Working the mean streets of New York City as a law enforcement agent has to be equal parts rewarding and heartbreaking. To protect and serve usually entails a great deal of human experiences. From apprehending criminals, serving justice, and putting one’s own life on the line, working with the New York City Police Department takes a special kind of individual, whether it be lawyer, detective, commissioner, or beat cop.
It is probably for these reasons that the show “Blue Bloods” has been such a hit with fans. Besides the normal drama of being a law enforcement agent in a law enforcement family, “Blue Bloods” sports a robust cast with different outlooks on life forged by their own personal experiences. Sure, there may be some overlap between Reagan family members Danny (Donnie Wahlberg), Frank (Tom Selleck), Jamie (Will Estes), and Erin (Bridget Moynahan), but rest assured, they all have very different ways of approaching life and their respective jobs. With Season 13 of the show soon on the horizon, Looper has asked fans which “Blue Bloods” character has the most heartbreaking storyline, and it seems as if there is definitely a clear winner of our survey (or loser, depending on how you look at it).
Fans overwhelmingly feel like Danny Reagan has the saddest story
Having set our sights on establishing whom fans think has the saddest story in “Blue Bloods,” we polled 618 United States residents. The options focused squarely on members of the Reagan family, which are Frank, Jamie, Danny, Erin, and family patriarch Henry (Len Cariou). However, after tallying the responses, fans have crowned Danny Reagan as the character with the saddest story, with 31.07% of the vote. Runners up, in order, were Jamie with 22.49% of the vote, Erin with 20.39%, Frank with 15.05%, and finally Henry with 11%. In other words, fans overwhelmingly think that Danny has the most tragic story among the rest of his family.
Although Danny is known for his brash demeanor, his outwardly gruff attitude hides deep loss and trauma. As a refresher, Danny is a detective in the NYPD, and he once served as an active duty Marine in the U.S. Armed Forces. While on a military tour in Iraq, Danny’s unit is all but wiped out, and he is left as the sole survivor. This event traumatized Danny, but his heartbreak doesn’t end there. Between Seasons 7 and 8, Danny’s wife Linda (Amy Carlson) dies in a tragic helicopter accident. The Season 7 finale also sees Danny’s home destroyed in an act of arson for his actions during a drug bust. It is because of these life events that fans likely chose Danny as possessing the saddest personal story in “Blue Bloods,” and for very good reason.