Love Through Conflict

We’re well into the summer hiatus now, so a slightly different post this week. It might be a provocative topic, but the focus is on the use of conflict to drive Jamie and Eddie’s relationship. It’s my take on what’s generally perceived to be a problem, and others will have a different opinion, but while we wait for things to get underway for season 12, it’s a good time to reflect on what we’ve seen.

Conflict is a common theme throughout Blue Bloods, probably because, as George Bernard Shaw said, “No conflict, no drama”. Tom Selleck has commented that their stories rely on personal risk rather than physical risk, as there are only so many times you can see someone make a last-minute escape before it loses its impact; “The jeopardy in our show is a danger to the relationships. You can get momentary jeopardy to a character and a tense life-threatening situation, but you can’t… hang a whole show on that.” Conflict in and of itself isn’t automatically a bad thing; one of the strengths of Eddie and Jamie’s relationship is the way they continually challenge each other. This post will look at storylines that have relied on conflict, and some of them are likely to be favourite episodes, which shows that there can be a positive side to these stories. However, that doesn’t mean there aren’t issues with conflict based stories; these tend to be due to the formulaic nature of its use, the tone and the pacing. The first thing to do is consider these problem areas and why they shape people’s opinion of these type of stories.

Tone and Pacing

These two seem to go hand in hand, but before getting into its use in the show, let’s think about what the word conflict means. Conflict can prompt an automatic thought of warfare and aggressive arguments, but it can also refer to a lack of agreement and differing opinions discussed reasonably.

The synopsis for The First 100 Days suggested that Jamie and Eddie would argue about the dog, but they only had one conversation about it, they may not have shared the same opinion, but it wasn’t an argument. For some reason, the synopsis exaggerated the level of conflict that took place in that storyline. This is what I mean by tone; within the show, conflict can exist in many forms, from a minor difference of opinion to a full-on shouting match. The ones that stand out tend to be those which are more extreme, but why do many feel so excessive? I think that’s mainly due to the pacing within a particular episode, especially when an argument continues across several scenes; we think of each episode as equating to about a week in the world of the Reagans, so mentally we feel that possibly a day or more passes between each scene. If an argument maintains a certain level of intensity for that long, then that suggests it’s significant. We know that Jamie and Eddie should be occupying the same space for a lot of the time, even if they barely see each other at work.

Pacing can be a problem as there seems to be a tendency for all stories relating to a conflict between characters to follow a particular pattern. While it makes sense that Erin and Frank may have avoided each other until family dinner, or Frank and Garrett are still arguing about a problem from the previous day at the office. It doesn’t make sense that a couple could create a similar tension when it’s difficult to believe they go more than a few hours without seeing each other when they not only live together but also share a place of work. During season 10, it made a little more sense, but it sometimes felt extreme by making it seem that they were never off work at the same time). Because of this pacing required to fit around the ad breaks, the conflict between Jamie and Eddie can end up feeling exaggerated or unnatural.

The Formula

Now to get to one of the main issues, the formulaic nature of these storylines. All procedurals are formulaic to a certain degree, so it’s not unusual. However, it’s the degree to which certain story elements are repeated. It feels like the approach has become the main problem with Jamie and Eddie’s many conflicts; it’s almost predictable as to what journey their conflict will take.

There tend to be four stages to every conflict story. The initial point of contention (stage 1 – instigation), the emotional reaction builds up (stage 2 – escalation), something happens to prompt a break in the conflict often due to an uninvolved person making an observation (stage 3 – realisation), and finally, those involved apologise and make amends (stage 4 – reconciliation). As a story arc, it makes sense and appears in multiple stories; the problem for Jamie and Eddie’s stories is that it’s become a little predictable.

• Stage 1 – Instigation: Typically Jamie says or does something that upsets Eddie
• Stage 2 – Escalation
• Stage 3 – Realisation: Frequently involves a conversation with a third party
• Stage 4 – Reconciliation: The apology, often accompanied by a display of affection

Depending on the episode, a single scene can include more than one stage, or for example, the conflict could escalate during several scenes.

Examples

This isn’t every Jamie and Eddie story that includes the conflict arc, the list is long enough with just these examples, but it hopefully helps to demonstrate what I’ve tried to describe so far. Some of these examples fit the formula more neatly than others, but it’s not difficult to see how the arc applies to them. Rather than multiple links to YouTube on this post, I’ve included links to the episode-specific posts where available.

Excessive Force (05×04): Stage 1 is probably when Jamie suggests things might get weird if they talk about who they’re dating and then admits he went on a date with the ER doctor, Stage 2 is when Eddie denies Jamie’s assumptions about why she’s riding with McKenna, Stage 3 seems to be skipped, and Stage 4 is Jamie and Eddie’s apologies at the bar.

Personal Business (07×08): Stage 1 is when Eddie discovers that Tara is staying with Jamie, Stage 2 is the subsequent conversation while they’re in the RMP, and Stage 4 is when Eddie returns to Jamie’s apartment, and they kiss. Stage 3 is Eddie’s explanation that Jamie’s comment during the RMP scene made her think.

Confessions (07×09): Stage 1 and 2 are the scenes at the wedding with Jamie refusing to dance and starting the fight as Eddie shows some annoyance with his behaviour, Stage 3 is the scene outside the county lock up, and Stage 4 is the dance.

Blackout (09×04): Stage 1 is the scene at the diner, where Jamie says he doesn’t think Eddie should take part in the undercover op. Stage 2 takes place during family dinner and the rescue. Both Stage 3 and 4 happen during the scene at the ambulance, with Eddie’s realisation of how worried Jamie was, it didn’t need the involvement of anyone else.

Milestones (09×12): Stage 1 is the scene at the potential venue where Jamie voices his idea that they save money on the wedding. Stage 2 is during family dinner. Stage 3 happens while Jamie is on patrol with Officer Long when he realises that Long is so risk-averse that he’s simply existing rather than living. Stage 4 is the scene at the alternate venue with Jamie’s heartfelt speech.

Rectify (09×18): Stage 1 is the scene at the restaurant where Jamie tells Eddie that she shouldn’t join a fraternal organisation, Stage 2 is the scene at the laundromat, Stage 3 is Eddie’s conversation with Danny, and Stage 4 is the scene at the precinct where Jamie apologises and delivers his gift.

Something Blue (09×22): Stage 1 is Jamie trying to fix the situation with Erin, Stage 2 is the scene where Jamie wakes up on the couch, Stage 3 is Eddie’s conversation with Erin. Unfortunately, there isn’t really a Stage 4 as Jamie and Eddie are only seen together at the wedding dinner.

The Real Deal (10×01): Stage 1 is their disagreement about the first apartment they’re viewing. Stage 2 is when Jamie makes things worse by suggesting that Eddie is “smarter than that”. Stage 3 is the conversation with their captain, and Stage 4 is their discussion before entering their apartment and Jamie carrying Eddie across the threshold.

Friends in High Places (10×08): Stage 1 is when Jamie says he plans to pass the details of Eddie and Troy’s arrest to IAB. Stage 2 builds during Eddie and Jamie’s conversations at the precinct and before dinner about the potential impact of the IAB investigation. Stage 3 is implied as we see Jamie dealing with Troy to make sure Eddie won’t get caught up in the fallout. Stage 4 is their final scene in the apartment, where Jamie apologises and stresses that Eddie should always come first.

Bones to Pick (10×10): Stage 1 is during the scene at the diner when Jamie forgets about Eddie’s Honey-Do list. Stage 2 is when Eddie accuses Jamie of being a misogynist. Stages 3 and 4 take place during the Santa suit conversation.

Careful What You Wish For (10×11): Stages 1 and 2 are when Jamie comments on Armin’s criminal record, Stage 3 happens when Danny and Baez tell Jamie to apologise, and Stage 4 is when Jamie says sorry and tells Eddie his plan.

Where the Truth Lies (10×12): Stage 1 is at the precinct when Jamie agrees with Erin, Stage 2 takes place at family dinner, Stage 3 doesn’t really happen, and Stage 4 only exists as a deleted scene.

Happy Endings (11×12): Stage 1 is when Jamie reassigns Eddie’s collar, Stage 2 takes place at the precinct when Eddie continues to complain about it, Stage 3 is Eddie’s night out with Erin, and Stage 4 is when Eddie surprises Jamie with a romantic dinner.

The New You (11×14): Stage 1 is when Jamie refuses to take the love language test. Stage 2 is the scene at the precinct, we don’t see Stage 3, and Stage 4 is when Jamie surprises Eddie with his attempts to identify her love language.

This conflict arc formula isn’t used only for Jamie and Eddie’s stories: there are many other examples in the show; during season 11, there was Frank and Henry’s story in Spilling Secrets, the argument between Frank and Abigail in Happy Endings, Frank and Jamie’s story in Fallen Heroes, and Frank and Garrett’s story in The New You. In past seasons it’s also seen in Frank and Jamie’s argument in Playing with Fire, Danny and Jamie’s story in My Brother’s Keeper, Frank and Jamie’s story in Higher Standards (where Eddie gets to be the third party). It’s certainly not unique to Eddie and Jamie, but it feels like there’s less variation in the story elements.

Final Thoughts

As some of the examples demonstrate, it isn’t necessarily that the conflict means a storyline isn’t enjoyable, with some of the classic storylines fitting this model and the arc successfully employed elsewhere on the show. Sometimes it can be down to the expectations set by the episode synopsis; the person responsible for some of them perhaps needs a better dictionary or thesaurus. However, what seems to be happening is that there’s a greater frequency of episodes following this template which is making it feel particularly repetitive. With so few storylines for Eddie and Jamie during season 11, it became even more noticeable, although it was more frequent in the prior seasons. There’s a place for this type of story, but the problem is that it’s starting to feel like the go-to story for these two characters especially when it comes to anything to do with their relationship. As the saying goes, “everything in moderation”.