Blue Bloods Fans Not Holding Back Their Disapproval of Season 14 Premiere: "Canceling Was the Right Choice'

Summary

• One year after the end of season 13, the first episode of season 14 of Blue Bloods aired on CBS.
• The premiere once again followed the activities of the Reagan family members, but offered nothing new.
• This disappointed some viewers who felt the show should have been canceled last year.

First rumors of cancellation, then news of actors taking pay cuts, and then the sudden WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes that were unprecedented in their length and scope: the new season of the popular police drama Blue Bloods was long overdue. But now the long-awaited moment has arrived at last, and it's already been four days since Season 14 premiered. In the very first episode, Jamie mentioned how good it was to be home, and we did indeed feel at home for a moment. But how good was it?

There were enough decent moments in the first episode of the new fourteenth season, and some of the scenes were truly entertaining, even if such moments are usually among the worst of the show.

Still, the episode was packed with plot points that had already become full-blown Blue Bloods clichés, and as such a number of fans were left unsatisfied not only with the episode, but also with the direction the final season is taking. In fact, the sentiment went so far as to suggest that the cast should not have taken a pay cut at all, thus ending Blue Bloods after thirteen seasons.

So let's break down exactly what fans didn't like about the new episode and why some are expressing such strong disapproval of Season 14?

Loyalty — What Was the Episode About?

'Over time, this job has become my definition. So if I ever quit or you fired me, I don't know who I'd be,' the old Commish Reagan told Mayor Chase.

These sentences capture both the conclusion of the entire saga of the Reagan family, as well as the prospect of each character's future fate. In the end, while Frank would clearly lose part of his identity by leaving his position as Commissioner, he would devote far more time to another activity that is a not insignificant part of his identity — family.

The Season 14 premiere turned out to be in the vein of the entire series, but for now, let's just say that's a compliment to the writers. Viewers were still involved in ambiguous moral dilemmas: Frank and Mayor Chase debated how to deal with the sudden influx of illegal immigrants into New York City, as the city's economy could no longer handle it; Eddie argued with the MacNichols about whether officers should police parenting when there is a prospect that a child might commit a crime.

In other words, the episode was formulaic, which is both a good and a bad thing.

The Same Old Story

Unfortunately, almost every moment of the episode can be characterized as 'same old': same old Danny spitting on the rules, same old Eddie poking her nose into other people's private lives, same old Baez getting no plot development at all.

Of course, this is just the season premiere, and the storylines of the upcoming nine episodes (the other eight will be released in the fall of 2024) will develop more and more quickly: at least we will have an incredibly exciting storyline with Jamie undercover, now with a stylish beard and neck tattoos. Danny, on the other hand, will be reunited with Jackie Curatola (Jennifer Esposito) in the hunt for a serial killer.

Still, it's clear that the writers themselves have run out of steam, which is why many fans feel they could have ended the series as early as Season 13. Hopefully, the final season will provide a satisfying conclusion to each of the Reagan storylines.

As has been the case for the past 14 years, a new episode will air this Friday night, February 23 at 10:00pm ET on CBS only.