Did Boston Blue Kill Off [Spoiler]? Is Baez Beantown-Bound In Season 2? EPs Weigh In On Finale Twists (And Blue Bloods Cameos)
CBS’ “Boston Blue” ended its freshman run with a jolting car-crash cliffhanger.
Det. Lena Silver (Sonequa Martin-Green) had just survived being shot, and her boyfriend, Det. Brian Rodgers (Ryan Broussard) — who had agreed to turn down his dream job at the DEA to remain in Boston and be with her — had just climbed back into his car after picking up flowers from her favorite flower shop. That’s when another vehicle barreled through the intersection and slammed directly into the driver’s side door, sending Brian’s car careening into the harbor below.
But this wasn’t your standard TV T-bone: The mystery driver struck Rodgers with intent, then fled the scene.
While Brian’s fate technically remains up in the air — more on that in a moment — it wasn’t all bad news heading into Season 2. During a mandatory patrol shift in uniform, Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) was convinced by his son Sean (Mika Amonsen) that maybe, just maybe, it was time for a promotion. Once reunited with Baez (Marisa Ramirez) — who drove to Boston after learning that Danny’s partner had been caught in the line of fire — Danny pledged to take the sergeant’s exam. With the pay bump, he’d be able to afford a bigger home, paving the way for Baez, her daughter Elena, and her Alzheimer’s-stricken mother to relocate to Boston and join him as one big happy family. Elsewhere, Sarah (Maggie Lawson) convinced Seth’s ex to let Phoebe come live with them, while Jonah (Marcus Scribner) — with an assist from Rev. Peters (Ernie Hudson) — appeared to set his sights on a new goal within the BPD.
And then there’s Silver family matriarch Mae (Gloria Reuben), who, as confirmed this week, is officially in a relationship with Judge Elijah Robinson (Harry Lennix). Alas, her reelection campaign for district attorney is just getting started, and her chief opponent, Thad Longfellow (great name alert!), already seems hellbent on playing dirty.
“Blue Bloods” fans also received a treat this week in the form of franchise vet Will Hochman, who reprised his role as Danny’s nephew Joe Hill and joined the Reagans and Silvers for Shabbat dinner. Sean had invited his cousin to Boston to speak with Lena, who had agreed to let estranged father Chris (Erik King) and half-sister Christina (Alisha Wainwright) back into her life. By episode’s end, they had all gathered around the table and were awaiting Brian’s arrival, unaware that the detective may no longer have a pulse.
TVLine spoke with co-creators/showrunners Brandon Margolis and Brandon Sonnier about that shocking final twist, whether Danny and Baez are finally headed toward something permanent, and the biggest challenges awaiting the Reagans and Silvers in Season 2.
Did Lena’s boyfriend, Det. Brian Rodgers, just die?
TVLINE | Let’s start with the question everyone is going to be rushing to TVLine to have answered when the finale ends… and the question I’m almost positive you’re not going to answer: Did we just watch Brian die?SONNIER | How did you know that we weren’t going to answer that? What could have tipped you off? [Laughs] It’s a cliffhanger, man! We don’t want to spoil hanging off of the cliff now, do we?
TVLINE | Well then, allow me to rephrase: At this point, do you know whether Brian lives or dies? Or is that something you’ll figure out when the Season 2 writers’ room convenes?SONNIER | Oh, we definitely know. We definitely know. MARGOLIS | There is an answer… SONNIER | … and it does push things forward. This event does change things dramatically for Lena and the rest of the family, and does push us forward into next season. MARGOLIS | And for the record, our writers room for Season 2 is already open. We went right into it. So we’ve been in there, discussing the fallout. SONNER | Oh, yeah! We know what happens.
TVLINE | Over the course of Season 1, you’ve drawn a lot of parallels between the Reagans and Silvers. Take, for instance, Joe Hill, formerly unknown nephew of Danny and cousin of Sean, arriving at Shabbat just as Lena reconnects with her estranged father and half-sister. Now, if Lena were to lose Brian, is that the kind of emotional parallel between Lena and Danny that you’d be interested in exploringcreatively, given Danny’s own experience losing Linda?SONNIER | That question is a minefield! [Laughs] What we will say is that Joe Hill was a great emotional parallel to Lena and discovering new family 