Boston Blue: Why Sean Reagan's New Profession Is More Puzzling Than Ever

Contains spoilers for "Boston Blue" Season 1, Episode 1 — "Faith and Family"

Loyal "Blue Bloods" fans were upset when news broke that Danny Reagan's son Sean had been recast for the spin-off "Boston Blue," with Mika Amonsen taking the place of Andrew Terraciano. That wasn't the only change the spin-off had in store for Sean: When the first episode of "Boston Blue" dropped, viewers discovered that he was now a police officer, despite having shown no real interest in the profession on the mothership drama. Audiences are given no explanation for Sean's career choice in "Faith and Family" — we're dropped into his life after he's graduated from the academy and has established himself as a Boston beat cop. When he was last seen on "Blue Bloods" he was contemplating doing something with his artistic talents, so the switch is quite jarring.

What makes this change even more frustrating for viewers is that we don't get to see Sean at work or get a feel for what he's like as an officer dealing with rules and regulations. That's because, during the first fifteen minutes of the premiere, he's seriously injured during an explosion while trying to rescue innocents from a fire he's stumbled upon while off-duty. This does establish Sean's credentials as a rebellious, do-anything-for-the-downtrodden Reagan, but he spends the rest of the episode in a coma, depriving viewers of the chance to get to know this new, adult version of him. Since Sean wasn't the kind of guy who would run into a burning building to rescue total strangers on "Blue Bloods," fans are understandably confused about this updated version of the character.

In "Blue Bloods," Sean comes across as a serious-minded student who never causes Danny much trouble, at least until he hits his later teen years. During that turbulent time, Sean makes his biggest mistake in all of "Blue Bloods" – he skips school and even gets into trouble for drinking while underage. He tries to squirm his way out of it by using his aunt Eddie's (Vanessa Ray) courtesy card, which just results in her being drawn into the conflict. These are not the actions of someone who plans on following in the footsteps of his cop relatives, and some fans are annoyed that the writers did a total 180 with the character.

"I'm also upset that they made Sean a cop," Redditor u/Own-Regret-9879 wrote. "They should've had him be something else in my opinion, like a lawyer, journalist, firefighter." Some fans are so perplexed by the whole Sean storyline that they won't be watching the spin-off. "I'd hoped they'd have Sean following in his uncle's footsteps attending Harvard Law," wrote u/Own-Interview-928. "The reason why he and his dad move to Boston is stupid. I don't see myself tuning in." Perhaps viewers will get used to this new version of Sean in time, but Mika Amonsen clearly has a battle on his hands to get everyone on board. It certainly doesn't help that some people think Donnie Wahlberg's Danny Reagan spin-off is a bad idea.