Blue Bloods Season 14 Episode 3 Spoilers: Frank Honors His Late Friend's Memory In A Moving Tribute to Treat Williams

Lenny Ross is no longer with us, but Frank won't have much time to grieve.

Spoilers for Blue Bloods Season 14 Episode 3 promise a tribute to Lenny and his late portrayer, but Frank will also have a dilemma to solve.

Lenny's wayward daughter, Tess, gets arrested again, and it's up to Frank to decide how to help her.

Lenny Ross popped up on Blue Bloods at least once a season, usually in over his head with some stupid scheme that Frank had to try to straighten out.

His last appearance, shortly before Treat Williams' death, suggested Lenny wasn't long for this world -- he was dying of cancer. This story might have happened even if the actor hadn't passed away, but the fact that Williams isn't still with us makes it doubly poignant.

Add in that this is Blue Bloods' final season, and there's no way most viewers will be able to make it through the hour without a good, old-fashioned sobfest!

True to form, though, Blue Bloods won't dwell on these emotions. Instead, Lenny's death will be the backdrop for a story involving his daughter. Tess has often gotten in trouble, and Frank encouraged Lenny to stop using his courtesy card to bail her out.

Frank had a point: Lenny was enabling his daughter's bad behavior. But now that Lenny's gone and Frank's the one who has to decide what to do about Tess, will he be able to follow his own advice?

Frank is still grieving his late friend when he gets the call that Tess has been arrested and used his courtesy card. Knowing him, he'll put aside his emotions and do his best to deal with Tess based on his value system.

Frank Reagan prides himself on his integrity and has never allowed his kids special treatment just because their father is the police commissioner. But it's hard to tell what the best way to honor Lenny's memory is.

Lenny would have bailed Tess out, which Frank didn't approve of. Frank may want to get straightened out in honor of his friend's memory, which means doing something other than enabling her.

There are also political concerns here, not that Frank has ever cared about those. If the press finds out about Frank letting Tess use a courtesy card, they'll have a field day with claims that he's giving special treatment to his late friend's daughter.

With Mayor Chase already aggravated with Frank all the time, the last thing Frank needs is a scandal, whether or not there's any truth to the claims.

And let's not forget that Frank is still mourning the loss of his friend, too. Frank is not the kind of man who wears his heart on his sleeve or lets much emotion show, but that doesn't mean this isn't particularly challenging for him.

Elsewhere, there's plenty of crime for the rest of the Reagan family to deal with.

For the first time since his introduction, Joe Hill will appear twice in a row. On Blue Bloods Season 14 Episode 2, Joe was the thorn in Jamie's side that he usually is, but they're working together this time.

According to spoilers, Joe and Jamie race against time to reunite a trafficking victim with her sister.

I'm not sure how this will work. Jamie is supposed to be undercover, and it seems like it would be difficult to avoid getting caught by the leader of the trafficking ring if he actively works with a cop the ringleader wanted dead after a previous raid!

Still, Joe and Jamie having each other's backs is a welcome departure from their usual interactions. The two are constantly butting heads, primarily thanks to Joe's unit being at cross-purposes with Jamie's mission.

Will this story mark the end not only of Joe and Jamie's rivalry but also of the undercover operation?

Most Blue Bloods arcs don't last three episodes. I wouldn't mind a season-long story, but do viewers have the attention span for that?

Many people complain when a story lasts more than one episode, and the way the showrunners had to retool Law & Order: Organized Crime after trying eight-episode arcs suggests that a season-long story is a bad idea for broadcast TV.

Still, Blue Bloods has a slightly different audience, so it could work.

Meanwhile, Danny again butts heads with Erin over her use of his informant.

Whenever Bugs shows up, it's bad news. Either Danny's arguing with Jamie over whether Jamie should have arrested his CI, or Erin's using Bugs in some way that Danny doesn't appreciate.

In this case, Danny will be miffed that Erin put Bugs in a cell with gang members she's investigating when Bugs is his CI. Let's hope this time, there's no shootout due to the case Bugs is forced into.

The poor guy has to be traumatized by now -- didn't he resist the last assignment he was on because of the violence he'd experienced?

Danny and Erin will probably have a lot to say at the Sunday dinner. Hopefully, they'll put it all aside for the sake of family.

Your turn, Blue Bloods fanatics.

What do you think of these spoilers?

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Blue Bloods airs on CBS on Fridays at 10/9c. New episodes drop on Paramount+ the day after they air.

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Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.