Fans of Blue Bloods will know how integral Linda Raegan — the wife of main protagonist Danny Reagan — is to the show. Across seven seasons, the character, portrayed by actress Amy Carlson, provided the emotional support needed for the Raegan family’s continued resilience, offering somewhat of a moral compass that made fans fall in love with her.

While she was a staple of the series, fans were left shocked by the end of season seven, when it was revealed Linda had passed away and would no longer appear in future seasons. It left a void in the Raegan family and marked a turning point for the series as a whole. The abruptness of her departure left fans scratching their hands, wondering exactly what happened to Linda on Blue Bloods.

Linda’s death was revealed in the premiere episode of season eight, when fans discovered she had died in a helicopter crash while on duty as a nurse. In the wake of her death, viewers see Danny come to terms with his wife’s passing, attending therapy sessions and blaming himself for her death. The therapist reassures Danny he is not to blame, and offers some more details around the circumstances of Linda’s death.

It was then revealed that the helicopter crash occurred as Linda and the nurse team were airlifting a patient, in what was initially thought to be an accident. Despite her significance to the show, the scenario leading to Linda’s death was not shown on Blue Bloods, and was revealed as exposition throughout season eight. This means fans weren’t given a chance to farewell the character, but showrunner David Wade said it was the only way forward.

Wade said that Carlson’s decision not to renew her contract left him with little “wiggle room” in terms of the trajectory of the character, adding that the writers “did our best with a tough situation.” However, it seems the death is getting a little more airtime than a simple write-off since it was revealed in a later episode of season eight that it might not have been an accident after all.

In the 19th episode titled “Common Enemies”, viewers discover that the helicopter crash that killed Linda was, in fact, orchestrated. We learn that the Mexican cartel ordered the helicopter to be brought down, leading to a sequence in which Danny tries to bring the cartel to justice.

For her part, Carlson has stated that she might’ve preferred a different story regarding Linda’s departure, telling Deadline she was “surprised” by the write-off and suggesting “it would’ve been nice for the fans to see [Linda’s] demise, to be a participant in it.”