“Blue Bloods” has been a solid performer for CBS for over a decade. And fans are still clearly interested in the cases solved by the Reagan family, as Season 13 continued drawing in great reviews. According to IMDb, the highest-rated episode of “Blue Bloods” Season 13 was the premiere, “Keeping the Faith.” While some fans had issues with Season 13 as a whole, the first episode was a welcome journey with the Reagans.
Everyone has something to do as Jamie (Will Estes) and Eddie (Vanessa Ray) get involved in a domestic violence case already being worked on by Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) and Baez (Marisa Ramirez). Meanwhile, Frank (Tom Selleck) wants to learn more about how the public views police, and Erin (Bridget Moynahan) is floated the idea of running for District Attorney.
It’s a well-done, standard episode of “Blue Bloods” that’s earned an IMDb rating of 8.2/10 out of 295 reviews from fans. That makes it a high point of the season, but many other episodes did well, too. But the title of the episode relates interestingly to Ben Stiller and unofficial New York spokesperson Billy Joel.
Keeping the Faith is a popular movie and song title
It makes sense the “Blue Bloods” Season 13 premiere would be called “Keeping the Faith.” During the investigation, Jamie is seriously injured, with his family gathering at the hospital for support. Keeping the faith certainly factors into the story as Jamie recovers from his wound, even if fans wished Season 13 focused on Jamie’s injury more in other episodes.
However, “Keeping the Faith” has many other connotations outside of “Blue Bloods.” For starters, it’s the title of a 2000 romantic comedy starring Ben Stiller and Jenna Elfman and directed by Edward Norton. It focuses on long-time friends who are a rabbi (Stiller) and a Catholic priest (Norton), who both have crushes on the same woman. It was a well-received rom-com upon release, with Wesley Morris of The San Francisco Examiner writing, “All that slapsticking you see Norton doing in the previews is in no way indicative of the controlled, soulful movie it really is. You’ll see.”
“Keeping the Faith” also happens to be the title of a Billy Joel song from his 1983 album “An Innocent Man.” The lyrics see a man looking back on his life and feeling like he owes a debt to his younger self. Ultimately, all of these titles derive from the Bible, specifically 2 Timothy 4:7, which reads, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” The phrase is all about hanging onto hope even after going through a lot, so “Blue Bloods” follows in a grand tradition.