Heroism isn’t always the same thing as bravery.
After a case where Danny and Jamie clashed on their different approaches to police work, Blue Bloods tackled several storylines involving doing the right thing.
The Jamie/Danny clash grew investigating a robbery that turned out to be an attempted act of heroism gone wrong.
It also revealed why Danny was having such a tough time with Jamie helping him out so much.
Frank had to face whether or not to discipline a cop for failing to take action in a tough situation, which put him and Moore at odds.
Keeping up the theme, things got tense between Erin and Anthony after his daughter witnessed a murder.
Meanwhile, Badillo and Eddie actually found common ground helping a victim overcome her fears.
This made Heroes another episode of the Reagans proving why they love this city so much.
A cop becomes a coward?
At a diner, a masked man raced in with a gun to rob the owner. When a waitress entered, the man opened fire as a customer called 911.
Eddie and Badillo talked about their favorite superheroes just before they heard a crash nearby. They ran over to find a woman who had been hit by a car after someone shoved her in front of it.
Danny and Baez showed up at a crime scene where Jamie told them someone had been robbing women on a street. Baez cut off their argument as Jamie explained the victims were Grace Mitchell (Alexandra Turshen) and her boyfriend, Adam Reynolds (Kyle Harris).
Erin was at yet another crime scene where Miss Patty, a ballet teacher, had been shot dead. The witness was Sophia Abetemarco (Isabel Harper Leight), Anthony’s daughter. He was tending to her as Erin asked if Sophia had seen anything.
Anthony cut her off just as Sophia realized she had some of her teacher’s blood on her jacket. Anthony took her away before Erin could stop him.
Frank, Sid, and Moore met with the customer from the diner, Officer John Hayes (Michael Oberholtzer). Sid pressed on why Hayes didn’t do anything to stop the gunman, with Hayes defending himself on not wanting anyone hurt.
Frank asked why Hayes didn’t act when the man started shooting, with the owner dead and two others, including a 14-year-old boy, clinging to life. Hayes flatly said it was in his report as Frank dismissed him.
As soon as Hayes left, Frank called his answers unacceptable and wanted to look at the security footage, “I think we got a problem.”
Eddie and Badillo talked to the car victim, Sarah Longo (Rachel Resheff), an aspiring model who had just come to visit New York. The near-death experience was enough to declare she was never going to return.
The Brain Trust talked about Hayes, with Moore pointing out that firing a cop for something he didn’t do while off-duty wasn’t legal, even as the others wanted to do it. Frank was set to fire Hayes as Moore snapped that the press wouldn’t see it as he did.
Danny and Baez talked to Adam and Grace about the robbery as Grace cried over the attack. Danny and Baez found a video of the attack, including a cell phone. Jamie entered to admit this mugging wasn’t tied to the others but did catch someone using Grace’s credit card.
Anthony came home as Vivian told him Sophia was talking to a therapist on Erin’s recommendation, which infuriated him.
Anthony and Erin get pretty heated
Anthony stormed into Erin’s office to yell about not telling him about the therapist. He thought Erin was more concerned about breaking the case than Sophia’s well-being. Erin explained they had a suspect, as Miss Patty’s ex-boyfriend had been seen leaving the studio with blood on his shirt.
Anthony figured that was it, but Erin pointed out they needed Sophia’s eyewitness testimony. Anthony brushed off Erin’s promises to protect Sophia, and he wouldn’t let her be put in danger.
Eddie was still looking into Sarah’s case, seeing a video of the attack. She got a hit on Michael Harris, a longtime crook wanted on various charges, and decided to pick him up.
Anthony was more irate by Erin subpoenaing Sophia, arguing she’d never do that to Nicky. The two argued about Sophia, with Anthony once more maintaining that Erin only cared about the case.
Erin sought some fatherly advice from Frank, who said she had to do what she thought was right, no matter who it put her at odds with. Erin knew Frank was also talking about himself as he was doubtful about punishing Hayes.
Danny and Baez talked to the thief, Maurice (Damien Jimenez), who claimed “finder’s keepers” on the card. They flipped it on him to check his phone and how this would be his third strike unless he cut a deal.
Maurice opened the phone and saw a text telling him when Grace was exiting her workplace. Maurice then claimed that Adam hired him and his partner to attack her.
Anthony brought Sophia to talk to Erin, who had to order him out of the meeting. She promised him she’d make sure Sophia was okay.
Danny and Baez had Adam in an interrogation to tell him about Maurice’s claims. They showed him Grace was at the station as Adam confessed he had hired the guys to fake a mugging so he could chase them off and look like a hero.
The detectives couldn’t believe this was all a pathetic attempt to stop a breakup, and Grace fighting back escalated it into a real mugging. “Some hero you are,” Danny groused.
Hayes met with Frank and Sid, who told him he was cleared of any wrongdoing by Internal Affairs. Moore wasn’t happy to find he’d been cut out of this meeting.
Things got heated with Frank musing Hayes did “the bare minimum,” and when Hayes said he didn’t want to get killed, Frank intoned, “You’re not a guy I want to be in a foxhole with.”
Hayes snapped he knew how the public felt about cops, and shooting a civilian would look bad for everyone. Just as he was about to leave, Frank let him know he was being transferred to a “rubber gun squad” in Queens, almost an hour away from Hayes’ home.
Eddie and Badillo told Sarah they’d caught her attacker with Sarah not having left her hotel room. Badillo noted that he and Eddie were so used to the worst side of New York that it was easy to forget the effect it had on others.
Learning who the true heroes are
Jamie talked to Grace, who had learned what Adam did, and berated him for this as he was arrested. After she left, Jamie and Danny had another tense showdown, with Baez telling Danny they were both too old to carry on this sibling rivalry.
Danny confessed he was still afraid of how Jamie had nearly died investigating one of their cases. He said the only time Frank had been afraid was when Joe was killed, and he didn’t want his father going through that again.
Baez pointed out that Jamie didn’t know why Danny felt this way, and Danny shouldn’t make himself out to be the bad guy.
Erin met Anthony at a bar, relating Sophia had identified the killer, who was already being arrested. She was hurt Anthony thought she didn’t care about him or Sophia, leaving him thinking about that.
Erin found Jamie working on the family car as Danny arrived to share memories with it. He credited Jamie with helping solve the case and apologized for his behavior. Amid the good-natured sibling ribbing, the brothers overcame their issues even as Danny admitted it “hurt” to apologize.
The dinner touched on Hayes, with the rest of the family agreeing on the punishment as they noted how Frank’s methods always helped build character. “Just look around this table.”
Sophia wrapped up her testimony as Miss Patty’s daughter thanked her for finding justice for her mother. Anthony was happy to see Sophia hugging Erin as he took his daughter home.
Moore talked to Frank at his restaurant about Hayes filing a grievance with the union. He knew Frank would have acted, even if it cost him his life, and couldn’t understand why another officer wouldn’t do the same.
Moore was amazed at this mindset as “all these years in, you idealize the profession.” Frank claimed he just saw the world a different way, as Moore was upset over not being in the meeting. He snapped when a case got under Frank’s skin, he didn’t want to hear anyone else’s side.
When Frank said Moore would have been a good cop, Moore cracked he’d be the guy under the table. He was content being the thorn in Frank’s side to keep him going.
Anthony came to apologize to Erin as he felt guilty over not protecting Sophia from the world’s terrors. His family wasn’t like the Reagans, as they kept their feelings quiet.
It turned out Sophia wouldn’t need to go to trial as the defense was working on a plea deal. Anthony offered dinner as an apology, with Erin accepting.
Eddie and Badillo brought Sarah to meet a very special lady in New York: The Statue of Liberty. Sarah was soon getting excited about anything in the city, including a classic New York hot dog.
Badillo admitted to Erin his father had been an immigrant who fell in love with New York and wanted everyone else to know that feeling. They brought Sarah to a boat by the Statue with her taking a photo with the cops.
Eddie couldn’t wait to spread the word on what Badillo did, but he said no as “I have a reputation to uphold.” When she said his dad would be proud, Badillo was silent as the boat headed toward the Statue.
It was a unique episode building on trust and what a person would really do under tough circumstances but a reminder of who the true heroes in New York are.
Blue Bloods Season 13 airs Fridays at 10/9c on CBS.