10 Worst Blue Bloods Episodes, Ranked

The family-centered cop procedural "Blue Bloods" centers itself around a New York-based, justice-orientated flock that spends its time trying to serve justice to the downtrodden. It ruled its Friday night timeslot for years; fans adored it, and the show managed to put out plenty of episodes that they liked over its extremely long lifespan.

But there have definitely been outings that the audience hated. That's the risk any show that runs 14 seasons must contend with, no matter how hard they work to make sure that every single season comes out perfectly. While the drama lives on through "Boston Blue," it left a legacy that was ever so slightly checkered by its own foibles.

Which "Blue Bloods" outings do fans hate the most? This list includes awkward attempts at trying to relate to people who stand far outside of their typical demographic, plotlines that make no sense, and out of character behavior by beloved figures. Here are the 10 worst episodes of the show, ranked with the assistance of IMDb ratings and by authorial order from the highest to the lowest rated.

Lots of "Blue Bloods" episodes tend to get mixed results on places like IMDb – either fans really love them or really hate them. In the case of "The Truth about Lying," the episode's awkward Aesop fable irritates audiences, who were annoyed by its sloppy plotting. On IMDb it lands at a 8.1, and while it's the highest-rated episode on the list, that lands it on the bottom of this particular pile.

Reddit posters immediately called out the big problem with the plot of this episode, which sees Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg) investigate the death of a teenager who was apparently shoved off a train platform by a homeless man: The way it treats police-centered perjury is nonsensical. To wit: the case eventually pulls in multiple members of the Reagan family, including Jamie's (Will Estes) new partner Eddie Janko (Vanessa Ray), who stands accused of providing false testimony at the scene of an arrest.

Fans on the "Blue Bloods" subreddit cried foul. "Cops in the United States are not responsible for that sort of detail in their report. They are not charged with perjury for this sort of error. And they certainly aren't fired for it," remarked u/Glum_Revenue_3077. Plenty of responders in the comments have called the episode out for its bad writing and poor plotting. It's worth noting that some of these harsh responses might stem from political opinions.

What keeps the episode from being a total wash is the presence of Bebe Neuwirth's Kelly Peterson, who makes her debut here as a real rival for Frank's authority, even when she's trying to work in harmony with him.

This one just plain seems to turn fans' stomachs. "School of Hard Knocks" tracks what happens when there's a student-involved shooting at a local school. It turns out to be warfare between two rival gangs. Danny and Maria (Marisa Ramirez) find themselves trying to pursue justice while the school's Principal Ward ("Boston Blue" co-star Ernie Hudson in a different role) decides to lay down the law on his own time. "Blue Bloods" fans give this one a 7.6 on IMDb, and it's remembered these days for its grim storyline.

No matter which way you slice it, this is one hard episode to get through, and it's largely saved by the actors' skills. It nearly degenerates into principal-on-students violence, in which a loyal educator nearly gives up everything, from his job to his dignity, to finally get his kids under control. Danny is portrayed as wise and cool-headed here, and fans of the show know he's anything but. The outing does give us a happy ending with Danny able to talk Ward down and the promise of a new, even-handed vice principal looms over the school. But the majority of it is too depressing for words.

"Disrupted" gets a bad rap for a good reason — fans were getting awfully sick of patriarch Frank (Tom Selleck) being right every single time, no matter the occasion. This episode features him at his most insufferable. Jamie tries to go it alone in this episode, figuring out how to be a cop by himself, but he's still in need of Frank's guidance to a point that fans found irritating.

Other portions of the story — like Frank coping with a community activist who may have intentionally set up the force to look bad, and Erin (Bridget Moynahan) teaming up with series stalwart Anthony Abetemarco ("Sopranos" co-star Steven R. Schirripa) to protect his family from a psychopath — were more successful with viewers. Still, it stands at a 7.6 overall on IMDb, putting it on the lower end of the scale.

Fans on the "Blue Bloods" subreddit were mainly irritated about Frank and Jamie's part of the story. "Getting sick of how contentious everyone's interactions are. The writers need to have better ways to move the stories," remarked u/kadunck. Added an anonymous Reddit user, "I know the live and learn thing, but surely would be better with Frank not always being in the right."

There are plenty of solid Eddie Janko highlights, but two outings centered on the character rank poorly enough to make this worst of list. "Pick Your Poison" sees Eddie try to figure out how to fairly deal with the arrest of a college nemesis who was party to something terrible that occurred in her past. While it does give Vanessa Ray some good, dramatic material to chew on, this part of the episode leans painfully hard on stereotypes.

In the B-plot, Frank tries to decide if it's worth it to impugn the spotless reputation of a beloved cop whose drug test comes up positive for marijuana. The show has nothing but pat answers for these difficult topics, making the episode a boring outing. 

It's a 7.5 at IMDb, where viewers complain about the episode's poor writing. "They introduced 3 interesting and controversial subjects but the arguments were weak, lacked substance, and sounded almost childish," remarked slayermom09. "Stereotypes galore, disappointing and maddening. This episode shows how much a writer's point of view can make the characters speak and act in a way that makes them mere puppets," agreed katiemacjoh.

Halloween and "Blue Bloods" are two tastes that go oddly together, and "Nightmares" provides a rare peek into the Reagans' lives during the spooky season. It ends up being a bad trip the family should never have taken, settling into an odd place between reality and fantasy. It doesn't help that the case of the week makes an embarrassing detour through Vodou by way of Catholic exorcism, and tosses in faith-as-costume when someone dressed up as one religious figure (a priest) is murdered by another religious figure (the Haitian loa Baron Samedi) and Danny's sent in to investigate. It's all too fantastical for the grounded world of the Reagans, earning it a slot on the list.

IMDb users put the episode at a fairly rancid 7.5, with many of them apparently being completely unable to swallow the ludicrous storyline here. "The scene with the voodoo [sic] ritual was ridiculous to say the least," noted edwagreen. They're just one of many fans who thought Danny's trip to the dark side was a little too weird to be believed.

"Blue Bloods" tried hard to represent how diverse New York City truly is when the occasion called for it. The central drag-based storyline of "Manhattan Queens" actually does a good job of portraying life in the community. It's occasionally funny and manages to be kind without being too awkward. But whenever the show isn't focused on Baez (Marissa Ramirez) and Danny trying to figure out who killed Tiffany Lamp, it's centered on the B-plot, which is what earns it such a low position on this list. 

In the show's two sideplots, Erin Reagan is kidnapped by the dying mother of a perp, who pleads her son's case to Erin. Erin has no choice but to listen, and it turns out the mom's right — her son is innocent. Erin is so unperturbed by her kidnapping one is left wondering if she has a screw loose. 

If you think that plotline is awkward, try Frank's subplot on for size. In his portion of the story, he has to mediate the case of sexual harasser Deputy Chief Sal Laduca (Joe Maruzzo). It turns into a nightmare for Frank, between Laduca's viral videos and his harassment of Abigail Baker (Abigail Hawks). The story ends in the most pat way possible and yet offers up a plot twist that's so clumsy the audience's jaws end up on the floor. The episode sits at a 7.5 on IMDb. While part of that rating might have come about thanks to the audience's conservative distaste for the drag queen plot, there's a genuine reason why it's ranked as one of the worst episodes of Season 4.

The fourth worst episode of the show manage to capture "Blue Bloods" at its most awkward. "Burning Bridges" sits at a 7.4 on IMDb, acting as an exercise in the show's inability to write a complex story that weaves together homophobia and religion. it tries to stand up for both sides of the fence but ultimately the writing comes off as ham-fisted and wishy-washy.

In the story, Danny and Baez are separated when another officer on the force is unwillingly outed, resulting in his partner refusing to work with him. Keen to be reunited, Danny and Baez work to get the partners to reconcile. Elsewhere, loyal Catholic Frank becomes a target of the archdiocese when he speaks out about the importance of equality on the force. 

Fans of the show couldn't help but notice the show's clumsy attempt to balancing faith with progressiveness. "This episode attempts to deal with homosexual prejudice in the police force and brings in Catholicism only to insult both institutions," Phil-58620 Agreed bkoganbing, "The episode tried to cover all bases in its audience an almost impossible task given the Reagan family Catholicism," though they had praise for how the episode managed to work through those limitations. 

"Guardian Angels" is another attempt by "Blue Bloods" to show allyship to the queer community when the team is called to bring justice when a trans woman is murdered. While the majority of that plotline serves its purpose, is tasteful and smart, and does well by its trans characters, plenty of people had big problems with one of the B-plots, in which someone keeps punching cops while they're doing their duty.

IMDb users gave the episode a 7.3. While the score might be influenced by transphobic beliefs, many commenters had major issues with how the police-punching storyline was handled and immediately picked up on how strange that storyline felt.

"In this episode, a thug who assaulted an off-duty cop doesn't face the law, while an 'urban-defender' who beats up a thief does," said tsang6482 about the plot's resolution. "Furthermore, Mayor Peter Chase originally champions himself on being a 'victims' advocate.' Why is he suddenly on the anti-police brutality crowd?" they concluded. And another viewer, grhm4, was much more frank about their assessment: "This was the worst episode of Blue Bloods in the last 11 seasons." There's a reason why Season 11 is the worst season of "Blue Bloods," and this episode helps to explain why.

You might not remember that Whoopi Goldberg played this character on "Blue Bloods," but city council speaker Regina Thomas became quite the thorn in Frank's side during her recurring appearances, and especially in "Triumph Over Trauma." In this episode, Frank and Regina go toe-to-toe over the horrors of police brutality, with Frank trying to protect his officers and Regina trying to protect the state's reputation. 

While plenty of fans got in their feelings about Goldberg's appearance on the program, an odd subplot drew the lion's share of commenter's anger. In it, Jamie and Joe Hill (Will Hochman) team up to try to find Danny and Baez after they disappear on a case. It turns out that Danny and Maria have gotten themselves locked up in a basement together, and they use the time to bond while their relatives worry themselves sick over their absence.

IMDb users rank this one at a 7.1. "It is simply the worst of the entire series. Ignoring the Whoopi segments, I would have rated this a 5 because the Danny and Baez stuff was just so unbelievable," said Jduyrhfngj. "Weak plot with the lost body story. No policing, just feelings. Far too many plot holes in the Danny & Baez story. Apparently just to lay the ground work for another partnership romance and let us know Joe feels left out," complained info-51826, speaking for many.

Last but most certainly least is "Legacy," which remains the worst-ranked "Blue Bloods" episode among IMDb fans at 7.0. The episode has Danny at a crossroads after the death of his wife Linda (Amy Carlson) — the family is now living off of a single paycheck — and he considers switching professions. But Frank ends up in an even more difficult position when one of his officers is accused of committing an act of racial profiling. Under a high amount of pressure, he removes the woman from her position.

Audiences found the idea of Frank deciding to side with the video evidence and pulling the officer from the line of duty ridiculous. While some politically-enthused fans seem to think that "Blue Bloods" had an anti-police agenda, which may have skewed the IMDb rating lower, plenty of them felt as if Frank's behavior alone was a good reason to mark this one down. "Frank was so out of character. He has always stuck up for his cops. This episode is not believable. What happened with the writing? If this keeps up, you have lost me as a viewer," said Sbc17644. 

On top of that, plenty of viewers found fault with Danny's inability to support his boys after Linda's death. "This episode try to deal with far too many social issues and therefore didn't deal with any of them well," agreed grammydawn-43404, who pointed out that Danny's family would have likely gotten some form of workman's compensation as Linda died in an accident while on duty. That plot hole is just one of the reasons that this episode is the worst outing in "Blue Bloods" history.