The second episode of The Rookie hits ABC tonight with Nathan Fillion and his crew fighting through the pilot origin story to get to the meat and potatoes of the series, which is full of heart and compassion.
“Crash Course”
Talia forces Nolan to confront his personal moral instincts in order to be a good cop after he encounters a kidnapping victim. Meanwhile, Lucy is temporarily placed with a new training officer who tests her patience, and Jackson must confront his failures head-on if he wants to be an officer.
LAPD rookie training is a plot thread that works so well for the series as it breaks the show up into three plot threads that converge throughout the episode. I’m not sure how real The Rookie is, but you feel like you get a good understand of what it takes to be a police officer as you watch it through three distantly different lenses. The show puts you in the trenches with the rookies, and you are there for every success and failure. When you add the charm of Fillion and Afton Williamson as student and teacher, the series finds its heart, and you start to sense something special.
“Crash Course” worked well to give Fillion moments to shine and be the everyman the world loves. But, the plot threads at starting to build for the gut punch climax we all know is coming for Nolan as it wouldn’t be a ‘hero’s journey’ without tragedy. As we get more involved in the show and connect with characters, we want more information as questions are starting to arise. Who owns Nolan’s house, and why does Capt. Zoe Anderson (Mercedes Mason) have a soft spot for Nolan?
The only major fault of the episode was the forced comedy. The comedic elements of this show should be organic and not setup throughout the episode. The fewer tropes the series uses, the better.
Overall, “Crash Course” gave the show the heart it desperately needed and sets up the series for future storylines.
Are you watching The Rookie, what do you think of the series so far? Comment below with your thoughts.
