Donnie Wahlberg’s Danny Reagan is one of the most popular characters on “Blue Bloods,” and with the final season ending, fans no doubt want it to wrap up every single potential subplot — including the potential of a romance between him and his long-standing partner, Maria Baez (Marisa Ramirez). Unfortunately for Danny-Baez shippers, such a romantic development isn’t likely to happen this late in the game … and it’s largely because of an earlier, similar romantic situation between Jamie Reagan (Will Estes) and Eddie Janko (Vanessa Ray).
In an interview with TV Insider, showrunner Kevin Wade explained the logic behind the decision to keep Danny and Maria’s relationship platonic. “We put Jamie and Eddie together a few years ago,” he said. “I think the show would dip into parody if we had two of our cops marrying two of their partners who are getting into that. And candidly, to me, Danny Reagan has been built and played as a loner. I know he was married for half of the episodes, but he’s almost like the classic private eye who is married to his work and who has the freedom and the latitude to do whatever he wants. Because unfortunately at home, there’s nothing much there.”
While “Blue Bloods” Season 14 keeps teasing those Danny and Baez rumors, Wade’s comments effectively deflate that particular balloon. Unless Wade is pulling a fast one on the viewers, fans might want to focus on other aspects of the show for now.
Wahlberg and Ramirez deliberately insert romantic subtext
Based on Kevin Wade’s comments, there are no plans for major last-minute life changes when it comes to Danny … at least, on the romantic front. However, Wade does note that the hints of romance viewers may have detected do in fact exist on the show, thanks to Donnie Wahlberg and Marisa Ramirez’s careful character work that keeps hinting toward the possibility of deeper emotion, regardless of the writers’ intentions. “Donnie and Marissa, no matter what we write, manage to find ways to show that the two like each other more than as partners,” the showrunner described the situation. “Let’s put it at that. They’re very good at engineering a subtextual relationship that the audience clearly gets.”
Wade obviously wants to make sure that the show maintains its integrity during the Season 14 endgame instead of delivering easy happy endings for folks like Danny. After all, “Blue Bloods” will likely never get a spin-off, so it’s doubly important that the show stays true to its makers’ vision for the rest of its duration.
Even though Donnie Wahlberg says “Blue Bloods” may not end with Season 14 after all, it seems that the people behind the show are keen to give it a worthy conclusion if it does. And while Wade has essentially confirmed that Danny and Baez won’t become a couple, the “Blue Bloods” Season 14 midseason finale and its “Pulp Fiction” references make it clear that just about anything else could be on the cards for the remaining “Blue Bloods” episodes.
