Blue Bloods: 5 Weird Danny Reagan Facts To Remember Before The Series Finale

As "Blue Bloods" approaches its end of watch, it's a good time to look back at who could arguably be considered the breakout character — Danny Reagan, played by Donnie Wahlberg. He has some of the procedural's more intriguing storylines, and his hot-headed attitude regularly puts him into some pretty precarious yet entertaining situations. 

Having starred in hundreds of episodes, it's understandable if a few Danny details have fallen through the cracks. It's good to freshen up your Reagan family knowledge as the series finale approaches. After all, while some fans think they know what will happen in the final season of "Blue Bloods," anything could occur. And you don't want to have to lean over to your partner to ask them what the show's referencing if it decides to pull out some obscure Danny lore. 

You probably remember that Danny used to be in the Marines and that his wife, Linda (Amy Carlson), sadly passed away, but here are a few tidbits that may have gone overlooked.

This isn't a major character trait, but it is pretty amusing. Danny Reagan has a hot temper and is quick to lash out. He seems like the kind of guy who would tell people his middle name is "Danger." But in actuality, his middle name is Fitzgerald. You know, because the Reagans are Irish.

Fitzgerald isn't a bad name by any means. We don't want to get hate mail from any Fitzgeralds out there, but it doesn't seem the kind of name befitting a character with Danny's churlish demeanor. However, it is an oddly appropriate middle name, as it means "son of the spear ruler." As police commissioner, Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) could certainly be seen as the "spear ruler" of New York, so it shows how Danny follows in his father's footsteps in keeping the peace. 

If Danny gets promoted in the final season of "Blue Bloods," someone could say his full name aloud, reminding viewers of this fun little character detail.

These days, Donnie Wahlberg is probably best known for his role on "Blue Bloods." However, he was part of another side of the entertainment industry decades ago as a member of the boy band New Kids on the Block. Wahlberg stated previously that early in the procedural's run, he would slide in New Kids on the Block references on "Blue Bloods," like telling Erin Reagan (Bridget Moynahan) to "Hang tough," a nod to one of the group's songs.

They make for fun Easter eggs for fans of Wahlberg's earlier work. And while they predominantly appeared on Season 1, there's always a chance they could return in the show's final outing. If Danny advances to another rank in the New York Police Department by the series finale, someone could always tell him he's got "The right stuff." Or, if the writers officially decide to make Danny and Maria Baez (Marisa Ramirez) a romantic item, he could tell her, "I'll be loving you." It'd be a fun nod to earlier "Blue Bloods" episodes while also paying tribute to Wahlberg's roots. 

As a member of law enforcement, Danny Reagan is supposed to be a paragon of virtue and justice, which he exemplifies most of the time. However, even he's not immune to making a bone-headed (and some might say unethical) decision from time to time. Arguably, the worst thing Danny did on "Blue Bloods" was expose his young niece, Nicky (Sami Gayle), to a corpse.

On "Blue Bloods" Season 1, Episode 16 — "Age of Innocence," Nicky's age of innocence comes to a close when Danny takes her along to a crime scene. When she wanders where she isn't supposed to, she sees a dead body. Obviously, Danny didn't intend for that to transpire, but he still brought her along and knew what might've happened. While seeing death up close would be traumatic for anyone, Danny has the training and experience to handle it better, whereas Nicky was only 14 years old at the time. 

It's not one of Danny's best moments, and perhaps during the final season, Nicky will come back to reminisce on what that moment meant for her now that they're both much older. It was certainly a learning experience for Danny, who's come a long way in the decade since it transpired. 

In 2021, NBC News reported that most police officers never even fire their guns; however, you wouldn't know that from watching Danny Reagan on "Blue Bloods."

While an exact body count hasn't been determined, many fans remain gobsmacked at how many people Danny has shot and killed throughout the series. Not including his time in the Marines, Danny has been in numerous life-or-death situations, some of which have resulted in the bad guy meeting an untimely fate. One Reddit thread has plenty of opinions from people commenting on how Danny must be the most trigger-happy cop ever, with u/lauracf pointing out, "It always amuses me a little when Frank occasionally cites stats about what a low percentage of police officers have ever fired their weapon in the line of duty when we see Danny getting into gunfights like every other episode."

Of course, the narrative reason for this is that gunfights are thrilling. A TV series needs to keep audiences invested, and you don't get that by having Danny bust jaywalkers every episode. Considering all the shootings Danny has been part of, u/2795throwaway mentions an overlooked part of the police process, "He's killed so many people, I'm surprised he isn't doing paperwork 24/7." Paperwork would be another tedious process "Blue Bloods" wisely leaves out, but at this point, Danny would probably benefit from some good therapy.

Many TV shows have characters learn lessons by the end of an episode only to resort back to the status quo the following week. But considering "Blue Bloods" has been on the air for a while now, it's only natural for characters to have seen some growth over the years. That's certainly the case for Danny Reagan, and while he's still a bit of a hothead, he's come a long way from where he was in the beginning. 

On "Pilot," Danny goes over the line interrogating a suspect, shoving their head into a toilet at one point. It makes for exciting television, but it isn't something a police officer should do. Danny's temper still flares up from time to time, but he's significantly better when it comes to treating suspects. That could be due to some mandatory anger management he had to attend on Season 3, Episode 15 — "Warriors."

Wisdom tends to come with age, so maybe Danny simply knows better than to let his anger get the best of him these days. As for fans, the Danny they see on "Blue Bloods" Season 14 will be fairly different from the one they were introduced to in 2010.