The lesson of Blue Bloods is simple: Frank Reagan always has an angle.
After a harrowing Season 13 premiere where Jamie was shot in the line of duty, the Reagans were jarred by Frank making a controversial decision regarding Erin running for District Attorney.
While at first, it seemed Frank was making a bad move, it turned out there was a method to his madness.
Meanwhile, Jamie was given a shot at a big promotion but at the possible cost of keeping secrets from those close to him.
Also, Danny and Baez tackled an attack on a celebrity that had a surprising finish.
This made First Blush a lesson in how things are rarely what they seem, especially on this show.
Jamie gets a new job
In a hotel, a maid was cleaning up a room when she found the bed upside down. She and a friend were horrified to find blood under it.
Danny and Baez were on the scene as the hotel manager wanted to keep this quiet and was reluctant to say who was in the room, even claiming there was no evidence it was a murder.
Jamie was told McNichols wanted to see him about a transfer. That sent Eddie in fuming about the “deal” they made, only for McNichols to point out that, technically, she hadn’t promised anything.
Jamie said he was being sent to the Intelligence Bureau. Eddie was still hot until Jamie said he would still be in the same precinct thanks to McNichols pulling strings. Eddie was actually about to hug the other woman before she stopped her, and Jamie quickly pulled Eddie out of the office.
Frank was wrapping up a meeting when he asked Moore to stay. Frank handed Moore his statement on a matter, with Moore taking a deep breath as he knew it was going to be bad. He asked if the parties concerned would get a heads-up. Frank said no, and Moore felt even worse.
In her office, Erin was stunned reading the statement from Moore, which was Frank refusing to make any endorsement at all on the district attorney race. Moore felt Erin should know about this, and maybe she and Frank should hash it out. Erin hissed, “There’s nothing to hash.”
Danny got a subpoena for the hotel records and footage. He was surprised to see Dr. Knight (Shane Johnson), a sleep doctor well-known on Instagram, in the squad room, alongside defense lawyer Craig Perlmutter (Scott Bryce).
Baez was a fan, while Danny more assuredly was not. Perlmutter said that Knight had committed no crime but was the guy staying in that hotel room. He admitted to being with a woman, and someone had cut him with a knife, showing the scar to prove it.
Knight claimed he was attacked by a man who he believed was his “date’s” pimp. He stitched the wound up himself, giving a description but had no name for the girl.
Jamie headed to an office to meet Lt. Fleming (James Hiroyuki Liao), his liaison, who led him to the secure office known as “The Black Room.” He told Jamie he had to keep his work quiet from everyone, including Eddie. He also had to work on always keeping his thoughts hidden.
Jamie was unsure of this as Fleming said that he had to learn not to judge people by appearances and that sometimes, using someone for information was better than just busting them.
Henry marched into Frank’s office to tell him off about Erin, as Frank said he had to stay above the race. Henry chastised him for not even giving Erin a warning, with Frank saying he and Henry did the job differently.
Henry snapped Frank was cutting Erin off and it truly hurt her. “I know,” Frank sighed. When Henry asked if he’d make it right, Frank insisted, “It is right.”
Frank’s decision divides the family
Danny and Baez found a video of Knight with a lady at the hotel bar. He decided to talk to Arriana (Kim Director), a madam he’d known for a while. She admitted the woman looked familiar but couldn’t place her.
Eddie admitted to Jamie she was worried about his new job, with Jamie teasing her on thinking she could talk McNichols into anything. They were both worried about the job driving a wedge between them.
Knight was talking to Danny and Baez when his daughter came home, and Knight tried to brush it off as nothing. The detectives knew there was no pimp, the girl had attacked Knight, and he was trying to keep it out of the papers, giving him time to think about it.
Moore confused Frank by bringing up the 1988 Presidential debate gaffe that cost Michael Dukakis the race. Moore pointed out that not talking about his daughter running for D.A. made Frank look unfeeling, which was a public relations nightmare.
Frank knew Moore had talked to Erin as Moore warned him that, like it or not, Frank was going to be ripped apart by the press for not defending his daughter. Frank said he was, just in his own way.
Danny was getting into Dr. Knight’s advice about sleep even if he didn’t like the guy. Arriana arrived to introduce Knight’s “date,” Milan (Mick Szal). The woman made it clear nothing unusual happened and had no idea who could have cut Knight.
Henry and Jamie talked about the intelligence job, with Jamie admitting he wasn’t sure he could fit in. Henry was amused about Jamie hating to keep secrets as his wife would never have asked about his cop work.
“You will never forgive yourself unless you heed your true calling,” Henry said, with Jamie mulling over his words.
Erin realizes Frank’s game
Moore apologized to Erin for not swaying Frank as she simply told him to drop it.
Danny brought Perlmutter back to the precinct for a talk about his client lying. Perlmutter threatened to sue the NYPD if the news about Knight ever got out.
McNichols found Eddie in her office for an awkward talk as Eddie had come to realize how bad this conversation could go. Eddie figured McNichols was telling her to just stay out of this as McNichols said that a “New version” of the pair might be better than before.
Erin talked to Anthony as she knew Frank would do this but wished, “For once, he can just stop being the Commissioner and just be my dad.” Anthony pointed out there was always a reason behind anything Frank did.
Danny dropped by Arriana’s place with her teasing him on this being a “business” call. He brought her a gift which turned out to be a copy of a wire transfer from Dr. Knight to Arriana, which was also sent to Milan, meaning Knight was buying their silence. Danny made it clear to Arriana that she was better off talking.
The attacker was Knight’s own daughter, Audrey (Morgane Bensadoun), who was Milan’s friend but never imagined she would be with her father. She had always known about her father’s affairs, and seeing him with Milan was the last straw to attack him in a rage.
Danny summed up the irony that “What you did was wrong on many levels, yet it’s not a felony, but what your daughter did was right on so many levels but is a felony.”
Knight was upset to see Audrey ready to go to jail for a few years as Danny wondered how many sleepless nights the man was in for.
Jamie had decided to give up the intelligence job and simply take a position at a new precinct. While Eddie loved his offer, she didn’t want to hold Jamie back from a big promotion. Jamie was convinced Eddie would hate not asking about his job.
It turned into how work was their “baby,” but maybe having something besides the job to talk about was good for their marriage. “Welcome to Jamie and Eddie 2.0!”
Frank wasn’t happy to find Erin in his office, with Baker warning him the temperature was “unreadable.” Erin calmly related she finally realized that Frank knew Erin was going to be criticizing the NYPD, and by not endorsing her, Frank could let Erin be honest without the press thinking Frank was holding her back.
Without that open criticism, Erin had no chance of winning, and Frank needed her to take the first shot. “I think you’re ready, kid,” Frank said as Erin smiled warmly.
At the Reagan dinner, Erin mused about “Another one of dear old Dad’s teaching moments.” This turned into a talk of more of Frank’s “lessons,” like sending Danny to school with maple syrup in his hair or sending Jamie to face up to a bully.
Frank finally raised his glass to lead the family toasting Erin with “To Victory.”
It was a complex lesson for Erin, yet it came together, in the end, to put the Reagans back on track for her coming race.
Blue Bloods Season 13 airs Fridays at 10/9c on CBS.