The Blue Bloods Season 12 premiere last week made it very clear that Commissioner Frank Reagan and Mayor Peter Chase do not see eye-to-eye and their intense feud would be an ongoing storyline in the new year. That thread continued in this week’s episode, “Times Like These.” The thick tension between the two egos reached a dramatic office standoff in the final moments.
Frank’s (Tom Selleck) storyline began when his personal detail arrested a squeegee guy (Adam Shiri) who was harassing a woman sitting in her car in traffic. Frank got out of his car to watch the arrest, which went viral. Chase saw this as a personal insult because he believed Frank knew at that moment that the arrest would only get attention if the commissioner was seen there. Frank could have just sat in his car during the arrest, but he didn’t. Chase believed Frank wanted the incident to make headlines to prove that police really are needed. This would undermine Chase’s efforts to make the city look safe to visitors.
Chase wanted Frank to apologize, and that almost happened. But in typical Frank fashion, he began to read his apology and then stopped. He didn’t want to apologize for doing something he thought was right. The situation split Frank’s team. “If our cops second-guessed every move the way they’re asking me to, we’d be attending a funeral every week,” Frank told Garrett (Gregory Jbara) in his office. “But you’re not a cop, you’re their leader,” Garrett replied. “All the more reason,” Frank said, noting that his detail’s decision to arrest the man de-escalated the situation and saved that woman.
Frank’s team was worried that this situation would end with Frank getting fired. That almost happened and would have if Frank hadn’t figured out how to play Chase by now. At first, Chase told Frank he could resign instead of being fired, but Frank decided to dare Chase to fire him. Frank knew that no one would be interested in replacing a commissioner who was fired for making an arrest. No one would want to take a job where they were set up to fail, especially one qualified to lead the NYPD. Chase was a little confused and totally puzzled when Frank turned the tables on him. “Just go,” Chase said. Frank left his office, still as commissioner.
Elsewhere in “Times Like These,” Eddie (Vanessa Ray) was sneaking around so Jamie (Will Estes) wouldn’t find out she was taking the sergeant’s exam, but he later did. Detectives Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg) and Maria Baez (Marisa Ramirez) investigated a gang attack that turned out to be a gang initiation, so they had to arrest the supposed victim and his brother. The Reagans also endorsed Erin (Bridget Moynahan) making a run for Manhattan District Attorney after Anthony (Steven Schirripa) showed them an “Erin Reagan for Manhattan District Attorney” bumper sticker he made. Blue Bloods airs on CBS Fridays at 10 p.m. ET.
