Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0
4
I’d hoped that Boston Blue was done with the silly Sean/Jonah stories, but I guess the series had to get another one out of its system.
This one wasn’t as bad as some of the other ridiculous situations the rookies have gotten into, but it wasn’t anything special, either.
Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 11’s police stories were mostly standard, not particularly impressive fare, but Mae’s relationship with a judge was more interesting.
(Courtesy of CBS)
Mae and the Judge Were The Focal Point on Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 11
I was excited about this episode after talking with guest star Harry Lennix, who played the judge and potential love interest for Mae.
This judge had a bigger part than I expected.
It’s rare for Boston Blue to have a full subplot involving a judge, though I knew this one would be more extensive than most after interviewing Lennix.
Still, I didn’t expect it to go as far as Mae arguing the case herself after her ADA quit and the judge asking her out to dinner.
(Courtesy of CBS)
I’m on the fence about whether I like that development.
Mae deserves some happiness after all the chaos of the past few months, and it’s clear she and this judge have a history together.
I’m all for second-chance romances, but Mae and the attorneys under her will have to appear before him sometimes.
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TV almost never seems to think about these types of conflicts of interest, and they always bother me.
It’s even worse on a show like Boston Blue that is supposed to present police and court officers in a realistic manner.
(CBS/Brendan Adam-Zwelling)
The flowers were sweet, though, and I loved everyone’s reactions at the dinner table.
It was cute how the whole family, along with Danny, Sean, and Seth, whispered about those flowers and argued about whether Mae was really going to date the judge.
The conflict between Mae and the judge was on the stranger side, though.
The ADA was ridiculously incompetent, and it didn’t make sense that Mae would chalk it up to a bad day.
(CBS/Brandon Adam Zwelling)
Plus, he quit and disappeared, all so Mae could try the case herself, and we could rush toward that flower delivery.
I hate it when the characters that a story is supposed to be about disappear halfway through. Characters should not be used as plot points, and that’s what ADA Bell was.
Did it bother you that ADA Bell disappeared from his own story?
Hit the comments with your thoughts, and don’t forget to share this article with your Boston Blue-loving friends.
I Can’t Decide How I Feel About Sarah and Phoebe’s Hostage Situation Experience
The hostage situation was short-lived and was a coincidental part of the real storyline about Phoebe wanting to live in Boston with her dad and Sarah while her mom was in Japan.
In one sense, that’s a relief. I don’t enjoy drawn-out cop-turned-hostage stories, and the episode didn’t need that type of drama.
(CBS/Christos Kalohoridis)
Still, the Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 11 trailer made a point of showing the hostage scenes, and they were a very short part of the story.
I’m also sensitive to how TV shows do or don’t handle trauma.
It aggravates me when someone, especially a young person, goes through an extremely traumatic experience but shows no signs of being affected by it.
That’s exactly what happened to Phoebe.
Throughout the robbery, she was crying and clinging to Sarah, but as soon as she helped stop the bleeding after someone was shot, her trauma completely disappeared.
(CBS/Brendan Adam Zwelling)
I can understand her being excited and proud that she helped save a life, but trauma doesn’t work that way.
If it were clear that her request to take photos for her Instagram was a way of reframing the event as something less scary, that would have gone a long way toward making this part of the story realistic.
Of course, all of this violence was part of a larger arc about Phoebe wanting to live with Sarah rather than move to Japan.
I’m curious about whether that change in custody is really settled.
Although Seth and Sarah agreed, Phoebe’s mother might not, and that could set up an interesting story down the line.
(CBS/Brendan Adam-Zwelling)
Will Jonah and Sean Ever Stop Having Silly Storylines?
I was hoping we were done with this phase of the show after Jonah’s more serious storyline on Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 10.
Unfortunately, that does not appear to be the case, although the rookies’ story was slightly less ridiculous than usual.
The beginning sequence in the woods was so creepy that I was expecting violent consequences for handling it on their own instead of calling it in before they investigated, and it wasn’t clear how they found out that the shoe belonged to the car owners’ son.
However, the middle was more solid police work than they usually get, so there was that.
(CBS/Jeff Medland)
Also, who won the race at the end of Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 11?
I’d really like to know!
Over to you, Boston Blue fanatics.
What did you think? Which was your favorite storyline? Hit the comments with your thoughts, and don’t forget to share this article with your friends so they can join the conversation.
Vote in the poll below to rank the episode.
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If you enjoyed this article, check out our recent interview with Boston Blue’s Marcus Scribner.
Boston Blue airs on CBS on Fridays at 10/9c and streams on Paramount+ on Saturdays.
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Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 11 introduced a possible love interest for Mae and entertaining but typical police stories. Our review!
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Actor Harry Lennix talked to us about his guest role on Boston Blue, working with Gloria Reuben again, and more.
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Boston Blue Season 1 Episode 10 leaned harder than ever into the family aspects of the series, and we loved that. Our review!
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