Tom Selleck’s Commissioner Frank Reagan won’t retire in the Blue Bloods series finale — but his intensity level at work will be amplified.
“It’s business as usual in the fact that he is still the commissioner of New York City, but the stakes are definitely raised,” Blue Bloods writer Jack Ciapciak exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, December 10, of the series finale, which airs on Friday, December 13.
Ciapciak teased that when Frank is “given the keys to the city by the mayor” it doesn’t make his job any easier.
In a sneak peek at the episode shared by TVLine on Tuesday, it appears that Frank briefly takes charge of the city after Mayor Chase (Dylan Walsh) is hospitalized.
“I don’t think I can do that Mr. Mayor,” Frank tells Chase in the clip as the mayor sits bloodied in a hospital bed, seemingly hinting at the big responsibility. “You can. You’ve done it to me a million times. Get us out of this,” Chase replies.
Frank “definitely rises to the occasion,” Ciapciak assured Us, reiterating, “It’s business as usual, but that business is high stakes and the rest you’ll see.”
After 14 seasons, Blue Bloods is bidding farewell on Friday with a jam-packed episode titled, “End of Tour.” According to photos previously released by CBS, the episode will also land Jamie Reagan’s (Will Estes) wife, Eddie Janko (Vanessa Ray), in the hospital.
“Eddie was always one of my favorite characters to write for, because Vanessa Ray is such a great actress and so fun to work with on set,” Ciapciak told Us, reflecting on the character’s journey since joining the cast in season 4. “It’s been so amazing over the years to kind of watch Eddie find her place in the Reagan family and settle in and start to stick up for herself.”
The writer noted that Eddie has overcome a lot since becoming a Reagan and her evolution will come to a head in the finale. “This episode is a great episode for Eddie. Vanessa Ray rose to the occasion and gives an excellent performance,” he teased.
Per the finale pictures, Eddie and the rest of the Reagans will later attend a police funeral after working together on one last case.
“It’s all hands on deck for the Reagan family, as they race to stop deadly mayhem in the city when the gangs of New York unite together to demand amnesty for the release of their imprisoned members and those awaiting trial,” the official logline reads.
While the family will cross over into each other’s lanes in the finale, each one will get their time to shine — but that doesn’t mean it every story will be tied up in a nice, neat bow.
“Viewers will be satisfied,” Ciapciak told Us, playing coy about whether some stories will be left open-ended.
He confessed that all of the Reagan stories were “tricky to end” but that doesn’t take away from what they came up with. “All of the family members have great story lines in this episode, and there’s a nice focus on each of them,” Ciapciak added. “They all end in a really nice place that Blue Bloods fans like us will be, will be happy to see.”
Blue Bloods series finale airs on CBS Friday, December 13, at 10 p.m. ET.