The Rookie Season 8 Premiere Review: ‘Czech Mate’ Sets the Tone for a Standout Season
- Val
- 3 days ago
- 5 min read
The Rookie returned last night and I hope I’m not jumping the gun here, but this just may be their best season yet. From the moment the episode began, I was locked in and admittedly I haven’t been able to say that for quite some time. There was action and there was a lot of storyline foreshadowing; let’s get into why “Czech Mate” was a hit.
Monica’s Return
Apart from Rosalind Dyer, Monica’s villain story arc has been the most interesting. However, the last couple of times we’ve seen her it felt like they were beating a dead horse. When I initially saw that the season would be opening with her at the center, I had my doubts. Usually when Monica is involved it’s the same few officers on the case, but this time around we finally got to see the ensemble cast work together. Working on operations together is what made the earlier seasons enjoyable, so kudos on them for bringing it back.
I didn’t even mind Bailey being part of this operation, regardless of the fact that I think she has way too much involvement in police operations as a firefighter and EMT. Is it too much for me to ask that this be her last time being involved in police matters? A girl can dream. Let’s hope that this is finally the last we see of Monica though. Sorry not sorry. She escapes then comes back, wash, rinse and repeat; I’m over it. What I will never be over is everyone (no Bailey) brought together - more team opps please!
Luna and Wade
As much as it breaks my heart to see these two go through it right now, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t see this coming. It’s about time they start addressing the elephant in the room. In earlier seasons, Grey, at some point, promised Luna that he was going to retire, but that day never came. What he did instead was get a position that made his job a bit more safer, however, danger wasn’t avoidable. Their daughter, Dominique, was away at school, Grey was often at work and Luna was tired of being home alone and decided to get back to work. Who could blame her, right? Well, here it seems like Grey does.
When time is of the essence, a patient with vital information to their operation was brought into the hospital, Grey held up treatment time to get him to give him any information he had. This didn’t sit right with Luna. She goes to the station afterwards to have a word with Grey and I couldn’t help but notice the foreshadowing at this moment. Tell me I’m not alone here. The two of them being okay with not seeing each other? It was like there wasn’t pain of not seeing each other, but anger with the two of them not understanding one another. Grey did apologize later on with flowers and offered her a ride home assuming her day was over, but she was still stuck at work. Now, this is why I’m concerned with where this storyline is headed. When Garza offered Grey an opportunity to work with the Feds (meaning there would be times he’s traveling to other countries), he accepted the offer without even discussing it with Luna. Since when did we make big decisions without discussing it with our significant other? What does this disconnect mean for them?
Tim and Angela Finally Remember They’re Besties
Angela you QUEEN! Thank you for being the voice of reason for Tim. She is the only one that could talk to Tim that way and get away with it (well apart from Lucy of course). I admire Angela and Tim’s friendship and it has been missed. Tim is obviously having a hard time with finding a way to talk to Lucy. He’s taking the fact that she fell asleep while he was finally opening up to her as a sign that maybe he shouldn’t explore any kind of relationship with Lucy again. Angela, of course, just felt like Tim needed an extra push, so she enlisted the help of Celina to get things going. To be fair, she did warn Tim that if he didn’t handle what he needed to handle, she was going to do it herself. And that she did; everyone, say thank you Angela and Celina.
What We’ve All Been Waiting For: Chenford is Back!
What bothered me most last season was that the idea of Lucy and Tim getting back together after a pointless break up kept getting dangled in our faces. Obviously they needed their time apart; Tim needed to deal with his childhood trauma, and his past in the military. Lucy had to focus on moving forward in her career, which she couldn’t have done if she was constantly worried about what was going on with Tim.
What I didn’t appreciate was the constant push/pull the writers did with their characters – secret hookups without having a very much needed conversation. Whenever there was an attempt, one or both of them wasn’t ready to talk.
Finally, with some interference from Angela and Celina, Tim and Lucy were forced to face each other and have that much needed conversation. What did they want from each other? Did they have a future? The answer, yes. They wanted to be together, with the promise that they would have open communication. Tim then took this opportunity to take an even bigger step: he asked Lucy to move in (and she heard him this time).
Before the season started, I thought Tim was insane for asking Lucy to move in. They weren’t even together at the time, so it felt like a huge leap, but then seeing them together reminded me of how much these two have always gravitated towards each other throughout the series. So in hindsight, Tim asking her to move in wasn’t that out of the blue. They needed to become better versions of themselves to get to this point and I’m glad we no longer have to wonder when and can now look forward to what’s next? These two were meant to be together, and now they finally are. Again, everyone, say thank you Angela and Celina.
Celina and Miles?
With Lucy moving in with Tim, Celina is down a roommate. Smitty decided he wanted to charge Miles an HOA fee for living in the parking lot (Smitty made it clear this isn’t rent, so yeah). This is definitely not what he signed up for and when Celina presented him with a counter offer he immediately accepted. I am looking forward to their roommate era; they were already getting close with both of them being rookies at the same time. I wonder how this living arrangement will work out for them.
I could honestly talk about this episode forever, but I’d like to hear from you guys. Let me know your thoughts in the comments or connect with me on X/Twitter @chenfordhugs
Catch all new episode of The Rookie, Tuesdays at 10/9c on ABC.
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