Contains spoilers for “Blue Bloods” Season 14 Episode 8 — “Wicked Games”
Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) is a moral patriarch, a good man, and quite the successful police officer, but even his bearings can sometimes get crossed up. Never is that more of an issue when he has to choose between favoring a friend over doing the right thing. So it goes in “Wicked Games” when he learns the stalwart Abigail Baker (Abigail Hawk) has gone behind his back to attain a promotion for her husband, Brian (Jarid Faubel). Instead of asking Frank for help, she’s united with her co-workers Sid Gormley (Robert Clohessy) and Garrett Moore (Gregory Jbara) to push the raise through and assign him to work security detail for the mayor.
At first, Frank is wounded that Abigail didn’t think of him first. It takes questioning his closest co-workers and his daughter Erin (Bridget Moynahan) for Frank to learn his intimidating toughness makes him feel occasionally unapproachable to his friends, especially when something major is on the line.
That leads to Frank apologizing to Abigail — and the revelation that Abgiail’s pushing so hard for her husband to get the promotion because they’ve hit a rough patch in their marriage. Brian’s moved out and is living with his brother, and his stagnant career has been a worry for both of them. Ironically enough, Frank can’t push Brian that far up the ladder — but he can get him a job with the NYPD Chief of Detectives. It would be an administrative position, but that definitely makes Baker happy. Frank simply tells her Brian’s earned it. While Abigail might have been reluctant to take advantage of her friendship with Frank, he’s definitely been liberal when distributing favors to family and co-workers before.
In Blue Bloods, Frank has greased the wheels for multiple friends
During Season 14 alone, Frank Reagan has done favors for a number of friends and family members. He’s gotten a car out of impounding for Garrett’s neighbor — leading to the “Blue Bloods” character appearing at his very first Reagan family dinner — for instance. Frank also allows the son of the man who murdered his own son to keep his job on the force, admitting he’s impressed by the kid’s determination to stay among his brothers in blue after he takes the extra step of signing up under an assumed name.
On the other hand, Frank’s also been forced to learn how to say ‘no’ during Season 14. In this case to Tess Ross (Simone Policano), the daughter of his late best friend Lenny Ross (Treat Williams), whose legal problems he cannot magic away in spite of their mutual grief. The tear-jerking tribute episode to the late Treat Williams is just one example of how much even an old salt like Frank can learn when the mood strikes. That someone as highly competent and compassionate as Frank’s still learning how to be a better officer — and a better father — after all this time means there’s hope for everyone.
As the popular CBS series nears the finish like, longtime fans will likely be interested in reading what Tom Selleck has to say about “Blue Bloods” ending with its fourteenth season.