Escaping a family shadow is never an easy task.
After a few weeks off and following a tough ordeal of a wounded cop, Blue Bloods returned with a big offer for Jamie amid a case for Danny and Baez, Anthony in a family bind, and Eddie and Badillo at odds.
As the title implied, Hidden Motive had more to offer viewers than met the eye in Bridget Moynahan’s directorial debut.
An unexpected request is made
Eddie and Badillo found Gerry Gertz (Marcus Giamatti) ranting on a corner, who Badillo recognized as a “1st Amendment auditor,” or someone who picked verbal fights with cops. The man was videotaping the whole thing as Badillo told the crowd to just walk away while the guy insulted Eddie.
A man took exception to Gertz insulting his daughter and with tensions rising, Gertz ended up being shoved when someone knocked Badillo, so Eddie arrested him while Badillo was upset.
Anthony was at a diner when he was met by his old “friend” Mario Vangelis (Max Weinberg), fresh out of jail. Mario brought up how Anthony’s brother, Leo, had come for some work. Mario wanted to give Anthony a heads-up even as Anthony refused to believe it.
Frank and Baker were laughing about an event at a department dinner when Sid entered to reveal that Mayor Chase had just asked for a change in his detail…Lieutenant Jamie Reagan. Frank wasn’t happy he hadn’t got a call about this and wanted to do it by the book.
Danny and Baez arrived at a crime scene where a nervous rookie showed them the body of Grace Spence (Caitlin Hammond), whose father was a wealthy man. To prove this was his first time, the cop hadn’t checked her pulse as a DOA suddenly became an alive, if weak, victim.
Robert (Tom Galantich) and Donna Spence (Erin Leigh Peck) arrived at the hospital, having just been about to head on vacation. Robert related that Grace had broken up with her boyfriend and had some pressure at college.
Eddie and Badillo’s bodycams both failed to show the guy touching Badillo, but he was more concerned about how bad they’d look to the public. Badillo mused that he thought Eddie was a “goody-two-shoes,” and not as hot-headed as Danny.
Leo (Erick Betancourt) denied asking for a job as his pregnant girlfriend, Amber Zazzarino (Jen Jacob), arrived at the apartment. Anthony instantly realized that this was why Leo needed a job and some help.
Grace’s friend K.J. (Claudia Logan) was cagey about Grace’s boyfriend, and Grace called her over. Danny figured out she was Grace’s girlfriend, but Grace wouldn’t come out as she knew her parents would use it to enhance their own reputation. She’d called about getting back together and found Grace unconscious.
Frank found Jamie waiting for him at home to talk about Chase giving him a call, but didn’t know it was to head up his security detail. Jamie was upset he didn’t get a heads-up on this as Frank said this was a good thing. Jamie was worried about being used in some game between Frank and Jamie as he decided to go through with the lunch.
Some cops come under fire
Danny and Baez talked to Arty Kangiser (Ryan Woodle), the Spence’s limo driver, who was shocked to hear about Grace in a coma. He related that Robert was upset with Donna for “shaming” him but didn’t know more than that.
Eddie and Jamie talked about the meeting with Chase and said it was fine if he took the job. She saw Badillo sharing a video from Gerry, who was now filing a lawsuit against the city and Badillo personally. He accused Eddie of helping cause this with her snapping she made a call and he wasn’t her boss.
Erin found Anthony trying to get some cash from his manager and knew he was distracted. He reminded her of how they were supposed to have boundaries outside the office as he left.
The Spences seemed surprised about Grace’s lover. They brought up Grace’s multi-level-marketing beauty business, aka pyramid scheme, that had bilked scores of people out of money. The pair bickered over her greed and Robert’s affairs before Danny cut in to ask who could have done this.
Moore was convinced Chase was poaching Jamie, with Frank saying it was no different than him picking his entire staff. Moore suggested somehow spying on the lunch, but Frank wanted Moore to find out what else Frank didn’t see coming.
Jamie comes to a decision
Needless to say, the Reagan family dinner was a tenser affair than usual, with Jamie mad that the rest of the family already knew about the lunch. Jamie brought up not wanting to be a cop all his life, with Frank stating he never wanted to be upper brass but followed that path.
Danny chimed in how “mayors keep coming and going, but you’re still here” and that, in a way, they served at Frank’s behest. “It’s a compliment, dad.”
Danny and Baez were coming up short on viable suspects despite how many people Donna scammed. Baez seemed worried they somehow made things worse for the family, but Danny pointed out they had issues long before Grace was attacked.
Henry dropped by the station to talk to Jamie about Gertz, with her admitting she wasn’t sure the guy had shoved Badillo after all. Henry pressed her not to give up and how someone who spent so long accusing other people seemed to have something to hide.
Frank was waiting in Moore’s office to demand some of the inside info on the meeting. While Chase was talking about this being a way to “allocate” resources, Frank and Moore recognized Chase was putting together an exploratory committee to run for governor.
Frank was trying to figure out how to handle Jamie as he was proud of him for choosing his own path as a lawyer, but then coming back home to the police after all.
Anthony apologized to Leo for not finding the money as Amber realized something was up. Unfortunately, it was interrupted by her going into labor.
Gerry was preparing another video on the street when Henry came up, professing to be a fan before bringing up Gerry’s history of going after young women. Henry made it clear he’d be putting the interviews he’d made with those ladies up online if Gertz didn’t knock it off.
Grace awoke to say she’d heard a noise and headed up but couldn’t remember more than a man attacking her who sounded scared. She did recall him being on the phone telling “Arty” he’d screwed up.
Badillo was honored to meet Henry as he related that Gertz had deleted his channel. He swiftly realized Henry was responsible and grateful for the help from him and Eddie as Henry suggested Badillo trust his partner more.
Danny brought Arty into the station where Roy Dupree (Chris Santangelo) was giving up Arty’s plan to drop rich folks off at the airport and then rob them, only for Grace to be home to mess it up. The pair wasted no time turning on each other to be arrested. Danny was more concerned about Grace than her family’s problems.
Erin arrived at the hospital, surprised to hear about the Leo/Mario/Anthony mess with Mario claiming he had changed and was paying for all of Leo’s medical bills. He was even paying for everyone in the maternity ward. While Erin and Anthony were convinced this was a scam, they felt it was worth it to see Leo with his child.
Frank visited Jamie, who knew Chase wanted the Reagan name more than Jamie’s own skills at his side. Frank said he would be ticked if one of his kids made a decision based solely on what he thought.
Jamie asked when Frank knew the difference between someone being honest or just running a “useful angle.” Frank admitted it was hard and “we are judged by our last worst act.” However, he knew he could always be honest with someone he trusted.
Jamie wasn’t sure of his next move but wanted to make it on his own. His father simply wanted to know what Jamie was up to. Before he left, Frank mused that Jamie was the one person at dinner who never said what he wanted to be besides a cop and “I’d love to hear your answer sometime.”
It seems Jamie may be considering a new path in his life even as the Reagan family loyalty stays true.
Blue Bloods Season 12 airs Fridays at 10/9c on CBS.