This week's episode of Blue Bloods was titled "The Price of Justice" which was very fitting as the Reagan family all dealt with power and money. Money and power obviously influence the justice system, and unfair as that is, there's not much the Reagans can do to change that.
Danny's story was the most serious this week. He and Detective Baez investigated Brandon Marshall for raping his girlfriend, Emily. Emily Harrison was held hostage for 24 hours inside her home by her boyfriend, Brandon. She said that he handcuffed her to the bed and raped her. Danny and Baez pay Brandon a visit, and even though he says everything that happened was consensual, the bruises on his hands say otherwise. He's arrested, but this isn't an open and shut case (is anything ever easy on this show?) It turns out that Brandon's father is a billionaire, and he states that Emily asked him for money. He wouldn't give it to her, and that's why she accused him of rape. Emily gets scared and decides she won't testify, and the D.A. drops the charges. Baez is determined to get justice for Emily, and she calls Erin for help. Erin agrees that it will be hard to win this case, but they have the 911 tape, medical evidence, and past incidences to use against Brandon. Erin plans to charge Brandon with kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, and first degree rape by forcible compulsion.
Emily admits that she let Brandon handcuff her so she thinks this is her fault. She doesn't want to testify because she thinks she let Brandon do this to her. At this point, Danny and Baez are on completely different sides. Danny says he knows the justice system, and doesn't think it's worth pursuing the case. He says he won't win. Erin also notices Danny's attitude, and asks him why he's acting like this. I'm so glad that Erin stepped in because I was over Danny's attitude. It just seemed like he wasn't interested in helping and wanted to move on. Danny tells his sister that he took a serial killer off the streets, and he almost lost his badge over that. If the NYPD and the justice system was so concerned over what he did in that case, there was no way Brandon was going to get convicted. There was too much to risk. Erin says that what happened to Danny wasn't fair, but that wasn't Emily's fault.
Erin does get through to Danny, and he apologizes to Emily. Again, I'm glad Erin and Danny talked because that helped me understand Danny's feelings, and I could relate to him more. Danny tells Emily that he should have done more to help her, and he wished that she would get justice. He gets an idea, and he and Baez try to set Brandon up. Emily gets him to go back to his place, and tries to get him to handcuff her while the Erin and Anthony try to get this on tape. The plan backfires as Brandon knows this is a set up.
While Danny and Baez didn't get Brandon this time around, all hope is not lost. Danny sees Brandon at the bar, and warns the woman he's with that he assaults women. Danny informs Brandon that that over 30,000 cops are watching him. He'll get caught eventually.
One of the other stories in "Price of Justice" dealt with NYPD fundraiser Sy Goodman. Sy gets pulled over for speeding, and he happened to be in a NYPD car with the lights and sirens on. He also had a gun on the console, and gave the arresting officer Frank's card. Sy wants Frank to make sure there he doesn't get in trouble. This sends the police department and the Reagans on a debate: should Sy get special treatment because of all the money he's raised and all the good he's done for cops? Frank doesn't think so at first, but his family thinks otherwise. The money that Sy raises helps cops and their families, and Jamie says that if the NYPD has to give Sy Goodman special favors, it's a small price to pay. At this moment Danny gives Jamie a small smile and nod, and I loved that. Danny and Jamie don't always see eye to eye, and Jamie is often the peacemaker between Erin and Danny, and this moment showed that Danny respects his younger brother.
After he discusses this topic with his family, Frank meets with Sy and that have a talk. Frank gives him back his premises permit and agrees to go to a cookout with Sy this weekend. So it appears all is forgiven, and I was a little surprised. Frank usually one to give special treatment to anyone especially those with money or power. I can see both sides of this issue, and I don't think Sy should have gotten off that easily. But I love that Blue Bloods is always willing to discuss topics and look at issues from every angle.
Jamie and Eddie also had some issues this week as they had to work security at a T.V. show. The show was about two cops, but it definitely wasn't accurate. One of the actors starts asking questions about what cops should do in real life. Apparently the show has to remake scenes because the actors want it to be realistic, and the show creators are not happy. The police consultant confronts Jamie and Eddie, and basically tells them to stop causing problems. It turns out that this guy never even worked for the NYPD, and that's why the writing for the show is so bad. Someone from the show comes to the police station to apologize to Jamie and Eddie and says the consultant was fired. He offers Jamie a job as a technical analyst because he's smart and the actors like him, but Jamie turn the job down to stay with the police department.
I liked Jamie and Eddie's story because it was lighter than the rest of the episode. It does makes me wonder if Jamie is going to stay a beat cop forever. He clearly likes it, and it good at what he does, but will he ever want a promotion? I guess we'll see.
What did you think of the episode? What was your take on Sy Goodman? Do you think Danny should have tried harder to get justice for Emily? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
