The Rookie almost gets everything right during the highly anticipated premiere.
Not only is it good to have the series back, but it’s better to have it in top form, proving that eight years in, The Rookie can still bring it home as one of the best shows that broadcast has to offer.
And for the most part, The Rookie Season 8 Episode 1 offered intrigue, strong dynamics, romance, and some intriguing conflict and new opportunities. All of the above made up for the Bailey, Rodge, and Monica of it all.
It Feels Like The Rookie Returns in Top Form
The premiere was good old-fashioned action and fun.
What was refreshing about this hour was that the series leaned fully into what we love most: the fun action sequences and drama, the boundless humor amid all of that, and the many dynamics and relationships we’ve come to adore.
The Rookie’s beloved characters and their diverse personalities were at the center of the premiere.
Fortunately, despite the teasing of Bailey and Nolan’s adventures in Prague with Monica, it was a well-balanced hour that didn’t risk alienating viewers who don’t connect with certain characters.
Has the Monica situation gotten old? Yes.
And your girl has talked ad-nauseum about that, so there’s no need to beat that dead horse here, lest I risk becoming a hypocrite for not letting Monica go.
But, overall, even Monica had her endearing moments and her placement in all of this.
Maybe it’s just the general high of having a beloved series back on the air after such a long break, but The Rookie treating Monica like its pet villain who’ll never fully be tamed had its amusing moments.
And dare I say it even has some potential because the very idea that Monica would have to slum it like “a poor” by trying to live in LA and sustain herself with the $100K she may or may not cash in from that necklace is admittedly hilarious.
I’ll Begrudgingly Accept Monica for a Greater Reason
The woman has lived the high life the entire time we’ve known her. Imagine the first day her glorious mane of red hair becomes dull and frizzy because she doesn’t get to use her thousand-dollar hair products?
Monica not wearing designer clothes? Riding the bus? Fine, it’s something we can work with given the circumstances.
But more importantly, it’s via Monica that we get this multi-agency task force, and that’s the most exciting prospect of the season yet.
That promise of a task force made every silly, predictable, and sometimes fun moment in Prague with Monica, Bailey, and Nolan worth it.
Predictably, Bailey was there because she’s in the military, and The Rookie loves to shoehorn Bailey into everything. Given that I’ve been on a tear about this since we first found it out, it played out exactly as I suspected and predicted, so it is what it is.
Bailey had her badass moment of defending Monica against an assassin, even though NOLAN was supposed to be Monica’s bodyguard. She and Monica had more than a few moments where it genuinely seemed like they were becoming some twisted type of besties.
Bailey is Bailey. That’s All I Got.
Girls supporting girls or something. Sure. The fashion show situation was cute, I guess.
And Bailan totally made the last leg of the trip a second honeymoon for themselves. Yup, totally saw that coming.
And in a moment of vindication, even I had to snort at how right I was about Rodge randomly appearing in Prague and singing. Fine, whatever.
The annoying characters on The Rookie were predictably annoying but entirely on-brand, and it didn’t detract from how great the hour was, so who cares?!
The Grey and Luna Angst Hurts So Good
But while this task force means we still won’t get rid of Monica, it does mean we’ll get more of Garza, and I love how much the series has managed to incorporate this The Rookie: Feds character. Garza and Grey working together is an exciting premise!
As heartbreaking as it is to see the conflict between Grey and Luna (Seriously, why are they doing this to my parents?!), it also works, and gives the show a chance to explore a story arc that simmered in the background of the entire series.
Grey has been on the verge of retiring pretty much since the show started, and Luna has always struggled with his devotion to the job.
His being in a similar position now, as she finds new purpose in this next chapter of her life at the hospital, is the kind of conflict you come to expect from even the healthiest marriages.
The Task Force Plot is Epic
Grey not being able to handle the very position he always put Luna in is interesting, and as long as their relationship doesn’t devolve into a divorce, the tension between them becoming a prominent arc of the season is something worth getting behind.
He’s joined a task force without talking to his wife about it, and nothing good can come from that for him. But it also puts Bradford in a higher position, and his career ascent has been a great way to dig deeper into his character.
But then so has his dynamic with Lucy. The Rookie finally allowed Angela and Celina to serve as the voice of the fandom and decided to quit the Chenford games and pull the trigger on their domesticity.
Thank goodness. These two Latina Queens, being the ultimate besties to Chenford, meddled until they got results, which amused me to no end. It was just so hilariously on-brand that it delighted me in ways I can’t fully put into words.
It was also genuinely fun to see the Angela and Celina dynamic.
Celina and Angela Sismance Loading …
In hindsight, it was strange that they never had a closer dynamic, and the fact that the series leaned into it so much here, delivering new dynamics worth exploring while still upholding the ones we already love, proves that they know what we want and at least hear some of the noise.
Bradford’s rise in the ranks again will be interesting now that he and Lucy have moved in together. Hopefully, we won’t revisit all the weird hierarchy stuff again.
The carefully orchestrated conversation at sunrise was such a great Chenford moment.
The Rookie Finally Fixes Chenford
Both of them have indeed sucked with communication, Tim more than Lucy, so it was satisfying not only for them as a pairing but also for Tim as a character that he laid it all out there, even admitting that he was scared.
The transition into how Tim has grown works better than it did before. While a criticism of him during The Rookie Season 7 was that too much happened offscreen, they’ve smoothed it out in a way that works.
It’s like we can feel and see his growth more now, rather than the series just telling us that he did.
On the surface, it feels like they jump right into the deep end again with Tim immediately going for cohabitation rather than other steps, but The Rookie has pummeled us with Chenford angst and frustrations for so long that at this point, they’ve earned the right to just fast forward to the good stuff.
They fumbled all the angst, so thankfully, they’ve accepted that and brought us to the happier stage of allowing this pairing to thrive as a pairing. There’s more than enough conflict to explore with them as a couple. The will-they/won’t-they stage is over.
The two admitting their love for each other was one of the most endearing scenes, and it just feels good to have this progress with Chenford.
Now, there’s plenty to explore with Miles and Celina as roommates together. As one who is down for this potential pairing, let’s go!
Stakeout Gossip Sessions:
- Angela and Nyla using the first minutes of a briefing to gossip and catch up was hilarious. They really are sisters.
- Harper calling Monica “Uniquely hateable” should go on that woman’s tombstone. Accurate.
- Wesley didn’t technically have to be in this episode, but he was so cute regardless that I loved the whole wife/hubby stakeout situation.
- I really did think Lucy got shot in the shoulder of something! Did anyone else see blood? What a way to psych us out!
- Miles blends in so well with the rest of the gang. Sometimes I really do miss Thorsen, but admittedly, Miles connects well with nearly all the characters, so it’s been much easier to give him meatier arcs and screen time.
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