“Blue Bloods” has become known for a lot of things to a lot of people. It’s one of the best police procedurals currently on television, following the Reagan family as they clean up the streets of New York, putting criminals behind bars. That family component separates the show from others of its ilk, seeing how the Reagans often have to work together to solve a case. Even when an episode sees them working separately, they always manage to come together for the traditional Sunday family dinner to talk things through.
Of course, sometimes there’s nothing to talk about during dinner, as tends to be the case with meals in real life. Sometimes, all you can do is sit there, eat your food, and stare at the person across from you. That happened during Season 4, Episode 8 of “Blue Bloods,” titled “Justice Served.” After an intense week involving Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) on jury duty for a murder case and Frank (Tom Selleck) barely escaping with his life, the dinner’s awfully quiet initially until one of the best things to occur during a dinner happens.
Nicky’s joke is a highlight of ‘Justice Served’
There are plenty of memorable family dinners in “Blue Bloods” Season 4, but few stand out as much as the one in “Justice Served.” When the Reagan family is uncharacteristically quiet during the proceedings, given how no one can really talk about current events, Nicky (Sami Gayle) breaks the tension by saying how she also has a secret. She then “reveals” that she got a tattoo, much to the shock of her family. She then lets the cat out of the bag that she was just kidding.
The moment stands out so much for the silliness it provides in a rather serious episode with high stakes. It gives both the characters and viewers a chance to breathe a little easier and laugh alongside Nicky. We clearly weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the joke. In a CBS list of the best Reagan family dinner moments, Nicky’s joke made the cut. It also appears on a list for Pop Culture for best family dinner scenes.
Seeing how “Blue Bloods” tends to be a tense show, it’s nice when the series can interject some levity into the proceedings. Nicky’s joke certainly falls into that category, and it’s all the better seeing how the dinner occurs about halfway through the episode, allowing the audience to relax a little before getting into more tense altercations.