Vanessa Ray isn’t a stranger to appearing in big shows that have a cultural impact. She has played pivotal roles in “As the World Turns,” “Suits,” and “Pretty Little Liars.” However, her most prolific role is undoubtedly that of Officer Eddie Janko-Reagan in the CBS crime drama “Blue Bloods.”
As a main character for several seasons, Janko has seen a lot of growth, from her time as a rookie patrol officer to a valuable member of the Reagan family. In a conversation with Nerds of Color, Ray sat down to discuss her part in the series and her other significant career roles. She was immediately asked a solid question about what advice Season 12 Officer Janko would give her debut Season 4 Janko.
“Oh, that’s a great question! Season 12 Eddie would tell Season 4 Eddie to listen to her gut more and not to her rage, you know what I mean? Like, just trust down here. She was always so flying off the handle. And it gets better, and she gets to marry Jamie Reagan (Will Estes). So that’s — her life’s gonna get great. So, yeah, your life gets great,” Ray said.
Wise words from a veteran police officer to a rookie. Trust yourself, trust your gut, and everything will work out exactly as you need it to.
She began with something to prove about herself
A decade into her job, and Officer Eddie Janko has grown to be a pillar of positive law enforcement. Sure, she is privy to more information than most now that she has a direct line to 1 Police Plaza and its commissioner and her father-in-law. Still, she also has a direct line to the bitterness and jaded mentality of the family. She is constantly trying to introduce positivity into the dinner table conversations. In her conversation with Nerds of Color, Vanessa Ray revealed what her favorite storyline is, and it is when she feels Eddie found herself as a cop.
“I don’t know if you remember this episode, but they found a baby like in a bag. That episode, I was reading it, and I was weeping. But I feel like she really found her kind of calling in that she, I mean, this sounds silly to say, but it’s like she helps the defenseless, the people that violence is being acted upon them, and they can’t fight back. I feel like that episode made a big shift, and I feel like we’ve seen her over the last couple of seasons kind of build upon that.”
Ray’s Officer Janko began her journey in Season 4 trying to prove herself as a capable police officer. And now she still has things to prove, only now she is proving to her new family there is still reason to be optimistic about the world. She has become a valuable member of the Reagan family, primarily due to her learning to trust herself and her gut. That lesson was hard learned by Season 4 Janko, and Season 13 Janko thanks her for it.