08×07 Common Ground

No new episode last Friday and so with everything else that’s currently going on I’m going to be focusing on episodes and ideas which include an element of fun in between these last few episodes of the season.

A case turns personal for Danny when he works to protect a nurse, Faith Madson (Jessie Mueller), from her violent ex-boyfriend. Also, Shelly Wayne (Cassandra Freeman), an acquaintance of Frank’s, comes to him with a theory regarding the death of an inmate, and Jamie and Eddie help deliver a baby, on BLUE BLOODS.

CBS Press Release

Initial Thoughts

These are my thoughts on the seventh episode of season 8. 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.

A bit of a light and fun story, with no criminals to be dealt with. This is when Jamie and Eddie delivered a baby and helped the family find a new home, with an amusing misunderstanding about who was Eddie and who was Jamie. Plus a little time to explore Jamie and Eddie’s attitudes to parenthood.

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.

A Trip to the Movies

‘Woman in distress’ doesn’t automatically suggest that she’s in the middle of giving birth so there’s no way that Jamie and Eddie were expecting this. Judging by the expression on Eddie’s face she’s even more shocked when Jamie says he’s delivered babies before. Although she isn’t necessarily reassured based on the way she’s saying “Jamie, no”, she must be assuming it’s been a while as she knows he hasn’t done it while partnered with her. Eddie’s understandably worried about being partly responsible for helping with the birth. Although Eddie is blowing into the glove to make it easier to put on there’s a sense she wishes it was a paper bag to help with her sense of panic.

New Arrival

And suddenly there’s a baby… They’re really so lucky that it was that straightforward but if it’s her first baby then it highlights how difficult her life is. There are the questions of how long was she having contractions and how long had she been at work? She appears to be at work to clean up after the audience which suggests she was attempting to work up to the very last minute – which really she did.

The Past and The Future

This scene passes through so many levels of emotion, from bemusement to surprise to the possibility of something more. Firstly it’s nice to know that Jamie can surprise Eddie. If he was able to fool Eddie it’s also a sign of the sense of confidence he must have been able to project. Jamie’s expression very quickly changes from riding the high from a successfully delivered baby to wondering why Eddie wants to know whether he wants children.

Their discussion of whether they want to have kids definitely carried more weight than a conversation between colleagues would have, the looks that are given suggest they’re both left with something to think about. Every time Eddie tells a new story about her childhood Armin we get a better insight into how he failed as a parent. By the end of this conversation, both Jamie and Eddie seem to want kids… (Although Eddie had reconsidered by the time of Strange Bedfellows)

House Visit

The one dark moment in the storyline, and the closest it comes to a crime being committed, the condition of the home where the family are living. Thankfully it’s a problem that can be solved.

Jamie speaking in Spanish here is probably the reason that Eddie can speak it in season 9’s Trust.

Hospital Visit

Eddie and Jamie enter the room knowing they’re about to break the bad news. The way the father rushes towards Jamie to thank him really doesn’t make it any easier. That Mrs Alvarez is able to find something positive in their lives is humbling.

Reagan Family Dinner

Most of the dinner conversation is dominated by Danny complaining about Erin’s treatment of his case but eventually, the family discusses the situation of the Alvarez family and the fact that Jamie had delivered a baby. As seen with Erin’s car accident in The First 100 Days it’s rare the family dinner acknowledges a major incident.

Eddie’s Plan

Eddie has been working on a solution while Jamie’s been feeling down about the situation the family has been placed in. She’s not above using the contacts she still has from her, it’s one of the rare times that having Armin as a father is useful.

Not letting Jamie know what the hitch is, might be a little bit of payback for him bluffing his way through the birth. Eddie may be in awe of what he did but he also put her in a nerve-wracking situation so she maybe feels that he owes her.

Baby Eddie

Eddie finally lets Jamie know that she’s signed away two of his weekends off, but she knew he’d be willing to do it, regardless of how much he complains. They were both unhappy about the situation the family were in.

It’s so nice that the family are honouring Jamie for delivering the baby, even if there’s been a bit of confusion as to what his name is. To be fair to the parents, from what is seen in the episode it’s not clear when they were told the officers’ full names. If the mother was told immediately after the baby was born then she would have had other things on her mind.

Deleted Scene – Locker Room

The discussion of baby names and a very flirty Jamie. Just like in By Hook or By Crook there’s a suggestion that Jamie is a girl’s name although at least in the deleted scene it’s offset by the fact that Eddie declares her own name to be weird. The discussion about their own names leads into a fun debate about baby names, only time will tell if we ever see any of these used in the show. Once Jamie talks through what he’s good at there is a moment’s pause, as though Eddie is wondering whether the suggestion means something more before she passes it off as a joke.

The scene may have been cut for time as it wasn’t needed to finish the storyline off but also have to wonder if this was considered to be too strong for the current stage of their relationship and also too early an indication of the direction they were intending things to go later in the season. It does feel very similar to how Jamie behaves when they’re sharing fortune cookies in The Brave.

Final Thoughts

Even though the scene was lost from the episode the discussion of baby names was very sweet and showed that both Jamie and Eddie were imagining a future where they had a daughter. Does anyone believe that they weren’t imagining who they were having this daughter with? Especially after the earlier conversation about whether they wanted to have kids, Jamie and Eddie both have moments when they’re clearly considering what the other has said.

In light of what happens later in the season, it seems as though they are both cautiously testing the waters for a potential future, but it’s all being done in a way that they then can retreat to jokes and laughter. They’re not really risking changing anything about their current relationship, although maybe they are getting a better idea of what they both want.