‘Blue Bloods’: Eddie Goes Deep Undercover to Stop a NXIVM-Inspired Cult

After mostly sitting out last week’s episode of Blue Bloods, Officer Eddie Janko-Reagan was back in action this week. In “The Price You Pay,” A.D.A. Erin Reagan and Detective Anthony Abetemarco asked Eddie to go undercover to investigate a mysterious and NXIVM-inspired cult leader. It gave Eddie a chance to stretch her legs outside the usual police work.

At the beginning of the new episode, Fordham law student Ramona (Cindy De La Cruz) asked Erin (Bridget Moynahan) to look into the death of one of her friends. The woman killed herself under the influence of a mysterious man named Daniel Shapiro (Gideon Emery). The D.A.’s office tried to charge him with manslaughter, but the charges did not stick. Erin did not think there was much she could to do to help, but she agreed to look into it.

Later, Anthony (Steven Schirripa) suggested there were plenty of reasons to try to go after Shapiro again, so they asked Eddie (Vanessa Ray) to go undercover and help find a girl they think can help uncover the cult. Eddie wondered if Shapira was dangerous, and Anthony and Erin did not sugar coat it. Still, she insisted she was ready.

The next day, Eddie went down to an alternative medicine store to meet Ruby (Laura-Leigh) as the first step of getting into the cult. Eddie pretended to be a newcomer to New York named Jess, and Ruby invited her to a cult meeting. Eddie decided to go, and picked through Ruby’s mind to get details on Shapiro.

Ruby introduced Shapiro to Jess. During the introduction, Ruby mentioned they were having a wellness retreat upstate and Shapiro suggested she come. After that conversation finished though, Jess spotted Ramona at the meeting. Ruby mentioned that something was off about her.

Later, Eddie reported to Erin and Anthony that Ramona is snooping around and the cult might now something is up. Erin wanted to charge right away to see Ruby, but Eddie and Anthony said they would handle it. So, they went to Ruby’s shop and spoiled Eddie’s undercover story to interrogate Ruby about Ramona’s whereabouts. They convinced Ruby to help them out, and she took Eddie to Shapiro’s home.

Once at Shapiro’s home, Eddie snooped around. She heard a woman’s cries from a basement room. Shapiro tried to stop Eddie, but Ruby slammed a piece of wood over his head and Anthony stepped in just in time. They then broke down the door and discovered Ramona tied up, and arrested Shapiro.

Elsewhere in Blue Bloods, Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) and Baez (Marisa Ramirez) investigated the drive-by shooting of rapper Cameron Gooding’s (Leon) bodyguard. Frank (Tom Selleck) tried to help out Detective Douglas McKenzie (Mike Carlsen), who was accused of using excessive force.

Jamie (Will Estes) also sought his father’s advice because he suspected Captain Espinoza (Luis Antonio Ramos) of using his authority to seduce a younger female officer. Frank suggested asking for an internal investigation could be dangerous, especially if it leaks. Jamie learned Espinoza was trying to help the young cop and told Espinoza to trust him to do his job.

During the dinner scene, Nicky (Sami Gayle) confirmed she will be taking the new job in San Francisco.

Shapiro’s cult appears to be loosely inspired by NXIVM, an infamous sex cult that Law & Order: SVU also centered an episode on last year. Founder Keith Raniere was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison for sex trafficking, conspiracy and other federal charges related to the cult.

Blue Bloods airs Fridays at 10 p.m. ET on CBS.

Photo credit: Patrick Harbron/CBS