The story of “Blue Bloods” has been perpetually unfolding for over a decade now, ever since the show first came onto the scene in 2010. In that time, the series has seen its central cast — the tight-knit Reagan family of New York City law enforcement officials — undergo a lot of growth and development in both their personal and professional lives. There have been plenty of standout episodes and arcs that fans felt highlighted a particular character or took them in an interesting direction. However, there have also been story beats that have fallen flat for some viewers, and in especially egregious cases, straight-up confused them.
Such has been the case with one particular storyline pertaining to Jamie Reagan, the earnest and good-natured NYPD sergeant played by Will Estes. There has been some fan chatter about how a certain story arc for Jamie dating back to Season 3 played out — or rather, how it didn’t play out — and why it was a confusing moment for both the character and the show.
Jamie’s partner Vinnie faded into post-mortem obscurity
Jamie has had many partners, but only one has ever met an untimely demise. Throughout Season 3, he was partnered with a man named Vinnie Cruz (Sebastian Sozzi). Though the two initially clashed, they eventually found common ground and improved their relationship. That is, until they embarked on a failed mission in which Vinnie was shot in the neck and killed. It was a tragic time for Jamie on paper, but a discussion thread started by Reddit user u/Equivalent-Fun-4353 on the r/bluebloods subreddit questioned why the show never really treated it as such.
“Why was Jamie’s second partner never mentioned after he died,” the post reads. “You would think that going through that would really shape or have some impact but it’s literally never talked about.”
Subsequent mentions of Vinnie have indeed been sparse, though user u/JerseyJedi pointed out that the character was briefly brought up in Season 4 by Jamie. Aside from those small moments, however, he seems to have been mostly forgotten by the main cast. “I always wonder this, it’s never mentioned,” Reddit user u/TEX5003 commented. “There are also times where other various things could come into play, with relation to him, but don’t.”
It’s especially strange that Vinnie’s death left little impact on Jamie considering that the show has rigorously explored the fallout from other character deaths, such as Linda Reagan (Amy Carlson). While Vinnie could be brought up again in the future, the odds don’t seem likely.