There’s only one thing better than Blue Bloods being back: Blue Bloods featuring the legendary Ed Asner.
It wasn’t a token appearance, either. Blue Bloods Season 10 Episode 15 wove in some interesting backstory for Frank as well as a dilemma for him in the present.
This made for some strong drama, especially juxtaposed with Jamie’s dilemma.
Frank has had to help an awful lot of old friends, but this one was different.
Mr. Kay was a special person in Frank’s life, and the story was as much about Frank realizing that time had not been kind to his childhood mentor as it was about the situation at hand.
The issue didn’t quite make sense. I wasn’t clear on why someone who broke into Mr. Kay’s home, roughed him up, and stole his stuff, was allowed back in the apartment.
If the perp was a roommate, that would be understandable under the new bail law, but that didn’t go with the home invasion story.
That was a minor point, though.
Frank’s story about Mr. Kay was surprising at first.
We all know Frank as the stern but loving father and grandfather and the take-no-bull police commissioner, so it’s hard to imagine he was once a teenager who needed direction to keep him out of trouble.
Frank: Look, Mr. Kay. I assume you know the guy who did this was caught and charged.
Kay: I don’t get it. I just don’t get it. How can he… now he’s coming back. Now he’s coming back and he’s…
Frank: Well, it’s the law now. It’s a crime in itself if you ask me.
Kay: What kind of city are you running where the assailant can return to the scene of the crime?
But the very best police officers were once kids who didn’t make the best decisions. They remember what it was like to be in that position and try to use their power to help people, not to bully them.
And that fits Frank to a T.
The story, in some respects, was about the passage of time and how people change.
Frank was no longer a boy who needed to be encouraged to live his own adventures. And Mr. Kay was no longer the movie theater owner who encouraged Frank.
It had to be heartbreaking for Frank to see his old mentor wheelchair-bound and afraid to leave his home. That’s why he tried so hard to get him to go outside.
He wanted to encourage Mr. Kay now the way Mr. Kay had encouraged him then.
Ed Asner’s performance was riveting.
Mr. Kay’s refusal to go outdoors and his continual attempts to push Frank away were heartbreaking and among the best scenes of the hour.
It had to have been humiliating for Mr. Kay to admit to his old mentee what was going on with him, and Asner sold that.
Kay: You’ll be there for me?
Frank: Of course. Maybe we’ll take in a movie.
Kay: They don’t make movies for you and me anymore.
Frank: So we’ll go to my house and watch Turner Movie Classics.
Frank’s alternate solution was great. Things really came full circle, with the whole Reagan family stepping up to help Mr. Kay just like he helped Frank, and probably other neighborhood boys over the years.
Meanwhile, Jamie’s dilemma was, in some ways, the reverse of Frank’s.
While Frank was trying to take care of an old man who had helped him get on the right path, Jamie had to prove that he hadn’t been on the wrong one.
It was weird that Eddie wasn’t around at all.
Jamie could have used her encouragement while he went through the IAB investigation, and she wouldn’t have been happy that he got into a fight.
But oddly, she was nowhere to be seen. Where was she?
You’d think it would be fairly easy to find out who stole an item out of the cops’ locker room.
A police station should have security cameras, plus people shouldn’t be able to waltz into the employee areas without authorization.
Nevertheless, it had to be stressful for Jamie to be accused of helping a perp. His entire career was on the line and IAB could have filed criminal charges against him if they thought he was involved.
So it was understandable that he tried to conduct his own investigation, even if it was a bad idea that Eddie should have been trying to talk him out of.
From IAB’s perspective, it looked like Jamie was trying to intimidate his officers into vouching for him, and that physical fight didn’t help.
Also, the eventual solution to the mystery came out of nowhere. It would have helped if Jamie had reviewed security footage or looked into the clearly evasive cop on-screen instead of confronting her about a delinquent son we didn’t even know she had.
Henry’s advice to Jamie was interesting. Some fans have surmised that when the series eventually ends, it will probably involve Frank retiring and Jamie taking his place as commissioner, and Henry’s comments seemed to support that theory.
Finally, Danny and Baez had a run-of-the-mill case that was a lot less interesting than Erin’s story.
So somebody gave somebody something on a silver platter. Are we hooked?
Erin
It looks like this corruption in the DA’s office arc is going to last a while, probably until the end of Blue Bloods Season 10.
Erin has been dealing with corruption throughout the season, starting with that favor she owed the governor. Now she’s in a position to unseat some bad actors, but like most people in power, they won’t relinquish it easily.
Of course, the evidence could be phony or a lot of nothing, but maybe not.
And Anthony and Erin both “have ideas” about who is implicated, but the audience hasn’t been let in on those ideas yet, adding to the intrigue.
Erin Reagan is the bureau chief so all deals go through her. Besides, she’s a Reagan. They’re like the Coreliones.
Vangelis
Your turn, Blue Bloods fanatics.
Who do you think Erin and Anthony are investigating? What did you think of Jamie’s case? And did you enjoy seeing Ed Asner again?
Hit that big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and share your thoughts.
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Blue Bloods continues to air on CBS on Fridays at 10 PM EST/PST.
Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.