‘The Rookie’ Season 1, Episode 16 ‘Greenlight’ Recap: Duty Above All Else

When a prison transport encounters an accident, The Rookie and the rest of the LAPD rush to the scene. Since the bus carried multiple high-value inmates, the force wastes no time in having all of its passengers back in custody. Now, the LAPD braces themselves as Internal Affairs launches an undercover operation. As undercover cops and criminals alike cause trouble, LAPD’s finest prove themselves worthy of the title.

In this week’s episode of The Rookie, Officer John Nolan’s (Nathan Fillion) arrest of a gang member earns him the top spot on their hit list. Meanwhile, Officers Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) and Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) encounter Mario Lopez who makes some traffic violations. With the hit on Nolan still out, Captain Zoe Andersen (Mercedes Mason) decides to have the LAPD hit the gang to the core.

Keeping The Streets Safe

After Captain Andersen announces Internal Affairs’ undercover operation, the Training Officers and their respective Rookies head out to patrol. Officers Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz) and Jackson West (Titus Makin Jr.) encounter their first arrest of the shift. A vehicle swerved uncontrollably, causing them to have the driver pull over. Thinking that the driver is an undercover I.A. Operative, the duo bets on the odds. Unfortunately, the driver turns out to be a kid, Jake (Wesley Kimmel), who was driving his sister, Cassie (Lainey Lipson) to the hospital due to a drug overdose. Luckily, they are well equipped for such scenarios as they save the girl’s life.

Richard Cartwright/ABC

Officers Bradford and Chen’s case was something different. A red sports car sped past them and a stop sign, so they go on the pursuit. When the vehicle stops, Lucy is starstruck as she sees Mario Lopez behind the wheel.  On the other hand, Tim does not budge, sensing something strange about Mario Lopez’s random appearance. Tim’s instincts prove right when he finds Detective Murphy (Alicia Coppola) in a parked unmarked police vehicle nearby. After dealing with Murphy, Tim charges Mario Lopez with a string of violations that he angrily recites.

Officers Talia Bishop (Afton Williamson) and John Nolan handle a case not too different from their colleagues. They respond to a call from a fancy looking hotel where a lady, Astrid Heisserer (Lyndon Talley-Smith) complains about a valet (Gavin Lee) who allegedly scratched her car. The car, however, has a minor scratch on the side. When Astrid finds out that cops are not arresting the valet, she decides to take matters into her own hands by bringing out a knife. As Nolan and Bishop restrain Astrid, she suffers from a wardrobe malfunction, making her hate Nolan. It was too late when Nolan realizes who Astrid is.

Hunted

ABC

As their shift ended, John, Jackson, and Lucy part ways after buying food. A man follows John to the parking lot. As soon as John enters his car, the man comes out and starts shooting at him using an assault rifle. After the shooter empties a mag, he quickly drives out of the scene. Moments later, Sergeant Wade Grey (Richard T. Jones) and Captain Andersen brief them about the situation. Astrid Heisserer, John’s first arrest, is the girlfriend of Southern Front, a White Supremacist gang’s nominal leader, Cole Midas (Grant Harvey), son of Southern Front’s de facto leader, Leonard ‘King’ Midas (Andy Mackenzie). After the embarrassment she experienced, Astrid had Cole, and the Southern Front take out John.

John finds reinforced security as he returns home from the incident. The force had to take precautions since the shooting, and his life remains under threat more than ever. Also, Jackson and Lucy stayed with John through the night to make him feel more at ease.  However, John could not help but feel wrong when they left for duty, so he decides to go to work as well, despite the higher risk it posed.

We Hit Back

The LAPD gathered all that they can to get the hit off of Nolan. They take out the Southern Front’s primary areas of business: Drug Trade, Sex Trafficking, and Arms Trade. In a day alone, they considerably diminish the gang’s operation. Also, to drive home the point, Sergeant Grey visits King in prison, telling him to call off the hit, or the ‘Greenlight,’ on Nolan. Captain Andersen and Officer Nolan worked on patrol together when they hear the good news that King called the Greenlight off. Now, they focused on the burglary call they received.

ABC

Unfortunately, Andersen and Nolan spring a trap. Cole and his goons set up the call to lure and kill Nolan. Cole did not realize that Andersen was the Captain until she pointed it out, and he did not bother knowing. All that mattered to Cole was getting what he wants. After kicking Andersen into the pool, Cole and his goons make a video of Nolan apologizing to Astrid. Luckily, Andersen breaks free of her restraints and drags one of the goons into the pool. After neutralizing him, Andersen shoots the other while Cole ran. Sadly, Cole’s blind firing manages to hit Andersen on the neck, killing her almost instantly. Nolan held her body in his arms as he waited for backup to arrive.

The Arrest

ABC

The LAPD had little time for grief. They were all hell-bent on bringing Captain Andersen’s death justice. Sergeant Grey received intel about Cole’s next move, so they track and block his exit. Once Cole arrives, the LAPD orders him to leave the vehicle. Sergeant Grey has Officer Nolan arrest Cole to prove a point: The LAPD gets things done correctly, the way their Captain always want them to do. As Grey and Nolan drove Cole to the station, Nolan reminisces his first encounter with Captain Andersen. Indeed, they both had a high standard of policing to follow.

‘The Rookie’ Season 1, Episode 16 ‘Greenlight’ Final Verdict

The untimely death of one of the show’s main characters makes this episode stand out. However, the presentation of Captain Andersen’s death gave justice to her character. Also, this chapter exemplifies the importance of cops doing the right thing regardless of how hard it is. Emotionally heavy and artistically brilliant, this episode gives much meaning to the show’s premise, making it a show hard not to watch.

The Rookie continues Wednesday, March 26th, with ‘The Shake Up’ at 10/9c on ABC.