YES! We finally got a real family dinner scene.
No, that wasn't the point of Blue Bloods Season 14 Episode 7, but the family dinners have been given short shrift for far too long, often getting tacked onto the end as if they were an afterthought the writers rushed to include.
The dinner conversation mostly revolved around a silly story involving Frank's opposition to Sid's plan to get in the ring with a cop he couldn't stand. However, the family bonding, teasing each other, and telling old stories were all there, making up for the nonsensical storyline.
Frank's story was more comic relief than anything else. Whenever he argued with anyone about whether Sid should have a boxing match with Sergeant Russo, it seemed like he should have better things to do.
Frank: About this fight at the smoker...
Russo: He told you?
Frank: I'm the police commissioner. I know everything.
Frank doesn't usually care about optics, so his contention that Sid fighting a younger cop wasn't a good look for 1PP was odd, even if he did have a point. Since when does Frank Reagan base his decisions on these types of concerns?
Where was Garett during this earth-shattering conflict?
He's usually the one who worries about how things look and what the department should do, but he was conspicuously absent, and Baker didn't do much besides announce Russo's presence when he came to Frank's office.
This Silly Blue Bloods Story Had a Brilliant Resolution
Despite the ridiculous story, Frank's solution to the conflict was brilliant.
He was channeling King Solomon offering to split the baby in half with his ruse, although it almost backfired. At first, Sid and Russo seemed determined to continue the fight no matter what, and I was surprised that they finally backed down.
It's a sad commentary on the too-high cost of American health care that part of what got them to be reasonable was that they'd have to pay thousands of dollars to set a broken wrist if need be, but it did the trick!
Frank is always at his best when coming up with creative solutions to annoying problems.
This ruse was similar to one on Blue Bloods Season 9 Episode 22 when he settled a problem between the Dream Team by making them do each other's jobs so they could understand how hard everyone else worked.
It almost made this ridiculous story worth it.
The Deep Fake Story Was Fantastic But Brought Up Questions
Jamie's struggle to get a guy to testify against some AI scammers was one of the most compelling cases Blue Bloods has had in a while.
Deepfakes are the darkest, scariest aspect of AI, but many people are focused on the fear that an AI program could replace their job and are unaware of the real threat. Kudos to Blue Bloods for raising awareness.
Neighbours has also had a recent storyline featuring deepfakes, making it hard not to compare despite the two shows being completely different genres.
Blue Bloods' version was terrifying because the deep fakes were good enough to fool Sergeant McNichol into giving up sensitive info about a prisoner's location.
There didn't seem to be any way to stop the deep fakers, either. Calling them out only led them to make threats, and the people behind the malicious AI had covered their tracks.
Scary stuff. Let's hope real government officials are more adept at identifying and stopping malicious AI deepfakes than the fictional cops.
Jamie worked with McNichols during this episode, which was confusing. Most of the time, he works for a different boss in the Field Intelligence Office -- why was he suddenly back in McNichols' squad?
And what happened with the threats the scammers made against Jamie and Eddie? They seemed to have all of Eddie's security info and threatened to cause trouble if Jamie didn't drop the case, but nothing further happened.
They were unlikely to stop messing with Eddie and Jamie once the prisoner handed over info about them.
If anything, their attempts to intimidate should have worsened the closer Jamie got. It would be unsurprising if the deep fakers tried to engineer a split for the sake of drama for Jamie and Eddie or caused other serious trouble for them.
Jamie took after Frank, coming up with an innovative solution to get the prisoner to give up the needed information. It's unclear why Jamie needed to reveal the ruse after he got the information, but at least the trick worked for long enough to get what they needed.
This story also featured something else that has been missing on Blue Bloods: some new memorable Jamko moments.
This couple is a fan favorite, yet during Season 14, they've barely had scenes together. Jamie's been deep undercover, and after his return, one or the other had no story.
That changed this time, with Eddie trying to get Jamie to relax while Jamie admitted he didn't know how he'd ever find criminals so savvy at using the new tech.
Eddie: I have full faith in you.
Jamie: I used to. But with AI deepfakes and whatever else is coming next, it's like we're coming at this with rocks and spears.
While some follow-up to the threats made against them would have been nice, these vulnerable moments were perfect. Please, more of this!
Where Was Blue Bloods Going With Danny Helping Linda's Friend?
Danny and Baez had a compelling case involving mysterious deaths in the hospital. This also was a throwback to the classic Blue Bloods of years past, with Danny convinced they had a case and Baez skeptical that there was foul play at the hospital.
It wasn't a coincidence that Danny got the tip from Linda's friend. Unless Blue Bloods' cancellation is reversed, the series will have to quickly wrap up some ongoing storylines, one of which is Danny's love life.
Danny wanted to do this favor because the woman was a friend of Linda's and, therefore, a connection to his late wife. That's not the most incredibly romantic TV moment ever, but it's a decent setup.
Did anyone else think Baez was jealous when she insisted they didn't know if anything worth investigating had happened or that Desiree was trustworthy?
Baez and Danny have a lot of chemistry, but the writers could throw a monkey wrench into that idea with the sudden appearance of someone who has a close connection to Linda, especially since that person didn't seem to exist while Linda was alive.
The case was interesting, though there was too little investigating into the culprit.
The cops did a great job of finding evidence that crimes had been committed, but it would have been impossible for viewers to figure out who did it because the culprit came out of nowhere soon after the reveal that Vale was innocent.
Turns out bad guys aren't allowed to bleed out.
Doctor
The killer was the same nurse who didn't let Baez and Danny into the OR with the perp because even bad guys had the right to emergency medical treatment -- something which didn't match her decision to kill people who she felt were unworthy of medical care.
It would have been a stronger story if we'd got any signs that this nurse was unstable before the reveal, but it was entertaining anyway.
Anthony's Tragic Story
Erin Reagan's stories are usually the weakest part of the hour. However, this one with Anthony was more compelling than usual.
The ADA was never meant to make small businesses offer accommodations they could not provide.
It sucks to be a wheelchair user or otherwise physically disabled and not be able to get into certain stores because they aren't wheelchair accessible. Still, Harry couldn't make those accommodations in the space he had, especially not at the price tag he had been quoted for them.
The demand from Timmons sounded more like a shakedown. Was he associated with the mafia or other groups Elliot Stabler is trying to infiltrate on Law & Order: Organized Crime?
When Anthony claimed the perp on the video was way too thin to be him, I thought maybe the deep fakers created that video, too. That would have been a hell of a plot twist!
At least Anthony and Erin got the goods on Timmons, and he won't be scamming anyone else.
What was wrong with the defense lawyers in these cases that they hadn't proven his clients were faking and asked a judge to sanction him?
Over to you, Blue Bloods fanatics!
Which stories did you enjoy, and which (if any) did you find silly?
Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know!
Blue Bloods airs on CBS on Fridays at 10/9c. New episodes drop on Paramount+ the day after they air.