From revealing secrets about family members to cases that end in gruesome justice, “Blue Bloods” has shared countless shocking moments throughout its drama series. However, the sudden death in Season 8 of Danny Reagan’s (Donnie Wahlberg) wife, Linda Reagan (Amy Carlson), still sits on top of the unexpected mountain. Fans learned about Linda’s tragic end in the first episode of Season 8, as it explored how the rest of the Reagan clan was processing the grief of her death. Perhaps what was more surprising than Linda’s death was the way it happened. We know that Linda died off-screen in a helicopter crash.
Amy Carlson’s sudden departure from the series has given one of her final scenes come across with more emotional weight. In the Season 7 finale, “The Thin Blue Line,” Danny, Linda and their children watch their home burn down due to a dangerous case involving a drug cartel. In retrospect, the family home turning to ash was symbolic because it marked the end of the “Blue Bloods” era for Carlson. However, that particular scene also gave Carlson a surprise reunion from another of her previous shows, “Third Watch.”
The firefighters of the Third Watch appear in Carlson’s final scene
Although “The Thin Blue Line” ends with a typical Reagan family dinner with everyone present, the standout scene of the episode is the easy destruction of Danny and Linda Reagan’s house in a big fire. Visually, it was a dark scene lit only by intense flames and the lights and sirens of many first responders. T
he Reagan family could only watch helplessly as the surrounding firefighters tried their best to extinguish the fire. As Amy Carlson once shared with Deadline, that scene was the last scene she filmed for “Blue Bloods” before leaving the series. Additionally, Carlson noted in the interview that the scene helped her reunite with the real firefighters she worked with during her time on “Third Watch.”
“It’s strange,” Carlson told Deadline. “It was raining, and these firefighters were there, and a lot of the firefighters, strangely enough, were real fire actors, real firefighters that I worked with in ‘Third Watch’, so it was a reunion that took place. simultaneously.”
For those who may not remember, “Third Watch” was an NBC procedural drama focusing on police officers, firefighters and paramedics that premiered in 1999 and ran until 2005. Think of it like “One Chicago Universe,” except formatted as a show and set in New York instead of Chicago. Carlson plays firefighter and paramedic Alexandra “Alex” Taylor on “Third Watch,” which helps explain how special that chance reunion must have been for her on “Blue Bloods.”
Carlson’s character in Third Watch was also killed off
Amy Carlson appeared on “Third Watch” as Alex Taylor from Season 2 until Season 4. And just like her character on “Blue Bloods,” Alex also met a shocking end. In her final appearance of the series, while working as a field paramedic, a car explosion split her body in half and she subsequently died. Alex’s brutal death may have shocked fans at the time. But behind the scenes, the movie decided to kill off Alex because Carlson was ready to leave.
In a 2003 interview with TV Guide, Carlson noted that a desire to try other projects, along with the series’ shift to more police-oriented storylines, prompted her departure. “… I would love to do other things,” Carlson said in the interview. “I loved what they did with the firefighters, but really, it became a police show. So I want to do other things, explore other characters and work more. Now it’s a cop show and I used to be a firefighter.”
Carlson was involved in other notable projects shortly after “Third Watch,” including “Law & Order: Trial By Jury.” But “Blue Bloods” is arguably her best known role after “Third Watch.” This is also the second time she plays a character in the medical field who dies from bombs.