The Rookie Season 2 Episode 12 Review: Now and Then
Christine Orlando
at
.
Updated at
.
I know Harper and Lopez meant well and were trying to help their friend but I have to ask the question...
What the hell were they thinking?
Lucy Chen went out for drinks with a guy who ended up being a serial killer. She was abducted, beaten and then stuffed into a barrel where she was left to suffocate to death.
So instead of letting her lick her wounds for a while and ease back into the social scene when she's ready, her friends decided that speed dating was just the thing.
Lucy rattled off a lot of reasons why their plan could be considered psychologically sound but I still say it was asking for trouble from the start.
Of course, speed dating as a whole seems ridiculous to me. How can you possibly evaluate someone else's character or whether you have any real chemistry in just a few minutes?
So it was unsurprising when Lucy ended up face planting some poor guy during The Rookie Season 2 Episode 12 after he tried to grab a string off of her sweater.
No great loss on Lucy's part. Any adult should know that if you pull a string on a sweater you'll likely cause a hole so if we're assessing future partners in these few minutes, this guy has already failed.
The other thing that had me flummoxed was Lucy's obsession with putting concealer over her Day of Death tattoo.
Nolan: Can you imagine walking around with a serial killer’s brand on you? When can she have it removed?
Lucy: Four weeks, two days, nine hours.
I understand why she's counting the hours until she can have it removed but the concealer seemed like a waste of time. It's in a place where only she can see it unless she removes her shirt and the concealer wears off fairly frequently.
I suppose the concealer was more of a psychological sign of how Lucy wishes she could move past this incident as quickly as possible but both Harper--despite her misstep with the speed dating-- and Bradford knew that wasn't how this worked.
Bradford seemed to get through to Lucy better than anyone, especially when he used his own experiences as examples of how our scars are a part of us whether they are visible or not.
And most importantly, that Lucy can choose what they mean to her.
You can choose to see that tattoo as your greatest failure but I see it as proof that you’re a survivor. It wasn’t your day of death Officer Chen, it was the first day of the rest of your life and no one can take that away from you.
Bradford
Much like Harper, I worried that Bradford would be too hard on Lucy when she returned as a way of covering up his own feelings of guilt concerning her abduction or how worried he was for her well-being.
Perhaps it was because he didn't need to be her training officer for the day, but Tim seemed willing to let his softer side show and it was unexpected and refreshing.
Bradford: If you need anything let me know.
Chen: You got a time machine?
Bradford: I wish I did.
Will the dynamic between Lucy and Tim change moving forward? Inevitably it will, but how it will change is the question I don't have an answer to...yet.
On this day, Officer Bradford was paired with Officer Nolan and not only did I enjoy seeing the respect that Bradford has gained for Nolan over time, but it was fun to remember that Bradford considers himself a hard-ass who likes to break rookies.
Nolan: I'm merely concerned about her suitability, so perhaps we should show what she’d be signing up for.
Bradford: No problem, scaring rookies off the job is my specialty.
Despite a rocky start, Abigail turned out to be more suited for the job than anyone expected. She wasn't fearful or squeamish, she learned quickly, and she was empathetic.
Even Bradford agreed to put in a good word for her which was surprising and made learning that the academy probably wouldn't accept her because of her past record all the more disappointing.
If this is something that Abigail really feels a calling to do, I hope she attempts to pursue it further, whether with the LAPD or another police department because I'd hate to see something stupid she did when she was a teenager derail her.
And I was proud of Nolan for sticking up for Abigail and calling Henry out on his deceitfulness.
It was wrong of Henry to lie to Abigail, feigning his support and then put his father in the middle hoping he'd quietly fix Henry's problem.
Nolan: You love her but you’re rooting against her all because you can’t handle the idea of her being in danger.
Henry: Okay, Dad, that’s not fair. I’m trying to protect her.
Nolan: Deciding what’s best for her is not protecting her, that’s controlling her and you’re better than that.
Nolan has a twenty-year marriage and a divorce behind him. His experience has taught him something about relationships and he knows that a marriage that starts out with this kind of dishonesty won't last, no matter how good Henry thinks his intentions are.
Abigail may have seemed to accept Henry's apology but she was obviously hurt. It's questionable whether these two will make it to the wedding, never mind beyond it.
I’m used to people underestimating me, I just didn’t think that you were one of them.
Abigail
I don't know if Abigail wanting to be a police officer is a story that ends here but I wouldn't be disappointed if it continued. Imagine how interesting Nolan's life would become if his daughter-in-law ended up being a future rookie!
Elsewhere, Jackson was drowning his own relationship woes in pizza...lots of pizza.
It wasn't anyone's fault. Sterling's career requires him to be in the spotlight. Jackson's career requires him to stay out of it.
Unfortunately, I don't foresee this fake breakup working for very long. If Sterling is a big enough star then photographers and fans will likely follow him and they already know who Jackson is so he'll be easily recognizable.
I fear that these two will eventually be headed for real heartbreak which is a shame because they are cute together but I just don't see how their romance and their careers can coincide when privacy for anyone is a thing of the past.
So what did you think TV Fanatics...
Would Abigail make a good cop?
Was Nolan right to call out Henry and do you think Henry and Abigail still have a future?
Has Bradford gone soft when it comes to Lucy?
And did you think Harper and Lopez's speed dating plan was as ill-conceived from the start as I did?
Hit that Big, Blue, SHOW COMMENTS button down below to let me know what you think and then check back in for my review of The Rookie Season 2 Episode 13.
And until then, you can watch The Rookie online here at TV Fanatic.
C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.
