CBS’ latest Blue Bloods update makes me worried about the series finale. I’m heartbroken that the popular police and family drama is going off the air after 14 years despite its high ratings. Blue Bloods’ Reagan family is the center of the show, making it far more than an ordinary police procedural. In its last few episodes, Blue Bloods season 14 contained all the family drama and ethical dilemmas that make the series worth watching.
Although there are only a few episodes of Blue Bloods left, there haven’t been many overarching stories in its final stretch. Jamie and Eddie decided to start a family, but their desire to do so hasn’t been mentioned since Blue Bloods season 14, episode 11. Meanwhile, there’s barely any movement in Danny and Baez’s potential romance. Instead, each episode of the final season has dealt with the cases of the week, including the characters’ responses to them, though Frank’s disappointment that Mayor Chase hired a troublemaking ex-cop for a security position could play into the events of the series finale.
There’s Barely Any Set-Up For The Blue Bloods Finale
The Penultimate Episode Sounds Like An Ordinary Episode
CBS recently released the premise for the remaining episodes of the show. Blue Bloods season 14, episode 17 sounds like an ordinary episode of the series, as it has two rather simple storylines. One involves Eddie and Badillo helping a guy out whose apartment has been taken over by a squatter, while the other is about Danny and Baez investigating a death in a college dorm. It’s followed by the Blue Bloods finale, which would see the Raegans protect the city. That said, there’s barely any set-up to what’s in store for the family in the send-off.
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, in the historic series finale episode of Blue Bloods.
In my career, I’ve covered many series finales, and the most disappointing ones are those that are not markedly different from the rest of the series. While it’s still possible that Blue Bloods may have some surprises in store for the remainder of its run, it seems like its strategy is to conduct business as usual until, suddenly, the series is over. Hopefully, there is more to the series finale than a quick wrap-up in the last few minutes, as a series with such a large following that has been on for over a decade deserves a strong send-off.
I Would Prefer For The Blue Bloods Finale To End A Mini-Arc For The Reagans
I’d Hoped The Last Two Episodes Would Be A Two-Part Final Story
It would have been exciting for the last two episodes to focus on the same story. Since it was confirmed that the finale would involve the family coming together for one final mission, it would have been fitting for that mission to begin in the Blue Bloods season 14, part 2 premiere and then carry over to the finale. This would have been stronger than having the final mission come out of nowhere, which is what seems to be happening based on CBS’ update.
The first season did this well, with the mystery of what happened to Blue Bloods’ Joe Reagan being interspersed with other storylines throughout the season, leading to an explosive season finale. I’m disappointed that Blue Bloods’ final season doesn’t seem to be that focused. Instead, it has mostly given the audience the story of the week without any continuing arcs that could be resolved in the series finale.
Sadly, the season has generally ignored the fact that Blue Bloods is wrapping up soon and hasn’t planted many seeds for the finale.
Of course, previous stories in Blue Bloods season 14 may still lead into the events of the finale. That said, the synopsis for the finale states that gang members unite to cause mayhem while demanding that certain prisoners be released from jail, which sounds like a storyline that requires some set-up. Still, even if this story is a continuation of the events of episode 17, that might not be enough. Sadly, the season has generally ignored the fact that Blue Bloods is wrapping up soon and hasn’t planted many seeds for the finale.
Can The Blue Bloods Finale Still Be Satisfying?
The Episode Will Have A Lot Of Work To Do To Wrap Everything Up
Despite these missteps, I am holding onto hope that the Blue Bloods finale can still be satisfying. The Raegan family send-off will have some work to do since nothing was addressed earlier. However, if it provides the audience with knowledge of what happens to each character and ends with its trademark focus on the Reagan family, it can still be satisfying. The wrap-up will have to come naturally out of the events of the final episode to make sense, though.
While I am disappointed that Blue Bloods has not planted many seeds as to the characters’ fates and is giving the audience an ordinary story for the penultimate episode, I’m still optimistic about the finale. The series has promised that it will contain everything that made audiences fall in love with it, and I’m curious as to how the long-running procedural will pull that off in the space of only one episode.