Well, if last week was past & present meeting, tonight was taking a hard look at who we are today. Despite the identity theft that went on with Nolan, I really do mean that in the nicest possible way about “Hand-Off.”
Each officer had a day to look in the mirror and make decisions on what they thought was right.
For some, it was getting tough love advice from your girlfriend’s dad, going to a difficult parole hearing, or having to take back your literal identity.
Seriously I don’t envy these guys at what they deal with, but damn, do the writers hit the nail on the head for character stories.
Putting a price on identity
Identity can be a tricky thing in our world, as we tie it to different meanings within our context. In the financial world, it’s keeping your money straight, or your entire world can come crashing to a halt.
In personal issues, it can be re-examining who you thought a friend was, or deciding how you define who you are. Nolan’s identity theft led straight to investigating a criminal with a familiar face to us Buffy fans.
Despite the runaround – literally and figuratively – Nolan and Harper manage to solve many cases of identity theft, including his own. Bonus moment to Nolan fighting to save his identity thief’s life — karma stepped in to return his kid’s college fund.
For once, all’s well that ends well, especially after Harper admits to this “annoying” rookie growing on her. The comedy of her playing that off, set aside, her speech supporting Nolan was one of my favorite moments of this episode.
These guys are the best for a LONG list of reasons, but one of the top is they always have each other’s backs. Which got pretty spot on with Grey and Lopez’s story tonight.
It’s always a treat to learn more about these character’s stories, even if it was a painful trip down memory lane for these two. The quiet revelation that the officer they both saw die was drunk at the time held so much at that moment.
Sometimes it is the little details that add up to one hell of a speech from Grey. Who sat across from the man who killed his partner a decade ago. Time may help, but it never really lets you forget.
Thankfully it does help you step on a path towards understanding, something Tim Bradford learned about tonight.
A mirror can be eye-opening
No, I’m not talking about an actual mirror, but sometimes being caught off guard can feel like it. Which was the case after Rachel’s dad, in town for a visit, dropped the bombshell Rachel may have inherited Huntington’s disease.
Look, I won’t lie. My heart broke for Rachel. Anything like that hanging over your head can be hard as hell to deal with. It’s no wonder she hadn’t told anyone, including Lucy and Tim.
At heart, I am a Chenford shipper, but the fact is I like Rachel. She’s frankly too complex a character for me to dislike Tim Bradford refusing to walk away from her now.
I don’t know how this will change things in the future, but I commend both her and Bradford choosing to go forward with both eyes open right now.
God knows we could all do with some hope for the future.
Final Thoughts
I really want to know how they come up with these weird and hilarious openings. I mean that many prostitutes early in the morning in L.A. shouldn’t be surprising, and yet, oh my gosh.
Officer West’s story of solving a homicide was both adorable and a lesson learned. Mostly finish the to-do list before you brag to your boss about the unsolved homicide you figured out in a single day.
Thank you for giving us more backstory on these characters this week Rookie writers. It’s always a gift to learn more about them, especially when you didn’t expect to.
I can’t remember his name, but please bring the financial detective back again sometime. His comedic timing opposing Nathan Fillion was the literal best.
The Rookie returns with all-new episodes on April 5th at 10/9c on ABC.