Blue blood started the new year by bringing in a country music star to help out the det. Danny Reagan on a case in New York. Almost a year after Lyle Lovett made his series debut as Texas Ranger Waylon Gates, he’s back in the Big Apple when an illegal drug shipment arrives in New York City. However, as the episode unfolded, Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) learned that Gates’ trip was much more than expected.
At the start of Danny’s story in “Old Friends,” Danny complained to Det. Maria Baez (Marisa Ramirez) that federal authorities wanted to resume the investigation into a huge shipment of drugs entering the city. They then ran into Gates, who has been promoted to major and is handling the case for the federal government since he is a cartel expert involved. Danny and Baez try to assure Gates they could handle it, but Gates is sure this is a serious operation. Still, Gates wants Danny to join him in the investigation. (Baez then stepped out of the scene on the left, so she wasn’t involved in the rest of the episode!)
Gates and Danny’s investigation took an ominous turn when they found dead members of a gang that had aided the cartel. The next day, Danny arrived at Gates’ new favorite donut store and was not happy. Danny discovered for himself that Gates’ partner in Texas was found murdered with the same mark as the gang members. So the real reason Gates was in New York City was for revenge. Gates initially tried to deny it, but Danny then slipped onto a photo of Juan Carlos Lopez (Mayan MC star Joseph Raymond Lucero), a dangerous killer who works for the cartel and is now in New York City. Gates insisted he was there to stop the drug shipment, and Lopez was there. “Two birds, one hit,” he told a disappointed Danny.
Back at the station, Gates admitted that he should have told Danny about Lopez. “I was taught to never shoot two targets at the same time,” said Danny. “You are dividing your focus. However, Danny had to admit that he would also seek revenge if his partner was killed. “You’re a good man, Danny,” Gates told him. “I guess Sunday dinner helped make one. ”
After a fun dinner where the Reagan family talked about their first makeup sessions, Gates received a mysterious phone call. Whoever it was, they gave Gates a place to meet, and he went. Lopez met him with a knife in his hand. Luckily, Danny arrived just in time to stop Lopez. (Danny put a GPS tracker on Gates’ truck to track him, which is … legal for a cop?) After the handcuffed Lopez, Gates nearly cut him off in retaliation for his partner, but Danny stopped Gates from doing it. a mistake.
Next, Danny and Gates interviewed Lopez. They demanded that he tell them about the expedition or else they would force Lopez to use heroin containing fentanyl. It doesn’t sound quite legal, but Danny and Gates got the information they wanted. Gates then told Lopez that he would bring Lopez back to the Lone Star State to handle it the Texas way. Lopez’s information was correct, so Danny and Gates seized the drugs during a raid on a preschool.
Elsewhere in “Old Friends,” Jamie (Will Estes) faced pressure from Gormley (Robert Clohessy) when he wanted to appoint his former mentor, Sgt. Kevin Coolidge (James McCaffery) in a racket game report. Frank (Tom Selleck) got into trouble with Mayor Chase (Dylan Walsh) because he wanted to punish Officer Zeal (Josh Crotty) who hit Officer Salter (Jamal James) just because Salter agreed with the reduction of the police budget. Blue blood Airs on CBS Fridays at 10 p.m. ET and is available to stream on Paramount +.
