Blue Bloods season 7 episode 18 review: This is who Frank Reagan is

Blue Bloods season 7 episode 18 was the 150th episode of the show, and over the course of “A Deep Blue Goodbye,” we got a further reminder of precisely what this show is about. It’s not cynical, it’s not silly, and it doesn’t dwell in irreverence. It also makes it clear that not all cops are crooked, and even though there are people sometimes who act out of self-interest, they often do consider the greater good.

For Frank Reagan, we saw some of this as he helped Chief Taylor Daniels (Isaiah Washington) move forward with his life after being forced out of the department. This was not something that Daniels wanted — as a matter of fact, he was threatening to sue everyone for age discrimination right before Frank found a way to give him a proper send-off from the force. If there were issues that needed to be sorted out, Frank would deal with them in private. He wasn’t someone to take the public moment away from him. That’s just who Frank is — he knows the difference between public and private, just as he’s always known the difference between right and wrong.

In the closing minutes of the episode, Frank was asked what he is planning to do when he retires. It doesn’t seem as though he’s got all that concrete of a plan beyond one thing: When he retires, he retires. He has no plan. He just wants to move forward and try and live his life. He’s not someone who cares significantly about anything other than the path he’s lived to date.

The one thing that he wants? More family dinners, and we’re sure that he will get many of them. A great performance from Tom Selleck stood out above all else in the hour — it had the right mixture of gravitas and subtlety, otherwise known as precisely what you’d expect from him.

Jamie and Eddie’s prank war

there was no update on the romance between the two this week; however, we did get a nice contrast to the Frank story, a reminder that sometimes, there can be a few fun and games on the force. The two engaged in a battle of pranks with another duo on the force, and the trade-off led to some funny moments … but then also some dangerous ones. We’re not sure that the two should be taking out a smart car anytime soon as a part of the department’s new green initiative.

As for Danny and Baez

There story was largely about people trying to make amends one way or another, beginning with a recovering addict who disappeared right after making it clear as to how she wanted to go about her twelve steps. This was a story that had some emotional moments, but it also had a pretty gruesome elevator shootout that was one of the more violent moments of the season and definitely not for the faint of heart.

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As a whole, “A Deep Blue Goodbye” was a great way to cap 150 episodes of the show. It may not have been all that flashy, but it was sturdy and heartfelt. With Blue Bloods, we’d say that this is what you want more so than anything. Grade: A-.

What was your own personal Blue Bloods season 7 episode 18 review? Share some of your thoughts with a comment! 

(Photo: CBS.)