‘Blue Bloods’ Fans Reach for the Tissues When Danny Cries After Shooting a Young Man

This week’s episode of Blue Bloods got off to an explosive start, with an event that left Danny emotional and shaken while investigating the death of a young man. Fans at home were reaching for tissues during an emotional tear-jerking moment.

In “Blues,” Detective Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg) drove up to a gas station on his way home one night, only to find he was arriving during a robbery in progress. A young man emerged from the convenience store, claiming he was working there and approached Danny. Suddenly, the kid pulled out a knife and tried to stab Danny, who instantly fired back.

Afterwards, Danny was clearly shaken up. Detective Maria Baez (Marisa Ramirez) told him the investigators called it a “clean” shooting.

In the morning, Danny arrived at his home to find Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan) on his couch. He insisted he was fine, but Erin knew better and made if clear she was sticking around to make sure he was fine. She asked him if he was now afraid his teen sons would lose another parent. Erin said their father Frank (Tom Selleck) will call and he should pick up.

Later on, Danny tried to push himself by getting involved in a murder investigation. When the victim turns out to be a young man, Danny looks so stunned that Baez offers to tell the next of kin. But again, Danny being Danny, he has to do it himself.

Instead of going directly to the victim’s family, he went to the mother, Mrs. Williams (Jenny Bacon), of the boy he shot the night before. She did not want to talk to him, and Danny admitted this was not the best move. She slammed the door on his face before he left.

Danny did tell the mother of murder victim her son was killed. She burst into tears and Danny tried to console her. While updating Baez on the case, he continued having trouble hiding his feelings.

That night, Pops (Len Cariou) went to Danny’s home. Pops noticed how empty the house is, and reminds him how Linda (Amy Carlson) was always there to help him through the other shootings he was involved in. He was hinting that Danny might want to start dating, but Danny reminded Pops that both he and Frank never dated after their wives died.

Mrs. Williams later showed up at the precinct to confront Danny to tell him she will never forgive him. But she will give him a “gift.” She could see he was carrying the “weight” of the situation and that he believes everything she says. This left Danny emotional, with visible tears running from his eyes.

After this, Danny went to the home of the murder victim’s mother, watching from outside as Baez talked to her. When Baez left, Danny said he noticed something odd: the mother was no longer limping.

They discovered the mother went to a hospital out of her way to fix an injury. Danny told her the guilt of taking a young life can be overwhelming. It turned out that the mother accidentally killed her son.

At the Reagan family dinner, Danny revealed that Frank never called. Instead, Pop was the one who visited Danny as the family patriarch. Frank explained to Nicky (Sami Gayle) that he realized over time when to start letting his children solve problems on their own.

Frank figured out when Danny could solve his own problems when he was only 8 years old. He was suspected from school after fighting with a kid. When Frank asked what the fight was about, Danny said, “Trust me, you don’t wanna freakin’ know.”

New Blue Bloods episodes air at 10 p.m. ET on CBS Fridays.

Photo credit: Patrick Harbron/CBS