S12.E17: Hidden Motive

[DanaK]

Quote

Frank is blindsided when Mayor Chase bypasses him with a request for Jamie to head his security detail. Also, Danny and Baez investigate the murder of a wealthy college student; Eddie experiences tension with her partner, Badillo (Ian Quinlan), when she arrests an protestor against his wishes; and Anthony scrambles to help his half-brother when he fears money woes are leading his sibling down the wrong path, on the CBS Original series BLUE BLOODS, Friday, April 1 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. Episode marks series star Bridget Moynahan's directorial debut.
 

 

[Sarah 103]

My understanding was that the mayor's security detail is mostly active duty NYPD officers. Frank made it sound Jamie being transfered to that detail was like any other routine transfer from one assignment to another. Later in the episode they made it seem as though Jamie would be leaving the NYPD for a political position. I am confused and wonder if I missed a line or something. Thanks to anyone who can help explain it to me.

I liked the storyline that Luis and Eddie had, and the way they involved Henry. I loved the line about Regans are goody-goodys or hot-heads because he's kind of right. 

[DanaK]

39 minutes ago, Sarah 103 said:

My understanding was that the mayor's security detail is mostly active duty NYPD officers. Frank made it sound Jamie being transfered to that detail was like any other routine transfer from one assignment to another. Later in the episode they made it seem as though Jamie would be leaving the NYPD for a political position. I am confused and wonder if I missed a line or something. Thanks to anyone who can help explain it to me.

I liked the storyline that Luis and Eddie had, and the way they involved Henry. I loved the line about Regans are goody-goodys or hot-heads because he's kind of right. 

I was confused too about the Jaime thing. It seemed like the writers were saying two different things. It does sound like Jaime may be thinking about a change in the direction of his career. 

I liked the episode overall. Some pretty good stories

[Maverick]

 It wasn't really clear, but I think the transfer itself was just a different job within the NYPD.  Frank has commented to the Mayor that if he has any issues with his detail to let him know, implying they are under his command.  But when they found out the Mayor is running for governor and surrounding himself with smart people, I think the implication is that the Mayor has bigger plans for him and the transfer is just the first step to get Jamie in his orbit. 

[Snazzy Daisy]

Bridget Moynahan’s directing debut.

 

 

[preeya]

15 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

My understanding was that the mayor's security detail is mostly active duty NYPD officers. Frank made it sound Jamie being transfered to that detail was like any other routine transfer from one assignment to another. Later in the episode they made it seem as though Jamie would be leaving the NYPD for a political position. I am confused and wonder if I missed a line or something. Thanks to anyone who can help explain it to me.

IMO, I think the writers decided to focus on this topic because the real NYC mayor hired his brother to head up his security detail. Sort of like the L&O franchise does with the "ripped from the headlines" stuff.

We'll have to wait to see if this BB arc goes anywhere.

Edited April 3, 2022 by preeya

[wlk68]

16 hours ago, Sarah 103 said:

My understanding was that the mayor's security detail is mostly active duty NYPD officers. Frank made it sound Jamie being transfered to that detail was like any other routine transfer from one assignment to another. Later in the episode they made it seem as though Jamie would be leaving the NYPD for a political position. I am confused and wonder if I missed a line or something. Thanks to anyone who can help explain it to me.

I liked the storyline that Luis and Eddie had, and the way they involved Henry. I loved the line about Regans are goody-goodys or hot-heads because he's kind of right. 

You're not alone in your confusion. That's what it sounded like to me as well. 

[kwnyc]

But a guy needing $50,000 to pay for doctor bills for his wife's pregnancy? Dammit, I wish they had someone in the writer's room who knew something about health insurance. Aside from the dismissal of "neither of us has insurance," that was it.

However...you actually have to prove you have insurance or pay a fine when you file your taxes. (Do they file taxes?) Even then, NY City and State have a very accessible marketplace and navigators (and all the hospitals have a payment plan option, and some will even write off the bill). So it was a stupid instance to bring back the gangster/Anthony's half-brother.

Jamie does have a big decision to make. He's been played as someone who is a good, hardass leader, and if they mayor runs for governor and wins, Jamie can get some kind of state-wide appointment. Or, if he stays in NYPD, he has to be going for some kind of promotion soon.

Will Estes has gotten to be a better actor over the years. It was a bit of a shock to hear Frank referring to him as "pushing 40."

[NJRadioGuy]

Not a bad episode, but one thing jumped out at me. Frank stated that the PC's job is a civilian position, which it actually is IRL. So then why does he have dress blues, and why are MoS saluting him, etc? I figured having the Commissioner being a sworn police officer was just simply to allow  for the various storylines needed.

[preeya]

1 hour ago, NJRadioGuy said:

Not a bad episode, but one thing jumped out at me. Frank stated that the PC's job is a civilian position, which it actually is IRL. So then why does he have dress blues, and why are MoS saluting him, etc? I figured having the Commissioner being a sworn police officer was just simply to allow  for the various storylines needed.

From Wikipedia:

"The New York City Police Commissioner is the head and highest-ranking member of the New York City Police Department and presiding member of the Board of Commissioners. The commissioner is appointed by the mayor, and serves at the mayor's pleasure. The commissioner is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the department as well as the appointment of deputies including the Chief of Department and subordinate officers. Commissioners are civilian administrators, and they and their subordinate deputies are civilians under an oath of office, not sworn members of the force. This is a separate position from the Chief of Department, who is the senior sworn uniformed member of the force. The First Deputy Commissioner is the Commissioner and department’s second-in-command. The office of the Police Commissioner is located at the NYPD Headquarters, One Police Plaza."

[kwnyc]

13 hours ago, preeya said:

Commissioners are civilian administrators, and they and their subordinate deputies are civilians under an oath of office, not sworn members of the force.

So that covers Garrett, who is not a police officer. Does that mean that Sid & Baker had to resign from the force? Abigail is still referred to as detective, but is Gormley no longer a PO?

[AnnA]

12 hours ago, kwnyc said:

So that covers Garrett, who is not a police officer. Does that mean that Sid & Baker had to resign from the force? Abigail is still referred to as detective, but is Gormley no longer a PO?

Sid and Baker are still active members of the NYPD.  Neither one of them is a commissioner or deputy commissioner.  I don't know what title Gromley is working under now but originally Frank proposed he become "Special Assistant to the Commissioner."  I'm assuming Baker has an assistant title as well.

[NJRadioGuy]

1 hour ago, AnnA said:

Sid and Baker are still active members of the NYPD.  Neither one of them is a commissioner or deputy commissioner.  I don't know what title Gromley is working under now but originally Frank proposed he become "Special Assistant to the Commissioner."  I'm assuming Baker has an assistant title as well.

Garrett the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information (DCPI). But he's also a civilian.

Edited April 5, 2022 by NJRadioGuy

[mythoughtis]

Garrett has always been a civilian.  Baker is still referred to as Detective.  Gormley has  a special title because he was only a Sargent when Frank transferred him up there and needed to be a Lieutenant for an equal transfer ( or something like that).   They are still active officers  and could transfer out to a precinct if they wished. 

Edited April 5, 2022 by mythoughtis

[EtheltoTillie]

Frank can wear the uniform as a retired officer?  E.g. for ceremonial occasions?  

[wlk68]

10 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

Garrett has always been a civilian.  Baker is still referred to as Detective.  Gormley has  a special title because he was only a Sargent when Frank transferred him up there and needed to be a Lieutenant for an equal transfer ( or something like that).   They are still active officers  and could transfer out to a precinct if they wished. 

I thought Gormley was a higher rank than that. Didn't Danny report to him at one point back at the beginning of the series?

[mythoughtis]

3 hours ago, wlk68 said:

I thought Gormley was a higher rank than that. Didn't Danny report to him at one point back at the beginning of the series?

Yes he was Danny’s boss, but he was a Sargent at that time.  He was promoted to Lieutenant after he transferred to Frank’s team.  The title that Frank originally wanted him to have cannot be given to him because he is not a Captain ( according to the internet just now)- so I was incorrect about the needing to be a Lieutenant statement in my earlier post. 

Edited April 6, 2022 by mythoughtis

[wlk68]

4 hours ago, mythoughtis said:

Yes he was Danny’s boss, but he was a Sargent at that time.  He was promoted to Lieutenant after he transferred to Frank’s team.  The title that Frank originally wanted him to have cannot be given to him because he is not a Captain ( according to the internet just now)- so I was incorrect about the needing to be a Lieutenant statement in my earlier post. 

Interesting. It seemed odd to me that Danny (a Homicide Detective) would report to a Sargent. I figured he'd at least report to a Lieutenant or a Captain. That seems to be the case for pretty much any other police procedural show I've ever watched.  :) 

[Daff]

1 hour ago, wlk68 said:

Interesting. It seemed odd to me that Danny (a Homicide Detective) would report to a Sargent. I figured he'd at least report to a Lieutenant or a Captain. That seems to be the case for pretty much any other police procedural show I've ever watched.  :) 

Danny, whining: “But Sarge, blah, blah…” Always his intro with Gormley, and he’s still whining it with this other one. 

[Daff]

17 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

Frank can wear the uniform as a retired officer?  E.g. for ceremonial occasions?  

Can and does wear the dress blues of the PC.  If the PC were hired from a different force where he/she formerly served, they’d issue dress blues and the PC would be entitled to wear any decorations/medals/honors awarded during previous service. If they actually hired a PC who had never served, they’d still issue the dress blues, but that PC wouldn’t have any decorations/medals. I can’t see that happening though, are there any large metro PCs who have never been a cop?

[EtheltoTillie]

I thought this episode was bizarre.  Jamie leaving the police force to become a political hack?  This made no sense in Blue Blood world.  His explanations at the Sunday dinner table made no sense.  The discussions about leaving to find his true calling or whatever sounded like word salad. 

[NJRadioGuy]

2 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I thought this episode was bizarre.  Jamie leaving the police force to become a political hack?  This made no sense in Blue Blood world.  His explanations at the Sunday dinner table made no sense.  The discussions about leaving to find his true calling or whatever sounded like word salad. 

That entire storyline made no sense to me in the context of what this show is. This is the type of show where nothing really happens to the main cast, with only a couple of notable exceptions. It's mostly episodic in nature rather than truly serialized, so I just don't see him going anywhere. Besides, even if he takes the job there's not really anything political about it, it's just head of a security detail. Maybe the mayor would want to bring him into the NYSP if he got elected governor or something, but otherwise I'm seeing this as a nothingburger.

[EtheltoTillie]

28 minutes ago, NJRadioGuy said:

That entire storyline made no sense to me in the context of what this show is. This is the type of show where nothing really happens to the main cast, with only a couple of notable exceptions. It's mostly episodic in nature rather than truly serialized, so I just don't see him going anywhere. Besides, even if he takes the job there's not really anything political about it, it's just head of a security detail. Maybe the mayor would want to bring him into the NYSP if he got elected governor or something, but otherwise I'm seeing this as a nothingburger.

I thought they were hinting that it was somewhat political as the mayor was assembling a team of bright people who could form a cabinet if he ran for governor. 

[Maverick]

 That's correct, this was just the first move to get into the Mayor's inner circle.  If elected, governor there are any number of positions he could Jaime into.   Jaime taking a career on politics would be very plausible.   He has an Ivy League law degree and coupled with his distinguished service in the country's largest police force, hed be a poster boy politician. 

[kwnyc]

15 hours ago, Maverick said:

 That's correct, this was just the first move to get into the Mayor's inner circle.  If elected, governor there are any number of positions he could Jaime into.   Jaime taking a career on politics would be very plausible.   He has an Ivy League law degree and coupled with his distinguished service in the country's largest police force, hed be a poster boy politician. 

All of this. And being on a Mayor's detail is considered a prime position for promotion in many police departments. (Bernard Kerik, the disgraced former PC, was Mayor Giuliani's personal bodyguard and driver. Giuliani appointed him head of the Dept of Corrections and PC. Kerik eventually had the unique distinction of serving time in a facility that was named after him.)

[Katy M]

On 4/3/2022 at 1:20 PM, kwnyc said:

But a guy needing $50,000 to pay for doctor bills for his wife's pregnancy? Dammit, I wish they had someone in the writer's room who knew something about health insurance. Aside from the dismissal of "neither of us has insurance," that was it.

However...you actually have to prove you have insurance or pay a fine when you file your taxes. (Do they file taxes?) Even then, NY City and State have a very accessible marketplace and navigators (and all the hospitals have a payment plan option, and some will even write off the bill). So it was a stupid instance to bring back the gangster/Anthony's half-brother.

I have insurance, but I just check the box that I have it. The IRS has never asked me for proof.  Maybe they had been seriously ill in the past and hit their $1 million max.  Doesn't feel like it would take much nowadays.