'Blue Bloods' Says Goodbye to Cast Staple After Scary Incident With Citizen

10/29/2021 08:32 pm EDT

Blue Bloods said goodbye to a relatively recent addition to the cast in this week's Halloween-themed new episode, "True Blue." After having one too many negative interactions with New York City citizens, Officer Eddie Janko's partner said goodbye to the New York Police Department. It was not an easy decision, but being spat at in the face was the final straw for her.

At the beginning of the episode, Eddie (Vanessa Ray) and her partner, Officer Rachel Witten (Lauren Patten) stopped an assault at a park. A man was beating up a homeless woman, causing her to bleed from her forehead. While Eddie took the perp into custody, Rachel tried to help the woman (Megan Allison Hayes), who refused to talk to police officers. Rachel tried to convince the woman to let her help, but as she continued, the woman spat in her face. Rachel still got the woman to stand up so she could get her help, "whether you like it or not."

For the rest of the episode, Rachel seemed cold and distant from Eddie. No matter what she tried to do, Eddie could not get Rachel to open up. She wouldn't even agree to hang out with Eddie over the weekend. Rachel wanted to move on from the incident, but that seemed impossible, and not just because Eddie kept trying to talk to her.

Later, in the locker room, Rachel told Eddie she wasn't just taking a short leave. She put in her notice and "just ran out of gas." Eddie assured her that she never once thought Rachel was a quitter, but she still asked Rachel if she could change her mind. There was no way that would happen though. Eddie asked Rachel to visit Commissioner Frank Reagan's (Tom Selleck) office before she left. As she said goodbye to Eddie, Rachel said she never regretted coming back from her leave. "I got your six wherever you go," Eddie told Rachel before they hugged.

Although Rachel was reluctant to do so, she did visit Frank's office before she left. Rachel apologized and told Frank her decision was not his fault. "You know you got a year to change your mind," Frank reminded her. She asked him not to talk her out of quitting, and he said wouldn't because he already did that once. "I would like to ask a favor... that a year from today, you get in touch with me... if not to re-up, then just to catch up," he asked her. "Yes sir, I will do that gladly," Rachel said as Frank nodded. The two saluted each other and Frank wished her good luck as she left. "You too, commissioner," she said as she walked through the door.

Although Rachel only appeared in 18 episodes since her introduction in Season 8, she left a memorable impact on the show. She almost quit in the Season 12 premiere after she pulled a gun during a tense situation with unarmed civilians. The character was played by Lauren Patten, who recently won a Tony Award for playing Joanne Taylor in Jagged Little Pill on Broadway. She was recently cast in the Hulu pilot Career Opportunities in Murder & Mayhem starring Mandy Patinkin.

Elsewhere in "True Blue," police officers accused Jamie (Will Estes) of being a party-pooper when he asked Erin (Bridget Moynihan) and Anthony (Steven Schirripa) to help him investigate a bar where members of the NYPD and FDNY both go to hide after committing their own mistakes, like driving drunk. Danny (Donnie Wahlberg) and Baez (Marisa Ramirez) investigated the death of a student, whose murderer turned out to be jealous of their principals affair with the victim. Frank tried to help Baker (Abigail Hawk) and her husband Brian (Jarid Faubel) after Brian was caught on camera beating up a suspect. The next new episode of Blue Bloods airs on Friday, Nov. 5 at 10 p.m. ET.

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