The Rookie Season 7 Episode 11 Reintroduces A Big Player, But What’s Their Nefarious Plan?

Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0

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We know some of these dangling loose ends would eventually come into play.

In true fashion for this series, The Rookie Season 7 Episode 11 marked the return of Monica, and she’s no longer this redheaded mastermind in the wind plotting from afar without our knowledge.

She’s planning something big and forcing people to work for her under duress to wreak havoc.

The Rookie Had Fun Playing Homage to Speed

The hour played homage to one of my all-time favorite movies: Speed.

Sure, it had its cheesy moments throughout, but it was a fun watch for the most part. While there were some anti-climatic moments in the entire bomb hostage event, the payoff was related to Tully and Monica.

The hour allowed all of The Rookie’s ladies to be badass, and isn’t that what we love most about them?

Harper seems content after enduring traumatic stuff for multiple episodes, and Angela is always down for action. The two of them facing down gunfire triggered by a tripwire was nerve-wracking, but it was also so classic for them.

I know there was a Lethal Weapon made-for-TV series once upon a time, but if anyone ever embodied the same energy, it’s Angela and Nyla. I would watch an entire spinoff of those two solving crime together, complete with explosions and loads of action ripped from an action flick.

Harper and Lopez are The Greatest Dynamic On This Show

They’re just that great together, and anytime they’re on the screen, I’m a happy camper.

Their end scene, with Wesley stressing out over hearing that Angela almost got blown to bits and also faced down a machine gun on the same day, was hilarious. He knows his badass wife, though.

Is it wrong that it felt like overkill for everyone to make such a big deal about Bailey jumping onto a moving bus? We’ve seen the others do far cooler things, and Lucy did something similar not long ago.

I won’t harp on Bailey and criticize the woman any more than I already have, but it’s always so unusual how much they cram her into things sometimes.

At least this time, her Rookie Barbie expertise was helpful in the case.

Bailey and Nolan focus on having a child, and there are some concerns about how costly it may be and what a social worker may say about their jobs.

Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that this child’s thing is still on the table because they put it on the back burner one day and push it in our faces the next.

I’m more than content they already have their pseudo-daughter with Celina. She’s so precious when she has certain scenes with them.

Her final moment with Nolan was particularly endearing as she worried about his safety while he remained on that bus. Their mentor/mentee relationship often feels so father/daughter-coded, and I love it.

But for all the Speed, inspiration, and camera work, this was a setup to bring Monica back into the fold.

Speaking of camerawork, sometimes it’s interesting and even fun when they tell stories through the various cameras, but this time, it didn’t work for this hour.

It was more frustrating than endearing, and the coloring made it hard to notice things. It reminded me too much of that washed-out filter they use on Paradise.

The Monica Reveal Was Not Completely Unexpected

This fake pregnant woman was the one who orchestrated things with the two brothers. Now, one of them is in jail, and the other is fighting for their life, but they do not know much about why they were holding a bus hostage.

Monica used the woman to score a master key USB drive filled with intel. In exchange, Monica was supposed to release her child and give her money.

And maybe she’ll get it since the police couldn’t build a case against her outside of her faking pregnancy.

She’s not talking, so they’re none the wiser about the Monica connection, and it’ll take a while before they realize the missing intel.

We knew Monica would have to come out of the woodwork at some point. She evaded capture during The Rookie Season 6 Episode 10, and up until this point, we haven’t seen or heard from her.

They succeeded in tying up the Jason storyline, and Oscar—he’s always someone who is sort of out there in the ether—was due for a Monica update.

I have mixed feelings about Monica.

Monica Isn’t The Rookie’s Most Compelling Villain

She was entertaining enough for a bit, but sometimes, it felt as if she tried too hard to be like Rosalind. Sadly, she wasn’t always as believable as this incredible “Big Bad” and wasn’t as compelling as some of The Rookie’s other villains.

We had to follow up with Monica because the story dictated that we do it at some point. She’s a loose end that the series needs to tie up at some point, so in that sense, returning to her is reasonable.

I’m just unsure whether I look forward to or am interested in her plans. Sometimes, The Rookie fumbles interesting arcs by wrapping them too quickly and then dragging out others.

Personally, I’d love more of an arc with Glasser than having to return to Monica again.

Outside of that, another highlight of the hour was Grey and Miles’ dynamic. It’s very father-son coded, and it’s been a while since we’ve seen Grey take to a rookie like this.

When Miles explained the situation, it wasn’t surprising that he faced a financial bind. However, it was surprising that he followed Bradford’s hilarious advice after some spitballing over the radio comms and put his ring up for sale.

Miles and Grey Are an Endearing Dynamic

For so long, Miles’ identity related to his past as an athlete, and that championship ring memorialized those glory days. However, he’s devoted to being a cop now, and he’s found his calling.

Miles is so pure, and I love him to bits. It was genuinely sweet to see him seeking advice from Grey. But is anyone else wondering how this may come into play in the future? Surely, this conversation isn’t just a nothing burger.

Of course, Bradford had some strong mentorship moments, too. His high praise of Celina was particularly adorable. He’s gotten better at expressing his emotions genuinely, and we see evidence of that in little moments like that.

He did a great job turning the reins over to Lucy so she could practice being a sergeant. Unsurprisingly, she was great at it, too.

The Rookie Plays All Sides with Chenford

But they were also able to have a brief but pleasant conversation about where they are in their relationship, as it’s been challenging to navigate it where they both express genuine love for each other while still maintaining professionalism.

It often feels like The Rookie is trying to retread what they used to be and play all sides of their dynamic.

However, at least from this conversation, it’s evident that Lucy isn’t interested in seeing other people or moving on from Tim. The door is still open; she’s not ready to fully forgive or walk through it.

She likes having boundaries, and Tim is okay with respecting them for the most part. I’m all for Lucy making Tim work for it, and that’s what she seems to be doing, but the series also can’t resist toying with them constantly.

It leaves them in an indefinable place. They want their cake and to have their cake, too, with Chenford, and sometimes it works, and other times, it’s frustrating, but it’s definitely a dance and so much teasing.

They’re in a situationship, and that’s all I can say about those two.

Over to you, Rookie Fanatics. Did the Monica reveal surprise you? Let’s hear your thoughts below!

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