Blue Bloods Series Finale: Tragedy Brings the Reagan Family Together One Last Time

Warning: This story contains spoilers from the series finale Blue Bloods.

New York was under siege in the series finale Blue Bloods.

New York police have launched a manhunt for suspects in three separate shootings – including the mayor and the death of one of them. After receiving a video manifesto demanding amnesty for a list of prisoners, Police Commissioner Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) is handed the “keys” to the city by the mayor, who remains hospitalized with a gunshot wound. He then set out to find those behind the attack and bring them to justice.

As Blue Bloods ended after 14 seasons, the Reagans reunited one last time and some major family news was revealed.

Read on to find out how Blue Bloods came to an end.

Tom Selleck and Bridget Moynahan in ‘Blue Bloods’.

Michael Parmelee/CBS

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Revisiting the past

When Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg) and Marisa Baez (Marisa Ramirez) began investigating the murder of Supreme Court Justice Barbara Carson, they quickly realized that the culprit might be someone from their past.

After discovering the hostage video featuring Barbara, detectives saw the shooter’s reflection when they zoomed in on the sunglasses. They identified the shooter as Carlos Ramírez (Manny Perez), who fans may remember was previously arrested after trying to escape with his daughter Amelia during a heated standoff at the helipad earlier this season.

From left: Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Marisa Ramirez and Anthony Abetemarco in ‘Blue Bloods’.

Michael Parmelee/CBS

After realizing that Amelia may be in danger at the hands of her father, the detectives try to track her down and are nearly killed in the process. After shooting their would-be assassin, Danny intercepted Ramírez’s call. When the criminal threatened him, Danny reminded him, “You did it yourself. You just put your daughter in danger.”

However, Ramírez did not agree without another criticism of him. “You put her in danger just like you did with your wife,” he said, referring to his late wife Linda Rose Reagan, who died in a helicopter crash, before adding, “You pretend to be a family man, but you do everything to win. Not this time.”

From left: Donnie Wahlberg and Vanessa Ray in ‘Blue Bloods’.

Michael Parmelee/CBS

The exchange made Danny more determined to bring Ramírez to justice. With the help of detective Anthony Abetemarco (Steve Schirripa), they discovered where the criminal was staying with his daughter. Faced with arrest, Ramírez turned the gun on himself before Danny talked him out of it for the sake of his daughter.

After his arrest, Danny’s grandfather Henry Reagan (Len Cariou) reminded him of all the people he saved by hunting down criminals and how he always told him to “don’t take your work home.” However, his grandfather added, “But the problem now is that you don’t have anyone to bring it home to…Promise me you’ll find that someone when this case is over.”

Danny later took his grandfather’s advice and invited his partner Marisa out for pizza.

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The death of one of them

The second shooting in the episode claimed the life of police officer Luis Badillo (Ian Quinlan), who was killed by a motorcyclist while responding to a carjacking with his partner Eddie Janko (Vanessa Ray).

From left: Will Hochman and Will Estes in ‘Blue Bloods’.

Michael Parmelee/CBS

While Eddie was recovering in the hospital after being grazed by a bullet, she worried that one of her bullets had accidentally hit her stalled partner. Her husband Jamie Reagan (Will Estes) was visited in the hospital by his nephew Joe Hill (Will Hochman), who had information about one of the shooters, Amelia Mars.

When Jamie seemed hesitant to join him in finding the culprit, his nephew reminded him that it was “all hands on deck” and that his help was needed. They then ran to Amelio’s apartment, only to find his pregnant girlfriend, who claimed to know nothing about his whereabouts.

Vanessa Ray in ‘Blue Bloods’.

Michael Parmelee/CBS

When they later followed up and discovered that his girlfriend had gone into labor, they realized that even a criminal would not miss the birth of their child. They found Amelia making silly faces at her newborn at the nursery window. Then Eddie stepped in to arrest him using her late partner’s handcuffs.

At Badill’s funeral, the commissioner reminded Badill’s mother: “Please take a good look around you. Luis’s whole family is here with you today” before Eddie handed his police cap to his son.

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Keys to the City

After the mayor was injured by a motorcyclist while riding, Frank Reagan visited him in the operating room before the operation. In a surprise move, the mayor advised him to go against the chain of succession and take control, saying: “I give you the keys, you drive. Get us out of this.”

After thinking about what the mayor meant, Frank realized he needed to continue doing his job with a “personal touch” and asked his colleagues to consider the killer’s connection—perhaps a brother or uncle—in the prison system, who they could “rely on to find out where that guy could go.”

He added, “I want to be there when we bring this guy in.”

Tom Selleck in ‘Blue Bloods’.

Michael Parmelee/CBS

After identifying the mayor’s shooter as Alandro Bautista, Chief Prosecutor Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan) asks ex-husband Jack Boyle (Peter Hermann) to stick his neck out for information on the suspect’s jailhouse informant father. Despite his hesitation, Jack said he would do it for her.

With Jack’s help, Frank contacted Alandro Bautista’s father Lorenzo Bautista (Edward James Olmos) behind bars and asked where they could find his son. However, Lorenzo was upset that Frank wanted to “galvanize” his son and told him: “When you look in the mirror, you see yourself with a white hat. You think you’re a good guy.”

The commissioner then plays hardball and threatens Lorenzo’s role as an informant, which returns him to the general population of the prison with no special privileges unless he tells them his son’s whereabouts before recalling the story of his late son Joe.

Edward James Olmos on ‘Blue Bloods’.

Michael Parmelee/CBS

“I had a son who was killed by the police, actually, and he was about the age of your son Alejandro and if someone had told me before it happened, ‘Here’s your choice. We can kill him now or he can spend the rest of his life in prison,’ he said. “Tell you what, I wouldn’t even blink.”

He continued: “I’d be up there in that prison any chance I got with a bag of burgers for us and a deck of cards so we could spend time together just drinking gin and bull and I’m thrilled that you’re there and eternally grateful for the opportunity because I know how cold darkness brings the second choice.”

After the conversation, Lorenzo apparently changed his mind about protecting his son’s location because the commissioner later informed the mayor that Alandro had been arrested at the furniture store.

From left: Peter Hermann and Bridget Moynahan in ‘Blue Bloods’.

Michael Parmelee/CBS

Meanwhile, on the personal front, Jack asked Erin if her father Frank would now forget “his dislike” of him after their split. But she said her dad never had any – instead he “kept his cool to hide his hurt”.

Erin then reminded Jack that they are “working well” despite their failed marriage, adding: “Despite our best efforts, we’re still here, one foot in, one foot out. Maybe we’ll try both legs [in]?”

“Remarry?” he replied, and she added, “Everyone deserves a second chance, right? Maybe we’ll take a breather? I mean, this time everything would be different. Party of 2, City Hall? Tell everyone about it afterwards.” He then pulled her in for a kiss.

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How it ends

At the family dinner after the funeral, Eddie and Jamie surprised everyone by bringing a high chair to the table and announcing that they were expecting a child. However, they did not plan to find out the gender ahead of time.

“Whether it’s him or her, if they can, they’re going to be really happy to be a part of this family,” Joe said amid the celebration.

Erin and Jack refrained from sharing the news of their reunion over dinner and instead discussed the indictment of Badill’s killer.

The episode ended with Frank saying, “You know, we have a lot to be thankful for. And looking around his table, I have to say I couldn’t be more proud or more grateful” before leading the family in prayer.

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Blue Bloods is available to stream in its entirety on Paramount+.

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Source: HIS Education