10×13 Reckless

Frank must uncover the truth when an undercover officer accuses a fellow cop of police brutality. Also, Danny and Baez investigate the murder of a famous photographer recently accused of assault by his former models, and Erin struggles to protect a witness as new justice reform laws go into effect, on BLUE BLOODS.

CBS Press Release

 

Initial Thoughts

These are my thoughts on the thirteenth 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.

It wasn’t a great episode for Jamie and Eddie, but it was slightly better for them as a couple than the previous episode. The storyline relied on changing viewpoints, firstly Eddie’s view on whether or not Jamie should refer to the complaint to IAB, then which circumstances Jamie felt would justify it being dealt with outside the rules. The inclusion of Officer Long seemed to be done to throw suspicion on his actions, before revealing that he was trying to be helpful. One thing remained consistent throughout, Jamie was always driven to do what he thought was best to protect Eddie.

Scene by Scene Breakdown

Initial Complaint

Nothing is going to make Jamie react more quickly than someone shouting for Officer Janko… Jamie spends some time going through all the ways the information could’ve been passed on without Eddie being involved, trying to take some heat out of the woman’s complaints. It doesn’t really help but it does show the information is likely to have come from within the NYPD.

How to Deal With It

It’s a little ironic that Jamie describes the number of bad cops Eddie’s had as a pattern, as the pattern is based on when a writer needed to either get rid of an existing character or introduce a new one to act as that week’s plot point… It could be said that the pattern is due to them moving to the 29^th precinct, a place that was known to be a problem and although it’s improved, there’s a sense that there’s still a lot that needs to be fixed.

Jamie’s first instinct is to protect Eddie, even if it’s just trying to keep her from getting jammed up by her partner’s actions. Eddie’s very quick to defend Long and say there’s no way he’s involved (although it turns out he is).

Initial Investigations

Jamie appears to have decided to carry out some initial investigations before turning it over to IAB. Low-key conversational questioning, Jamie’s style of detective work always fools someone into revealing more than they realise… Jamie still manages to remain quite calm, and even friendly, as he states what seems to be going on, and Long doesn’t really assuage any concerns Jamie might have by trying to warn him off.

Have to wonder how Eddie was partnered with Long if he now appears to be on the same shift as Jamie.

Change of Direction

Although Eddie told Jamie just to let it go to IAB she’s obviously been doing some investigating of her own, and it’s a good job Jamie didn’t immediately do what she’d asked. Now Eddie knows more about what’s going on she’s asking him to go with his original instinct, progress his own investigation and continue acting in a way that will protect her (even if it’s against her fellow officers rather than IAB).

What’s amusing is that Jamie has no expectation that Eddie would cook for him, it’s nice to see he wasn’t completely wrong and that she just picked him up some fast food (presumably when she’d bought her own dinner). It leads to a really low key sign of affection, only really shown through the smile on Jamie’s face before he watches her walk away.

Reagan Family Dinner

Eddie seems to really enjoy the chance to take part in some NYPD gossip as Frank shares his story. But then she gets a little tense when Jamie mentions the situation they’re dealing with, although she appears to be nodding and probably relaxes when he concludes that things probably aren’t what they seem. It probably doesn’t feel very reassuring that something you’re trying to keep hidden is then shared with the Commissioner.

Eddie’s not really seen enough of how the family are aware of things being done outside the standard procedures and hasn’t yet heard of all the times that Frank has bent the rules or how much he trusts Jamie’s judgement. There have been a few episodes where Jamie has talked through an issue with Frank or Henry and gained their advice on a situation where he’s having to work around the rules, like in season 3’s Scorched Earth, or season 6’s Town Without Pity, or even in The Price You Pay. Although Eddie has gotten to know Frank, it’s still unlikely that she’s had enough opportunities to see how he separates the line between Police Commissioner and father who happens to be a veteran cop.

Follow Up With Long

Although he’s not going through official channels Jamie won’t let the matter drop. The circumstances are very different from what Erin is dealing with but it could all to easily end up the same way, so can’t be allowed to continue unchecked which is why Jamie lets Long think he’s about to go to IAB. Jamie’s jibe about Long liking a quiet day feels like a callback to his previous appearance in Milestones and how he seems to believe it’s his right to do as little as possible.

In addition to progressing his investigation, Jamie is also fulfilling his duty as a husband and doing what he feels is necessary to protect Eddie. At least he doesn’t have to go as far as he did in Friends in High Places.

A Visit to the Doctor

A highlight was getting another sighting of the Chevelle at the start of this scene. The reason for the cops breaking the rules may have had good intentions but it wasn’t doing anything to help the doctor’s reputation by just passing details on without asking first. These cops weren’t the smartest, so it seems they were really lucky that this was the first complaint anyone had made. In some ways, what they’re trying to do feels a bit like when Eddie was helping her neighbour with parking tickets in season 6’s The Bullitt Mustang, but at least then it wasn’t causing any problems for the public.

Jamie lets them off fairly lightly, and there feels like there should have been a stronger close on it all. Especially as it relies on bringing in cops that Jamie’s apparently known for years, either from the academy or his old precinct, which is when it seems particularly rushed. This is probably meant to help Jamie justify his decision to give them a warning and that the cops really did just want to help the doctor.

Final Thoughts

It wasn’t the best Jamie and Eddie storyline but it was slightly better for them as a couple than the previous episode, at least this one provided some sense that they were dealing with a problem. Frustratingly it does feel that a similar outcome could’ve been achieved with them working more closely, as they did during their investigations in Glass Houses. In many ways, both episodes followed a similar pattern, but Glass Houses was more successful in its portrayal of them as a couple.

This episode, like Friends in High Places, does raise the question of how far Jamie will go to protect Eddie. Here he’s carrying out the initial investigation rather than turning it over to McNichols, and then avoiding taking it to IAB so Eddie doesn’t get hassled by other cops. This ultimately means he lets the cops off with a friendly warning rather than taking it through official channels.

One thing about this episode, it must’ve been for convenience that all of the scenes were at the precinct, but when Eddie hints at what is going on it might’ve been easier if they’d done it somewhere more private – like at the home they share. There are times when this season gives the impression that there’s never a time when one of them isn’t at work although there are 3 shifts per day, which should mean there are at least 7 hours every day when neither of them is working. It leaves the feeling that we’re seeing hints at their relationship rather than witnessing its full potential.