Random. Exciting. Confusing. Pointless. Redundant.
Those are just a few words one could use to describe The Rookie Season 7.
The season has had many highs and lows, introduced some interesting characters and some confusing ones, and essentially came full circle in an underwhelming way that still has us scratching our heads.
Still, it’s The Rookie, and we’re loyal, for better and worse.
Even when some plots are ludicrous, and the character development is all over the place.
So, let’s dive into the highs and lows of the season and give it a grade.
As always, we appreciate your continued support and invite you to share your opinions with us in the comment section below!
Best Episode – The Rookie Season 7 Episode 5: Til Death
It’s been a challenging and relatively inconsistent season. But one standout and strong installment was The Rookie Season 7 Episode 5.
When Jason’s arc concluded (albeit questionably), the installment resolved one of the lingering plots, so we were on the path toward wrapping up the previous season’s cliffhangers.
At the time, Bailey’s decision could result in some decent tension and conflict between her and Nolan whenever he found out.
Similarly, we hit a turning point with Seth, and he dropped the cancer bomb. It was an arc that seemed full of possibility at the time, and there was genuine curiosity over where it would go and how it would progress.
The hour also introduced us to Glasser, an instantly intriguing villain whose chemistry with Harper was so intoxicating that you didn’t want to take your eyes off the screen (and missed them when they weren’t on it).
Worst Episode – The Rookie Season 7 Episode 15: A Deadly Secret
I have to be brutally honest with you all. I was fighting for my life, trying to make it through The Rookie Season 7 Episode 15 and cover it for you.
It was a colossal chore to do both. Despite general discontent with these mockumentary-style installments, The Rookie doubles down on them yearly, most likely as a cost-saving bottle episode measure. Still, they’re getting progressively worse with each passing season.
This one was particularly bad. It had weird Chenford stuff, brought back a character no one really cared about in the first place, and a haunted sanitarium or something — I don’t even remember because I checked out two minutes into it.
Most Frustrating Episode – The Rookie Season 7 Episode 18: The Good, The Bad, and The Oscar
By the end of the season, once everything fell into place, in hindsight, it was mostly pointless.
The season finale essentially recycled the previous season finale, leaving us with both Monica and Oscar on the loose and posing a threat to the characters.
It felt redundant and underwhelming. The Rookie stuck us with the same villains when they had the full season to wrap things up with them. By the end of the finale, it made the entire season feel like a waste of time.
Best Character – Nyla Harper
Harper was a rare gem during the season, and Mekia Cox did some truly impressive and heartwrenching work with everything the season threw at her.
Her randomly troubled marriage with James was another pitfall and frustrating arc for the season, but the subsequent arc that comes from while he’s fighting for his life is truly compelling work.
Her juggling her fear and heartbreak over what happened to her husband with the uncertainty over whether or not he was having an affair made your heart ache for her.
And her connections and support from Wesley and Nolan, in particular, were compelling.
We even saw her shaken up after that needle stick in the sanitarium, and trying to bounce back from the events of that and shooting someone. Not to mention her intriguing dynamic with Glasser.
Harper was quietly one of the strongest characters of the season.
Worst Characters – Bailey and Rodge
Are we surprised by this?
When I wasn’t complaining about how The Rookie handled Bailey’s hired killer arc horrendously, I was also venting about the series shoehorning Rodge into storylines.
What else is there to say? The season played up Bailey’s “Can-do-it-all” abilities to new heights. It undermined the potentially resonant, serious arc about her as an abuse survivor with the dubious and glossed-over connection she had with the hitman who killed Jason.
Best Addition – Miles Penn
He started out arrogant and obnoxious. Still, he quickly evolved into an endearing character who established himself so well that it’s almost hard to remember when he wasn’t there.
It’s impressive work for one season. But much of it has to do with Deric Augustine’s natural charisma.
The Rookie fleshed out Miles well, and he naturally evolved as the season played out. He gets a decent amount of development, and he holds his own amid some of The Rookie’s staple characters and greats.
I love Miles Penn to pieces. I’m glad we’re keeping him!
Criminally Underused – Wopez
Seriously, what was with the lack of Angela and Wesley during this season? We barely had many moments with the two as a pairing, and there was not much of Wesley at all.
Sidelining the happiest couple on the series was underwhelming, especially since the season went out of its way to give us contrived drama between James and Nyla, Bailey and Nolan, and Tim and Lucy all season long.
It would’ve been nice to spend more time with Angela or Wesley, or for either of them to actually have a halfway decent storyliner outside of playing supportive roles to everyone else.
Biggest Contrivance – Whatever the Hell They’re Doing with Chenford
Whatever The Rookie tried to do with Chenford’s relationship was the most bizarre and confusing storyline of the season.
I still don’t even know what it was supposed to be. The series randomly tore them apart during The Rookie Season 6 for shock value and drama. Still, they never devoted time onscreen to what Tim was doing to work on himself to win Lucy back.
For some unknown reason, they also abruptly started pushing the notion that they were only apart because of power dynamics, implying that Lucy had to pass the sergeant’s exam and become his peer before they could pursue their relationship, despite them openly dating prior to that.
We had random hookups, push and pull, contrivances, shoddy communication, and other things that made their antics more frustrating than endearing, and the season still ended with them not together.
The Chenford yo-yo was such a colossal headache; I actually welcome the hiatus.
Most Unfufilling Storyline – Seth’s Lying
Seth came into the scene relatively interesting, and it was a true delight watching newcomer Patrick Keleher embody the role.
The biggest issue with Seth was that it was an unusual storyline that felt as if it should’ve led somewhere and been more significant, but it wasn’t.
I kept waiting for Seth to be a serial killer, connected to Monica or Oscar, a potential new threat to the station, or any number of other possibilities that could’ve led to a much bigger storyline.
But he was just a pathological liar. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less.
It was such a low-key and unsatisfying arc that didn’t give proper due to Keleher, and I wish it had gone somewhere bigger. The conclusion to his arc was devastating for Seth, losing his leg, but even when that happened, I couldn’t help but think: “That’s it?”
Most Improved – Celina
Celina was always a polarizing character, but she came into her own this season and vastly improved for those who didn’t always connect well with her.
Graduating from rookie status was a strong moment for her, and she proved her capabilities time and again while working on various cases this season.
There was a nice balance of her silly, fun moments with her more serious and introspective ones, and Lisseth Chavez had ample space to bring new layers to the character.
Most Badass – Lucy Chen
Lucy had some pretty badass moments during this season. Rounding up the pathetic Dream Team to rescue Miles during the finale was a standout moment.
And she was a force to be reckoned with, saving a mother and her newborn baby held captive in a basement.
Lucy’s instincts were strong, and she was fearless. The season didn’t attempt to put her in dangerous situations that required others to rescue her; instead, she did the rescuing and was a badass.
Chenford aside, Lucy had a strong season.
Underrated Duo – Lucy and Celina
The two, as roommates, have produced some great moments, but their partnership in the field often results in the more interesting arcs.
They have a great chemistry together that works on a professional and personal level, and they’re poised to be the next generation Harper/Lopez, which is genuinely fun.
As long as you keep the messiness with their love lives out of it, these two women truly shine together!
Overall Grade: C+
This season of The Rookie was incredibly uneven. We had a bunch of arcs cobbled together that didn’t always make sense or lead anywhere substantial.
Some storylines sidelined many of the series’ strongest characters while sticking others with some questionable story arcs. To this day, I still don’t know why Nyla and James struggle, only never actually to resolve their primary issues.
The tease of programs like the cop-community outreach program never led anywhere.
The season also fumbled arcs, like drawing out Glasser’s reign and impact on Harper, while dragging on other arcs that it should’ve wrapped up, like everything with Monica and Oscar.
Chenford’s relationship antics were a mess, while arcs with the Nolan and Bailey situation with Jason and Maldavo wrapped up without any real accountability.
But the season also had Lucy continue to come into her own as a police officer and now sergeant, as her career trajectory changed, and she earned a promotion.
Miles has been a great addition, breathing new life into the series while maintaining the rookie component that makes it work so well. Celina has improved vastly and has had a nice evolution as a character, the Rodge nonsense notwithstanding.
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