Blue Bloods Season 8 Episode 8 Review: Pick Your Poison
Christine Orlando
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Controversy abounded on Blue Bloods Season 8 Episode 8, and as usual, the Reagan family spent their time trying to stop it, make sense of it, or pick up the pieces.
Danny and Baez's case was possibly the least controversial but also, in some ways, the scariest.
Dwayne Pitney was a sick, twisted, horrible human being who deserves to spend the rest of his life behind bars.
As far as racists go, Dwayne was loud and stupid and easy to spot, but Kyle Wentworth was possibly more dangerous.
Kyle was smart enough to attempt to thinly hide his real beliefs and dress them up as a "righteous force" of protection instead of a racist mob.
It made me all the happier when Danny called it out for what it was in this Blue Blood quote...
Danny: Cause when I see a bunch of look-a-like, dress-a-like, dirt bags carrying pipes and bats and sticks and such, I see a gang.
Kyle: We're a force for good.
Danny: No, you're everything you claim to hate only you're too stupid to see it.
When Tyrell walked into the precinct, I wasn't sure if Danny had the correct response, but at the same time, I wasn't sure what the right response would have been.
In essence, this was two rival gangs looking to control territory, only one of the gang members was a former cop.
What's the limit of what the shield shields you from?
Baez
After ten years on the force, Kyle walked away. I wish we'd heard a little more about that, like what his record was on the force.
Either way, there was no question how this story was going to end. With neither side willing to back down, I don't know how many cops it would have taken to prevent more dead bodies from piling up on the sidewalk.
Elsewhere, Eddie ran into a guy from her college days and arrested him.
It wasn't difficult to dislike Skip with him standing there holding his tennis racket and shrugging his shoulders as a police officer called for his aid.
But hearing Eddie's story about what happened to her in that frat house was sickening. That Skip watched, most likely cheered, took pictures and posted them for all to see, was nauseating.
I could understand why Eddie didn't feel comfortable sharing that story with her partner; it was humiliating, through no fault of her own.
And I couldn't really blame Eddie for wanting to get her little piece of revenge.
Was it the right thing to do? No, but it did feel a little bit like karma.
Of course, Jamie Reagan always does the right thing.
I could understand Jamie going to the Desk Sergeant to have the charges reduced because he feared repercussions for his partner, but Jamie should have sat Eddie down in private and explained that to her.
Bringing Erin along to a public place to act as his back up and tell Eddie after the fact felt like an ambush or a betrayal.
Jamie's way may have been the right way, but I get why Eddie's not going to forgive him right away. Jamie just added another tiny wound to a trauma she's been holding on to for a decade.
Although, I'll admit that giving Skip that nudge to his already broken ribs was probably unnecessary.
Now on to Frank and his pot-loving police chief.
I thought that Chief Jones' argument that the marijuana he ingested was during a trip to Colorado, where the drug is legal, gave him a way to fight being fired.
What bothered me was his attitude.
It is still illegal in the NYPD, all city agencies, and under state and federal law. I can't just look the other way, Devon, because you decided a Rocky Mountain High is okay.
Frank
As Sid pointed out, you can't ask the rank and file to follow and enforce a law you aren't willing to follow yourself.
Any uniformed officer probably would have lost their job; the only reason the Chief had the chance to argue his case was because of his rank.
And 19 years on the force and the rank of Chief seemed like a lot to throw away to smoke some pot on the weekends, but that's just me.
The mayor's involvement in this made me groan. The more we see of Mayor Dutton, the less I like her.
If she wants to make marijuana legal, that's done on a state level, but using an internal NYPD personnel matter to push her cause had a bad smell to it.
And could you imagine some of the headlines and questions if she had hired Devon? Will the new Deputy Chief of Emergency Management be high during our next emergency?
As uncomfortable as the meeting with the mayor was, and as much as I cringe whenever she's on screen, I did love Frank's deadpan response to her...
Mayor Dutton: What's the course of action?
Frank: A period of suspension.
Mayor Dutton: Define period.
Frank: A length or portion of time.
However, I did miss a real Sunday Reagan family dinner. A conversation about Henry getting high taking place over Chinese takeout just didn't measure up.
Check back in for my review of Blue Bloods Season 8 Episode 9 in two weeks, and until then, you can watch Blue Bloods online here at TV Fanatic.
C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.
