Just like Frank Reagan runs the Reagan family, Tom Selleck dominates the return of Blue Bloods. Season 14, Episode 11, “Life Sentence” is the midseason premiere — and the start of the long-running CBS drama’s final episodes. As such, the script wants to tie the whole family into one case of the week, but it’s the subplot involving Selleck’s character Frank and returning guest star Stacy Keach that stands well above the rest of the proceedings.
“Life Sentence” seems to take its title from that story, in which Frank is surprised by Archbishop Kevin Kearns asking for his help on a murder case. Kearns wants to help the suspect avoid the death penalty… but Frank doesn’t see the case the way he does. Meanwhile, Erin Reagan is randomly accused of jury tampering, which is just one of a whole series of events related to a gang leader. All of the plots have something to offer, but Selleck and Keach bring Blue Bloods back with quiet brilliance.
Blue Bloods Reunites Tom Selleck and Stacy Keach
Old Friends Turn To Enemies in Season 14, Episode 11
After 14 seasons, Blue Bloods has developed a pretty impressive bench of guest stars, and “Life Sentence” features the returns of four well-known recurring characters. Chief among them is Kevin Kearns, the Archbishop of New York, played by Mike Hammer star Stacy Keach. For roughly eight years, Keach has popped in and out of the series — and Season 14, Episode 11 may be one of his best appearances. Kearns tells Frank that a murder suspect named David Benson wants to surrender to the NYPD, but that’s motivated by self-interest. If he faces his charges in New York, he can potentially avoid a worse situation in Ohio, where he’s likely to receive the death penalty. Kearns is hopeful Frank will save Benson from lethal injection; Frank isn’t sympathetic to a murderer.
The death penalty has been a hot-button issue for years if not decades, and Blue Bloods tackles it well in conversations Frank has with both Kearns and his daughter Erin, who also opposes the idea. Neither side budges on their beliefs but neither side is presented as “right” on the subject. Instead, the focus is on what this divisive issue does to Frank and Kearns’ friendship. Every time Kearns shows up in Frank’s office, things get worse and worse, to the point where Kearns makes a comment about thinking they “were friends” — past tense. Both Keach and Selleck, true veterans of the game, are able to escalate their performances subtly so the tension grows effortlessly. Erin gives her father a bit of a wake-up call:
Erin Reagan: What is the cost to you if you turn your back on a friend?
Selleck has been vocal about Blue Bloods’ cancellation, and it feels like some of that frustration comes out in his performance. Frank mostly keeps his cool, but the audience can hear and see his conviction as he and Kearns go back and forth on what the Archbishop considers to be a “humanitarian issue.” In the end, they meet in the middle. Frank says that he spoke to the governors of both states and the Attorney General in Ohio so that Benson will receive consecutive life sentences instead of the death penalty. And Kearns apologizes for trying to leverage his and Frank’s friendship for his own ends. Frank correctly points out, though, that he came to the person who could help the most, which is part of an underlying theme in the episode. This subplot features two great actors whose characters are written with such mutual respect, and they set the tone for everything else.
Blue Bloods Randomly Puts Erin on the Hot Seat
Episode 11 Gets Bridget Moynahan’s Character in Trouble
The biggest plotline of the episode involves Erin, who’s accused of jury tampering in the middle of her trial against gang leader Carlos Ramirez. This is another callback, as the Ace Double Treys have also been in and out of the show for multiple seasons. But “Life Sentence” makes the allegation against Erin so obviously false that it’s hard to believe she’s in real jeopardy, even as the supposed evidence starts to appear. A juror blurts out in court that Erin told her to vote guilty, even referring to her by name; it’s such a scene that it’s clearly performative.
The best part of this story is that there’s a bit of a Younger reunion.
Erin recruits her ex-husband Jack Boyle, played by Peter Hermann, to represent her while the Queens attorney prosecuting her is portrayed by Debi Mazar. Hermann and Mazar both starred in Younger, the TV Land comedy-drama now streaming on Paramount+. Sadly, they don’t get to interact much until the scene where Jack and Erin coolly present their findings to their opponent. Mazar really only has one note to play, as her character’s disdain for the whole Reagan family drips off her; the show makes a quick attempt to flesh out the character at the family dinner, as Erin says that her rival did things the way they would have done them, but it doesn’t help. It’s much better to see Hermann back, and the rapport that he’s developed with Bridget Moynahan over the years truly shines, particularly when Jack tries to reassure Erin about her future.
Jack Boyle: You are not defined by your job.
The biggest takeway from this plotline, combined with the Frank and Kearns story, is the power and influence of the Reagan family. That power is why Kearns comes to Frank in the first place and he’s able to sway two governors and an Attorney General, albeit with some favors. Mazar’s character snarkily says “I’m not a Reagan,” and Erin throws that back in her face later with, “You’re not. Reagans have some integrity.” There’s an unintentional feeling of the family sort of reigning over the city, rather than the usual idea of how much the city means to them. There’s also a little bit of frustration at the lack of resolution beyond Erin’s fate. The juror is a minor character, but whent there’s a video of her parents having been beaten by gang members, the viewer can’t help but want to see that family have a happy ending — especially on Blue Bloods, which is all about family.
Blue Bloods Teases a Baby for Jamie and Eddie
Will Season 14 End With a New Reagan?
“Life Sentence” risks confusing audiences a few times, as the viewers have to keep up with how multiple plotlines are connected to the Carlos Ramirez case. But the emotional through-line is how Eddie Janko-Reagan bonds with a young girl named Amelia after she and her partner find Amelia’s mother deceased. Eddie doesn’t learn until much later, and after she’s opened her home to Amelia, that Carlos is the girl’s father. That plot point at least gets partly resolved, as Danny Reagan and his partner Maria Baez manage to keep Carlos from taking Amelia with him when he escapes by helicopter. Yet the actual point of the story is that it motivates Eddie to tell her husband Jamie Reagan that she wants to start a family of their own.
This is huge news for fans, and a natural progression for Jamie and Eddie, who’ve been married since Blue Bloods Season 9. As TV viewers know from countless other shows, the next step for popular TV couples after marriage is kids. It would also fit perfectly with the theme of family to have the final season — or even the final episode — involve welcoming a new Reagan to the fold. Especially since it’s already been confirmed that no one will be promoted professionally in Season 14, it makes perfect sense to have a big personal development to deliver the grand kind of story that audiences expect in a final season.
Blue Bloods Season 14, Episode 11 is a very busy episode, and one that doesn’t always hit its marks, but it brings everyone back together, and not just around the dinner table… although it’s a pleasure to see them all there again, along with Jack and Joe Hill. With episodes like this, it’s hard to believe this is the beginning of the end.
Blue Bloods Season 14 airs Fridays at 10:00 p.m. on CBS.