The ‘Boston Blue’ Scene You Didn’t See That Led to Danny’s Promotion

Sonequa Martin-Green and Donnie Wahlberg are protective of each other’s characters on Boston Blue. Martin-Green wants the Blue Bloods legacy preserved and respected, and Wahlberg wants the franchise’s new law enforcement family, the Silvers, honored. That said, Martin-Green is thrilled by Danny Reagan’s promotion to sergeant detective in Boston Blue Season 2 because it’s an evolution of the character that likely would have happened on Blue Bloods, had the show continued beyond Season 14.

Danny was offered a promotion in the Boston Blue Season 2 premiere by BPD superintendent Sarah Silver (Maggie Lawson), but he was hesitant to accept it at first because Lena had been passed over for the promotion before; her boyfriend, Detective Brian Rodgers (Ryan Broussard), got the promotion she wanted. But the near-death experience from the Season 1 finale, followed by three months of rehab with Brian, changed Lena’s outlook on life.

Now, she wants to focus on doing her work well and has nothing to prove to herself or others. Martin-Green told TV Insider that Lena might want the promotion down the road, but she’s happy for Danny and gave Sarah her blessing to offer it to him. In fact, Sarah offered Lena the promotion first in a scene that wasn’t written but was discussed between the cast and writers.

“What you don’t see on camera, but me and [series creators Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier] and the writers talked about this, Lena and Sarah had a conversation,” Martin-Green told us of the Boston Blue premiere. “Sarah came to her immediately like, ‘All right, maybe now’s your time.’ And Lena said, ‘No. Actually, no, I don’t want it.’ Sarah was surprised as well, which I ended up saying that she was like, ‘Really, Lena? You don’t?’ She’s like, ‘No, I actually truly don’t, but you know who’d be good for it?'”

“I was really happy just as Sonequa because it speaks to the legacy of Blue Bloods carrying over because [Danny] wasn’t in a leadership position on Blue Bloods,” Martin-Green explained. “It’s like, ‘All right, well, we had 14 years with this character. Now’s the time.’ So, being able to link the two shows together in that way was cool. But if she does ever want it, then it will be very easy to slip into it.”

Martin-Green was grateful for the conversation with Margolis and Sonnier about Sarah’s offer to Lena. “It was needed,” the Star Trek: Discovery alum said. Had Lena not been considered for the promotion, Martin-Green explained, “It would’ve told a very different story and not a good one otherwise.”

Danny and Lena’s partnership is strengthening in Boston Blue Season 2. In the episode airing on Friday, October 16, the duo will face one of their most dangerous jobs yet, and they’ll have to rely on each other to make it through.

Boston Blue, Fridays, 10/9c, CBS