‘Blue Bloods’ Ends Season 12 With Surprising & Inevitable Announcements (RECAP)
Spoiler Alert
[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for the Blue Bloods Season 12 finale “Silver Linings.”]
While Blue Bloods may not be the kind of show that ends a season with a big cliffhanger, it still delivers a strong finale, with Season 12’s in particular exactly what you expect when you tune in to CBS on a Friday night.
In “Silver Linings,” Erin (Bridget Moynahan) is the one in the middle when Frank (Tom Selleck) calls out her boss, Crawford (Rosyln Ruff), for being against incarceration for those she considers non-violent offenders in a press conference. While he doesn’t name Erin — though a reporter brings up his daughter working as the bureau chief under Crawford — Frank does think that ADAs, elected officials, and civilians need to speak out.
Meanwhile, Danny (Donnie Walhberg) and Baez’s (Marisa Ramirez) murder investigation and Jamie (Will Estes) and Joe Hill’s (Will Hochman) search for a trafficked girl end up leading to the same vehicle, and the four team up. It takes a surprising, personal turn for one of them. Plus, Anthony (Steven Schirripa) scores the coveted, very rare non-Reagan invite to the family dinner table.
Read on to find out how the season ends.
Mothers & Daughters
Elena Marquez (Annelise Cepero), pregnant, leaves witness protection to check on her mom, only to hear someone breaking in. She calls Danny, but by the time he gets there, all he can do is witness the house exploding when she opens the door. She dies, but the doctors are able to save her baby. It can’t be a coincidence that Arturo Munoz recently made bail, and security footage outside Elena’s house shows two people wearing ski masks, getting into a car reported as stolen … by Munoz.
John Paul Filo/CBS
Meanwhile, Jamie and his nephew, Joe, team up for a raid that should be straightforward, only for it to lead to a mother, Margo (Greta Quispe), trying to find her 14-year-old daughter, Soli (Kyndra Sanchez), who was trafficked as they were crossing the border. On what was to be Jamie’s day off, he and Joe track down the coyote, Carlos (Julio Cesar Ruiz), who took Soli. While doing so, Joe wonders if it’s true that his father would’ve insisted they get married if his mom told him she was pregnant. Without a doubt, Jamie confirms of his late brother. And he can’t help but wonder if Joe Reagan might have handled himself differently on the job if he knew he had a son. But they’ll never know if he might still be alive.
It’s as Jamie and Joe are following Carlos, about to pull him over for driving a stolen car, that Danny and Baez show up, after the same vehicle for their investigation. They take Carlos into custody and find a dead teen (not Soli) in the trunk. It turns out he was just cleaning up after Munoz, and they agree to try to get him a deal if he tells them where Soli is. She’ll be sorting drugs after a shipment, he ‘fesses up. But when they arrive at the warehouse, Soli is the only one to step outside — wearing a bomb!
With the bomb squad too far away and the clock ticking down, Danny puts himself in charge of defusing it and tries to send at least Baez and Joe back. “You got two Reagans here, talk us through it,” Danny tells Detective Giorgio (Tony Crane). “You’ve got three Reagans,” Joe corrects him. He’s not going anywhere. Danny’s successful, and Jamie’s the one to bring the safe Soli to reunite with her mother.
John Paul Filo/CBS
Then, Danny heads to the hospital to check on Elena’s baby, and Baez is already there, holding her. Munoz is facing federal charges and will never get out of prison again, he tells her. He also confirms that he called for a “medic” instead of an ambulance after the explosion because it reminded him of Private Patricia Murphy, whom he lost in a similar way. No one from Elena’s family has come forward to adopt her baby, Danny notes, but he did hear that one of the heroic detectives who caught her mom’s killer did. “She’s very lucky because you’re going to make one hell of a mom,” he says. Baez couldn’t stop thinking about her after seeing her, she confirms.
Getting on the Same Page
Eddie (Vanessa Ray) and Badillo (Ian Quinlan) first encounter Newiler (David Kallaway) when he’s holding up a storeowner at knifepoint. They arrest him, but since he didn’t physically attack anyone, the knife’s being left out of the complaint and he’s not even going to be charged with resisting arrest. Eddie’s frustrated, while Badillo shrugs it off … until he must shoot Newiler during their second encounter with him when he stabs a woman. (Both will be fine.) Then Badillo admits Eddie was right.
John Paul Filo/CBS
Caught in the Middle
Erin confronts her father about calling out her boss, but Frank argues that he’s not the one who’s put her in the middle. He does think it’s time for her to call out Crawford herself if she disagrees with her policies. He thinks he’d be able to listen if one of his inner circle did that and was right to do so, so why not see if the DA can?
Once again the topic of Erin becoming DA comes up, and while Frank may insist that he would never want one of his kids to make an important decision based on what he thinks — he’s told Jamie the same thing — she points out it’s hard to ignore his opinion. Frank thinks she’s afraid of winning and all that goes with it. In fact, when he and Crawford meet, Frank even suggests why he wouldn’t want his daughter to have his job: He’s battled with all the DAs he’s worked with.
Erin’s left frustrated by the entire situation and vents to Anthony, who notes that she may complain about her father being too involved in her life and caring too much, but his left when he was a kid. He and his mother rarely had a “family dinner.”
John Paul Filo/CBS
Then, Crawford speaks to the press and calls out Frank for being a “broken windows” guy. “The Reagan name is synonymous with law enforcement, but maybe we need to take a hard look at alternatives to that old order,” she says. Henry (Len Cariou) stops by to insert himself into his son’s work life without being invited after talking with Erin. As Henry recalls, he didn’t say anything about Frank taking over when he stepped back and the commissioner’s job was a possibility for his son.
Erin tries to explain to Crawford that who her father is has no effect on her job or what she thinks of her boss’ mandates, but the DA doesn’t seem to buy it. She then tries to explain her situation to her father. As Erin reminds him, she’s the only person at family dinner except for Danny’s son Sean (Andrew Terraciano) who isn’t a cop, and every week, she listens to everyone unload on the DA’s office. But while his department is far from perfect, she doesn’t say so in public, out of respect for him. Frank agrees to give her a heads-up if he’s going to call out her boss in the future.
Then, Erin shares that the reason she’s not running for DA isn’t because she’s afraid of winning. “It’s because I’m afraid of losing,” she says. “And that’s your fault. For raising me with three brothers.”
Another Special Reagan Family Dinner
Then, at the final family dinner of Season 12, with Anthony and Joe in attendance, Erin reveals she’s throwing her hat in the ring for DA. Why did she decide to run? “I guess I realized that one of the reasons I wasn’t running was I may be afraid of losing. But I think that if I have your love and support, I’ll be unbeatable,” she explains. “Spoken like a true Reagan,” Danny says.
Blue Bloods, Season 13, Fall 2022, CBS
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Conversation23 Comments
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Comments are closed on this story.
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O
Great show, one of the better ones without crap. Still say Danny and Maria need to hook up!
26 5
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O
Right on
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J
Overall it was a pretty good episode, but a few things were bothersome.
1) Kind of weird that in a city with more than 30,000 cops, Jamie & Joe would run into Danny (of all people) on the same case.
2) At the end, all three Reagan boys end up within 2 feet of a bomb. Haven't they ever heard of having a "designated survivor"??
3) Having Anthony at Sunday dinner was a nice touch, but a little odd considering he had hardly been in the episode at all. Kind of a stretch, IMHO. Would have been more relevant to have Baez there. And speaking of....
4) this is the most striking oddity of all: from absolutely out of the clear blue sky--out of the atmosphere-- from so far out in left field that it was in another county... suddenly Baez feels compelled to adopt a baby. Even though we've never heard a word from her about wanting a family or baby, or even a puppy.
Really, really jarring.
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O
The reason Anthony was there because he had a whole speech about not having much of a family support system when he was kid and also he is her "designated" investigator, so why wouldn't she want when she revealed she was running for DA?
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O
Ever heard of Hollywood?
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J
Um, yes, I have. Not sure how that applies to my post, though.... 🤨
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O
As always, a great show
It actually brought a tear to my eye about Baez adopting a baby. Why not?? She never really had any joy in her life so far. I think opens some great possibilities ❤️
Anthony at the table couldn’t get any better
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P
I just wonder if Baez will be back next season since she will now have a baby to look after
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C
My thoughts exactly cause this storyline came out of nowhere!!
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G
Where are the other grandkids? We watch every week and want to see or at least have them talk about the other kids. Isn't that something else they should talk about at Sunday dinner??
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J
Danny's older son went off to college, and I believe the actor did in real life also. Erin's daughter Nicki moved out to California. (I don't know what the actress is doing in real life.)
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B
Not sure who you're talking about but that was never Baez.
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B
Love Love this series. Great example of a dedicated hard working family with close family ties. Everyone seems to want Danny and Baez to get together. Would love that. It would be nice to see Erin with someone who truly cares about her and Anthony as well. Such a nice guy! Looking forward to another season.
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P
My thoughts were that the show was good overall, but covered a lot turf over a short amount of time, kind of like they were in a hurry to do the Epi. Anyway, I have a feeling Danny and his Partner will get together next season as he did say he was there for her. I have a feeling next season will be the last, not that I want it but.... Frank Retires, Danny gets married to his partner, Jamie and Eddie decide to start a family if not have one at the end and Eddie becomes either a Sgt or a Det. Erin wins the DA Election and the Mrs., My Mrs. says POP's dies. I don't think that unless something does happen in the actor's real life. All in all, if the show does end next season it will like it always has, no cliff hangers, but in harmony. Just my opinion as the Writers of CBS could have other ideas. BUT they did end M.A.S.H. very well, now didn't they, 🙂
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B
Sounds like you're confusing fanfiction with the TV show.
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B
Totally agree!
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R
Presumably if it hadn't been renewed, the three brothers would have gotten blown up? Now that would be a series finale!
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C
2 brothers 1 grandson/nephew
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R
Usually the same ole same with the Reagan's breaking the rules and not held accountable. Erin always resented her boss, but as you may remember she is not the most popular person in the DA,s office
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O
Baez , in the early episodes, was married and had kids. She was even pregnant on the show. She got divorced. And now all of a sudden she is childless and adopting? Am I the only o e that remembers this? She had like 4 kids or something.
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R
That was his first partner.
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G
If you're talking about Jackie I believe she was married an divorced but never had kids.
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G
On the show, Baez has never been married nor did she have children. She was in a relationship when she became a detective but that didn’t last. She has had several relationships (including with a married cop). In real life, the actress does have a daughter born in 2016.
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