Summary
Boston Blue falls back into an unchallenging holding pattern in “Family Secrets”, with the cases of the week and the character subplots both feeling too light.
It didn’t take a genius to work out that Boston Blue wrapping up its most compelling overarching subplot was going to leave it a little adrift. Episode 11, “Family Secrets,” falls into a procedural holding pattern reminiscent of some of the early-season outings that felt too aimless to take much notice of. You’d think the classic A-B plot structure would yield more effective tension given the high-stakes hostage scenario, but the entire thing, from the cases to Danny’s sudden interest in running, feels a little too par for the course.
You can tell a lot from the running thing, I think. It isn’t a huge deal, obviously, but it’s presented as a minor mystery, with Lena noticing Danny’s sudden attempts at a health kick and theorising that he’s going to do the “touristy” thing of running the Boston Marathon. As it turns out, he’s actually going to participate in the “Rookie Run”, a smaller race with the newer recruits, including Sean and Jonah.
Here’s a question: Who cares? It’s the kind of thing that procedurals slip in when there isn’t much else going on, when we’re right in the middle of everything that might coalesce into a more compelling long-term story. Further evidence of this comes from Mae’s subplot. After a few weeks trying to solve a pretty major case, now we’re expected to worry about her love life. There’s nothing wrong with the idea of a judge still carrying a torch for her, or indeed with the idea that she might pursue that connection, but I ask again: Who cares?
Case-wise, there are things to like. Sean and Jonah’s obligatory investigation involves a Cinderella-style errant shoe that eventually leads in a roundabout way to the reveal that the son of a ghost patrol car’s owner is a drag queen. It’s a tame idea, but it’s serviceable procedural fare and works just fine for what it is.
The A-plot of Boston Blue Episode 11 is better, mostly because it also merges with the most compelling character-driven subplot. Danny and Lena are investigating a spate of smash-and-grab robberies that have turned deadly. There are a few twists and turns in the tale, but the big one is that the villain, on the run from their latest job, takes the patrons of a restaurant hostage. And Sarah and Phoebe happen to be in the restaurant at the time.
Do you remember Phoebe? She’s Sarah’s boyfriend’s daughter, and Sarah has spent a decent chunk of the season trying to bond with her. Now, it turns out her biological mother is moving to Japan, and rather than go with her, Phoebe wants to stay in Boston and move in full-time with her father and Sarah. Her going to Sarah about this first is a big step, and it’s also motivation for Sarah to really consider where she is in her life and whether she really wants to be a parent. The hostage situation catalyzes this thought process pretty effectively, since Sarah discovers in real time that her instincts to protect Phoebe – as well as save the day by allowing Lena to figure out their location through her phone – are befitting of someone ready to be a full-time parent.
It’s all serviceable, then, but it’s also far from wildly compelling. The feeling of going through the motions is very distinct and tough to escape from, both in terms of the actual cases (decent but unremarkable) and the character development (mostly pointless). For weeks, I moaned about things in this show being a bit too easy, and that seems to be the direction we’re heading in once again, with everything providing easy and convenient resolutions to problems we didn’t care about in the first place. The mid-season finale and its respective premiere proved that this show can really excel as a procedural when it wants to, so hopefully, there’s a bit more compelling drama to come in the near future.
