With how long Abigail Hawk’s Detective Baker has been recurring on “Blue Bloods,” it’s no shock that the character has a lot of standout moments in the eyes of fans. Now, courtesy of her role in “Blue Bloods” Season 13, Episode 17, it seems fans have yet another great Baker episode to point to. When she and Sid go to an NYPD captain’s retirement party at a bar, the latter is attacked by a drunken assailant. Baker takes matters into her own hands and defends Sid, handily taking down the attacker in one swift motion.

While the rest of the episode deals with Baker having to get investigated by Frank for technically committing assault, the character has the full support of fans, many of whom applauded her split-second decision to defend her friend. “Come on Commissioner! Baker did prevent him from assaulting Sid!!! She’s practically a hero!!!!” @tlselle72 tweeted. Other fans voiced similar approval for Baker’s actions. “This is why we love her,” @HessThe wrote.

Some fans want more of this Baker

Detective Baker may be a fan-favorite character amongst “Blue Bloods” viewers, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they think the show’s writing has always done right by her. In fact, some watchers feel like Baker hasn’t had enough to do recently, and her important role in Season 13, Episode 17 was even more refreshing as a result. “I liked Baker’s take down of the drunk cop in the bar,” u/ChrisF1987 commented. “I wish the writers would give her more to do besides frown through the doorway. She’s a tough capable detective … and we rarely get to see that side of her.”

Nonetheless, Detective Baker has come a long way in terms of character progression since she first appeared on the series. “Originally, she did not have a last name. She did not have an age, she did not even have a gender, she did not have a race, she did not have an anything,” Abigail Hawk once told Starry Constellation Magazine. “She was either Detective Mel or Melissa. So, no first name. Definitely not my first name.”

While it’s nice to see how Baker has evolved from an unnamed minor character to a mainstay of the NYPD by the point of “Blue Bloods” Season 13, some fans are still hoping for even more in the future. “Detective Baker should have a bigger part of the story,” u/Pitiful_Tradition_24 wrote. As for future Detective Baker storylines, Hawk certainly has some in mind.