Blue Bloods S05 E12 Recap: Home Sweet Home

Issues continue with Season 5's latest premiere.

Review by David Clark

In its second episode back from mid-season break the family oriented police drama is back this week with another show. In the 5th season Blue Bloods is still entertaining but as things progress there appears to be a lack of clarity. In previous seasons an over-arching plot has helped drive the narrative from one show to the next. This plot line usually leads up to a satisfying conclusion by the end of the season. The current season has yet to establish that episode connecting plot leaving the audience with somewhat compartmentalized episodes.

This week’s episode opens up with Jamie Reagan and his partner Officer Jenko entering a bank in response to a call about a homeless person scaring customers in front of a bank. When they discover the homeless person is just a kid they decide to help. Unfortunately the kid takes off and they have to chase him down.

When they finally catch the homeless child they discover he is in need of help. His mother was arrested and he was sent to live with his aunt. When the aunt suddenly disappeared leaving the kid to fend for himself in the street, the homeless young man grew suspicious that his aunt was murdered. When Jamie and Jenko learn of this they start investigating.

While the main storyline is progressing we also learn that commissioner Frank Reagan is running operations out of his home because of an injured ankle. This would not normally be a problem but the commissioner’s father Henry Reagan, the former retired police commissioner, keeps inputting his two cents as Frank and his advisers try to conduct business. Henry starts to feel a lack of appreciation as sarcastic comments are uttered at his expense. The commissioner and his subordinates treat Henry like an out of touch retiree as opposed to a former commissioner with decades of on the job knowledge.

The Assistant District Attorney of New York City, Erin Reagan, is facing her own troubles in this episode as a case being prosecuted turns up complications. The defense attorney and Erin have faced each other in court before and the current case is causing fireworks between the two. The situations becomes more convoluted because Erin is currently dating the city’s District Attorney (DA) Bobby and when the DA considers removing her from the case it upsets Erin.

When the District Attorney finally decides to remove Erin from the case she grows suspicious. It is not usual department policy to remove a prosecuting attorney without a substantial reason. It quickly becomes apparent that the case is bigger than the suspect on trial that she was initially prosecuting. She learns a group of correction officers are under investigation but nobody is willing to talk with her about what the allegations are or how the investigations are proceeding.

Erin’s investigation grows stranger still when her car is burglarized and files pertaining to the case are stolen. This motivates Erin to push further. Through a detective that owes her a favor Erin reaches out to the wife of one correctional officer that is under investigation. She learns a ring of prison guards were under investigation for selling drugs and conjugal visits to inmates but that the results of the investigation are being covered up.

Jamie Reagan gets his brother Danny Reagan involved in the investigation of the homeless kid’s missing Aunt. They grow suspicious that a known violent felon might have been involved when the kid, now known as TJ, identifies him in a picture profile as his aunt’s boyfriend. When they go after the felon he attacks Danny. Danny’s partner Maria saves him and knocks out the felon with a flashlight.

Jamie’s inquest into the homeless child’s life takes a turn when they learn the aunt is still alive. TJ’s mother gave his aunt a substantial amount of money to take care of TJ. Turns out, the aunt actually took the money and was using it on drugs. She claimed that TJ was not her responsibility but law enforcement did not see it that way. She accepted legal guardianship of TJ when she accepted the money for his care.

After turning over enough rocks Erin learned that the investigation of the correction officers was being covered up by someone in the District Attorney’s office. When she confronts District Attorney Bobby, Erin learns that it is him that covered up the investigation. Due to family obligations with certain entities in the Department of Corrections Bobby was trying to keep the investigation from going public. When Erin confronts him he realizes that his career and his relationship with Erin are in jeopardy.

The show concludes with a scene between the current and former police commissioner sitting in their living room. Frank Reagan comes to his father and reveals that the commissioner’s office ended up utilizing Henry’s advice on the union contracts that were being discussed earlier in the episode. It was a quiet moment of realization and reflection between the two as Frank discovers that his father is not just a retired old man but is someone with years of experience and wisdom.

This was another great episode in the Blue Blood style. However, once again there was no real plot development to lead into the next episode. The only narrative storyline that was not completely tied up by the end was whether the District Attorney would lose his job over the cover-up and whether Erin and the District Attorney would continue their relationship. Given how Blue Bloods focuses on the family relationships this is an interesting storyline but hardly an edge of your seat narrative that will guarantee a returning audience for the next episode.