It’s a family reunion of a different sort on Blue Bloods this week.
Eddie (Vanessa Ray) may be bringing the most unlikely guest to the Reagan family dinner: Her long-estranged ex-con father.
That alone promises to add to the drama of an already intriguing episode that also sets Frank against Stacy Keach’s Archbishop.
Eddie and her dad’s rough history
As Blue Bloods fans know, Eddie and her father have, to put it mildly, a strained relationship.
Eddie had grown up believing her father, Armin Janko, was a well-respected and savvy financial advisor. He always provided well for the family and allowed Eddie to grow up in a wealthy lifestyle.
That all came crashing down when it turned out Armin was running a massive Ponzi scheme. Not only did he go to prison and cost the family everything, but Eddie vowed to never speak to him again.
Jamie would push Eddie to see her father in prison to try and mend fences. The two finally met in Season 6’s Absolute Power after prison guards beat Armin (William Sadler). Despite the tension, Eddie was able to get her father to testify against the guards and Armin apologized for having wanted so much for Eddie that he broke the rules. That allowed them to at least mend to friendly terms.
Eddie hasn’t mentioned her dad as much (Frank was the one who walked her down the aisle for her wedding to Jamie) but it appears that’s about to change.
Guess who’s coming to dinner?
This Friday’s episode, Good Intentions, has Armin (now played by Michael Cullen) fresh out of prison and needing a place to stay, which means he goes to Eddie and Jamie.
Jamie and Eddie experience marital tension when Eddie allows her newly released ex-convict father, Armin (Michael Cullen), to live with them. Also, Danny and Baez go out of their way to help a desperate out-of-town man (Dave Quay) find his missing sister; Anthony enlists Erin’s help when new evidence arises in a closed case from his previous police career; and Frank goes head to head with Archbishop Kearns (Keach) when a local priest calling for the NYPD to be defunded causes friction between the force and the church.
The recasting appears to be because William Sadler was busy with other projects. Obviously, Jamie is not happy with his father-in-law staying with them, which can toss more tension onto things. That’s added by how Eddie has been studying for the sergeant’s exam while dealing with partner Witten (Lauren Patten) quitting the force.
Meanwhile, just as he’s having issues with Mayor Chase (Dylan Walsh), Frank now has to handle clashing with the Catholic Church as Kearns takes a bold stand against the NYPD.
Anthony and Erin working together is intriguing, especially with Anthony pushing for Erin to run for District Attorney. While the Danny-Baez investigation sounds routine, there’s a chance it can get more complex.
The draw of the episode is whether Armin will attend the weekly Reagan dinner, which could be the most awkward ever seen and thus a fun time for viewers.
Blue Bloods Season 12 airs Fridays at 10/9c on CBS.