Blue Bloods season 14 will bring back a character from Danny's past

Danny Reagan (Donnie Wahlberg) has had lots of partners over the years. The Blue Bloods stalwart is not the easiest person to get along with, but he's gotten close with the officers he's been paired with, especially the women. There was one partner, however, who bucked this trend, and he's coming back in season 14.

Darryl Reid (Malik Yoba) was paired up with Danny Reagan in the season 6 episode "Flags of Our Fathers." Reid seemed like a pretty upstanding cop at first, but things quickly took a turn for the worse when it was discovered that he planted evidence on a suspect during a homicide case.

Darryl Reid first appeared in Blue Bloods season 6

Reid was given the boot, and it seemed as though he would never be heard from again. Then, quite shockingly, the synopsis for the season 14 premiere was released by TV Line, and it confirmed that Reid was back:

""Jaime goes undercover with a deadly human trafficking ring. Danny and Baez investigate a homicide connected to Darryl Reid (Malik Yoba), Danny’s old partner. Also, Frank grapples with whether to publicly support Mayor Chase (Dylan Walsh) on a policy decision and Eddie is determined to teach a young shoplifter a lesson.""

Obviously, the circumstances in which Reid is involved is bad, in keeping with the character's sordid tendencies, but the decision to bring him back at all establishes a recent pattern for Blue Bloods. The previous season saw the return of another one of Danny Reagan's partners, Jackie Curatola (Jennifer Esposito), so Reid's involvement makes it clear that the show is looking back on, and attempting to wrap up any storylines that were previously unresolved.

Related: Will Estes debuts new Blue Bloods season 14 look

It makes sense, given that season 14 will mark the end of the line for Blue Bloods. It also aligns with the character arc of Danny Reagan, who's gone from hothead cop to someone more reflective, and understanding, of the world around him.

Several of Danny Reagan's partners have returned

Donnie Wahlberg talked about the character's progression during an interview with ET Online, and chalked it up to the fact that he's gotten nearly a decade and a half to play him:

""There’s so many elements that go into it but when we started I would say I thought it would be around for a little while, I couldn’t imagine 13 years. But I definitely thought five, maybe six or seven. But it’s like a train now. It just won't stop rolling.""

We don't expect Reid and Danny to become best friends by the end of the season 14 premiere, but we very much look forward to seeing these two interact, and perhaps even seeing Reid redeem his previous mistakes.