Jennifer Esposito is coming back to Blue Bloods as Jackie Curatola. Her return gives Jackie a satisfying conclusion that’s a decade overdue.
Jennifer Esposito left Blue Bloods in 2012 after playing the dynamic Jackie Curatola for three seasons. Her departure from the CBS police procedural was something of a dramatic affair as Esposito had been unceremoniously fired. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Esposito had been given doctor’s orders to take a week off work because of her celiac disease, but CBS had been convinced it was a scheme to get more money.
Considering those circumstances, most Blue Bloods viewers assumed they would never see Jackie again. But in a truly surprising turn of events, Esposito reprised her role as Jackie in Season 13 — over a decade after she departed. Jackie returned in Blue Bloods’ Season 13 finale, and with a new job title at that. This means Esposito was finally able to give the character she was so abruptly parted from the closure that Jackie and her fans have always deserved.
Updated on September 19, 2023 by Katie Doll: Jennifer Esposito’s return to Blue Bloods was the highlight of Season 13. It felt like old times teaming up Jackie and Danny to crack a case and reminisce about the past. The Season 13 finale ends on a hopeful note for Jackie to return in Season 14, but if not, the show’s closed the door properly on her character.
How Jackie Left Blue Bloods Was a Failure
Jackie Curatola was introduced as the partner of Donnie Wahlberg’s character Danny Reagan. The pair had a strong rapport and a powerful friendship that was central to the first three seasons of Blue Bloods. In Season 2, Episode 11, “Mercy,” when Jackie’s car followed a suspect’s into a river, Danny attempted to save her by diving in. However, he couldn’t find her and assumed she has died. His devastated reaction to Jackie’s death highlighted her importance to him. Later in the episode, Danny discovered Jackie had actually been taken hostage and risks his own life in a standoff to save her. The two of them had the kind of partnership that every TV police procedural wants.
But in Season 3, Episode 7, “Nightmares,” one of the saddest episodes of Blue Bloods, Jackie was shot on the job and while recovering, she began to question her career as a detective because of frustration with the bureaucratic nature of the NYPD. When Danny visited Jackie in the hospital, she told him she had decided to resign. That farewell scene was brief and unsatisfying, especially for fans who had become attached to Jackie. While she may have had her ups and downs with the NYPD, she loved being a detective so quitting did not feel true to her character. The only positive about it was that Blue Bloods didn’t have Jackie die, like the show did with Danny’s wife Linda.
Blue Bloods Makes Up for Jackie’s Send-Off
On April 13th, TVLine broke the news of Jennifer Esposito’s return to Blue Bloods, alongside another long-absent cast member. The reveal confirmed that Jackie has returned to police work — and showed her wearing a jacket that said “Chief of Police.” This promotion is much more appropriate for the character than a quick resignation. She was a skilled detective who put her all into police work, such as when Jackie went undercover to help stop a serial killer in Season 2, Episode 7, “Lonely Hearts Club.” Blue Bloods fans can feel better knowing that in her time off-screen, Jackie persevered with her career despite her previous misgivings and rose through the ranks.
Jackie’s resignation in Season 3 felt like a defeat, but her becoming Chief of Police feels like a triumph. It represents the culmination of her hard work and dedication. The position also gives her the authority she previously was frustrated by not having. By not only re-introducing Jackie but doing so in this way, Blue Bloods is undoing the missteps it made in 2012. Instead of tearing the character down, the series is building her up, the way it should have in the first place.
Jackie and Danny Team Up in the Season 13 Finale
True to the promo, Jackie’s return to Blue Bloods was a testament to her character. The reunion between Jackie and Danny is brought on by Dr. Walker’s killing spree. Jackie is now the Chief of Police in a small town in Suffolk County, and although Danny wants to take on the case on himself, Jackie insists that she tag along since she has victims of her own in her town.
Walker was recently released from prison on account of too little evidence. The pair go searching for Walker’s deceased mother after finding a lock of her hair, and she’s found in the walls of an old home under her birth name. After Jackie leaves the scene to go home, Walker sneaks in and attacks her, fleeing after Jackie fought him off.
How Jackie Could Return in Season 14
The ending of the Season 13 finale leaves Jackie and Danny on a bittersweet, but open-ended note. Jackie says that the case reminded her of the good and bad of the job — she hates seeing the helpless victims dying by violent ends and things getting personal with the suspect. But she loved working with Danny. But in the end, she claims she found her happy place, as has Danny. They go their separate ways.
Their last goodbye seemingly closes the door on Jackie returning, but that might not be the case. Walker is still on the loose, and with Jackie technically being his last victim, he might not be finished with her. The Season 13 finale did a good job of reigniting the fans’ love for Jackie and making up for her crushing departure in Season 12. Maybe Season 14 can continue moving on from the past for Jackie, and looking toward a better future.
