S11.E01: Triumph Over Trauma

[Jaded]

Quote

Frank and City Council Speaker Regina Thomas confront each other in response to protests against police brutality across the city; Jamie and his nephew look for Danny and Baez, who vanished during their pursuit of a dangerous killer; Eddie helps an abrasive woman find her father's body.

 

[SuzieQ]

I really enjoyed this tonight, which is weird because I was ready to quit watching last season.  Not sure if it was really good or I'm just so desperate for new shows!  Nice touch with having Joe jump into the search for Danny and glad they didn't drop that storyline.

Does anyone else think Danny and Baez are going to start hitting it?  I freaked when she was his guest at dinner.

 

[AnnA]

2 minutes ago, SuzieQ said:

I really enjoyed this tonight, which is weird because I was ready to quit watching last season.  Not sure if it was really good or I'm just so desperate for new shows!  Nice touch with having Joe jump into the search for Danny and glad they didn't drop that storyline.

Does anyone else think Danny and Baez are going to start hitting it?  I freaked when she was his guest at dinner.

 

I totally agree with you.  The only thing I could have done without was Whoopi Goldberg.   I don't know why I kept seeing blurbs about her appearance.  It was boring.  

I thought the same thing about Danny and Baez getting together..  I think this might be the final season so it would make a good ending for Danny.

[Dr.OO7]

2 minutes ago, SuzieQ said:

Does anyone else think Danny and Baez are going to start hitting it?  I freaked when she was his guest at dinner.

That was quite a surprise. It's the first time we've seen someone who wasn't a love interest of a family member.

Those "I love yous" that they exchanged, while heartfelt, still seemed platonic.

Conversely, is Joe Jr. the first family member to not be keen on coming to dinner? I'd love for him to show up and have all his political/social views be the complete opposite of the rest of the family.

[mtlchick]

8 minutes ago, Dr.OO7 said:

That was quite a surprise. It's the first time we've seen someone who wasn't a love interest of a family member.

Those "I love yous" that they exchanged, while heartfelt, still seemed platonic.

Conversely, is Joe Jr. the first family member to not be keen on coming to dinner? I'd love for him to show up and have all his political/social views be the complete opposite of the rest of the family.

Frank’s friend played by Treat Williams was at the table in the season 10 opener.

I’m mixed about this one. While I hope that Baez and Reagan stay platonic (and we already had Jamie coupling up with Eddie), what sort of bothers me is implying that all of Danny’s partners left him because of his behaviour. One went back to IAB and jackie (the one partner who did call him out) was burned out. I am interested to see where Joe will fit in, but based on this, maybe not as much as I was thinking. 

https://deadline.com/2020/12/blue-bloods-spoilers-recap-coronavirus-whoopi-goldberg-season-debut-kevin-wade-interview-police-cbs-1234649887/
 

of note: Sami Gayle no longer listed as a series regular.

With 16 episodes this season in a “post pandemic world”, let’s see where this goes.

[DanaK]

4 minutes ago, mtlchick said:

With 16 episodes this season in a “post pandemic world”, let’s see where this goes.

I thought that was an interesting choice. They aren’t ignoring that Covid happened but they decided to put it in the past

What a sweet ending with Baez at the family dinner

[preeya]

Not looking forward to an arc with Eddie's father, or a romance between Danny & Baez, and I can certainly do without Whoopi Goldberg.

Edited December 5, 2020 by preeya

[cameron]

Why didn't Danny just shoot the lock off with his service revolver.

[mtlchick]

2 hours ago, cameron said:

Why didn't Danny just shoot the lock off with his service revolver.

My guess? He didn’t know what the suspect looked like and wasn’t going to take any chances shooting at the door and striking an innocent instead. Or worse, the suspect would be right behind the door and would kill him first. 
 

 

[Dr.OO7]

58 minutes ago, mtlchick said:

My guess? He didn’t know what the suspect looked like and wasn’t going to take any chances shooting at the door and striking an innocent instead. Or worse, the suspect would be right behind the door and would kill him first. 

Not to mention that his visibility was poor. Or the bullet could have ricocheted and struck him or Baez.

As bizarre as this sounds, considering that this IS a TV show, that kind of thing only happens on TV.

[Brian Cronin]

Man, you KNOW that police PR is bad when even Frank Reagan was mopey and apologetic this episode! That was pretty hilarious. I imagine that this will be their one bone they'll throw to the public and then they'll not bring it up again. 

[3 is enough]

20 hours ago, Dr.OO7 said:

Those "I love yous" that they exchanged, while heartfelt, still seemed platonic.

That was my take.  

[Fostersmom]

20 hours ago, SuzieQ said:

I really enjoyed this tonight, which is weird because I was ready to quit watching last season.  Not sure if it was really good or I'm just so desperate for new shows!  Nice touch with having Joe jump into the search for Danny and glad they didn't drop that storyline.

Does anyone else think Danny and Baez are going to start hitting it?  I freaked when she was his guest at dinner.

 

I do think Danny and Baez will be endgame at this point in time. I always wanted her to get with Jamie though, even though the show never even hinted towards it. I just thought it would be a good pairing and interesting.

11 hours ago, cameron said:

Why didn't Danny just shoot the lock off with his service revolver.

I wondered why he didn't fire off at least one round when Jamie and Joe were at the door and the guy wouldn't let them in. That would have surely had them rushing in. 

[nittany cougar]

21 hours ago, SuzieQ said:

I really enjoyed this tonight, which is weird because I was ready to quit watching last season.  Not sure if it was really good or I'm just so desperate for new shows!  Nice touch with having Joe jump into the search for Danny and glad they didn't drop that storyline.

Does anyone else think Danny and Baez are going to start hitting it?  I freaked when she was his guest at dinner.

 

Ha, that was my first thought when Danny showed up with Baez -that they were going to tell everyone that they were together.  I've thought for the last couple of seasons that they act like a married couple.  It wouldn't be that much of a stretch for them to start a relationship since they already have a close friendship.  I hope that they show it as a deeper friendship and save the romance for the end of the series though.

Edited December 6, 2020 by nittany cougar

[Maverick]

Yeah, then the first words out of Frank's mouth can be "so who's going to transfer" again.  Like dude, can you let your kid have a few minutes as the center of attention before you go into Chief Bossy Pants mode. 

[Woodrose]

COVID19 has impacted police forces everywhere, as well as the protests against police brutality. Surprised they just slid on past it, but I guess they just couldn't do a TV show with the actors wearing masks, as NYPD officers are doing today.

Serial killer mysteries:

He had been using that house as a base for a while. I assumed the body Danny found in the closet was the detective from Nassau. The killer had set up some kind of phone and internet blocking to prevent victims from calling out of the basement.

It appeared that the older blond woman, referred to as the homeowner after they found her dead, was cooperating with the killer. She helped lure Danny and Baez into the basement and started up the loud music while the killer was at the door talking with Joe and Jamie. She lived for a while after Danny and Baez were kidnapped in the basement, and had only been killed three hours before Danny and Maria were freed.

Once again, the Reagan luck holds up, and the serial killer murders the woman upstairs and takes off, without killing the two victims-in-waiting in the basement.

Joe and Jamie came face to face with a serial killer. They should be with a sketch artist developing a picture for wide distribution.

I also wondered why Danny didn't use his gun to shoot open the basement door, or shoot at the door when they heard the doorbell.

I liked Eddie in this, I'm glad she gave Anita a break. It was a good illustration of the frustration a civilian can feel dealing with the bureaucracy, when they wouldn't do the simple checks of reversing the dad's name, checking all possible spellings, etc, for Anita -- but they would do it for Eddie, a police officer.

Enjoying Nicky in San Francisco.

I don't know that Danny and Baez will be/should be a couple, but Danny heard her need for a stable family, and invited her to seek some support with his family. I hope she is included in the future.

Seemed like Joe was overwhelmed with envy and jealousy and dismay over what he'd missed out on by not knowing his Dad and being part of his Dad's family. At least, I'd think that would be a natural reaction. Maybe he needs time to cool down before he can try to get to know them again.

[AnnA]

1 hour ago, Woodrose said:

COVID19 has impacted police forces everywhere, as well as the protests against police brutality. Surprised they just slid on past it, but I guess they just couldn't do a TV show with the actors wearing masks, as NYPD officers are doing today.

Serial killer mysteries:

He had been using that house as a base for a while. I assumed the body Danny found in the closet was the detective from Nassau. The killer had set up some kind of phone and internet blocking to prevent victims from calling out of the basement.

It appeared that the older blond woman, referred to as the homeowner after they found her dead, was cooperating with the killer. She helped lure Danny and Baez into the basement and started up the loud music while the killer was at the door talking with Joe and Jamie. She lived for a while after Danny and Baez were kidnapped in the basement, and had only been killed three hours before Danny and Maria were freed.

Once again, the Reagan luck holds up, and the serial killer murders the woman upstairs and takes off, without killing the two victims-in-waiting in the basement.

Joe and Jamie came face to face with a serial killer. They should be with a sketch artist developing a picture for wide distribution.

I also wondered why Danny didn't use his gun to shoot open the basement door, or shoot at the door when they heard the doorbell.

I liked Eddie in this, I'm glad she gave Anita a break. It was a good illustration of the frustration a civilian can feel dealing with the bureaucracy, when they wouldn't do the simple checks of reversing the dad's name, checking all possible spellings, etc, for Anita -- but they would do it for Eddie, a police officer.

Enjoying Nicky in San Francisco.

I don't know that Danny and Baez will be/should be a couple, but Danny heard her need for a stable family, and invited her to seek some support with his family. I hope she is included in the future.

Seemed like Joe was overwhelmed with envy and jealousy and dismay over what he'd missed out on by not knowing his Dad and being part of his Dad's family. At least, I'd think that would be a natural reaction. Maybe he needs time to cool down before he can try to get to know them again.

I think the serial killer is the woman's son. She said he disappeared for a while last summer and according to the visiting detective, the murders out on Long Island were committed that summer.  I'm also not sure that mentioning her son spends time in the basement could be considered "luring" Danny and Baez into the basement but I could be wrong.   And finally, we don't know that she turned on the music,  I figured it was her son and/or the killer.

I agree with you a thousand percent about Nicky.  I never liked her and can't think of a single episode where she wasn't annoying.  I can't be sure if it's the actress or the character that I dislike so much.....probably both.   I'm also not an Erin fan but I do love Anthony and I also like Jack, the ex-husband.

ETA:  I wondered why Danny didn't use his weapon too.  Maybe he thought the lock was too strong or maybe he wanted to conserve his ammo.  

 

Edited December 7, 2020 by AnnA

[txhorns79]

On 12/4/2020 at 11:09 PM, Dr.OO7 said:

 

Conversely, is Joe Jr. the first family member to not be keen on coming to dinner?

I did kind of love Joe saying "no," when asked if he would be attending family dinner.  It was refreshing to see at least one family member not acting like the dinner was the end all, be all of Reaganing.

 

[Jaded]

Was I the only one who found the timeline of Anita looking for her father and when he was buried to be confusing? When she and Eddie found his resting place it the ground didn't look like it had been disturbed recently. When she was first shown getting frustrated it seemed like her father had died pretty recently.

Edited December 7, 2020 by Jaded

[mtlchick]

13 hours ago, Jaded said:

Was I the only one who found the timeline of Anita looking for her father and when he was buried to be confusing? When she and Eddie found his resting place it the ground didn't look like it had been disturbed recently. When she was first shown getting frustrated it seemed like her father had died pretty recently.

It's hard to say.  The press release for this said the body was "misplaced at the outset of the pandemic." I read somewhere that Blue Bloods is currently set 6 months 'post pandemic.' (For reference, the first 2 episodes were being shot at the same time in October.)  

[Woodrose]

Through the miracle of modern technology, I rewatched the serial killer plotline. Yes, AnnA, you're right, it's the mom of the serial killer who was later killed. I'm still wondering though if she was cooperating, or not, in having 2 police officers locked in the basement. Maybe the timeline is unclear on this plotline, too.

This plotline also suffered a bit from the need to have a Reagan or two always be the ones to save the day. Jamie goes back to the precinct and decides to look thru the victim's purse, and finds the card with the address of the serial killer, where Danny's car is parked. If Danny's boss had done the same a few hours ago, that card plus the location of the car of two missing detectives should have been enough to get a search warrant to go in and look thru the whole house, top to bottom. And catch the serial killer before he escaped.

Wonder if catching this killer will be an extended arc this season.

 

[Sarah 103]

On 12/7/2020 at 5:41 PM, Woodrose said:

Wonder if catching this killer will be an extended arc this season.

I hope not. I am not a fan of serial killers in TV shows, especially in Blue Bloods.

[Rambler]

Nothing like Danny throwing one of his trademark temper tantrums in the first scene of the first episode to let us know that no improvements were made to the writing department during the long hiatus.

Baez tumbles down the stairs and immediately turns into whimpering blubbery mess that Danny has to console. She is supposed to be this badass Puerto Rican cop who doesn’t take shit from anyone you idiot writers. Way to ruin the one character that I actually like in this show.

So the lady detective who had the case before also went out and questioned the suspect without informing anyone about who he was or where she was going? Quite the coincidence. I have always thought that Danny was the stupidest detective imaginable, but at least he thought to bring along a partner, so that makes this previous detective even more stupid than he was since she didn't. I know that's hard to believe, yet the evidence is right in front of us.

If this killer is part of a multi-episode arc, then they set it up in the most boring way possible. What is it about this killer that makes him even remotely interesting? Does he have a unique signature or M.O.? Nope he just puts a bag over his victim's head and leaves them in a park. Any motives established? How about we skip over that part for now. Any weird quirks or creepy vibes? Nah, the only time we see him, he answers the door like a normal human being. Wow this is keeping me on the edge of my seat. If this story will continue over multiple episodes, at least establish that the killer is some sort of diabolical genius that can outwit the police before making that one fatal mistake. But no, in this case, the killer is an idiot who leaves his business card with his victim, which leads the police straight to him. Not to mention whatever evidence he left that lead the previous detective straight to him. I don't get what they are going for here. It takes a dumb detective to catch an even dumber serial killer or something like that I guess.

[Jaded]

On 12/7/2020 at 2:50 PM, mtlchick said:

It's hard to say.  The press release for this said the body was "misplaced at the outset of the pandemic." I read somewhere that Blue Bloods is currently set 6 months 'post pandemic.' (For reference, the first 2 episodes were being shot at the same time in October.)  

I didn't see the press release so thanks for mentioning that. I got kind of distracted in regards to what was being said in that first scene with Anita after Eddie's partner seemed like she was going to get physically aggressive. I started to dread how this show was going to handle this episode after that happened and was actually surprised at the outcome after it was all over. 

I enjoyed Joe passing on dinner too but the preview for the next episode made me grimace a bit.

[yankydoodle]

Really happy Blue Bloods is back.

It was good to see an emotional side to Baez. Seeing her at the dinner table was great. I hope she stays. That moment of Danny and Jamie hugging and Joe looking down, was kind of heartbreaking.

I did not like the segments with Whoopi Goldberg.

 

[EtheltoTillie]

I liked this better than most of you did. I really liked the story with Eddie and the Potters Field burial. She always shows a lot of heart. 

[seth]

WHERE'S THE SERIAL KILLER'S ARREST?

In every other episode of Blue Bloods, all 10 previous seasons, every separate story-line (Erin prosecuting this one, Danny or Jamie chasing that one, etc.) was tied up by the end of the episode.

In S11, E1, Frank gives into doing the radio show w/Regina and all other lines concerning Erin, Jamie and Joe Jr. feel complete enough. But the episode only shows Danny & Baez being freed from the basement, and the conclusions that the dead older woman was the serial killer's Mom and that several similar murder-by-asphyxiation were all done by the same dude (who Jamie and Joe Jr. actually encounter in an earlier scene.)

Why did the show-runners deny us the satisfaction of showing said killer found and arrested? There isn't even the common phrase "He's in the wind" uttered. Nothing. Very uncharacteristic of BB. For a criminal with that much blood on his hands, every other episode I can remember always showed the final burst into a house or building, chasing the guy down a fire escape or something, and finally pinning his wrists behind him for the cuffs (if not blowing him away in a firefight.) This guy's a monster, but nothing more gets said or done about him after Danny gets free and brings Baez to dinner. Why no resolution here, this episode?

[Katy M]

On 12/7/2020 at 1:58 AM, Jaded said:

Was I the only one who found the timeline of Anita looking for her father and when he was buried to be confusing? When she and Eddie found his resting place it the ground didn't look like it had been disturbed recently. When she was first shown getting frustrated it seemed like her father had died pretty recently.

Eddie said something like there were 100s of people dying every day at the time, which made it sound like it'd been at least a couple of monhts. Probably more.

[Jason607]

I cometary.love this show and been watching since the beginning and really understand why nypd cops have a love for it too but I was disappointed by the small note the episode made of the covid pandemic amd the BLM movement.  Inknow you could say that Frank and Eddie's story arcs for the episode where all about the pandemic and the blm movement but I felt it was not named specifically amd this was a mistake

[AMM]

Are they going to reference the serial killer that got away at the end of this episode before the season ends or are they just  going to drop that storyline altogether?