The Rookie Season 6 Episode 4 Review: Training Day
What a way to bring it home in the final ten minutes of the hour.
Mostly, The Rookie Season 6 Episode 4 was a relatively underwhelming hour, hovering on uneventful and laissez-faire.
But then, they packed all the action and excitement into those final ten minutes where Lucy Chen became a complete and utter badass.
While those final scenes didn't ultimately make up for everything else, they livened things up and introduced some potentially interesting angles and moments of development for Lucy.
The hour also saw Aaron Thorsen returning to active duty after leave and the dynamic duo he and Bradford are together.
There were many odd tones in this installment.
One of the most notable was the team getting sucked into this case that they thought involved a serial killer that we had never even heard about before this.
You had a crappy day. You had them before, you'll have them again.
Tim
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The series has been around long enough to toy with its own lore and maybe present an unsolved case that we would've heard of before for something like this.
It was hard to invest in the idea of the team tracking down and potentially finding this huge lead regarding a serial killer that had never been mentioned before.
Even if it were some urban legend, it would've been nice to have an idea of this case before this installment so it wouldn't feel so tonally off to devote a full hour with half the team to it.
The case overall was clunky and poorly executed as we jumped from one angle to the next in such a manner that it created needless confusion about everything.
The gist of it, I believe, is that Nolan and Celina Suarez found a dead woman with a pentagram written into her body, and it sparked all of this hoopla.
But the woman's husband killed her, supposedly by accident, and then panicked and opted to blame it on a serial killer who was never caught.
While her brother seemed shady as hell, he was the one who wanted to go after his sister's killer.
But Tim Bradford and Thorsen were also working on their own case that involved a woman claiming to have paid to protect her husband in prison when, in reality, she was paying to get him killed.
Celina: Who is Barney Fife?
Nolan: Every time I hear a question like that, all I hear is, "You're old."
Celina: But who is he?
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It was a side case with some amusing moments, as Bradford and Thorsen were entertaining.
It was a great way to test Thorsen and determine if he was ready to return to the job.
But in this instance, because the Pentagram Killer case was so muddled, the back and forth only compounded the confusion.
The revelation that Opal knew about her husband wasn't that significant. She went from lying about it, claiming that she had only discovered what her husband was after his death, to confessing that she saw the signs and trinkets.
What kind of woman can stand idly by as her husband does despicable things like murder people for decades and not say a word or do anything about it?
It's no wonder people didn't believe her initial lies and felt she also needed to be punished.
Budney came into play somewhere in the mix, and the man wasn't the most stable in the first place.
And that's where we got to the setup with John Nolan, Celina, and Chen canvasing before all hell broke loose.
Congratulations, Officer Thorsen. You are ready to return to active duty.
Therapist
So much of this case's footwork and investigation-building aspects were enough to go over one's head, or it was too tedious to pay attention to long enough to process it all.
However, things eventually intensified when Budney started firing at Chen, Lopez, and Harper.
As an aside, the development leading up to Chen feeling compelled to play heroics and prove herself had much to do with the aftermath of her not making detective.
However, the other most glaring aspect of the installment that felt "off" was how horribly Harper and Angela Lopez treated Lucy.
We're no stranger to the duo having a mean streak on occasion. However, there was something juvenile about their behavior regarding Lucy during this installment, which wasn't endearing. It rubbed me the wrong way.
It isn't as if they aren't unaware of Lucy's hardships and what's behind this guy riding her so hard and set on ruining her.
They know Lucy deserves to be a detective, and she's put in the work. If anything, they'd show more sympathy knowing how tough it is in general for all of them as women (let alone women of color) in this male-dominated field in the first place.
Everything about the treatment Lucy faced from many other characters was offputting.
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It's like they were deadset on prepping us for Lucy to make this huge play to "prove herself," they went out of their way to pile things up and isolate her to lead into that.
It didn't feel necessary, though.
While it's great that we have Tim there to support her, it shouldn't just be him.
I love the Chenford so much. They're a great pairing and know how to be there for one another. They've transitioned to life partners incredibly well.
Hey, Cap. Did you come over here to check on me, or did you want to tell me something?
Thorsen
But there's also a concern that they're making their entire lives seemingly revolve around one another.
I genuinely miss Lucy and Jackson because it was a genuine friendship where we got to explore a lot. But sometimes, in installments like this, it's a reminder that Lucy doesn't have anyone else she's particularly close to in that regard.
We don't get to see Tamara as often, and it leaves Tim, which is perfectly fine, but he shouldn't exclusively be all that she has.
It would be nice to see her build some bonds outside of that with some of the characters she actually would have the chance to interact with more often.
Tim shouldn't have been the only person she had openly voicing his support and being in her corner. Listen, Chenford is everything, yes.
But also, Chenford shouldn't be everything, as in everything that either of them has at the expense of other dynamics.
The adrenaline was pumping, and my heart was racing while watching Lucy make that run. And I couldn't help holding my breath when Budney shot her.
The walkie-talkie saving her was crazy!
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And after Harper and Lopez were so rough on her, it was sweet to see them relieved that she was okay. Everyone wants each other to make it home.
It was an intense sequence of events, and Budney coming after her only made it more so. It was a clean shoot, and if that man dies, will it be Lucy's first kill?
My heart broke for her when she was at the hospital, wondering if he was alive or not. They'll launch an investigation if he succumbs to his injuries sustained from the shooting.
It's a tough situation right now, as Lucy saved the day, nearly died in the process, and exuded real heroics.
However, there could also be an issue if she had to face scrutiny during this investigation.
Over to you, Rookie Fanatics. What did you think of this installment? Were you on the edge of your seat with Lucy under fire? Sound off below!
The Rookie airs on ABC on Tuesdays at 9/8c. You can stream the following day on Hulu.