Blue Bloods Season 9 Episode 4 Review: Blackout
Christine Orlando
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Good intentions and good judgment don't always go hand in hand as was evident on Blue Bloods Season 9 Episode 4.
The blackout shook things up at 1PP but I was really hoping that it would go on longer. We only got a few minutes of how a city without power affects the police before jumping right into the aftermath.
And the aftermath got messy thanks to the mayor and the poor judgment of Chief Russo.
Although I don't believe Russo was maliciously trying to leave the poorer residents of the housing project without police protection, that's exactly what he did when he decided to bow to the mayor's whims.
Frank: So you think it’s your job to step out of the chain of command, break protocol, in order to save me from the headache?
Russo: Well, no, when you put it that way.
Frank: You’ve got another way to put it.
Russo: Well, we all serve at the pleasure of the mayor.
Frank: Well, you got that wrong. I serve at the pleasure of the mayor. You serve under my command and we both serve all of the people of this city not just the ones with the hook at city hall.
Russo thought he'd be praised for keeping the Police Commissioner out of the line of fire with the mayor, but that made it obvious he doesn't know or understand Frank Reagan.
Frank has never backed down from doing what he believes is right, even when it means risking his job.
But as Sid pointed out in this Blue Bloods quote, maybe having a proverbial spine of steel makes it difficult for Frank to understand when others aren't strong enough to stand up to pressure from above.
Boss, I’ve watched you up close for years. You’ve got something the rest of us don’t. You can stand up to the ranks above you've and it’s like you got a Teflon suit over a Kevlar vest and your dirty looks are actual flamethrowers.
Sid
I love that Sid can speak honestly with Frank because it is the exact reason why Frank said he wanted him in the position in the first place.
Sid sees things from the rank and file's point of view and Frank needs someone with that perspective because it's easy to become insulated from that in Frank's position.
When Frank chose to fire Chief Russo, I thought that was an over-reaction. Yes, what the man did was wrong, and if anyone had gotten hurt because of it then firing would have been appropriate. But Russo thought he was doing the right thing.
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A demotion or early retirement seemed fairer yet still sent a strong message that those in power wouldn't be allowed to bend police protocols at a whim or use the NYPD as their own personal security force.
At least we weren't subjected to yet another round of Frank vs. the mayor. We've had more than enough of that the last couple of seasons and I'm grateful we didn't have to sit through it once again.
Elsewhere, Jamie and Eddie had their first work-related argument as a couple.
Eddie: Do you have any idea how many times I’ve walked home at night, alone, a couple of drinks in me? How many times I’ve thought maybe this is it? Tonight’s the night I become the victim.
Jamie: So you make yourself a victim?
Eddie: The answer is no, you don’t know.
Jamie: I don’t see why you should hang yourself out there like a piece of bait for some creep.
Eddie: Of course you don’t, because you’ve never been afraid to walk home alone at night. You have no idea what that feels like.
Jamie: I’m not saying I do.
Eddie: Well then, respectfully, back off.
I know that Jamie, being a Sargeant, can't share everything with Eddie, but he needed to voice more of his specific concerns to her about this operation.
If the roles had been reversed, I can't imagine Jamie backing out of an undercover operation given so little information.
Related: 13 Most Memorable "Jamko" Moments on Blue Bloods
Eddie going undercover to catch this assailant made perfect sense. By the time Jamie got around to mentioning he didn't trust Detective Davis, it sounded like an excuse, especially since he didn't back it up with any specifics.
Jamie didn't need to come, literally, flying to Eddie's rescue. He needed to give her the information she needed to decide whether she felt this operation was safe and protect herself.
It's obvious that Jamie loves and wants to protect his fiancee, but he should find a better way of dealing with that moving forward.
Erin continued to face challenges in her new role as Bureau Chief.
Frank and Henry were right when they pointed out that it's more difficult to be the squeaky wheel when you're the boss and nobody wants to hear you whine.
It’s our responsibility to seek out justice, not just more convictions.
Erin
That's a belief that Erin may find difficult to hold on to in her new position, especially when the District Attorney doesn't always agree.
I could have gone either way with Shelly's case. It was a judgment call whether to drop the charges against Shelly because her husband had beaten her and threatened their son, or leave it up to a jury to find her story believable.
But Erin felt that prosecuting Shelly wasn't serving justice and decided to stand her ground.
I wasn't thrilled with her boss telling her she owed him for it or that he'd collect with interest. I have little doubt he meant it and I'm curious to see how that will play out.
Erin should do the right thing for as long as she can because I'm not sure how long that will be.
Will Erin compromise her beliefs in order to make things right with the DA, or will she stand up to him and risk her job? Only time will tell.
Danny and Baez's case took a back seat this week but I wasn't disappointed.
When it became clear that someone was renting out Ben's apartment while he was in London, I figured it had to be someone who worked in the building.
I found it amusing how long it took Ben to put the pieces together that his crazy ex-girlfriend could have mistaken the young women lounging in his home for his new girlfriend and murdered her.
The moral of this story is to always change the locks after a bad breakup.
Also, this story had me wondering if the doorman could be charged with felony murder since his illegally renting out the apartment led to someone's death.
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But one of the sweetest moments was at the Sunday family dinner when Frank quipped to Danny that he'd have to make a very strong case for himself becoming a boss in order to have Frank pulling his ace off the field to park him behind a desk.
Danny doesn't always get a lot of kudos from his father and that was a nice touch.
So, TV Fanatics, did you think Frank went too far in wanting to fire Chief Russo?
Was Sid right to stand up to Frank and voice his opinion?
And did Jamie step over the line by running to Eddie's rescue?
Check back for my review of Blue Bloods Season 9 Episode 5 and until then, you can watch Blue Bloods online here at TV Fanatic.
C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.
