10×04 Another Look

Frank takes one of Jamie’s cases to heart when it involves the suspicious death of his friend’s, FBI Agent Wilson Ortega’s (Emiliano Diez), terminally ill wife. Also, after demanding more meaningful cases, Erin receives an unsolved robbery case that proves to be impossible to crack without help from Anthony, and Danny and Baez uncover the shocking truth behind a puzzling assault claim, on BLUE BLOODS.

CBS Press Release

Initial Thoughts

These are my thoughts on the fourth episode of season 10. Much of it is my interpretation of what is not said and may exist purely in my imagination. If you agree or disagree please let me know as I’d still love to hear from you regardless, I just ask that you’re polite, it’d be great to debate ideas and see what interesting theories emerge.

While watching this episode it really feels like it could have been written a few years ago (apart from the major changes in Jamie’s life). The pacing and structure of the episode were very reminiscent of season 8 episodes, with the primary focus on two stories and just a bit of time for the third. The Jamie and Frank storyline very much felt like the ‘C’ plot, this was a story which could evoke a strong emotional response for the characters involved, but very little time was spent on it.

Scene by Scene Breakdown

In case you want to remind yourself of some of the scenes, click on the headings for a link to the relevant clips on YouTube, courtesy of Jamko4ever.

Frank at the Crime Scene

Jamie being in charge of a scene is still something that’s only been shown a few times since his promotion, and again his crime scene is being visited by another member of the Reagan family. What’s especially nice to see is that caring side of Jamie on display, it was one of his best qualities as an officer but in season 9 there was very little interaction with the public that allowed it to be seen. (At this point Jamie appears to be working the shift that finishes at midnight.)

The scene ends on a slightly odd note, with one of the officers wanting to show Jamie something that CSU has found. This is obviously to set up the rest of the story, but due to the staging, it feels like something was lost in the final edit even if seeing the item would have been redundant due to what happens in later scenes.

Dream Team Concerns

This scene picks up with Sid describing the item that Jamie had been asked to look at. All of Frank’s team are concerned about how he’s reacting to the case. Frank is very defensive of his friend’s actions, and his argument for why Ortega didn’t mention the shirt isn’t what would be expected from the normally logical Commissioner. Although Frank is typically by the book, there are occasions where he will try to find another way if he feels personally connected to the situation, like in season 8’s Brushed Off, but this already seems to be taking it to extremes.

Frank’s Conversation

The one action that Frank takes is to discuss the evidence that has been discovered, but he makes sure there’s no doubt that this isn’t an official interview. Especially as Frank narrates the events rather than simply asking a question. The friend then tells his story, at least to a certain extent, before Frank redirects the conversation to their faith. The tone used suggests there’s an additional meaning, but it isn’t explained until the end of the episode. It ends up creating a sense that the scene is left incomplete, especially with the way Frank abruptly stops that chat and almost pushes Ortega out of the door.

Jamie Visits the DA’s Office

The conversation here brings together humour, some great sibling interaction and a perfect summary of Jamie’s character and how he takes after Frank. (Frank may have commented several times that Danny is most like him, but it’s Jamie who is most frequently shown to have characteristics closest to his dad’s)

This highlights one of the boundaries Jamie tries to consider during work-related conversations with Frank. Typically, they’ll try to ignore the fact that Frank is the PC and talk things through as though Frank is just a veteran cop. There have been a couple of exceptions where Jamie has been directing a question to Frank due to his role, but it is rare, although there’s no getting away from it this time.

Jamie Visits 1PP

This is a little reminiscent of Jamie’s conversation with Frank in season 9’s Handcuffs, except that was an informal chat and Frank was willing to acknowledge the doubts he had. Here, Jamie is in uniform and is unhappily having to remind his dad of the law. There’s a constant tension throughout the scene, with Jamie continuously shifting in his seat while Frank appears to be in his own world. The scene ends with Jamie visibly frustrated with how the conversation has gone, as seen with his bouncing leg, a sign that he knows he hasn’t succeeded in getting his dad to take what he believes is the correct action.

Frank stressing that both of the husband and wife being in law enforcement meant that they were just like Jamie and Eddie seems to be an obvious move to make Jamie empathise with the husband’s position. Jamie repeatedly states that his focus is the law concerning the case, rather than comparing a future version of himself and Eddie to the couple concerned. This shows how disparate their positions are at this point, Frank is reacting to the emotional state of his friend, while Jamie is concentrating on the legal requirements.

Reagan Family Dinner

Although the structure of this episode feels very similar to pre-season 9 episodes there is one way in which it differs. Eddie may be taking Jamie’s old role of only appearing at dinner but thankfully she is an active part of the conversation rather than being limited to a single line. Eddie sounds like she’s seeing police work as just a job at the moment which might be due to the current circumstances of working midnights. I’ll admit that Jamie’s suggestion of rescuing a cat from a tree is not something I’d normally associate with a police officer (normally I’d picture the fire department, or even Superman retrieving a cat from a tree).

The dinner conversation links to the thread that tenuously connects all of the stories in the episode, the lifetime commitment to law enforcement. Whether it’s the Detective who’s rejoined the NYPD, respecting the years served by the husband and his late wife, or even Anthony leaving the NYPD but still fulfilling a similar role at the DA’s office.

Frank Visits Jamie

The apartment is looking more lived in, with pictures hanging on the walls rather than standing on the floor, but as Jamie says they’re still not quite finished moving in. Which is why the bar stools are sat in the middle of the room and a cardboard box is abandoned on the couch. The blocking ends up a little odd for this scene, there are a few things strewn around but it doesn’t seem enough to justify Frank perching on a stool while Jamie stands several feet away leaning against the wall. Now that Jamie and Eddie actually have a dining table and chairs it seems strange that at least Jamie didn’t use one of those. The space between Jamie and Frank feels as great as when they were both sat in Frank’s office, so as a concluding scene it doesn’t give a visual sense that they’re actually coming together in agreement about resolving the issue. It could be that is driven by Frank’s need for space due to what he is about to say.

Within seconds of Frank’s arrival, he’s stating that he can’t stay long. The reason is flimsy as we know that he has a driver and security detail, which means his car could wait in a more convenient location and return when he was ready. This seems to be recognised by Jamie and suggests he knows that this will be a difficult conversation for Frank if he feels the needs to set a limit on it. Frank starts out matter-of-factly talking through the sequence of events. It’s a little odd that Frank has to explain to Jamie the significance of the husband’s confession to his Priest, as Jamie has been raised in the Catholic faith it could be expected that he would already be aware of the meaning (although some remarks on social media suggest that the Catholic church wouldn’t treat the wife’s death in the way that’s implied here). Once the official business is out of the way Frank is then able to acknowledge his own experience when he was in a similar situation, and this is likely to be what drove his behaviour for most of the episode, but he only allows it to show for a minute before withdrawing.

Final Thoughts

The first episode from this writer since the ‘wedding’ episode and while it refers to the relationship of Mr and Mrs Reagan it manages to avoid really showing them. Although there were many aspects of the episode that made it feel like it could have been written for any season before season 9 there were parts that meant it could only take place after season 9, notably Frank talking to Jamie as a husband.

Eddie only has limited screen time but like in season 9’s My Brother’s Keeper, the nature of the stories didn’t leave much room for her to be involved. While Eddie could’ve appeared within the scene at her and Jamie’s apartment it wouldn’t necessarily have been with purpose. It’s possible that Jamie could’ve had a scene with Eddie rather than Erin to talk about how to push Frank into taking action. Eddie may not know Frank as well as his children, but at this point, she could’ve just as easily made the observations that Erin made.

This episode felt very out of balance in its storylines and the screen time for each. Perhaps several members of the cast were being allowed to have some time off and so their involvement was limited accordingly. One of the things that remains puzzling about this story is why Frank didn’t reveal to anyone that he just wanted to wait until after the funeral before proceeding with the charges. Perhaps it’s that Frank needed to get through the funeral to be in a place where he could talk through his reasoning.