What happened to Danny’s wife in Blue Bloods? Fate of the character, explored
With Blue Bloods, the police procedural drama series nearing its end, many have been wondering if former series regular, Amy Carlson who played the role of Linda Reagan will return to the show. Linda Reagan was killed in a helicopter crash in season 8.
Blue Bloods is a series about the Reagan family. Living in New York, the family is known for working in different law enforcement departments for generations. The series is currently in its 14th and final season.
The series cast features Tom Selleck, Donnie Wahlberg, Bridget Moynahan, Len Cariou, and Will Estes. At the beginning of season 8, audiences were surprised when they could not spot Linda Reagan.
Linda Reagan was an ER nurse and the wife of Detective Danny Reagan. Many fans were upset when season 8 revealed Linda had died. Blue Bloods killed her off abruptly without showing her death, as the actress did not renew her contract.
What happened to Danny’s wife in Blue Bloods?
The beginning of season 8 revealed to audiences that Linda Reagan had died a few months ago in a medevac helicopter crash while airlifting a patient. Her death was not shown in season 7 or 8.
Blue Bloods informed audiences of her death through a scene between Danny and his therapist. Danny meets with his therapist, Dr. Dawson to cope with his feelings of guilt and grief after his wife’s death.
His therapist tries to help him by stating that his wife died doing her job and helping people, both things she loved. The season 8 finale sees Danny visit Linda’s grave.
Blue Bloods did not end Linda’s story there. It is later revealed in season 9 that Jose Rojas and his cartel murdered Linda. To recap, the season 7 finale saw Danny target the money supply of a drug cartel. The drug cartel in return set fire to Danny and Linda’s home.
At first, Danny did not connect the drug cartel with his wife’s death but in season 9 Luis Delgado, a member of the drug cartel admitted he was the one who destroyed Danny and Linda’s home.
In the later episodes of season 9, after Delgado became an informant for the DEA, he confessed that the drug cartel murdered Linda through the crash. When another member of the cartel named Jose Rojas kills Delgado’s wife, Danny finds out that he was the one who ordered Linda’s death.
Danny and Delgado join forces to avenge their wives’ deaths. Upon capturing Rojas, despite Delgado encouraging Danny to kill him, Danny chooses to arrest him and let the justice system take care of him. After Rojas is arrested, Danny begins to come to terms with Linda’s death.
Why was Linda killed abruptly in Blue Bloods?
Linda Reagan’s character was killed in Blue Bloods as Amy Carlson who played the character refused to renew her contract for season 8. Since the actress left the show after season 7, the showrunners had to kill her between seasons.
When talking to TVLine about Linda’s character dying in Blue Bloods, showrunner, Kevin Wade claimed that they had to kill her character off as the actress did not renew her contract. He stated,
“We were in a tough position there. I was between a rock and a hard place, because the simple fact of the matter was that the actress decided not to renew her contract. And because it happened after we’d wrapped the previous season, we really had very little wiggle room there, but we did the best we could with a tough situation.”
Many fans believe that how Linda was killed did not do justice to her character. Audiences felt that she was killed off disrespectfully. Fans also believe there was no reason to kill her and the show could have found a better way to write her departure.
While talking to Deadline about how her character was killed, Amy Carlson expressed that she felt shocked when she saw how the producers handled Linda’s departure. She stated,
“I feel badly that she dies the way she dies. I did not know they would do that, I was surprised. I wouldn’t have done that.”
Will Linda be returning to Blue Bloods?
Since Blue Bloods is in its final season, fans have been wondering if they will get a chance to see a final glimpse of Linda Reagan. Amy Carlson had initially stated that she was open to returning to the show for guest appearances.
If Linda was not killed off from the show, there could have been a possibility for her to return to the show as a guest. With Linda’s death and Danny avenging her death, it does not seem like fans will get to see Linda again unless it is in a flashback or dream.
Blue Bloods is available to watch on CBS and Paramount Plus. To read more about the latest stories and updates on your favorite shows, soaps, and films, stay tuned to SoapCentral.
