Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 20 Wraps Up the Season With Plenty of Surprises (And an Unnecessary Cliffhanger)

Critic’s Rating: 4.5 / 5.0

4.5

Season finales are the hardest things to get right, but for the most part, Boston Blue nailed theirs.

We had several interesting and exciting storylines, including Lena getting shot, Mae trying to protect her relationship from being used in dirty politics, and Jonah learning not to judge people with addiction issues.

And of course, we had one final family dinner to wrap up the season — but unfortunately, it was juxtaposed with the most unnecessary cliffhanger ever.

Baez and Danny Are Back Together Just In Time For Season 2

Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 20 brought Baez back into the fold just as Lena was considering whether a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend was possible.

I wish that Boston Blue had given Baez a more powerful emotional journey back toward Danny. She came to visit him when Lena got shot, but it didn’t seem like the fact that it could have been Danny factored into her decision.

Still, Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 20 left us with the possibility that Baez and her family will move to Boston and possibly live with Danny, so I can’t complain too much.

Despite how sudden this shift was, it opened up the types of story possibilities I’ll want to follow next season, which is exactly what should happen at the end of a season.

Baez moving to Boston won’t automatically mean that her relationship with Danny goes smoothly — that would be pointless.

But we’ve finally moved past the idea of Baez appearing once every six weeks or so and the couple debating their future. Now they can work out issues as a couple, including that oh-so-common cop trope of the cop who relies emotionally more on his work partner than his romantic partner.

I’m not a fan of this trope, but the Brian cliffhanger suggested that Lena’s boyfriend is either dead or seriously injured, so Lena will need a lot of support, and that creates a natural sense of friction for Danny and Baez.

Lena herself is seriously injured, and Brian got her through waiting for the ambulance by promising to be there for her, so losing him (or almost losing him) will be a huge emotional blow.

That doesn’t mean I’m happy about this cliffhanger on Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 20.

The Brian Cliffhanger Demonstrates A Disturbing Trend Toward Shock For Its Own Sake

Boston Blue’s parent show, Blue Bloods, never did season-ending cliffhangers. Even the series finale refused to end on a shocking or definitive note, instead emphasizing that the Reagans had dinner together every Sunday.

The Brian cliffhanger here demonstrated why Blue Bloods’ way was better. There was no real reason for Brian to get seriously hurt after spending the entire episode debating whether to go after his dream job, only to decide that he wanted to stay with Lena.

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Nobody appeared to be threatening Brian during Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 20, and the person who shot Lena is in jail.

That made this sudden attack feel like a shocking event for the sole purpose of ending on a scary note rather than anything organic to the story.

In one sense, I suppose it worked — I do want to know if Brian survived (though I don’t see how he could, since his car landed in the river), how Lena deals with the aftermath of whatever happened, and what explanation we’re getting for why someone slammed into Brian’s car in the first place.

By the way, he had to cross a busy street to get in the car, so why wait rather than running him over?

In any case, it still felt too random to fully enjoy, so my first reaction was “Come on!” rather than anything approaching intrigue. If we needed to have this type of cliffhanger, it should have been better prepared for.

Besides, there were plenty of real cliffhangers to enjoy without that.

Chris and Christina came to the Silvers’ house for the first time. Mae went public with her relationship with the judge, but someone sent him an obnoxious text implying that Mae was being unfaithful. Danny decided to take the Sergeant’s exam and try for a command position.

All of these cliffhangers worked well, set up future storylines, and allowed the season to end with a family dinner, paying homage to its parent show.

There was no Earthly reason to throw the Brian nonsense into the mix.

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Jonah’s Story Was The Best Of The Cases On Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 20

I never expected to love Jonah’s story the best, but here we are.

I lived with and loved someone addicted to drugs for many years, so I’m always up for a story that reframes addiction as a public health issue.

I especially appreciated that the witness told Jonah he wanted to go to rehab and had been trying to get help for years. It’s a sad truth that the help many people need to deal with addiction issues is hard to access and often doesn’t come until it’s too late.

Jonah’s surprise that the man wanted help demonstrated how pervasive the stereotype is that people use drugs because they want to and not because they have a mental health issue, when for many users, the opposite is true.

I also liked Danny riding with Sean, although the idea was on the unrealistic side, and it seemed silly for a decorated detective to have to do a patrol tour as part of his transfer to Boston.

I wish we’d had more of Sean’s conversation with Joe on screen, though. Joe popped up at the family dinner without warning, rather than making a real visit, which was disappointing after seeing Will Hochman’s name in the credits and waiting the entire hour for the appearance.

That’s how I see it, anyway. What about you, Boston Blue fanatics?

Let us know in the comments what your favorite and least favorite parts of Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 20 were, and what you hope happens when the series returns.

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If you enjoyed this article, check out our coverage of Fire Country and Sheriff Country.

Boston Blue has been renewed for Season 2 and will return in the fall of 2026. In the meantime, you can catch up on Boston Blue Season 1 on Paramount+.

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