Villainess Review: Valerie Daniels (Blue Bloods)

What can I say? Blue Bloods has such an amazing crop of villainesses.

I can't really list what shows have the best batch of one-shot evil women, because I'd take forever compiling a top 10 list of shows that have the best ones. I will say this: three shows that I think have some of the best batches of villainesses have to be Castle, Republic of Doyle, and Blue Bloods. Right now, Blue Bloods is in the early stages of their final season, and as the series comes close to ending, I just can't help but think back to the amazing villainesses who appeared on the show, including this one from the episode, "Secret Arrangements."

The episode's main story centered on Benjamin Daniels, a college professor who was found shot to death inside his car. One student pointed Danny Reagan and Maria Baez to Benjamin's body, and it was discovered that his watch and wallet were gone, but he had two cellphones on him, which was odd. The detectives interview Benjamin's wife, Valerie Daniels, who is also a professor in a different department. She was mournful, of course, but when it came to the subject of the two phones, Valerie dismissed any possibilities that her husband was involved in anything criminal.

The investigation takes a wild turn after that, as it's later discovered that Benjamin's connected to a scholarship program known as, "The Winifred O'Daire Scholarship Fund for Promising Young Women." Here's the thing: this was no ordinary scholarship program. This was a front for an escort service, and Benjamin's name is on the list of clients. One such woman who received Benjamin's full attention was Maggie Parker, a 20-year-old student. The interview saw Maggie reveal her and Benjamin's affair, and voice her fears that her ex-boyfriend, Milo Finley, may have killed Benjamin out of anger. Danny and Maria's interview with Milo saw him quite happy over Benjamin's demise, but that was all they had on him. Milo had an alibi: he was wasted at a bar on the night in question.

However, the detectives weren't exactly back to Square One, as they did have a new potential suspect: Valerie. The suspicion started when they learned that Valerie was at Maggie's apartment building, but that's all they really had to go on. Well...it was, until one of Benjamin's love letters to Maggie was read out loud. There was one tiny tidbit that just had to be pointed out: the mention of the cost of a subway token. Those had been outdated for decades. So that led to one simple conclusion: the letters to Maggie were actually Benjamin's old letters to Valerie. Another visit to Valerie was made, and this time, it was an interrogation. Valerie denied the fact that Benjamin was involved with Maggie, but then the letters were read, with every recycled word triggering Valerie slowly but surely, while Danny was reminding Valerie that Benjamin gave those letters to Maggie--referring to Maggie as Valerie's replacement and adding that Benjamin was making a mockery of their marriage. Valerie's response:

"I could never let that happen!"

"Secret Arrangements" was the 19th episode of Blue Bloods' fourth season, and aired on CBS on April 11, 2014. The episode featured Janet Zarish as the evil Valerie Daniels, and she was one of a long list of amazing villainesses from the show. So yeah, Valerie's last line confirmed it: she shot and killed her husband in an act of scorn, revenge, and flat out insanity. I'll be honest, if Valerie was attempting to hide her psychotic demeanor, she wasn't doing that good of a job of it. Valerie's introduction gave some indication that something was up with her, and it all came to a head in the climax. Valerie was your typical scorned, crime of passion murderess. She was totally in denial about her husband's infidelity, and she dove into her madness with her murderous actions. As for Zarish, her performance was absolutely brilliant. She acted out Valerie's mournful state very well, but the true performance came when Valerie's true evil personality came to light.

Here's what inspired me to write this review. Moments ago, I saw Janet Zarish in an interesting role on an episode of Night Court. She appeared as Joan Hobson, Dan Fielding's political opponent turned one-time lover; very awesome appearance. Zarish also appeared in the noted film, Mystic Pizza, which starred Annabeth Gish and Julia Roberts, and her other TV appearances include episodes of Seinfeld, Law & Order, Forever, and The Blacklist (among other shows).

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Check out Valerie Daniels' profile on Villainous Beauties Wiki!