Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 12 Offers Both The Light and Dark Sides of St. Patrick’s Day In One of Its Most Touching Stories Yet

St. Patrick’s Day has always been important to the Reagans, even more so than their usual family dinners.

Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 12 couldn’t bring them all back for the holiday, sadly, but it did the next best thing.

While Danny, Lena, and Sarah worked together to protect a kid from the Mexican cartel at the parade, Sean missed his mother while patrolling the event.

Linda’s Absence Was The Strongest Part of Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 12

Although Linda died before the premiere of Blue Bloods Season 8, she is never far from her family’s mind, and that’s as it should be.

Boston Blue has done a great job of showing how the loss still resonates, and it especially made sense for her memory to cast a shadow over St. Patrick’s Day.

Linda was a big part of the Reagans’ St. Patrick’s Day celebration (even being the only one who could make tripe edible, apparently), so it was natural that Sean would be thinking about her on this day.

That’s how grief works. Most of the time, you’re okay, but on special occasions, the other person’s absence suddenly feels larger than life.

One of the best things about this subplot on Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 12 was that it was the first time we really got to experience Sean’s side of the grief.

The entire family was heartbroken by Linda’s death, of course, but Blue Bloods focused mostly on Danny trying to find a way to move forward and continue to be the father his boys needed as well as the detective he was expected to be.

But Linda’s death had to have affected her sons as much as their father, so it was refreshing to hear Sean’s perspective on the loss.

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Those more emotional scenes offset the St. Patrick’s Day patrol story, which was as goofy as usual for the rookie cops.

I was surprised Sean openly challenged the sergeant’s claim that St. Patrick’s Day was going to be full of problems the cops had to deal with.

He grew up in a multi-generational police family, so he understands things like cop culture and the need to respect superior officers, and that behavior didn’t seem congruent with those values.

Also, as a huge Star Trek: The Next Generation fan, I have to say: who the heck decided naming the concentrated alcohol concoction BORG was a good idea when it wasn’t related to the Borg Collective?

That was extra funny to me since Sonequa Martin-Greene was on Star Trek: Discovery, and I had to wonder what she thought about this non-reference.

As for the rest of the St. Patrick’s Day story with Sean and Jonah, I could forgive the silliness a lot more easily than usual because of the context.

Not only did they actually have a superior officer who had assigned them to the parade, but their more lighthearted story seemed par for the course during a holiday where there is a lot of drinking going on.

The Other Cops’ Case Showed An Unfortunate Dark Side To Holidays

Sadly, in today’s world, holidays often come with a threat of danger.

Wherever there are big events with lots of people in attendance, there is a risk of violence, whether it be from a lone gunman or an organized terrorist group.

How did you feel about the plot against the parade on Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 12?
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Thus, it was unsurprising that the murder Lena learned about turned out to be connected to the Mexican cartel and that there was a credible threat against the parade.

I was slightly lost about how Javier ended up connecting to the plot, other than someone using his desire to get out of the house to lure him to the parade and kidnap him.

That was probably me, though.

The rest of the story flowed smoothly and made sense, so I might have missed something vital.

Good job tying it to Linda’s death, though, although as soon as Danny recognized the cartel, I knew where that was going.

The Climax of Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 12 Was One Of The Most Tense Ever

The intercuts between the chase at the parade and Sarah’s inability to know what was going on until Lena or Danny radioed in helped make this sequence suspenseful.

I usually have very little use for chase scenes, but this was an exception.

Danny trying and failing to push through the wall of people at the parade was the most realistic chase-sequence beat ever, and Sarah’s terrified pause before Lean radioed back that she was safe got my heart pounding.

Thank goodness everything turned out all right and they all made it back in one piece for St. Patrick’s Day dinner.

The traditional Irish blessing wasn’t as powerful coming from a family that never said it before as it was when Frank Reagan used to lead it, but at least the Silvers were trying.

If only we hadn’t had that nonsense with Danny meddling in Lena’s relationship for no reason at all, Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 12 would have been a perfect episode. We even got our first glimpse of Jamie and Eddie’s baby — now we just need an in-person or Zoom visit!

What did you think, Boston Blue fanatics?

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If you enjoyed this article, check out our coverage of other cop shows like FBI and Chicago PD.

Boston Blue airs on CBS on Fridays at 10/9c and on Paramount+ on Saturdays. The next new episode airs on April 3, 2026.

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