‘The Rookie’ Season 1, Episode 13 ‘Caught Stealing’ Recap: Compromise

The Rookie celebrated Valentines Day on active duty for the first time. Naturally, the first few months of fieldwork brings the most memorable and crucial lessons. This time around, our fresh recruits learn the difference between accepting favors and police entitlement. Also, they experience their first ever raid; leading to the biggest pile of money they had ever seen.

In this week’s episode of The Rookie, Officers Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz), Talia Bishop (Afton Williamson), and Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) help their rookies realize the difference of acceptance and entitlement. When an Undercover Agent, Narcotics Officer Ortiz (Antonio Jaramillo), helps organize a drug raid, Officers John Nolan (Nathan Fillion), Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil), and Jackson West (Titus Makin Jr.) join the SWAT team.

Odd Shift

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After Officer Chen gets bullied as she slept during her first Midnight shift, it was Officer Nolan’s turn. The next day’s briefing took an unexpected turn as Sergeant Wade Grey (Richard T. Jones) tasks Nolan with starting it. Once Nolan read the memo about Police Entitlement, Sergeant Grey has the Officers Chen and West join Nolan on the platform, briefly discussing the importance of the said memo and the interpretations each cop has. After this, Grey dismisses them.

The patrol started strangely for all three Rookies with their respective Training Officers. West, who was raised by his father as a by-the-books type of guy, had trouble grasping the lesson Lopez tried to teach him as they apprehended a woman’s date who wanted to trick her into paying for their large expenses. Meanwhile, Officer Bradford surprises Chen with his demeanor when it comes to handling marriage-related incidents. Just as Officer Nolan complained about how the job fails to meet his mystery expectations, he and Officer Bishop respond to a road accident, who sustained injuries that show signs of assault instead. Moments later, the victim escapes the ambulance. When Nolan and Bishop conduct an investigation, they find the registered owner of the victim’s car dead in his apartment.

Drug Raid

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Bishop and Nolan’s Stabbing Victim turns out to be Undercover Narcotics Officer Ortiz. After Captain Zoe Andersen (Mercedes Mason) introduces Bishop and Nolan to Ortiz, they proceed to the Briefing room. Ortiz has enough intel needed in launching a raid operation, and the rookies have a front seat to the action. The element of surprise serves them well as the suspects barely had time to reach for their weapons. As soon as the operation is over, the rookies get tasked with guarding $1 million worth of drug money until the money counters arrived. After enduring excruciating hours of sitting there, in full tactical gear, thinking about what they would do if they had that much money, the rookies finally end their shift as the money counters arrive.

The next morning, the rookies find themselves called for work hours earlier than their shift’s start. The training officers had no idea what was going on either as they fetched their rookies. Once they are all at the station, Sergeant Grey and Captain Andersen break the news: $250,000 from the evidence went missing, and they are the prime suspects.

The Real Culprit

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After Jackson’s embarrassing Creme Brulee story, Lucy’s cover-up for a fellow officer confession, and John’s flawless performance, the rookies pass their polygraph tests. Because of their suspension, the trio decides to hang out at John’s place. John and Jackson make it there first, drinking beer to relieve the day’s stressful start. On the phone, Lucy tells them that she is on her way– until a convoy of unmarked vans blocked her car.

Armed men from the gang they raided came out of the vans. Lucy tried to outrun her assailants, but they eventually catch her. Just as one gang member aimed his gun to shoot Lucy, she remembers seeing the man on the night of their operation, walking away with duffel bags in hand. Hearing this, the man kills his fellow gang members then Lucy tackles him. Meanwhile, John and Jackson arrive at the scene, pick up after Lucy’s trail, then apprehend one gang member. By the time John reached Lucy, she had full control of the situation, pinning the gang member to the ground.

Thanks to the gang member’s confession, the force finds the real culprit. Captain Andersen visits Ortiz at the hospital, recovering from his injuries. Before he could react, Captain Andersen narrates the arrest by the rookies and finishes it with Ortiz’s arrest.

‘The Rookie’ Season 1, Episode 13 ‘Caught Stealing’ Final Verdict

What sets this episode apart from the others is the level of focus on the rookies alone, instead of the usual rookie-training officer relationship. Notably, Jackson and Angela’s plot brilliantly introduced humor and morality. Also, the raid sequence brought out the badass aspect of the show. Overall, this episode made its spot as one of my favorites in the season.

The Rookie returns Tuesday, February 26th with ‘Plain Clothes Day’ at 10/9c on ABC.