S10.E12: Where The Truth Lies

[wknt3]

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Frank takes heat when a widow blames him for her husband's recent suicide while on the job. Also, when Eddie has a gut feeling about a murder, she and Erin band together to solve the case, and a desperate Luis Delgado tells Danny and Baez that the only way he'll testify against his former cartel is if they protect his sons.

 

[EtheltoTillie]

Couldn’t stand the fake conflict between Erin and Eddie.  Why not have Erin respect her instincts at first. She has demonstrated good detective skills before. I guess they’re moving the story along to Eddie’s making detective by the end of the season, which would be a good outcome. 

I like Lou Diamond Phillips but FFd through that story. 

[preeya]

Is it normal for an ADA and her assistant to go to a crime scene, especially one where her sister-in-law is the responding officer?

Frank's dilemmas are getting close to those of Olivia Benson's. The City does not revolve around Frank Regan. He should have (or someone should have) told the wife that her husband was a dick.

Does the NYPD really have a "God Squad?"

 

 

[Magnumfangirl]

21 minutes ago, preeya said:

Is it normal for an ADA and her assistant to go to a crime scene, especially one where her sister-in-law is the responding officer?

In the early seasons of the show, this never happened.  It only started when Steve Schirippa joined the cast.

 

21 minutes ago, preeya said:

 

 

Edited January 11, 2020 by Magnumfangirl

[Misslindsey]

I was just excited when I saw Damon Daunno. I saw him in the musical Oklahoma during the summer.

[LakeGal]

Frank should have told the widow the truth about her husband.  Instead of thinking he was a saint the wife could know the truth and maybe get on with her life quicker.  

[MissLucas]

Why does supposedly intelligent Erin need a Power Point presentation about the Reagan family dynamics by Anthony to understand Eddie? And why can't Eddie not simply have good instincts instead of getting it right by projecting? Her crooked father pops up quite a lot lately.

Frank did the right thing - that was not the time to tell a grieving widow the truth. But his martyrdom took the focus away from what should have been at the center of this plot: the suicide rate of cops. 

And whenever Lou Diamond Phillips shows up I'm starting to miss Numb3rs.

 

 

[SuzieQ]

I've seen all the episodes, but kind of half watch this while multitasking. When did Danny & LDP, aka, the guy who got his wife killed, become buddies??  I rewound, but something major must have happened before this episode.

[wknt3]

7 hours ago, preeya said:

Is it normal for an ADA and her assistant to go to a crime scene, especially one where her sister-in-law is the responding officer?

It is not normal, but not completely unknown especially in the world of police procedurals. It is just about unheard of for someone as high up in the office to show up at a scene unless it is an extremely high profile crime and/or a scene with complex legal issues (i.e. a murder on the sidewalk in front of a consulate with the forensic evidence on what is sovereign foreign territory) On the other hand more Steve Schirippa is always a good thing and it allowed them to basically bring multiple characters into the same plot so like a crime drama judge I'll allow it even if there is no real world justification.
 

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Frank's dilemmas are getting close to those of Olivia Benson's. The City does not revolve around Frank Regan.

Yes it does as the show has shown us time and time again. And yes this show is the mirror universe version of SVU. Both are shows with tons of great NYC actors and first rate crews dragged down by lazy writing, the egos of their stars, and a ham fisted ideological agenda. The only difference is which side of the political spectrum the agendas are on.
 

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Does the NYPD really have a "God Squad?"

It has a Chaplains Unit, but the God Squad is a bit of Blue Bloods usual fantasy with it's usual window dressing of diversity (Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, and "Other") before giving us the usual because we haven't seen enough of Frank with the Catholic clergy. In real life such a meeting would probably be with either the Chief Chaplain and Assistant Chief along with the Deputy Commissioner of Employee Relations or with the entire Chaplains Unit (there are less than a dozen at a time.)
 

2 hours ago, MissLucas said:

Why does supposedly intelligent Erin need a Power Point presentation about the Reagan family dynamics by Anthony to understand Eddie?

Because that would violate the first rule of the Blue Bloods writers room - tell, don't show.
 

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Frank did the right thing - that was not the time to tell a grieving widow the truth. But his martyrdom took the focus away from what should have been at the center of this plot: the suicide rate of cops.

But on the other hand more focus on the suicide rate of cops would have meant having to hear more about how it's all the fault of not unquestionably accepting everything the police do so it was probably better the way it was.

[Sweet-tea]

11 hours ago, preeya said:

Is it normal for an ADA and her assistant to go to a crime scene, especially one where her sister-in-law is the responding officer?

 

 

No it is strange. The ADA isn’t investigating the crime. The police department detectives run the investigation. It was sloppy writing having Erin there and even worse when she was telling the detective how to investigate the crime. And when the father came in to complain, he would’ve gone to the PD sergeant, not the ADA.

 

[mojito]

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It was sloppy writing having Erin there and even worse when she was telling the detective how to investigate the crime. 

Especially right after the detective stated that his men were canvassing the neighborhood. Erin needed to tell him to talk to the people in the building?

Speaking of sloppy...I happened to notice this and it instantly struck me as kind of humorous. These are the cops running towards the cabin the son is in. They are sneaking up on the home, not involved in a shootout.

The cop on the right, running with both hands extended aiming his gun. Everyone else in the scene has his gun pointing downwards. Would you like to be the guy on the left in the event that the guy on the right trips and falls? 

 

[Ebau]

6 hours ago, MissLucas said:

And whenever Lou Diamond Phillips shows up I'm starting to miss Numb3rs.

I miss Longmire. 

[MissLucas]

13 hours ago, SuzieQ said:

I've seen all the episodes, but kind of half watch this while multitasking. When did Danny & LDP, aka, the guy who got his wife killed, become buddies??  I rewound, but something major must have happened before this episode.

During last season it was revealed that Delgado was an informant of the DEA and had not been responsible for killing Linda although the hit had been ordered by the cartel he was working for. Later on Delgado's wife is being killed by the cartel too (IIRC because they had realized he was a snitch) and that lead to him and Danny becoming reluctant revenge-buddies. That was also the episode Danny befriended Delgado's kids and promised him to watch out for them while their father was in jail. (Ep. 9.7 and 9.19) 

[Sarah 103]

I love that Anthony is the Reagan whisperer. It just appeals to me.

What Frank should have done is told the widow she could have the report, but warn her there was damaging information about her husband in there, and then let her figure out if she wanted to know the full story or not. 

[SuzieQ]

4 hours ago, MissLucas said:

During last season it was revealed that Delgado was an informant of the DEA and had not been responsible for killing Linda although the hit had been ordered by the cartel he was working for. Later on Delgado's wife is being killed by the cartel too (IIRC because they had realized he was a snitch) and that lead to him and Danny becoming reluctant revenge-buddies. That was also the episode Danny befriended Delgado's kids and promised him to watch out for them while their father was in jail. (Ep. 9.7 and 9.19) 

Thank you!!  Now that you laid it out I do vaguely recall something like that.

[Rambler]

The widow was the true hero here. Almost a dozen cops commit suicide in the past year, and it takes her yelling in the commissioner's face to get him to get off his butt and do something about it. Why is he meeting with police chaplains about the problem? I would think he should be speaking to the police shrinks for better insights about the suicides. Of course the chaplains blame it on the public who all hate the cops now, rather conveniently letting Frank and the NYPD off the hook for any policies that might contribute to the problem.

Danny telling Eddie at the dinner table to follow her gut instinct was hilarious. I could just imagine what he would have said if some random patrol officer showed up at one of his crime scenes and started showing the ADA around and spouting her theories about the case. I am also sure he would be perfectly fine with the patrol officer questioning his witnesses without him. Yeah right.

[AnnA]

18 hours ago, Rambler said:

The widow was the true hero here.

I don't agree.   She could have been if the circumstances were different. I thought they made her look foolish since everyone knew the truth and kept it from her.  Also because Frank Reagan is known for backing his men. 

[Sarah 103]

19 hours ago, Rambler said:

Why is he meeting with police chaplains about the problem?

Frank was looking into classifying suicide as death in the line of duty. He thought religious groups may have something to say about that, and wanted to hear what they had to say as he was crafting this new policy. I am sure he would also talk to mental health professionals as well. However, a converation with mental health professionals would not have the same visual impact as a room full of clergy representing different religions (It's the creative team's way of saying: Look! We have diversity! It's the modern 21st century multicultural police force).  

[JayDub]

Finally a show with only three storylines.

The Frank character and the weekly stories has become old, stale and virtually unwatchable. TS is one of my all-time favorites and it's become almost impossible to watch each week.

Danny storyline kept talking about kids as in plural yet only one was kidnapped. What did I miss.

As far as Erin and Janko the whole thing seemed pretty natural from start to finish.

[TV Diva Queen]

On 1/11/2020 at 2:42 PM, LakeGal said:

Frank should have told the widow the truth about her husband.  Instead of thinking he was a saint the wife could know the truth and maybe get on with her life quicker.  

I agree - who is Frank to withhold this from the family?  Not his call, he supposed to deal in facts.  

[Ebau]

On 1/12/2020 at 4:14 PM, Rambler said:

The widow was the true hero here. Almost a dozen cops commit suicide in the past year, and it takes her yelling in the commissioner's face to get him to get off his butt and do something about it. Why is he meeting with police chaplains about the problem? I would think he should be speaking to the police shrinks for better insights about the suicides. Of course the chaplains blame it on the public who all hate the cops now, rather conveniently letting Frank and the NYPD off the hook for any policies that might contribute to the problem.

You need the understand the mindset of a cop; it's all about machismo. Talking over your feelings with the department chaplain or, worse yet, some shrink is considered to be pussy. Putting a bullet through your brain is the "manly" way to deal with problems. 

In any event, the cop's reason for committing suicide didn't wash in any event. He could have repaired whatever damage was done to his marriage if he would've come clean to his wife. On top of that, he should've busted the bitch who was blackmailing him. Last time I checked, badger games were illegal in New York.

And for the record, I am one of those people who agree that a cop's suicide IS a direct result of his job and should therefore be considered death in the line of duty. He should have told all four of his "God Squad" to shove it and pushed for the victim's family to receive benefits. 

Edited January 14, 2020 by Ebau

[mtlchick]

On 1/11/2020 at 4:05 PM, MissLucas said:

Why does supposedly intelligent Erin need a Power Point presentation about the Reagan family dynamics by Anthony to understand Eddie?

Not to mention the seven years (and more) of Linda being at the table as the "non Reagan"?

 

On 1/12/2020 at 12:28 PM, Sarah 103 said:

I love that Anthony is the Reagan whisperer. It just appeals to me.

What Frank should have done is told the widow she could have the report, but warn her there was damaging information about her husband in there, and then let her figure out if she wanted to know the full story or not. 

That's what I was waiting for in the end: Frank would let her have the report, but advise that the information gathered on her husband was not something she would want to see, at least immediately and leave the rest to her.   It would absolve him of whatever Catholic guilt he had by not telling the truth AND not taking the blame on something that was out of his control.