This is my first review for the Rookie, and I am excited to bring viewers my thoughts on this seasoned drama every week. If there is one thing that the Rookie does well, it is balancing drama, suspense, humor and action and giving viewers all the feels in the span of an hour. This episode was no exception, as several different action-packed events happen throughout, culminating in a team effort at the end.
Elijah Stone may be gone, but his presence is still making waves for Wesley and impacting many innocent lives in the process. When Judge Rivas sides with Monica yet again and deny’s Wesley’s motion to allow Nyla to testify in Elijah’s case, Wesley and Nyla conclude that Rivas is being bought by Elijah and throwing cases for Monica. Grey makes it clear that they cannot go into this lightly, because if Rivas is found to be corrupt, all of his cases could be called into question and several criminals could walk free. Nyla’s investigation turns up nothing, but Wesley isn’t willing to back down. He confronts Rivas who basically admits his wrongdoings, but makes it known that had it not been for Wesley, Elijah would be locked up where he belongs. Wesley thinks he has the upperhand on Elijah, but when Rivas is found dead in his chambers of an apparent heart attack, it is clear that Elijah isn’t going to fold easily. An angry Wesley confronts Monica, and bluntly asks her if the woman he once loved even existed. The reality is that Monica will likely be one of the next of Elijah’s victims, but her arrogance and desire for power won’t allow her to walk away. It is unlikely that Elijah would simply let her do so, even if she wanted to.
The action portion of the night involved Nolan and Celina trying to locate a sniper who seemed to be targeting firefighters. It hits close to home for Nolan, when an ambulance carrying Bailey and her partner is shot at multiple times. Luckily, Bailey was quick on her feet and used her hands to press hard on the brakes to stop the vehicle from crashing. In the midst of this, Nolan is once again dealing with his mother, who has decided to guilt him into inviting her to his wedding or he can pay her $10, 000 to stay away. Nolan’s mother is a toxic woman and this ultimatum further demonstrates the scope of her manipulation. Bailey and Celina tried to be helpful and were coming from a good place, but their advice was plain bad. The reality is that Nolan has done everything right when it comes to his mother. He put up healthy boundaries to protect himself from her toxicity, and he shouldn’t have to cave to her just because she is blood. Being a parent is about much more than just being blood related, and Nolan owes his mother nothing. Celina telling Nolan that she wouldn’t even think about not inviting her mom to her wedding was completely out of touch. Her relationship with her mom is healthy and a far cry from the one Nolan has with his mother. In the end, the decision as to whether or not to invite his mom to his wedding was taken out of his hands when he received a phone call from a hospital, informing him that his mother had died. Nolan will handle this situation in the way that makes the most sense for him based on the trauma he has endured with his mother over the years, and his friends and Bailey would be best to let him grieve in his own way and not dictate how he does it.
More drama ensued when Tamara is thrown into a situation with the family she is working for. The mother of the young boy she is babysitting disappeared, and it seems the father appeared to be involved. Tamara immediately contacted Lucy, who sprung into action with Aaron and even volunteered for the boring job of keeping watch at the family home, in an effort to protect Tamara. Tamara has matured a lot over the years, and her ability to cope with the situation and offer support to Cosmo, her babysitting charge, was admirable. This case was also a great way to bring the Metro division into focus on the show. Metro is the perfect fit for Tim. It is adrenaline pumping, action-packed and requires patience and the ability to think on your feet. Although it took Tim a bit of time to find his footing, after some initiation pranks from the Metro squad and his innate willingness to be the best at what he does, he managed to find his place and he even led the squad to find Tamara’s boss’s kidnappers. The main event of the hour brought the Metro team together with the patrol squad, with Tim leading the charge to invade the warehouse where the woman was being held. This was a great opportunity for the show to loop in Angela and have her work alongside Tim, which is always a good thing. To fully belong on the Metro team, Tim needs to earn their trust and using Angela, whom he trusts wholeheartedly, to help him lead the charge at the end was a clever way to win the squad over. The viewers always win when the Mid-Wilshire unit works together as a team, and this moment was no exception. They were able to take down the kidnappers and send Cosmo’s mom home to her son where she belongs.
Knowing we will be seeing a lot more of the Metro team as Tim finds his way is super exciting, as is seeing Tim and Lucy’s relationship finally blossom into canon. The beauty of this relationship is that they already know each other so well and have a comfort level with one another, that would normally take a while to build in a relationship. They are able to skip so many of the awkward moments and just be themselves and fully integrate into each other’s lives, which this episode highlighted. The writers have done such a great job of building this relationship up over the seasons, and even though the two are in a relationship now, the writers aren’t sacrificing the moments that make this couple so loveable. The playful banter is still there and the cute little pranks are still happening, in this episode by way of Lucy putting the little boots in the coffee mug cupboard to celebrate Tim’s first day as the “rookie” in Metro. Everything we loved about them as friends and partners has just been elevated now that they are together. There doesn’t need to be any huge romantic moments with these two, because even the little moments are so meaningful and fun to watch (not that we wouldn’t absolutely love to see more Chenford kissing and passionate moments). Tim has a key to Lucy’s place and has been spending all of his time there, which has Tamara thinking that perhaps it is time for her to move out. Lucy reassures her that she will always have a place with her, that she is family and that isn’t going to change. The best part about Tim is that he has fully accepted Tamara as a part of Lucy’s life, even willingly including her in a movie night not once making her feel like a third wheel. Tim and Lucy are on their way to creating a lasting relationship, including moving in and eventually babies as Tamara alludes to, and I am here for it. There may not be a better pairing on television right now.
The comedic moments of the hour came courtesy of Aaron, who decided that he needed to get himself out from under his parents' money and forge an independent life for himself. Immediately you know that this is not going to come easy for him, having lived a life of privilege. His inability to understand that things such as dry clearing and ordering in food are luxuries and not always afforded to the middle class, and his comparison of an apartment that looks like Lucy’s to “living in poverty,” just shows how out of touch he is and how he is definitely not ready to make it on his own. Luckily he came to this conclusion on his own, ultimately deciding that he wasn't ready to stop spending his parents money just yet.
Over to you, Rookie fandom! What did you think of the episode? How do you think Nolan will cope with the death of his mother? What's next for Tim and Lucy? Share your thoughts below and follow me on Twitter @MiddleofCanada.
