‘The Rookie’ Season Premiere Recap: Forty Year Old Mid-Life Crisis

Life is full of surprises.  In The Rookie‘s case, it involves a series of unexpected events. Discovering one’s calling happens differently to everyone. It may take years before an individual realizes this. Often, timing plays a vital role in choosing your career. When a 40- year-old man enters the halls of the Los Angeles Police Department, higher-ups and rookies alike question his ability to push through with the job.

In the season premiere of The Rookie, John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) starts the first day of his career as a police officer. Alongside fellow rookies Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) and Jackson West (Titus Makin Jr.) with their respective training officers, Officer Talia Bishop (Afton Williamson), Officer Tim Bradford (Eric Winter), and Officer Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz), John patrols the streets of Los Angeles, unsure of what to expect.

The Calling

After receiving his divorce papers, John deposits them along with his wedding ring in a safety deposit box. Moments later, two masked, armed men declare a robbery. As John watched the men go for the bank teller, he notices that the teller is near the silent alarm. Because of this, John decides to stall the men until the police respond. Fortunately, the police arrive in time preventing one of the men from shooting John. This event is what made him realize that he wishes to become a Police Officer.

Day One

Eric McCandless/ABC

Nine months later, John enters the Los Angeles Police Department, eager to begin his first day as a Police Officer. After being reassigned to their respective training officers, Rookies Nolan, Chen, and West undergo a quick test before heading out to the streets.

Nolan and Officer Bishop’s first call involves a family dispute case. The man, Carlo (Renes Rivera), and his wife, Rey (Tessa James) both deny that there is any trouble. However, both officers each have a word with them. When Nolan and Bishop leave, Bishop had a feeling that they would be back.

West and Lopez’s case was quite strange. They respond to a report about a burglary-in-process. At the scene, a woman opens a door and denies calling anyone. The officers hear a loud crash, so Lopez checks the backyard. Lopez watches a half-dressed woman fall from the house’s second floor. Finally, the officers arrest the duo, but that does not stop them from having sex inside the police car.

Chen and Bradford’s patrol involved Bradford’s unconventional training methods. Throughout their drive, Chen was tense, and she could hardly keep up with Bradford’s tasks. This situation gets worse when they encounter a car occupied by three Hispanic men.

The Day’s Not Over

Eric McCandless/ABC

Moments later, Nolan and Bishop encounter a disgruntled man (Kai Lennox), breaking a car’s windshield as he screamed about a unicorn. Nolan calms the man down. However, the man tries to run away from them as soon as he steps down from a car. Nolan and Chen chase after the man and catch him. When the four officers close in to arrest the man, he receives a call from his wife. Now, the officers needed to find the man’s son, Lucas, trapped inside their car.

First Time for Everything

When Nolan finds the car, he panics as he tries to unlock the car. Bishop breaks the car door’s window, and Nolan brings the boy out. Luckily, the boy woke up and was not hurt. Still, Nolan wasted a few seconds that did not matter now but could matter in their next case. Before Nolan and Bishop could have lunch, the radio prompts them to return to the scene of the family dispute.

Nolan and Bishop arrive at the scene, hearing numerous crashes and screams coming from the house. As they entered with weapons drawn, they find Rey stabbing Carlo’s neck as Carlo tried to get him off his back. Nolan manages to take Rey down, but unfortunately, Carlo died while Nolan tried to place pressure on his neck.

Tony Rivetti/ABC

Nolan tries to deal with what he saw by spending time with his fellow rookies, but it still clouded his mind. The next morning, John prepared breakfast for Lucy, who is his secret girlfriend. The new day had things in store for them.

Day Two

The Rookies experience hell on their second day. Chen gets tested by Bradford once more, but he loses character when he meets his wife, Isabel (Mircea Monroe),  whom he has not seen in over a year. After this, they serve an arrest warrant to Lance Selby (Anthony Bonaventura), who broke parole rules. With the help of intel that Nolan and Bishop gained, Chen and Bradford received Selby’s address and proceeded to his location.

Once there, Selby and his men fired at Chen and Bradford. Bradford gets shot, so Chen calls for backup. When Nolan and Bishop arrive at the scene, Nolan rushes in without thinking, endangering Bishop who was cuffing one of the suspects. Selby escapes to the alley since Chen was preoccupied with Bradford’s wounds.

Lopez and West could have arrested Selby if it was not for West’s fear acting out. Instead of providing Lopez cover fire, West crouched by the police car, afraid of pulling the trigger. Selby managed to take hold of one a civilian, so when Nolan catches up to him, Nolan tries to negotiate with him. However, this was only a tactic; Nolan shot Selby’s leg before he could harm anyone.

Dismissed

Tony Rivetti/ABC

Despite his arrest of Lance Selby, Sergeant Wade Grey (Richard T. Jones) angrily sent Nolan home. Grey pointed out Nolan’s mistakes that could have placed his men’s lives in danger. That evening, Captain Zoe Andersen (Mercedes Mason) talked to Sergeant Grey, asking him to give Nolan a second chance.

Outside, Nolan meets Grey as he left the police station. Nolan was firm in his decision to stay, which Grey accepted, but he reiterated his dislike towards him. However, if being a Police Officer indeed is Nolan’s calling, then nothing Grey would ever do will matter.

The Rookie Season Premiere Final Verdict

The Rookie is not your typical cop show. It presents a different perspective in the life of a Police Officer, as well as a 40-year-old man. Perhaps it is never too late to start a career, and this may be what the show wishes to relay. It presents the harsh realities of the life of the average Police Officer as well. Also, it offers something new. The show would undoubtedly be popular, as it is ‘kind of a pioneer.’

The Rookie continues on Tuesday, October 23rd, with ‘Crash Course’ at 10/9c on ABC.