Blue Bloods season 14, episode 14, “New York Minute,” wasted the opportunity to bring back one of Jamie Reagan’s (Will Estes) best skills in Rachel Witten’s (Lauren Patten) latest storyline. Witten is a former NYPD officer who is initially fired from the NYPD in one of Blue Bloods’ best episodes because she causes public perception of the NYPD to take a hit. However, Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) later reinstates her, leading to her working with Eddie (Vanessa Ray) for two years before retiring permanently from police work because of the stress involved in the job.
Witten returns in “New York Minute” as a social worker, a job that fits her personality and desire to help others. Her return causes a dilemma for Eddie when Witten asks her to keep quiet about her triggering a client to physically attack her to get city services to give him and his family the help he needed. Although Blue Bloods’ Jamie and Eddie both know Witten well, Jamie’s only involvement in her storyline is to give Eddie advice in one scene, which is a waste of his potential.
Witten’s Return Was The Perfect Opportunity To Bring Back Jamie’s Social Work Skills
In Blue Bloods’ Early Years, Jamie Was Especially Good At Helping People During Mental Health Crises
“New York Minute” underutilizes Jamie’s skills by limiting his involvement to offering to call a friend in the Department of Mental Health and Hygiene. When Jamie is a beat cop, he demonstrates a superior ability to build rapport with people who are acting out because of mental health conditions, even getting in trouble once because he refuses to allow his commanding officer to dictate the use of weapons in a situation that could be resolved peacefully.
Given his history, it would have made sense for Jamie to be actively involved in Witten’s case, especially during the climactic scene, which involves Witten’s client dangling his younger sister over a balcony and threatening to throw her to the ground. Jamie could have used his skills to help talk the man down and ensure everyone’s safety. Instead, he is conspicuously absent, leading to a dangerous situation where the police don’t know how to resolve the issue safely, and the child is only saved when Witten arrives and convinces her client to listen to her.
Involving Jamie In The Story Could Have Made Witten’s Blue Bloods Comeback Better
“New York Minute” Made Some Points About Underfunding, But The Blue Bloods Story Was Less Believable
Witten’s story showcases the underfunding of social services. She is desperate to help her client, who has become violent because of substance use related to his mental health condition, not because of the condition itself. However, city services are overwhelmed with requests, so she couldn’t get him help promptly and resorted to triggering his violence against her so that he would go to jail rather than be left to his own devices. However, the story could have served two character arcs well while still addressing this systemic issue rather than relying on fictional drama.
Jamie could have been on the scene for several calls involving this man and called on Witten for help as a social worker, only for Jamie to have to talk him down when he attacked Witten.
While Witten’s behavior makes sense in that context, it would have been more powerful and felt less strained to make a point if Jamie had been involved. Jamie could have been on the scene for several calls involving this man and called on Witten for help as a social worker, only for Jamie to have to talk him down when he attacked Witten. Using one of Blue Bloods’ best characters in this manner would have led to a more powerful and memorable story involving Witten, rather than one centering on her desire to go to extremes to protect her client and his family.