‘Blue Bloods’ season 7, episode 2 review: Danny versus teenagers; Erin lends Anthony a hand

We’ve seen Danny Reagan on “Blue Bloods” over the years take on quite an array of difficult opponents, but on Friday night’s new episode, what we found so interesting was seeing him have to straddle the line between being an officer and a father figure in investigating the death of an elderly woman. He was in a neighborhood full of troubled teens, and his main order of business was to get to the bottom of what happened — while also trying to break up some of the street gangs and the people skipping out on school. Given that he also had to deal with his son’s own truancy, this likely hit home for him more than the standard case.

Eventually, his presence and his handling of some of the teens was effective in making it clear that there some very dangerous people there, in particular the shooter Roxy who was bringing so many of them together.

Erin’s new struggle – We certainly saw a different side of Anthony in this episode, as we learned that her partner was caught up in a very serious case. He stood to lose a lot of his mother’s money if he failed, and this is in turn why he became so emotional and even violent at one point. While this story didn’t necessarily dominate the screen time, what we did appreciate was getting Henry out on the streets to help. At first, his efforts went up in smoke, but he was able to work his connections and sort things out by the end.

How harsh should Frank be? – Frank chose to take a hard line with an officer who violated rules and then was guilty of insubordination, and he had to figure out precisely what he wanted to do about it as a result. He was tough on the cop, and at one point risked him transferring to Long Island. Through a few subtle moves and some convincing, however, he was able to turn him around.

As a whole, this was a standard “Blue Bloods” episode with a better-than-average Danny story, and a chance to see at the same time Anthony and Henry get more action than usual. We wish there was more of Jamie and Eddie, but sometimes you have to make story sacrifices to give other people the limelight. Grade: B.

(Photo: CBS.)