My head continues to be spinning from all the things that simply transpired.
Severely, if The Rookie Season 6 Episode 9 did not do anything, it might have set the stage for a positively explosive season finale.
The hour was all gasoline and no brakes. So many names had been thrown at us that it was exhausting to maintain up, and with so many shifting items, it was like watching a chess championship.
Pay attention, we all know The Rookie can do season finales proper, and if this hour was any indication, we’re gearing up for an additional epic one.
However as jampacked and head-spinning as this installment was, I would be remiss if I did not surprise the place this was all through the season.
The shortened seasons have been extra curse than blessing for a lot of the sequence that we have come to get pleasure from. Whereas The Rookie Season 6 has some stable episodes and the solid all the time rises to the event to entertain us, one has to surprise what we have been driving in any respect season.
They have been first rate as particular person installments, however this season, the sequence dropped the ball relating to any overarching plot.
We have been treading water since The Rookie Season 6 Episode 1 once we acquired the conclusion (in the event you can ever correctly name it that) of the cliffhanger they left us with through the earlier season finale.
However we had been left with extra questions than solutions, and none had been resolved.
We transfer on to business-as-usual installments that had the season feeling formulaic and miscellaneous plot factors involving one character or one other’s private life.
However so far as leaving sufficient breadcrumbs all through the season to construct as much as a grand finale?
All we had was Blair.
Sure, all of us knew Blair was shady from the beginning, however they did not do sufficient after they confirmed her to conclude that she was an affordable and robust character all through the season.
Even issues with Monica and Oscar felt a bit disjointed, so by the point we acquired right here, it did not really feel as if we had been fed practically sufficient to steer into the finale.
Weak hyperlinks get mounted, completely. I am not the one you have to be afraid of. I am your finest shot at getting out of this alive.
Nolan [to Blair]
The case for that’s on this episode, which was jampacked with a lot that there was no room for a breather.
The frenetic vitality of this hour would not have wanted to be this robust if we had sufficient sprinkled all through the season to steer us right here. The aptly titled “The Squeeze” did simply that: squeezed a hell of quite a lot of info and setup right into a single hour.
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They dropped so many names it felt like somebody was flipping via a Rolodex (that is like scrolling via your contacts and shouting random names, for these of you too younger to get pleasure from that reference).
Who’s Eric Ramsey, and why is he after Monica?
When did Christian the cash launderer develop into a factor? And what precisely is the cope with Monica and the implausible A Martinez’s character, whom we barely know?
They info-dumped a lot on us that it is an hour that can require a rewatch or three to catch all of the little particulars. I am keen to confess that to you all; I might want to see this complete episode once more.
However I am doing my finest right here.
There ought to nonetheless be somebody above Monica within the “Massive Dangerous” class, however we did not get any hints about all the things that was occurring.
So far, they established her because the Queenpin of a lot. She’s the one who had Blair working for her and Pearson beneath Blair’s thumb through blackmail.
She’s why Mad Canine took his personal life, beneath the guise of one thing larger occurring and his not having the ability to deal with the guilt of getting his colleagues killed and injured.
Lucy: To be clear, I’m nonetheless mad at you, okay? This does not change something.
Tim: No, it would not.
Lucy: Are you okay?
Tim: I’m now.
In the course of the season premiere, Monica appeared to be working for somebody, however now, they’re leaning closely towards the notion that Monica is our Villain.
And to Bridget Regan’s credit score, the girl SERVED villaness so exhausting!
In some other situation and with some other actress, her stage of villainy would’ve been cartoonish. However she was so rattling good at being so dangerous and loathsome that you simply turned proper again round and loved her.
It is exhausting to say when precisely they turned Monica into some hybrid of Rosalind and Elijah Stone, however they’ve, and right here we’re.
I would like to bake cookies for the wardrobe and hair division as a gesture of gratitude for dressing Monica as they did. That leather-based costume was completely fabulous and oozed Head B*tch in Cost, and people vibrant purple tresses had been organized so completely.
Every thing about Monica exuded that she wasn’t somebody to be trifled with, and she or he was omnipotent and unstoppable.
It was positively scrumptious.
However we additionally acquired a glimpse of how psychotic she might be, as if we did not already get a really feel for that after how she shamelessly murdered the person who tried to kill her throughout The Rookie Season 6 Episode 8.
She was virtually gleeful over the chance to torture the opposite man who tried to kill her.
Monica’s evolution is so uncommon as a result of we do not really know when she turned a full-blown villain. In that sense, it got here out of nowhere, and processing that she’s some info dealer with everybody in her arms and will efficiently infiltrate the LAPD has been surreal.
I can inform you how off it’s whereas nonetheless having fun with the journey.
Monica has had the higher hand for fairly a while, however our of us have taken some jabs and landed these punches.
Surprisingly, contemplating that Bradford witnessed Mad Canine’s demise by suicide and confronted the potential for getting framed, they did not spend a lot time on that in any respect.
Pearson was a hardass who tipped his hat in order that he may have it out for Bradford, and the remainder of that plot consisted of the others going to bat for Bradford to clear him.
I am standing beside him 1000%. He is household.
Angela
It was primarily Nolan and Celina. Throughout this hour, Nolan was at his finest, and he additionally had some nice, dry, however humorous traces.
He and Celina pursued their angle of working to clear Bradford’s title and expose Pearson, and Gray knew sufficient about his individuals to entrust them with the duty.
And Smitty got here via together with his help in a really Smitty trend.
The Pearson takedown was satisfying, notably when Sergeant Gray defended his individuals towards Pearson. When dad’s mad, you need to be careful. Gray would not play about his work, youngsters!
And the Bradford portion did give us two important moments that followers undoubtedly beloved.
The primary was his epic friendship with Lopez. You must love Angela and the way she’s embraced the truth that she married into cash.
She went from not being into it to flaunting the cash, energy, and status that include her connection to Wes.
It was so quintessential for Angela to supply to whisk Tim away to a non-extradition nation.
And her loyalty to him is aware of no bounds. Her adamance that he was harmless and she or he’d have his again totally was sufficient to heat the cockles of your coronary heart. They’re such ride-or-die BFF‘s.
After all, we additionally had a pleasant Chenford second. Lucy knew that Tim wasn’t responsible of something, and it was so candy when she took that second within the elevator to consolation him.
She pushed apart her justifiable anger to offer him what he—effectively, they each wanted. And if that does not really feel like a kernel of hope for Chenford, then what does?
Additionally, the elevator cease for such an endearing second felt like one thing ripped from basic Gray’s Anatomy, and I beloved it.
Bradford largely disappeared for the rest of the hour. Maybe he went offscreen to spend time with Thorsen, who was nowhere to be discovered.
However a lot of the main focus was on Monica, it wasn’t shocking.
Somebody is making an attempt to kill me, and I have to know who.
Monica
Lucy Chen is such a treasured nerd. Are you able to consider something extra becoming for her than sustaining eight totally different covers?
Positive, she thought she would make detective, in order that half made sense, however she’s most likely been doing that since her detective examination debacle.
Possibly she was maintaining hope, but it surely was so helpful for this case.
It is all the time a blast to witness Lucy’s undercover work. She’s made for it, and Melissa O’Neil all the time reveals off her versatility via the totally different identities she will get to play.
It was a pleasant factor to include, but it surely was a nerve-wracking place that had a couple of moments when it felt as if she’d be came upon. And there is nonetheless the chance that Christian will determine one thing out, and Lucy may very well be in peril.
A lot of the aptly titled “The Squeeze” put a lot into play for the season finale.
As soon as given a deal, Blair will probably be open to spilling extra about what is going on on and who she’s working for. Lopez and Harper will lastly get one thing they’ll nail Monica for and a lot extra.
It was an thrilling hour, little question, however admittedly exhausting to observe. They threw all the things at us directly, and in hindsight, it highlighted how a lot they coasted this season with out doing a lot precise plot-building for the finale.
Over to you, Rookie Fanatics. Did you like this episode? What did you consider Massive Dangerous Monica? Let’s hear it beneath!
The season finale of The Rookie airs Tuesday at 9/8c on ABC. You possibly can stream on Hulu.
Jasmine Blu is a senior workers author for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching approach too many reveals and binge-drinking approach an excessive amount of tea. Her eclectic style makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complicated characters, various illustration, dynamic duos, compelling tales, and responsible pleasures. You may undoubtedly discover her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Comply with her on X.
