Alyssa Diaz is excellent at portraying Angela Lopez as a bad ass cop who is a fierce protector of the people she loves, and that was on full display tonight. Elijah is stunned to find Lopez sitting at his kitchen table in the middle of the night. Lopez is such a fierce woman, and you can’t help but root for her. She confronted Elijah, a dangerous criminal, with a calm confidence, managing to hide any amount of fear she may have been experiencing with ease. Lopez explains to Elijah that she is there because she is pregnant and wants to protect her family. She shares that Abril Rodas (Gigi Zumbado) is back, with the main goal of taking Elijah down. Lopez offers Elijah intel from inside the FBI/LAPD task force, which will enable him to get to Abril first, in exchange for her family’s protection.
Lopez’s husband, Wesley, also had a hand in executing the FBI’s plan. Abril Rodas was stunned to find him sitting on her plane, and he spins her a similar story to Lopez. Elijah is coming for her and everything she owns, unless she makes a deal with him. Wesley explains that he will do anything to protect his family, so much so that he is willing to make a deal with the devil. Abril agrees, but reminds him that if he betrays her, his family will be her number one target. Abril is not able to enter the United States due to outstanding warrants, but her girlfriend is and she is just as dangerous as Abril, having murdered her entire family as a teen, recording the massacre and using it as an audition video.
Lopez is relieved when Elijah finally takes her bait, and the FBI moves in. They work with LAPD Metro to bring in Elijah’s top men in an attempt to spook him and force his hand. Meanwhile, Garza works to stall Abril by executing a search warrant on her plane and making it clear that his crew will be taking their time to search. The FBI also arrested Elijah’s lawyer, Monica Stevens (Bridget Regan), for bribing judge Garza. This was also part of the FBI’s ploy to force Elijah to make a move.
The taskforce sets up a sting to lure Elijah and hopefully arrest him once and for all. Rookie cop, Celina, just happens to be a doppelganger for Abril’s girlfriend, so they had her dance in the window of a house with some of Elijah’s men to get his attention. Meanwhile, detective Nyla Harper and her team were in the house ready to strike and patrol cops Lucy and Aaron were on the ground nearby. As Elijah was about to approach the house, Aaron accidentally kicked an empty beer bottle down the road. It was enough to make Elijah suspicious and call the whole thing off. Lopez watched angrily as Elijah got away yet again.
Elijah Stone is a smart man and he’s not about to let anyone get in his way. The final scene had him on Abril’s plane with her and her girlfriend. They make a deal to work together moving forward. This sets the stage for some major storylines moving forward. Elijah has been a threat to Lopez and Wesley on his own, but now that he has teamed with Abril, the threat has been dangerously elevated. Lopez makes it clear that she does not want to run, but at the end of the day she is pregnant and needs to protect her young son. She will need to decide what matters more to her, protecting her family or taking Elijah down for good.
Elsewhere in the episode, Nolan and Bailey are in Pennsylvania dealing with his mother's affairs after her untimely death. Things take a crazy turn when Nolan discovers that his mother was dabbling in a ton of illegal activity. As the duo work to clean up his mother’s house and plan the most cost effective end of life arrangements, they meet several colourful characters who come searching for Evelyn to settle some debts. As Nolan cleans through boxes, he comes across a bag of Heroin, and suddenly understands why there are people looking to settle a score with his mother. After a crazy shootout at the house, the police arrest the men involved. Bailey suggests that Nolan hire someone to clean up the house and sell it, so he can use the money to pay for her cremation. They should have known better than to think that things would ever be that easy when Evelyn is involved. Nolan's childhood friend, Stephanie, lets him know that his mother’s house is in foreclosure and will be taken over by the bank. He happily hands her the keys and drives away, finally free from his mother’s toxicity. Although taking care his mother's affairs wasn't easy, it was the closure Nolan needed to finally say goodbye to his mother and her destructive behaviour once and for all.
Over to you, Rookie fans! What did you think of the crossover episode? What do you predict will happen now that Abril has formed an alliance with Elijah? Share your ideas below and engage with me on Twitter @MiddleofCanada.
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