jamie Reagan arrives and reveals that recruits are forbidden from engaging in life-threatening situations.
This follows the pattern of some of Eddie’s recent storylines. Season 14, Episode 14, “New York Minute” also began with Eddie and Badillo responding to a hostage situation, albeit under totally different circumstances. More notably, this is another episode in which Eddie goes to bat for someone else she feels has been wronged. It’s hard to be too upset about the repetition because Vanessa Ray is at her best when Eddie is on one of these selfless crusades, and because this is a really easy one to get behind. Especially once Eddie discovers that the woman Jaylen saved is suing the police department under dubious circumstances, the audience wants better for Jaylen just as much as Eddie does.
Eddie also plays a key role in Frank Reagan’s storyline, in which her father-in-law debates a residency requirement that mandates NYPD officers live in New York City. She and Badillo are called into Frank’s office to talk about their financial situations, and Eddie candidly admits to Frank that she and Jamie are still basically living paycheck-to-paycheck. She might be treading some familiar ground, but the character is so good in these situations where she’s fighting for the little guy — including herself.
Danny Reagan’s case of the week is much more satisfying than the one in “New York Minute,” and much better developed as well. It’s just a shame that part of that involves almost getting him shot. Joe Hill is back again, after just being seen in the Blue Bloods Season 14 midseason premiere, so that Danny can work a murder investigation with his nephew (Maria Baez is said to be in court). The case serves as a way for the veteran detective to teach his nephew some of the finer points of being a cop. Whether it’s how to subtly approach witnesses or how not to scare them off, Danny continually reminds Joe that investigating is about much more than making an arrest. And that’s a good plotline, as on some other procedurals, it would just be about making an arrest.
The compare and contrast between Danny and Joe makes their teamwork interesting to watch, and actors Donnie Wahlberg and Will Hochman continue to play well off each other. Yet once the conclusion involves Danny having to wrestle a suspect, audiences know exactly what’s going to happen: Joe is going to choose to save Danny and the witness rather than pursue his own case, therefore proving he’s learned what Danny was trying to teach him. There’s not a ton of concern about whether or not Danny will survive — making the moment less impactful than what Jaylen did earlier. That doesn’t make it any less exciting to see Joe burst through the doorway and subdue the suspect just moments before he can shoot Danny.
Danny Reagan: Am I sensing some personal growth here?
While Maria is definitely missed, Joe is a capable fill-in because of the back and forth between him and Danny that adds another layer to the story. The predictable way it ends is less important than the character development the plotline allows. This presumably won’t be the last time that Joe appears before the Blue Bloods series finale, so perhaps fans will get to see him put some of what he’s learned into action.
Episode 15 Wraps Up Everything Almost Too Easily
But How Much Does That Matter to Fans?
There’s room to criticize “No Good Deed,” and that’s because almost everything has a pretty good ending. Not only do Danny and the witness get saved, but Jamie digs up information that Jaylen can use to shut down the lawsuit, Eddie lets him know about another department he can apply to, Frank decides to unofficially relax the residency requirement, and the reformed criminal Erin Reagan is advocating for is fast-tracked for the marijuana dispensary license he needs to open the business and hopefully turn his life even further around. He ends up in the hospital first, and one can argue Jaylen getting dismissed from the NYPD Academy isn’t fair either, so it’s not perfect — but the viewers know that once those things pass, the characters will be okay. Plus, a bunch of people learn something that will help them in the future. It’s not “a very special episode,” but it comes close.
Erin Reagan: [Del] was a teenage fall guy for a gang that was terrorizing the neighborhood. Context matters.
From a storytelling perspective, it’s awfully convenient that everything works out. Yet looking at the tone of the episode, this is something that Blue Bloods fans are likely to give the show a pass on. Yes, it’s dramatic license, especially Jamie producing that file and Erin’s boss happening to be friends with the state comptroller. But the audience is rooting for Jaylen to not be wronged and for Del to get his license, having seen how desperately earnest he is about doing better. Blue Bloods Season 14, Episode 15 is only giving the audience exactly what they want. So why complain about that? Especially when more TV crime dramas choose the bad ending, it’s kind of charming to see an episode where everything turns out well.
