The times, they are a-changin'.

Frank has never been happy about that, especially when he feels the political climate makes it impossible for cops to do their jobs.

On Blue Bloods Season 10 Episode 5, he felt guilty about reporting a detective's potential misconduct to IAB, but was he right to feel bad about it?

Frank compared his decision to Jamie's decision to investigate Espinoza privately.

But the two weren't directly comparable.

Frank's job requires him to wear so many hats that sometimes it's impossible for him to fulfill all the requirements at once.

Related: Blue Bloods' Frank Reagan: Grumpy Curmudgeon or Man of Principle?

He needs to make hiring decisions, minimize problems within the department, help the community see the police in a positive light, and enforce department rules.

Viewers only got the tail end of this, but it seemed like Frank made the right call. He had to investigate whether Mackenzie used excessive force, and there was no way to do that without involving IAB.

Jamie: It was by the book, Dad.
Frank: What good's the book if no one else is reading it?

• Permalink: What good's the book if no one else is reading it?

Frank doesn't have the manpower for a private investigation and even if he did, it would make it look like he was trying to cover up his officer's misconduct if people learned about it.

As he told Jamie, leaks happen -- and with an angry public, someone was bound to go looking for proof of corruption that wasn't there.

Yet Frank was right that in the digital age, an accusation can sometimes be hard to live down even if the accused is exonerated of all crimes.

Protesters were convinced that Mackenzie was a racist who used excessive force and probably won't be happy that Frank ignored the judge's recommendation.

Related: Blue Bloods Season 10 Episode 4 Review

There is no way to unring that bell, even if Frank was 100% right in how he approached the situation.

This story provided an interesting perspective on the way social media influences public opinion. Most stories are told from the point of view of the protesters, not the point of view of the ones being protested.

It's hard to tell whether Mackenzie deserved the vitirol being slung his way.

He was bitter and angry when he visited Frank's office and felt Frank started this and should make it right by demanding everyone leave him alone, and that made him seem unsympathetic and a bit entitled (not to mention ignorant).

Yet his family was getting harassed, so it was understandable that he'd be anger and bitter.

Related: Get CBS All Access via Prime Video Channels for Hit Shows, Exclusive Originals & Live TV!

Regardless of what Mackenzie did or didn't do, one thing was for sure: his young daughter shouldn't have been subjected to the protests. She was a little girl and hadn't done anything to anybody.

Jamie's struggle was similar, but not the same.

He isn't the commissioner, so it isn't his job to ensure that the head of every department is behaving properly nor is he the public face of the police department.

Jamie: Espinoza's been good to me. He got us this apartment. But if he's abusing his power to have sexual relations with a rookie I can't look the other way. Right?
Frank: Not in this day and age.

• Permalink: Not in this day and age.

If Jamie had reported the matter to IAB without having all the facts, he might have made a baseless accusation. Had he discovered that Espinoza was indeed behaving inappropriately, then the next step would have been to report it.

The weirdest thing about this whole thing was that Jamie dealt with it mostly alone, not counting a few advice sessions with Frank.

He's married to Eddie, yet both of their storylines were solo stories, as if their partners didn't even know what was going on.

That didn't make a lot of sense. Surely Eddie wasn't so deep undercover that Jamie didn't know where she was or what she was doing.

If she was, he definitely would have had something to say about it.

And Eddie didn't have any advice, solicited or otherwise, for Jamie's situation.

That made no sense. These two live together. They should be interacting with each other's stories.

Eddie's story was wrapped up way too quick, too. Blue Bloods doesn't usually do this, but I'd have loved to have seen her undercover assignment stretch over several episodes.

Instead, Anthony built it up as this huge, dangerous assignment that would require Eddie to be undercover for weeks or months, and instead it was resolved in a day or two.

We never found out what cult meetings were actually like, either.

Soon after meeting Ruby, Eddie revealed her identity so that they could all search for Ramona, then Ruby saved Eddie's life and Shapiro was arrested. The end.

As for Danny and Maria's story, the in-joke was the best part.

This case was entirely unremarkable other than Danny remarking that he sang in another lifetime. 

I'd never have guessed when I was a teenager that Donnie from New Kids on the Block would someday be playing a hotheaded NYPD detective, and I loved the nod to Donnie Wahlberg's former career.

Your turn, Blue Bloods fanatics.

Was Frank right to feel guilty about having asked IAB to investigate Mackenzie?

Was Eddie's case wrapped up too quickly for your taste, too?

And was I the only one who laughed at the in-joke during Danny's case?

Take to the comments with your thoughts, and don't forget that you can watch Blue Bloods online if you missed anything.

Blue Bloods airs on CBS on Fridays at 10 PM EST/PST.

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Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.