It was Valentine’s day on the Rookie, albeit a week late due to the State of the Union speech, but any form of romance was put on hold as the team worked to take down a suspected mobile Meth lab and stop the potential spread of the Ebola virus. To say the hour was jam-packed is an understatement, but thankfully the writer’s have a unique way of connecting all of the storylines together with humour, suspense and swoon worthy ship moments that make for an enjoyable ride.
A new face was introduced this week, Noah Foster, who is an undercover cop that Lucy went to UC school with. He calls Lucy with a covert distress signal in the middle of the night as Lucy and Tim lay sleeping together, a delicious Chenford moment that could have only been made better if they were actually cuddling. Lucy Chen is a damn good cop, but she is an even better undercover officer and her portrayal of Noah’s baby momma was not only believable, but highly entertaining. Noah shares that he has been tracking a militia group called the Army of Freedom for the past month. He suspects that the group is making and transporting Meth in an unmarked truck and asks for support from the Mid-Wilshire crew. Grey wants Metro to be able to respond immediately, so he has Lucy and Tim ride together with the UC cop. Tim has been despondent with Lucy all day, making for a very awkward car ride. Desperate to break the tension, Lucy pleads with him to tell her what is wrong. Tim tells her that he is angry about her scheme to get him into Metro, and he is worried about people’s perception of him because of how he got the job. Their conversation is put on pause, when they are called to respond to a homicide victim.
The trio can tell just by looking at the victim, that the militia group isn’t cooking Meth after all. The Army of Freedom are gearing up to release Sarin gas, the most toxic chemical agent, into the community. Thanks to a tip from the victim’s sister, the Mid-Wilshire team finds out where the suspected chemical release will be taking place and all teams respond, arresting the suspect without incident. It is interesting that Nolan was the one to negotiate with the driver to toss his weapon and get out of the vehicle. With Tim, Angela, Nyla and Grey on the scene, all of whom have a ton of experience with these situations, it was bizarre that a training officer took charge. Especially since Nolan spent most of the episode rounding up Ebola patients and wasn’t directly involved in lead-up to this take down.
Yes, you read that correctly. In the midst of tracking down the chemical warfare truck, the CDC reached out to the LAPD for assistance with rounding up civilians who had come into contact with the Ebola virus on a recent trip to Africa. Nolan, Celina, Nyla and Aaron took the lead on tracking down the individuals and bringing them into quarantine. Bailey also tagged along, which was another odd move, seeing as how this would not normally be a job for the fire department and she was the only random firefighter assisting. The writers appear insistent on including Bailey in the main action of every episode, but her appearance almost always has no other purpose than to fulfill an angst agenda with Nolan. There really is no need for her to be a main character on the show. A supporting role as Nolan’s fiancee would definitely be enough, and it is safe to say that there would be little push back from viewers.
Angela and Wesley got a break from interacting with Elijah this week, but the threat still looms heavily. Angela is a tough woman and believes in the LAPD’s ability to protect her family, but Wesley isn’t reassured and hires a private security firm for added protection. To add to the tension, the firm sent an attractive woman to guard the house, leaving an already rattled and hormonal Angela feeling insecure. The situation did allow for some comedic banter between the Mid-Wilshire team over the 2-way radio en route to stop the militia group. Although the couple may have gotten a brief reprieve from Elijah, they are left rattled at the end of the episode when a valentine’s box carrying dead roses and bugs is delivered to the house. Now that Elijah has teamed up with Abril, the danger has escalated to a whole new level and it is almost a guarantee that someone will end up a victim of this evil duo. The strain of Elijah on Wesley and Angela’s marriage is also escalating, add on the pressure of pregnancy and you have to wonder how much more these two can take.
The episode also delivered some adorable Chenford moments. Lucy’s explanation that her scheme to get Tim into Metro led to a perfect situation, was hard for Tim to argue with and her “sorry not sorry line” was too cute for Tim to resist. These moments between the two may seem small to viewers who have waited so long for them to get to this point, but every little moment has so much meaning behind it, and serves the purpose of setting them up for a solid relationship moving forward. Tim purchasing a gold necklace for Lucy for Valentine’s day speaks volumes to how he feels about her. This is a man who wouldn’t even buy a previous girlfriend a birthday gift! The fact that he picked out a beautiful piece of jewelry all on his own to celebrate a commercial holiday, clearly demonstrates that his feelings for Lucy are deeper than any relationship he has had since his marriage ended. However, no relationship is without its problems, and the episode did foreshadow that Chenford will have some obstacles to face in the future. Noah accused Lucy of not diving head first into undercover work, out of fear that it may negatively affect her relationship with Tim. Lucy schemed hard to ensure that Tim got his dream job, it is only fair that he supports her in pursuing a job that she is good at and enjoys. Regardless of how this plays out, there is no doubt that they will find a way to make it work and come out stronger than ever.
Celina’s quest to solve her sister’s murder case was also weaved into tonight’s episode. Family is everything for Celina, and the toll that her sister’s death has taken on her mother is motivating her to do whatever it takes to bring the murderer to justice. Celina wants to read her sister’s investigation file, but Nolan decides that he wants to read it first to protect Celina from what she may discover. On the one hand, it makes sense that Nolan would want to protect Celina from the facts of the murder, which are guaranteed to be utterly devastating for her, and as her T.O. he needs to ensure that she is not distracted from her work. On the other hand, she is a grown woman and should be able to decide for herself what she can and cannot handle. As well, if Nolan doesn’t allow her to read the file, what will stop her from accessing it from someone else? It is better that she finds out the facts from someone that she respects and trusts. It is clear that the writer’s are leading viewers to some sort of conclusion to this chapter in Celina’s life. Hopefully it will provide closure for both her and her mother. After all they’ve been through, they definitely deserve it.
Your turn, Rookie fans! What did you think of tonight’s episode? What do you think Elijah’s next move will be? Will we be seeing a Chenford discussion about Lucy’s undercover future soon? Share your thoughts below and follow me on Twitter @MiddleofCanada.
