After 14 years of being on the air, CBS’s weekly series about the Reagan law enforcement family, Blue Bloods, will enter the second part of its last season this September. One of the main reasons this police procedural drama was a steady ratings hit for so long was largely due to its memorable main cast and the characters they portrayed.
As NYPD Commissioner Frank Reagan, iconic actor Tom Selleck brings a stern but compassionate personality to the family figurehead. Donnie Wahlberg (of New Kids on the Block fame) plays one of Frank’s sons, Danny Reagan, a loyal but hothead kind of detective. Bridget Moynahan and Will Estes, respectively, bring Danny’s brother and sister, Sergeant Jamie Reagan and ADA Erin Reagan, to life. While these two names are usually not involved with the main plots, their court or street-based stories are equally riveting. Last but not least, Len Cariou is Henry, Frank’s father, the older but more experienced backbone of the Reagan family.
Over the years, we’ve seen other characters enter and exit the series, like Detective Jackie Curatola, Linda Reagan, and Nicky Reagan-Boyle, but the aforementioned five have truly remained from the beginning to the end. Speaking of these two defining points in the show — a powerful, resounding conclusion should obviously be the construct of the Blue Bloods finale. Unfortunately, such a climactic arc has already occurred at the end of the first season. Once you read about this secretive organization that had operated within the shadows of the NYPD, it will be hard not to agree: it’s possible Blue Bloods already told its most exciting story 10 years ago.
A Secret Fraternal Order Threatens the Reagans in Blue Bloods
Besides Danny, Erin, and Jamie, Commissioner Frank Reagan and his late wife Mary had another child: Joseph. Following in the footsteps of his father and his siblings, Joe also joined the ranks of the police department. But as revealed in the series premiere, the second-oldest son sadly died in the line of duty 15 months before the show ever came to be. As far as the Reagans knew at the time (as well as the viewers), Joe worked in the warrant squad alongside another notable detective named Sonny Malevsky. With that name in mind, let’s jump back to the first season.
Being the youngest, Jamie Reagan always had a better connection to Joe. When the FBI contacted him about Joe’s undercover investigation into the Blue Templar (that was cut short due to his untimely death), Jamie had no idea about this and was understandably shocked. Once respectably formed to police the police, this fraternal order’s newest members had easily turned the small group corrupt, killing criminals as well as innocent witnesses and stealing all the money and drugs from crime scenes. It was apparent that Blue Bloods was not afraid to introduce stories about corrupt cops.
The Blue Bloods Season 1 Finale Ramped up the Intensity
In honor of his fallen brother, Jamie decided against continuing the undercover sting with the FBI and opted to try and gather evidence himself. This is proven to be dangerous, though, because as the police officer begins unearthing the truth about his brother’s demise, Malevsky and the rest of the Blue Templar torment him in various ways (stealing his gun and rewiring the brakes on his car, which almost killed him).
Through a makeshift base set up at the Reagan house and a tapped phone line, the family finds out that members of the Blue Templar not only killed Joe but have also given the nickname of “Reagan’d” to any person they had to kill. They also find out that the entire Blue Templar is meeting up one last time at a closed-down bar. This is only the first season, and we already have a group of people within the NYPD who have shown malicious and deadly intent towards the Reagans on two different occasions. Even though the series is only in its infancy, the family dynamic is played to the fullest extent here, pulling on the emotion of a fallen brother.
The climactic scene that pits The Reagans against Malevsky and The Blue Templars is memorable for many reasons. First, the track selection of AC/DC’s Highway to Hell just before Frank and the brigade barge in is an excellent foreshadowing of what will occur. In a very rare moment, Frank Reagan almost breaks down while asking, “Who shot my boy?” The fact that he is turned away from the camera makes the line of dialogue even more palpable.
With a smirk appearing across his face and his response as cold as they come, Malevksy answers. Just before you think something crazy is about to happen with these two total opposites standing across from each other, the presumed leader of the Templars shoots and kills himself in one last act of defiance. Even though there have been plotlines more recently that connect to Malevsky (like his son trying to become a cop to right his father’s wrongs), the Blue Templars are presumably and permanently disbanded.
More Time for the Blue Templars in Blue Bloods?
Now that we have been all caught up on what occurred during the first season imagine how expansive this story could have been if it had been held back until the series finale. Malevsky could have been initially crafted into a character that the entire audience trusted and related with until a startling moment revealed that he was the one who killed Joe. Considering The Blue Templar is a group of invited police officers, the ten years that the show was on could have been used to slowly show who was within this group and how they were connected to the Reagans.
While this did take place (to some degree) when Frank confronted Gerry O’Brien regarding the disappearance of numerous pistols, it was a one-and-done scene. The same goes for what the corrupt officers do to Jamie. If these linked connections were sprinkled over multiple seasons, the ominous but mysterious threat of the Blue Templars could have been a much bigger deal than what we received. This would have also resulted in a much more satisfying series finale, wrapping everything back to the family and what really went on the night that Joe got killed. Regardless of what occurs in the last batch of episodes, this memorable CBS series will undoubtedly be remembered for years. Blue Bloods will return to CBS on October 18 at 10 pm. Past episodes are available to stream on Paramount +, Prime Video, Google Play, Hulu, Philo, and fuboTV.