It’s never a good idea to get on the wrong side of the Reagans.
After an episode involving some potentially innocent people accused of crimes, Blue Bloods put the Reagans in some tough spots.
Frank dealt with an activist crossing the line to end a controversial police program. Yet Frank couldn’t help wondering if the guy actually had a good point.
Erin and Baker were in a clash over Baker’s past attacker being offered a deal. That had Baker stepping out of the office to take matters into her own hands.
Eddie was in a rare partnership with her boss, McNichols, but her attempts to help may have put her in a tight spot.
Another odd partnership had Danny and criminal contact Bugs working on trying and stopping a murder with an intriguing turn.
This made Homefront an episode of twists yet a reminder of what makes the Reagans a tight unit.
A Reagan has a surprise confrontation
Henry was leading a pack of friends from a cafe when some young people confronted them with phones. They harassed him with questions on the NYPD unit known as “The Broken Toys,” a supposed pack of rogue cops Henry created when he was commissioner. Henry tried to push past them only to be harassed with more questions.
Erin came to her office to find Baker waiting, upset that Harris Meadows, the man who beat her, was being offered a deal. Erin admitted Harris heard his cellmate, Greek mobster Papatonis, confess to where he left a body.
Baker immediately offered to find the body herself so Harris wouldn’t get a deal, but Erin couldn’t allow it. She openly accused Erin of “caring more about the headlines than you do about the victims.”
McNichols told Eddie a woman named Jackie had gone missing with signs of a struggle and needed Eddie to be her driver on the case.
Danny found his old “friend” Bugs (Derek Gaines) doing his usual tricks of selling umbrellas on a sunny day as a cover for his light drugs. He then admitted someone wanted him to kill a rival drug dealer, which was out of his forte and needed Danny’s help.
Frank was upset about Henry even as Moore said legally, it didn’t count as assault, just a flash mob. Frank knew about the Broken Toys and wanted to make sure they weren’t breaking the rules. He also wanted to meet Connor Kelly, the man behind these flash mobs, even if it required a couple of detectives to do it.
McNichols and Eddie met Detective Hannigan (Tony Crane) at the victim’s apartment, with Hannigan convinced it was the boyfriend, Arthur. Jackie’s twin sister, Morgan (Isabella Pisacane), an influencer, showed up to tape the crime scene.
Hannigan was openly dismissive of McNichols, which Eddie thought was wrong, but McNichols told her to focus on the case, even though it was obvious it bothered her.
Anthony told Erin a woman had been seen at one of Papatonis’ construction sites and Erin knew it was Baker. She was upset as this could ruin the case they were building.
Bugs insisted on bringing his umbrella stand to the precinct as he talked of a guy named Jay soliciting the murder of dealer Hector. He had no proof of the deal, so Danny wanted him to wear a wire. Bugs was unsure but agreed as he was worried they’d go after his brother in prison.
Erin and Baker had it out over Baker interfering in this, with Baker insistent on finding the body first. Erin told her to let them handle this, but Baker was on a crusade to dismiss their help.
Connor Kelly (Robert Stanton) arrived at Frank’s office as Sid and Moore warned him to be careful. The tension was thick as Connor claimed to send no one, he just had followers. He promised to make a statement condemning going after Henry as soon as Frank disbanded the Broken Toys.
Kelly claimed the Broken Toys were harassing low-income families and had seen them do it as a kid. Frank said they were needed because “the criminal class didn’t keep up with your idea of moral progress.”
Kelly had experience with Sandra Day O’Connor to claim there were systematic problems in the NYPD. He said he was just a concerned New Yorker as Frank gave him a warning to back off. “Or what?” Kelly asked. “You’ll send some Broken Toys after me?”
Tensions rise amid some tested loyalties
Bugs met with Jay (Corey Knight) to trick him into giving the details on where to find and kill Hector, and the timetable was moved up. It turned out Jay was smarter than he looked, as he had an app that could detect listening devices.
Realizing this was going bad, Danny showed up, pretending to be a friend of Bugs helping in the murder. Jay accepted it and gave them 48 hours to give him proof of Hector’s death.
Bugs was amazed this still wasn’t enough for an arrest as Danny wanted Jay’s boss. The plan was to arrest Hector and arrange a meeting with the boss, and all Bugs had to do was keep quiet.
Eddie returned to the crime scene to find Morgan exiting to talk to her about Jackie. Morgan said this wasn’t Arthur, and Jackie was a nice woman, so couldn’t figure out who’d do this. They’d left a bar together, and Morgan felt guilty for leaving her behind.
Morgan admitted she had a lot of creeps after her accounts, as Jackie was never on social media. Eddie saw some guys had Morgan’s actual address to take some photos.
Erin talked to Anthony about the deal and how they both felt for Baker, but the case against Papatonis was bigger. He then realized Erin was ready to follow Baker’s lead and that finding the body could end the deal for Harris.
Moore and Sid were surprised Baker was still “out sick” as they brought up some minor complaints on the Broken Toys but nothing huge.
Frank declared that “nobody goes after my family to get to me.” Moore suggested disbanding the Broken Toys as times had changed. Sid fired back that giving in would embolden Kelly in the future.
“Appeasement’s not an option if you care about the lives of the innocent,” Frank intoned. Sid snapped that it was better just to give in rather than fight over a weapon.
Anthony met Baker at the river to offer his help, with Baker surprised that he and Erin were willing to aid her. They needed a source for the body’s info, and it turned out Baker had managed to talk one of Papatonis’ guys into giving up the body’s location at Papatonis’ own house. She assured Anthony he didn’t want to know how she got the guy to talk.
The protestors were now pounding drums outside the Reagan house, to the annoyance of Henry and Frank. Henry had already had another run-in with them as they kept harassing him.
They talked about the Broken Toys and how times had changed, with Henry saying he thought they were needed. He felt like one of them but that perhaps their time really had passed.
Henry said he couldn’t fight those battles anymore as Frank intoned, “You shouldn’t have to. But I can.” Henry admitted he’d felt scared outside the restaurant more than ever on the force.
Danny told Bugs he’d busted Hector and Bugs’ brother would be okay. He had one of Hector’s chains to use as “proof” with Jay’s boss.
An angry McNichols called Eddie into her office, where Hannigan and his boss Greer (Michael Jibrin) were ticked about her interfering in the case.
Eddie snapped at Hannigan’s arrogant attitude as McNichols told her she had to follow orders.
Eddie talked of someone stalking Morgan and grabbing the wrong twin. Hannigan literally laughed at the theory as McNichols chewed her out and threatened to transfer her if she did this again while Hannigan smiled at the show.
Anthony and Baker led a pack of cops to Papatonis’ home as he tried to brush them off. Baker just smiled as she ordered the cops to tear the place apart.
Danny and Bugs waited for Jay, Danny claiming Hector was dead but would only give the proof to Jay’s boss. He led them to a nearby warehouse only for Danny to discover that Bugs had sold out Danny to keep his brother safe.
As Danny yelled at him, Bugs grabbed a pipe to attack Jay, giving Danny a chance to fight back. A gunfight ensued before backup arrived to arrest the gang.
Danny was naturally ticked at Bugs but understood why he put his brother first. He thus let Bugs go with just a warning.
Finding reconciliation in tough times
McNichols was still upset with Eddie as her undermining her authority was worse than Hannigan’s taunts. Eddie agreed as McNichols then asked about the suspected stalker for some “additional canvassing.”
They tracked the apartment, where they heard someone crying out. They burst in to find Jackie tied up and her kidnapper in the bathroom. He attacked McNichols, who was able to fight him off and subdue him as Eddie congratulated her boss.
Baker came to Erin to thank her for changing her mind. Erin admitted that it was Frank’s idea as he’d figured out the reason for Baker’s “stomach bug.” Erin asked how Baker got that guy to flip, and it turned out Baker had talked him into a deal that Erin would handle.
Connor was having lunch at a cafe only to get a taste of his own medicine in the form of a flash mob of the family members of murder victims. They were all grateful to the Toys for solving the cases and soon chanting, “Protect the Toys.”
A very satisfied Frank came to work to find Baker back at her desk, neither needing to say what happened. Moore couldn’t believe Frank pulled this stunt as Frank said that it was just using Kelly’s own tactics against him.
Henry was more than grateful not to hear the protestors during the family dinner. They enjoyed Frank’s move as Frank said, “You mess with this family, all bets are off.”
Erin was worried they were just creating a bigger problem and they should “bridge the gap.” Danny pointed out it was hard when the other side yelled too much, as Jamie said if one side didn’t break this cycle, they’d be stuck doing it forever.
Frank agreed Erin had a point and he let his anger overcome him. He pointed out the point of the dinners was to reconcile differences of opinion. He said that these traditions were important and needed to remind folks of a better way to handle things.
When Danny asked if Frank would do it differently, he replied, “No but ask me after another decade of Reagan family therapy.”
It was an intriguing episode showing family loyalties of all kinds and how it always comes down to trusting someone to take the first step.
Blue Bloods Season 13 returns with new episodes Friday November 18 at 10/9c on CBS
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