Television

Blue Bloods Season 13 Episode 21 Review: Forgive Us Our Trespasses

I called it!

Throughout Blue Bloods Season 13, Erin seemed progressively less happy with running for DA. I predicted it was only a matter of time before she decided to bow out of the race.

On Blue Bloods Season 13 Episode 21, she finally announced that she’d decided not to run. It took her the entire season, but was anyone surprised?

Erin’s discomfort with the DA race began when that image consultant insisted she wears clothes and film videos that didn’t match her personality.

Erin didn’t like feeling phony and only sucked it up and did it because Anthony encouraged her. Ironically, his off-hand comment convinced her this wasn’t for her after all.

After a brutal encounter with the press, Anthony told Erin that she’d soon be too busy to deal with victims and that he was sure that was what she wanted.

Anthony’s made it clear before that he doesn’t want to lose the ability to work with Erin on cases, so I wouldn’t put it past him to have said that on purpose to make Erin reconsider. It’s hard to imagine that he seriously believed Erin was looking forward to not dealing with victims anymore.

The only positive for Erin in not trying cases herself is that Danny and Jamie might leave her alone. But maybe not. The DA often makes the final decisions about charging and whether or not to authorize a deal, so Erin’s brothers might have been even more in her face.

I am sick and tired of the two of you coming to me with your complaints about what is wrong with the system. So tell you what. The revolving door is shut. From now on, go to any other ADA with your complaints but do not come to me.

Erin

That would be one more reason for Erin to stay where she was.

Being happy with where they were seemed to be the night’s theme as Blue Bloods wrapped up its season.

Danny got a blast from the past when Jackie asked to work with him on a case, but they both realized they were happy where they were.

Baez seemed slightly insecure when Danny hugged Jackie goodbye, but Danny reassured her he, too, was where he wanted to be as they drove off.

Had Blue Bloods not been renewed for a fourteenth season, I’d have thought this was their way of wrapping up the series, with everyone discovering how happy they were with where they were.

In some ways, Danny’s case was the most frustrating of the hour.

For one thing, it was unresolved. Somehow, Jackie fought Walker off after he attacked her — that part was off-screen, so Walker’s decision to cut his losses and run felt out of place.

Danny running after him without any backup didn’t seem like a great idea; maybe it was a good thing he didn’t find the perp.

The guy had just tried to choke Jackie out, so who knows what he would have done if he’d gotten Danny alone.

Walker seemed to consider Danny his archnemesis, after all.

It didn’t entirely make sense that Walker disappeared. One minute he attacked Jackie, and the next, he was gone, leaving viewers to use their imaginations to fill in the blanks.

Presumably, Jackie fought him off, and he ran away, but that doesn’t fit Walker’s usual MO, so it needed an on-screen explanation.

Most frustrating of all was the fact that Walker’s DID appeared to be to blame for his murderous behavior. I hate this trope with a passion, and I expect better from Blue Bloods.

People with DID are far more likely to become the victims of violent crimes than to perpetrate them, so why do TV shows and movies constantly offer the trope of the evil alter who kills people without the primary personality realizing what they have done?

I knew as soon as Walker said that “Jeremy” was the killer that he was talking about an alter ego, but I would have loved to have been wrong.

Blue Bloods didn’t engage in any stereotypes around how and why Walker switched personalities, but the implication was still that he wasn’t fully aware of having killed anyone.

If Danny ever catches up with him, I hope Blue Bloods will dive deeper into Walker’s past. DID usually results from severe childhood abuse. There has to be a reason Walker killed his mother and targets the women he does, and I hope we get some insight into that.

Jamie and Eddie supposedly had a case together but didn’t spend more time interacting than they had all season long, which was disappointing.

At least Jamie listened while Eddie put together her theory, so there’s that. But I’d have liked them to be more partner-like. Many fans blame the lack of Jamko scenes on the writers not wanting to write for a married couple, but that’s silly. They can still interact even if they’re not working together anymore!

Frank’s latest beef with the mayor bordered on the ridiculous, on Chase’s part, anyway.

Chase: Do homeless people usually raise legal technicalities?
Frank: They usually raise broken bottles and hypodermic needles.

It’s disturbing that Chase thinks it’s okay to violate homeless people’s Constitutional rights because they lack the funds and education to stand up to police abuse of power.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, Chase tried to force Frank to support his idiotic initiative by announcing publicly that he was working with the NYPD when he was not. When that didn’t work, he attempted blackmail.

What kind of way is that for a mayor to behave?

The Archbishop chastised both men and insisted they work together, but how is Frank supposed to work with someone who behaves this way?

He’ll have to find a way — it’s part of his job. But Chase isn’t making it easy!

Finally, spending a few minutes with Jack and Nicky at the dinner table was great. I’d love to know what they’ve been up to.

These mini-visits are fun but don’t do much for viewers who miss these characters dearly. Next time they visit, can they please have more than two lines?

Your turn, Blue Blood fanatics. Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know your thoughts.

Blue Bloods’ season has ended, but you can watch Blue Bloods online whenever you’d like.

Blue Bloods will return for Season 14 sometime in late 2023 or early 2024.

Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.

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