There was one key player completely missing from the penultimate episode of Blue Bloods and fans of the show certainly took notice. Will Hochman’s Joe Hill was noticeably absent from the second-to-last episode of the series without any explanation.
Instead, the episode focused on a couple of different story lines, including Erin Reagan trying to set Anthony Abetemarco up on a date with Deanne Janson, played by guest star Amanda Kloots. Viewers also got to see Frank Reagan’s tense talks with the governor in his office, as well as a moment with Henry Reagan at home.
Additionally, there were a couple of moments with Eddie Janko-Reagan, Luis Badillo and Jamie Reagan as they dealt with a hostile squatter. Danny Reagan and Maria Baez investigated the suicide of a teen at a school. The episode ended with Danny and Baez upset over the girl’s death. A family dinner was shown in the middle of the episode. Joe was not at dinner.
So where was Joe? Fans took to the show’s Instagram page to question what happened to him in the December 6 episode.
“No Joe?” someone asked in a comment, adding, “Honestly was hoping for some familiar faces or past cases.”
Another person said, “I wish they could have made these last few episodes more on the personal lives of the family. Wish there was more Joe Hill and more Erin and Jack.”
Joe has had quite an interesting character arc on the show, as the son of the late Joe Reagan and Paula Hill. It finally feels like the Reagan’s are slowly accepting him after years of friction.
“Since Joe first met his Reagan family, he’s gone through a steady whirlwind of change and, importantly, growth,” he told TV Insider on November 18 of the character. “The more cases he works with his family, the more he learns not only about the job but about himself. He has, thankfully, matured. There has been less to prove and more to give and so much of that growth has come from working with Danny and Jamie on the job, and from the meaningful conversations they share in those in-between moments.”
He did hint that he filmed the final dinner scene on the show, which will take place in the series finale on Friday, December 13. He was also featured in photos released ahead of the series finale.
“I joined the show a few weeks before the COVID pandemic began. Now, here we are four years later and one of the few things that remained in the midst of navigating that time was getting to gather around the Reagan table and bring family dinner to life,” he told the outlet.
“I will miss it. The final family dinner had an extraordinary feel to it, maybe even a kind of sacred feeling,” Will explained. “After 14 years, this was the last one. This was it. I did my best to be as present as possible and to take it all in, to look people right in the eye and to be there together.”