Blue Bloods Season 2 Finale Recap and Review

Reviewed by Kevin Finnerty

Will Estes, Len Cariou, Tom Selleck, Bridget Moynahan and Donnie Wahlberg Blue Bloods
Will Estes, Len Cariou, Tom Selleck, Bridget Moynahan and Donnie Wahlberg star in 'Blue Bloods' - Photo: Craig Blankenhorn/CBS
“New York City will come under attack in less than 24 hours” – This is why Police Commissioner Reagan (Tom Selleck) is in his private situation room on the Saturday morning before Mother’s Day in the second season final episode of the CBS hit police/family drama, Blue Bloods.
 
Being a family man, of course his first instinct is to protect his own family. But, being the Commissioner, the crisis must remain top secret if his police force is going to catch the three terrorist suspects whose plan is to release a super-flu virus somewhere in the city. The only advantage he and his cops have is that so far the terrorists don’t know the police are onto them.
 
Meanwhile, the Commissioner’s two sons – Detective Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg) and police officer Jamie Reagan (Will Estes) – are having a heated disagreement over an arrest Jamie made and exactly who gets credit for the collar. After a rough interrogation, Danny gets a lead involving an old cold case of his involving a missing/possibly abducted little boy from three years ago.
 
Back at his office, Commissioner Reagan spends part of his day with his granddaughter, Nicky (Sami Gayle), due to an arrangement he made with his daughter, Erin (Bridget Moynahan), before he was informed of the crisis. Commissioner Reagan does his best to coordinate the hunt for the terrorists while keeping his precocious, sensitive 15 year old granddaughter in the dark about the impending threat.
 


The Blue Bloods season 2 finale (“Mother’s Day”) is an extremely well-written, suspenseful close to what is hands-down the best police drama to come along on the small screen in years. The series has one of the most talented ensemble casts, led by seasoned veteran Tom Selleck as the patriarch of the family and the tough but usually fair NYC Police Commissioner. Selleck shines in this episode, showing his unwavering determination to catch the terrorists and keep a tight lid on the threat while struggling with his parental instincts to get his family out of the city and away from potential danger. The scenes between he and his granddaughter (played by the impressive young actress Sami Gayle) are some of the best in the episode, with Selleck showing the quiet strain in his face of keeping Gayle’s character in the dark about why he’s really working on a Saturday. She knows her grandfather too well and sees the sadness and concern in his face but lets him off the hook by not pushing him to tell her what’s going on. It’s these little, touching but authentic scenes which give the show its heart and soul.
 
Donnie Wahlberg is pitch perfect as Danny, the oldest son in the Reagan who’s a tough, hard-nosed detective who sometimes pushes the edge of the envelope in order to ensure justice for the criminals he pursues. It’s his best role since he co-starred in the HBO mini-series Band of Brothers.
 
Engaging and bittersweet, the Blue Bloods season two finale is the perfect mixture of exciting police action and family drama.
 
GRADE: B
 
Blue Bloods airs on CBS on Fridays at 10pm.