I used to be a regular viewer but parenthood changed that.
Anyway, I watched the finale and had a couple of questions:
Did Medavoy retire/start a new career?
What happened to the Lieutenant (the one with the cane who visits Andy)?
How was he injured?
Many thanks.
BTW, I did enjoy the finale, I felt like they left it open for a 2 hr TV movie special, whenever they feel like doing one.
Medavoy found a hot real-estate agent to partner up with. Last week’s episode featured his retirement racket.
The lieutenant got shot and has permanent nerve damage. The Chief of D’s gave Sgt. Sipowitz the job because the lieutenant put in a good word and Andy asked for it.
Cool.
When did Andy pass the Sergeant’s Test? Have they ever had Martinez come back as a guest star? Didn’t he become a Sergeant too?
Andy passed the Sergeant’s Test a couple of weeks ago. He’d been working downstairs in a supervisory position since then.
I don’t remember Martinez ever have come back.
Well, Sgt. Spiowicz was only working the desk downstairs for one and a half or maybe two and a half episodes before Lt. Bale got shot and the Chief of D’s asked Andy to get back in plain clothes and work that case, and last episode he got the job heading the squad the right after they closed the Bale shooting so he didn’t go back in the bag.
–Cliffy
I just wanted to say that I was so ready for this series to be over. The last few years I’ve only watched because, well, it’s what I did. But after the last few episodes I’m kinda bummed that it’s over. Now, I want to see how Andy does in his new job and if the new guys pan out. It’s a sad day.
When the two new detectives were introduced, all I could think was Red Shirts. 
Maybe they would have been, a few years ago, but the writers for the new Blue (this season’s Blue) really had their act together, and there was remarkably little soap or shock, all season.
Perfect final episode, including Greg saying “When you’re gone, you’re gone.”
Andy’s crew showed the love and shored him up after the Chief dressed him down, and Andy gave the new guys what they needed too.
I can’t think of another long-running series that can claim character development like what Andy went through.
I’m gonna miss this show a lot.
What happened to that blonde detective - the one Andy was seeing? Did they get married? Did she stop working or transfer to another precinct?
I hafta agree. I think Andy is one of the best characters on TV, ever. He wasn’t always a nice guy, he wasn’t always a prick, he had faults, he had great qualities. Taken as a whole I can’t think of any character who felt more “real” than Andy. I’m gonna miss him, too.
That’s Det. Connie MacDowell, played by Charlotte Ross. She and Andy began a romantic relationship and IIRC were living together when Connie’s brother-in-law killed her sister, Michelle. This catalyzed Connie and Andy to get married, especially because it helped them to adopt Michelle’s baby. Last season Connie got pregnant and they had another son. Ross was not asked to return at the end of last season (there are rumors that she wasn’t very easy to work with) so Connie and their kids hadn’t shown up on screen this season, but Andy’s home life appears happy.
–Cliffy
I got no chemistry between Connie and Andy. In their scenes together, it didn’t even feel like they liked each other very much. I don’t think Connie ever appreciated Andy.
Andy and Sylvia though – you got the idea that they truly cared for each other, on screen and off.
I thought the Connie/Andy relationship was a bad idea, but I thought it was executed fine. Connie served a different role in Andy’s life than Sylvia; she brought him back from the brink after Danny’s murder but mostly she was there to convince Andy that he wasn’t a basket case any more – that he had the strength to live through his tragedies, whereas Sylvia was around when Andy was much more fragile and needed her to support him instead of convince him that he didn’t need support.
–Cliffy
I throw a huge final salute to Dennis Franz. If I’ve watched a thousand police interrogations on TV and in the movies, sit me down with anyone but him. Great actor. Now, we have to hope that the new show with the blind detective is half as good.
Cliffy, I like your analysis. Maybe it was Andy’s new independence or non-dependence that made me view Connie and Andy as not as connected emotionally as Andy and Sylvia. (Do I get a prize for a today’s clumsiest sentence?)
I’m looking forward to the blind detective too.
Danny…was that Rick Shroeder? Whatever happened to his character? I gave up on the show amidst all his directionless pining over Kim Delaney, and then I heard he left the show soonafter.
Some skel shot him and buried his body in an empty field near the river.
Speaking of which: how the hell is going back to uniform, standing at the downstairs desk considered a promotion? Is that how it really works? Wouldn’t he more likely supervise other detectives, not the beat officers?
I believe the chain of command is Patrol<Detective<Sergeant. There are Detective Sergeant, which is basically what Andy becomes. But most detective squads are commanded by lieutenants.
I’m a long time fan of the show. All of you fans should check out this site. Great summaries and reviews written by Amanda Wilson and Alan Sepinwall. If you missed an episode, you can find it here.
I’m sad it’s over. I think Dennis Franz played Andy so well, as Andy grew and changed through the years.