Amy Carlson’s passing: A heartbreaking loss for “Blue Bloods” fans md20
During its first seven seasons, Linda was a central character in Blue Bloods. As Danny’s (Donnie Wahlberg) wife, she was the only one who could talk him out of impulsive and ill-thought-out behavior. Additionally, she was an important person at Blue Bloods‘ Reagan family dinner table, as she often showed support for all members of the family she had married into. However, Amy Carlson exited Blue Bloods at the end of season 7, leaving an empty seat behind that was difficult to fill.
Blue Bloods Didn’t Give Linda A Satisfying Death
Season 8 Picked Up Months After She Died
Carlson did not renew her contract after Blue Bloods season 7, so the writers had to eliminate Linda from the cast without featuring her on-screen. Understandably, Linda was killed — there was no other realistic way to explain her absence. Thus, Blue Bloods season 8, episode 1 featured a time jump of six months and opened with Danny talking through his continued grief over her death. This scene offered an explanation for Linda’s death: she had been killed in a helicopter crash. However, it fell flat because her death had occurred entirely off-screen.
Blue Bloods Missed Linda & Danny’s Relationship
Although Danny Never Remarried, The Series Quickly Moved On
Blue Bloods‘ Danny and Linda were the central couple in the first half of the series. Although Linda was not a series regular until season 2, it was clear that she was important from the pilot. Several of Blue Bloods’ best episodes revolved around Linda being in danger or around her and Danny’s family life. One memorable episode even had Linda and Danny’s romantic weekend getaway ruined because he was called in on a case.
While Danny didn’t remarry or consider dating until the final season, his grief was not nearly as central as Linda had been when she was alive.
The tension in Linda’s marriage with Danny added extra drama and spoke to the downside of his dedication to the job. He often worked long hours for low pay, which sparked Linda’s resentment from time to time. That conflict died with her, cutting off an important and interesting Blue Bloods subplot without any resolution.
Blue Bloods Never Really Replaced Linda
Jamie and Eddie Didn’t Have The Same Dynamic
Danny didn’t get either the grief or the moving on story the character deserved, and these missed opportunities weakened the second half of the iconic series.
Blue Bloods also didn’t allow Danny to consider dating until near the Blue Bloods finale. This was the right decision, especially during season 8. It would have been even more disrespectful to Linda’s memory if Danny had moved on with someone else right away. However, he also didn’t get a full story related to starting a new romance. Instead, he only got a hint that he might get together with Baez during the series finale.
