The Rookie Season 8 Episode 9 Proves Its All Fun and Games Until a Romance Is in Shambles

Critic’s Rating: 3.9 / 5.0

3.9

I have a bone to pick with The Rookie.

But first, we have to talk about the cheesiness of this crossover situation and some funky cases, including a couple glued to one another.

No one can ever say this series doesn’t know how to have fun.

Poor People Problems

(Disney/Mike Taing)

Of all the cases The Rookie juggled, the robbers’ angle was the most interesting.

It’s hard out here for over half the nation, who are battling some form of debt. If it’s not medical debt, it’s all those damn loans and such for higher education.

Imagine getting accepted into one of the best schools in the country, Stanford, and having to resort to armed robbery to get out from under all that debt.

You could go to an Ivy League, get a degree in something truly impressive, and still spend half your life living paycheck to paycheck just to try to get out from under a bunch of debt. Isn’t America grand?

The most interesting part was when we realized that Maeve, the grandmother, was actually the person with the wrap sheet who inspired her granddaughter and her girlfriend to stick up the place.

It was such a sad ending, too. But at least she gave up the other person who was with them.

I also loved how Miles handled his interrogation.

Harper and Miles Are the Duo We Needed

(Disney/Mike Taing)

The demotion may suck for Harper, and it also isn’t exactly fun to see our dynamic duo of Harper/Lopez separated from one another. After all, they’re like the 21st-century version of Cagney & Lacey.

But Harper has always been an excellent mentor and T.O., which is more than I can say about Bradford and Nolan. And that’s just keeping it real.

Harper shutting them both down about their tips for how to handle Miles was hilarious. If anyone can get Miles on track to be the cop we all know he can be, it’s Harper.

Her method of feigning “boot” for the day (even though she discouraged him from calling her that) was a great technique.

(Disney/Mike Taing)

It allowed her to see the raw material there for him as a cop who can potentially be training someone else one day.

Plus, after all the recent issues Miles has had, his confidence was tanked. An unconfident cop who second-guesses his every move is a dangerous one to himself, his partner, and civilians.

With Harper, it felt like we were getting bits of Miles, who knows how to act, and I’m actually looking forward to them working together more. He has all the proper skills to be a great cop; he just needs some rounding out. Harper can help him.

And I’ll shout from the rooftops how adorable I find the Jyla/Wopez family. Angela, James, and Wesley throwing her a party was the cutest, and I chuckled when they wrapped up within an hour since they’re all tired parents and whatnot.

The Crossover Was … What It Was

(Disney/Mike Taing)

I know nothing about Dropout or Game Changer, so this was not the type of crossover that would do anything for me, so for that, I apologize to those looking for something in more detail.

The improv moments were a combination of obnoxious and amusing, depending on the moment and when they came into play. Some of the lineup quips were amusing.

But for the most part, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.

It was more entertaining having Dash back, and I look forward to him sticking around and getting into some trouble or even helping Nolan out of it.

The kid is good that way.

Group Chat Fun

(Courtesy of ABC)

Lucy tries so hard, but she can’t ever figure out how to separate their work life from their private one, bless her heart.

But I could understand why she felt stuck in the middle between Tim and his mother. Although I loved Tim flat-out telling her that it’s not her job to be in the middle.

It’s not her issue, and it’s refreshing that he could communicate that without getting one of those frustrating plot twists where one or both parties take advantage of Lucy or actually use her as a buffer or whatever else to communicate with each other.

It’s nice that Lucy feels more connected to Tim’s family. She even has her own group chat with his sister and mother. And I like that those relationships can exist outside of what she has with Tim.

(Disney/Mike Taing)

That’s important, but it also fills a bit of a void, since we don’t get much about Lucy and her own family. After hearing her talk about her parents while she and Nyla were undercover, it’s hard not to think about family and how she feels right now.

She’s in a good place in her life professionally and personally.

But it was nice to hear that Tim actually called his mother back and had full conversations about things when he did. In a way, Lucy brought them closer together, and they were able to have conversations they simply avoided having over the years.

We already know it’s what Tim’s mother wanted, so I’m happy she’s starting to finally foster the relationship with Tim that she always wanted.

Chenford really is in their domestic era.

But Bailan was RIGHT There

(Disney/Mike Taing)

By the way, we’re beating a damn horse into oblivion, talking about why Bailey is annoying or why Bailan should just give it up already.

It doesn’t need rehashing.

But if we had to watch a marriage take a colossal blow and show signs of crumbling, it made sense for it to be them, not Luna and Grey.

The whole situation with Luna and Grey just keeps getting progressively worse. Every time we see Luna at that damn hospital, she’s giggling with some hot doctor and being too intimate with folks.

Now, she has hottie Charles Michael Davis playing a colleague of hers, and yes, I’m tempted to call him Marcel. And she has feelings for him.

Luna’s Emotional Affair — I Don’t Like It

(Disney/Mike Taing)

Luna is just casually having a whole emotional affair at work, and she wasn’t going to say anything about it because she felt like it was something she just had to work through.

But folks from a galaxy far, far away could see the chemistry between her and Oliver. And she left his glasses and a freaking flower in her car.

That’s just reckless on top of disrespectful. How do you aim to work through something without telling your husband about it when you’re moving like you’re having a full-blown affair?

Luna never seemed this self-absorbed and selfish before, and it definitely never seemed like she would be the type to have an emotional affair and hurt Grey like this.

She didn’t even seem that remorseful about her feelings, and she couldn’t give him any reassurance.

In one of their last moments of tension, she did that thing where she tossed things at him and deflected. I don’t know who this version of Luna is, but I don’t like it.

And there’s no reason why they had to meddle with a perfectly stable couple like this.

Over to you, Rookie Fanatics. Let’s hear your thoughts below.

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