The Rookie Season 8 Episode 2 Recap: The Rookie Finally Let Lucy Chen Lead — And ‘Fast Andy’ Proved Why She Was Ready
- Val
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
Another week and another amazing episode of The Rookie. There was so much to love about “Fast Andy” – it felt like a transitional one to me, with a few characters closing chapters while starting a new one.
We Finally Get to See Lucy in Action
Let’s be honest, we’ve all been waiting for this journey for such a long time. I almost lost hope for my girl. I couldn’t understand how someone who has accomplished as much as Lucy has, both as a rookie and a P2 officer, wasn’t progressing in her career. Alas, we’re finally here and we got a chance to see her in charge. No night shift for her this time around; with Grey working in the task force office, Tim moved into the Watch Commander’s seat, making Lucy the Sergeant on duty.
This was probably one of the most challenging shifts to have as your first time in charge, but of course Lucy handled it like I knew she would. The President is coming to town and Lucy is tasked with implementing a motorcade route (season one ‘Redwood’ flashback anyone?) to ensure the President’s safety. She, along with Angela and Nyla, had to work closely with the Secret Service who were not at all subtle with mansplaining how to go about this. When a suspect on the watch list becomes a potential threat, Tim (as the Watch Commander) is brought in and even though Lucy is in charge of the scene, the Secret Service directs all their questions to Tim. The blatant disrespect did not go unnoticed, however, Lucy handled it well.
What stood out to me in this episode, that I haven’t seen in a while, is how confident Lucy is stepping into this leadership role. Yes, she accepted the help from Tim when he thought she could use some, but it wasn’t like before when she was doubting herself. It was more like, “this is new territory, give a little guidance since you’re experienced”. More of this please because she’s more than capable of getting the job done.
T.O. Nolan Fails Again
John has his moments with his rookies and they’re not always great. Celina needed some guidance, however she had natural talent which is why she was successful and finally made it through her probationary period. In this episode, he shouldn’t have assumed that Miles knew what he was doing just because he mentioned that he’s recruited CIs back in Texas. He should’ve been there as backup the entire time.
Honestly, John is too trusting and you can’t be trusting as a T.O. Your job is to make sure your rookie doesn’t make rookie mistakes. Just like we saw here with Miles. When he tries to recruit a CI who they call “Fast Andy” (come on now), something should’ve clicked that this wasn’t going to be an easy recruit.
When John walks away, Miles makes a promise to Andy that he shouldn’t have and fast forward to Andy going to rob a dispensary to see how far his immunity went. Tim didn’t take finding out about this well when he had to deal with the aftermath. John’s excuse was letting this be a teachable moment for Miles, but he should’ve known better.
Jerry and Margaret Case
Now, this case had me on the edge of my seat holding my breath. The tie-in with Jerry first appearing on the watch list as a potential threat to the president, to then being a threat to his ex-girlfriend, Margaret’s life was so well executed.
Angela and Nyla were the first ones to have Jerry on their radar. When they got to his place, he was missing, but they found his hidden arsenal with one of them missing. This brought Jerry to the top of the threat list. A quick debrief with the Secret Service let us know that there have been plenty of letters written by Jerry which is how he made it on the watch list. While reading his letters, Nyla and Angela together figured out that his ex-girlfriend was the one in danger.
Nyla and Angela, along with Miles and John, are now in a race to make it to Margaret before Jerry does. When they get to Margaret’s job, Jerry is already there, so they come in with guns firing. This warehouse was a maze; Margaret is running from Jerry trying her best to hide, Jerry is trying to find her while avoiding getting shot, and Nyla, Angela, John and Miles are all shooting trying to subdue Jerry. This scene was choreographed so well – I don’t think I even blinked to avoid missing a thing.
Eventually, John managed to get him down and Jerry was taken in. I have to admit, I watched that scene a few times before moving on. It was too good.
Miles is Breaking My Heart
This isn’t a huge part of this episode, but Miles’ situation is stuck with me. When he comes to move in as Lucy is moving out, he only has a bag with him with all of his belongings. Celina was a little confused at this, but he casually says living in his car made him a minimalist. Which makes sense, but I could only imagine what that was like for him. As they’re removing Lucy’s mattress, Celina made a point that Tim already had a bed and she wouldn’t need it so it’s left behind, obviously for Miles which is great because, yay, he finally has a bed.
Not sleeping in his car is already going to be an adjustment, but it’s these little moments of seeing this adjustment play out is what’s so heartbreaking to me. When he and Celina are talking in the living room, he chooses to sit on the floor rather than the couch because he’s “not used to furniture” yet. Fast forward to “Fast Andy” going insane – when John texts him about what’s going on, Miles is sleeping on the floor when there’s a perfectly safe bed for him to sleep on.
This could be great foreshadowing to a future episode. If that isn’t the case, I do hope they address this at some point. I need to see Miles at ease before this season ends, please and thank you.
Lucy, Tim and OMG - KOJO!
It’s the end of the work day and Tim and Lucy finally head home for their first night officially living together. I’m excited to see their home dynamic and this was a cute way to introduce that. What was a surprise to me was seeing Kojo! I’ve missed him so much, and now I feel like the family is complete.
This episode did a great job at showcasing how Lucy and Tim could maintain professionalism while being together at work. So much better than we’ve seen in previous seasons. A part of me is starting to appreciate that break up a little more, because it’s brought us to this final scene in the episode.
Tim and Lucy are comfortable with each other again. They’re communicating, they’re being honest with each other. This is what the fans wanted. This relationship is fun to watch again; let’s hope it only gets better from here.
What’d you think of last night’s new episode of The Rookie? Share your thoughts below!
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