When it comes to the new season of any of my favorite shows, I will save the last 2 episodes from the previous season so I can familiarize myself with whatever happened previously & see what the new season might have in store.
That said, I was seriously disappointed in this episode, as I felt, from the very beginning, that I had missed the last episode of Season 7. It was only recently that I read where Linda Reagan's character was killed off, but I honestly thought they would have more closure for her character.
As I watched Season 7 Ep 22, I was upset that somehow I hadn't recorded Ep 23, the one where Linda supposedly is killed off. But, I finished Ep 22, saw where their house was torched and waited for the last episode. It wasn't there. The next episode showing was Season 8 Ep 1.
Okay, fine, somehow my DVR didn't record, I would just have to backtrack at some point and see the final Season 7 episode. But that wasn't going to happen. Linda Reagan, (Amy Carlson), is no more. As I progressed through the new season opener, I realized that they weren't going to show anything, but were simply going to reveal that she dies in a helicopter crash (which doesn't actually become a fait accompli until much later in the episode).
Of course, they allude to the fact that she's no longer alive and indeed, in the intro, you can clearly see that the dinner table framing shows a re-arrangement of seating and Linda is nowhere in the picture.
Danny is (supposedly) quitting the force because of Linda's death. Totally unlike his character; he's a no-holds-barred-gung-ho-all-or-nothing kind of cop and to suddenly see him so iffy is disconcerting. Especially when you saw how distraught and upset he was after the fire that destroyed their home. He was clearly more upset with that then he appeared to show with the death of his wife. It just didn't mesh with my vision of him in the previous 7 seasons. While I realize that dealing with the death of a spouse is traumatic, the writers only show him "off the rails" in his grief and only a few well placed tears a couple of times and that's it. Like I said, doesn't mesh.
With all the namby-pamby-ishness, they don't show his two boys grieving at all! Good grief, they've just lost their mother and we don't see any reaction at all!
I really feel like the writers could have handled it much better; this really just felt rushed and almost as an after thought in the overall scheme of things. Maybe do a special 90 minute episode where they could have made it a bit more inclusive and personal.
The secondary plot line with Frank being fired by the new Mayor, Lorraine Bracco's character, Maggie (no last name as of yet, it seems) also was disappointing, as it clearly seemed completely contrived. Her character was overly forceful in the beginning, then, somehow at the end, very contrite and apologetic. How convenient! Not only that, but in her attempt to apologize to Frank, she somehow thinks it's necessary to tell him her first name, as if she's no longer his "boss" and has taken him to task for his ineffectiveness, but now has personalized the entire situation. Either she's forceful and strong or not. I found the dichotomy between her two personas also contrived.
I am normally a very complimentary and attentive person when it comes to the TV shows I like to watch. Overall, most of my "shows" are great and provide what I watch them for...entertainment. But when the audience is so invested in the lives, loves and day to day interactions, it is more than a little frustrating when they slap together something like this and expect us to just go along.
That said, I was seriously disappointed in this episode, as I felt, from the very beginning, that I had missed the last episode of Season 7. It was only recently that I read where Linda Reagan's character was killed off, but I honestly thought they would have more closure for her character.
As I watched Season 7 Ep 22, I was upset that somehow I hadn't recorded Ep 23, the one where Linda supposedly is killed off. But, I finished Ep 22, saw where their house was torched and waited for the last episode. It wasn't there. The next episode showing was Season 8 Ep 1.
Okay, fine, somehow my DVR didn't record, I would just have to backtrack at some point and see the final Season 7 episode. But that wasn't going to happen. Linda Reagan, (Amy Carlson), is no more. As I progressed through the new season opener, I realized that they weren't going to show anything, but were simply going to reveal that she dies in a helicopter crash (which doesn't actually become a fait accompli until much later in the episode).
Of course, they allude to the fact that she's no longer alive and indeed, in the intro, you can clearly see that the dinner table framing shows a re-arrangement of seating and Linda is nowhere in the picture.
Danny is (supposedly) quitting the force because of Linda's death. Totally unlike his character; he's a no-holds-barred-gung-ho-all-or-nothing kind of cop and to suddenly see him so iffy is disconcerting. Especially when you saw how distraught and upset he was after the fire that destroyed their home. He was clearly more upset with that then he appeared to show with the death of his wife. It just didn't mesh with my vision of him in the previous 7 seasons. While I realize that dealing with the death of a spouse is traumatic, the writers only show him "off the rails" in his grief and only a few well placed tears a couple of times and that's it. Like I said, doesn't mesh.
With all the namby-pamby-ishness, they don't show his two boys grieving at all! Good grief, they've just lost their mother and we don't see any reaction at all!
I really feel like the writers could have handled it much better; this really just felt rushed and almost as an after thought in the overall scheme of things. Maybe do a special 90 minute episode where they could have made it a bit more inclusive and personal.
The secondary plot line with Frank being fired by the new Mayor, Lorraine Bracco's character, Maggie (no last name as of yet, it seems) also was disappointing, as it clearly seemed completely contrived. Her character was overly forceful in the beginning, then, somehow at the end, very contrite and apologetic. How convenient! Not only that, but in her attempt to apologize to Frank, she somehow thinks it's necessary to tell him her first name, as if she's no longer his "boss" and has taken him to task for his ineffectiveness, but now has personalized the entire situation. Either she's forceful and strong or not. I found the dichotomy between her two personas also contrived.
I am normally a very complimentary and attentive person when it comes to the TV shows I like to watch. Overall, most of my "shows" are great and provide what I watch them for...entertainment. But when the audience is so invested in the lives, loves and day to day interactions, it is more than a little frustrating when they slap together something like this and expect us to just go along.