The Rookie dove into a heavy look on undercover work tonight, and I honestly can’t imagine a more all-out stressful job.
That’s after the heart racing hour we got last week on the dangers of working with a racist power abusing T.O. I don’t know who picked the title “Revelations,” but it was right on the nose.
Why don’t we dive into it?
Curiosity and determination are hand in hand
Coming down from the intensity of last week’s episode, our favorite officers are thrust into the undercover world when L.A. hosts an actual convention for undercover cops.
Harper sums up the undercover world’s cliques pretty succinctly to Nolan, and frankly, it wasn’t surprising that she was a “star quarterback” back in her undercover days.
On the less thrilling side, Tim Bradford runs into an old colleague who used to be as clean-cut as they come. Seeing his pain hit hard after his friend rolled up high on opiates with a stripper to cheat on his wife with.
Undercover cops may get a lot of good work done, but it certainly doesn’t come without high costs on the people doing it.
On the other hand, Lucy was curious and determined enough to ask and jump first into an undercover operation with Harper when her friend needed help. I don’t blame Tim for being pissed off about it, but despite the job’s stressful nature, it is Lucy’s choice at the end of the day.
On the “lighter” side of things, Nolan was learning on the fly when he could be honest about him being a cop, and Jackson was community policing with Smitty.
Nolan, who always has his heart in the right place, wrestled with whether to enlighten his classmates about what he does for a living.
Sadly they found out the hard way, and, man, was that awkward. His professor turned the situation into a learning experience, which is both brilliant and necessary for everyone Nolan included.
His heart and head may not always connect on what to do, but he never gives up, including the point that police officers need to be held to a higher standard of responsibility.
Jackson helped the neighborhood patrol for Silas, a kid who got beaten and had his bike stolen. The handsome cop on a horse helped arrest the guy who attacked Silas and simultaneously brought him a new bike.
I was surprised to hear that Jackson’s single, but I’m curious to see how dinner goes for these two.
Belief in yourself goes a long way
Self-belief is a struggle for many people, which is why it’s a comfort to see onscreen how much of a difference it makes when you have people there to support you on what you are trying to do.
In this case, Lucy Chen was drawn into an undercover operation on the fly and doing one hell of a job.
I never doubted her for a second, but it felt all too real to see her struggle with the nervousness of trying to do a drug deal that leads to her sitting in a limo with a gun pointed at her.
My respect for her shot through the roof when she managed to understand a random dialect and not betray her officers’ mission in the process.
That kind of work, just on television, hit the nail on the head, portraying how dangerous it really is. In real life, I can’t imagine, but kudos to the Rookie writers for always trying to make it seem as close to reality as possible.
The best part of it was seeing ladies supporting ladies. Harper using her experience to advise and guide Lucy through all this was wonderful, and despite Tim’s reservations, her point rang true that his issues should not color her experience.
Which turned out to be a positive one where Tamara got the full rundown for her paper on what it’s like being a female cop in the LAPD right now.
I wish I could quote every word Lucy said, but I don’t think I could do the speech justice. Every bit of it was amazing, especially the part about her believing empathy is a strength, not a weakness.
I can’t wait to see what happens for all these wonderful ladies next.
Final Thoughts
- If there’s one wish I would ask for in the future, from tonight’s hour alone, it’s time with Harper and Chen. I loved their dynamic tonight, and it was flat out awesome that she didn’t hesitate to help Lucy with whatever she needed to do on this undercover op.
- However, my shipper side couldn’t stop squealing at Tim being (obviously) worried about Lucy, but not because he didn’t think she was capable. The smile she had when he told her she did good was everything, as she earlier admitted she was hoping he’d be proud of her. Is it too much to hope for a real hug from these two?
- One person I also want to hug a thousand times is Tim Bradford. He got an ugly reminder of the cost of undercover life when he reported his friend for drug addiction and then was confronted by his wife about not looking out for his own. Her anger was completely understandable, but honestly, if cops don’t get held to the same standard as at least everyone else, it’s a problem.
- Nolan also learned this the hard way when his class accused him of spying on them for his own reasons. Their professor wisely defused the conflict for the time being, but she ultimately made the right point that police, given the power they wield, also need to be held responsible for it.
- Who’s ready for true crime next week, Rookie fans?!
The Rookie airs on Sundays at 10/9c on ABC.