‘The Rookie’ Season 1, Episode 18 ‘Homefront’ Recap: Family Ties

The Rookie does not seem to run out of firsts while on the job. This time around, he experiences another rite of passage: a lawsuit against him. Meanwhile, Internal Affairs discovers a dirty cop hiding in their midst. Since this cop is responsible for three convictions, the release of three felons happen. Now, the police keep tabs on them to see if they are up to something suspicious.

On Tuesday night’s episode of The Rookie, Officer John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) receives his first ever lawsuit involving alleged use of excessive force. In the station, Internal Affairs arrests a detective responsible for three convictions. As the former felons earn freedom, the Training Officers and their Rookies keep a close eye on their activities.

Hobbies

Upon reaching Max Kegel (Troy Ruptash) and his wife, Alicia Kegel (Nicole Steinwedell) in the hospital, Officer Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) kept hounding Officer Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) about engaging in a hobby. After arresting Alicia for poisoning Max, the duo handles another strange case. This time, a man who took a game of paintball too seriously injures a fellow player almost fatally, so Bradford and Chen apprehend him. Seeing how paintball has the potential to be Tim’s new hobby, Lucy suggests it. True enough, Tim and Lucy go to the paintball grounds on their day-off.

Lovers

Since Officer Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz) and Wesley, the lawyer (Shawn Ashmore) are together again, Wesley’s visits to the station became increasingly steamy. After their flirting in the cafeteria gets interrupted, Angela finds a way to have some action with Wesley. Angela uses one of the criminals she booked to get some time with Wesley, having him represent the criminal. Their strange, flirty dialogue weirds the criminal out as they agree on some ‘terms,’ which was their odd way of sex talk using terms used in legal procedures. Later, Angela and Wesley find a spot in a storage room to have sex.

Family Issues

Officer Jackson West (Titus Makin Jr.) could not wrap his head around what he found out about his father, Commander Percy West (Michael Beach). Ever since he and Oscar, a criminal who claims to know his father way back during the 80s’, talked about Commander West’s early days, Jackson struggled with what he should believe. Because of the IA investigation, Commander West was at the LAPD Station. No longer able to hide from his thoughts, Jackson decides to confront his father, who angrily sends him away after hearing what Jackson had to say.

When Jackson’s shift ends, Percy tries to talk to his son, apologizing for his behavior earlier. He only wished for Jackson to become a better cop than he is, hence Jackson’s strict upbringing. Still, Jackson remains indifferent. Luckily, Angela cheers him up by letting him know about a development in the case they handled.

Samantha Bennett (Shelley Robertson), wrongfully sentenced to ten years in prison, got out along with the other two and is now looking for her family, specifically her daughter. After causing a scene in the apartment they used to stay at, Lopez and West bring Samantha into custody. Thankfully, the landlord decided to drop charges, letting Samantha go free. Also, Lopez does some digging and finds a way to have Samantha contact her ex-husband who has custody of their daughter. With that, Jackson leaves the station a little less disheartened.

Rookies

After Officers Nolan and Talia Bishop (Afton Williamson) check on one of the recently freed felons, Terry Wright (Charles Baker), Nolan returns to the station to deal with his first ever lawsuit as a police officer. To his surprise, a rookie lawyer, Simon Parks Jr. (Robbie Kay) will handle his case, not his veteran father, Simon Parks. Admittedly, Simon Jr. knows that he has quite a reputation to live up to, but he assures Nolan that he will handle the case correctly.

Nolan’s inexperience and as well as his emotions make it hard for Simon to play out his strategy. Despite how ridiculous the case seemed, the opposition almost had what they wanted because of Nolan’s sudden intrusions. However, when Sergeant Wade Grey (Richard T. Jones) calls him in the middle of the procedure, he does not hesitate to walk out and look for his Training Officer who is in trouble. As Nolan’s shift ends, Simon meets him at the station, telling him about how they won the case, thanks to his walk-out that Simon used to their advantage.

Estranged Siblings

When Talia receives the file about Terry Wright, her mind starts to race. Her brother, Dylan (Caleb Castille) is one of Terry’s known associates, and she worried that Terry might reach out to Dylan once more. With Nolan off to a hearing, Talia decides to visit Dylan, who resents her for leaving him when they were still kids. While Talia did not have a choice, Dylan still held this against her, especially since Talia removed all ties with him in her papers when she entered the police force.

Talia’s suspicions prove right as she watches Terry and Dylan prepare for an armed robbery. When she leaps out of cover to arrest them, the third goon, Maurice (Lee Coc) points a shotgun behind her. The criminals then continue their robbery with Talia cuffed in the back of their getaway van. After scrounging whatever they could Terry and Dylan drive away from the store they just robbed to execute Talia. Having a change of heart, Dylan shoots Terry before he could shoot Talia. While Talia is grateful for Dylan saving her life, she still does her job as a police officer; arresting Dylan and calling for backup.

When Talia approaches Sergeant Grey, to tell the truth, he does not receive it as well as she hoped. With Internal Affairs’ eyes all over the station, Sergeant Grey cannot make a moe to try to help Talia, despite being one of his best officers. Now, he has to tell the chief about what Talia did, possibly ending her career for good.

‘The Rookie’ Season 1, Episode 18 ‘Homefront’ Final Verdict

Much of this episode focuses on how the police handle situations within them as an institution, especially with the significant involvement of Internal Affairs in the plot. Also, much of the characters’ personality changes are evident in this chapter. The training officers are more comfortable with their rookies as they treat them more like co-workers and less like subordinates. Still, Talia’s fate remains unknown, and with that comes Nolan’s as well.

The Rookie continues Tuesday, April 9th with ‘The Checklist’ at 10/9c on ABC.