‘The Rookie’ Does Right by Its Most Compelling Villain in a Rare Perfect Payoff

I’ve spent a lot of time during The Rookie‘s eighth season complaining about storylines being dragged on for too long. It’s nice for procedurals to have a few overarching plots to tie the season together, but it can also be tiresome when too many of these narratives overstay their welcome. Now, with the season almost over, the cop drama has finally wrapped up one of its ongoing plots, and it was done in a tasteful, poignant way.

‘The Rookie’ Concludes Monica’s Storyline for Good

Monica Stevens (Bridget Regan) has been a villain on The Rookie for several seasons now, but most of the scenes she was in have felt stale recently. In Episode 17, Monica shows up to the office of Liam Glasser’s (Seth Gabel) attorney, Malcolm (Sean Patrick Thomas). She knows that she’s running out of options, but is still seeking an exit package to get out of the game. But our cops are already onto her tricks. She tries negotiating with Wade Grey (Richard T. Jones) and Matthew Garza (Felix Solis), and says that she can bring in a big fish, a criminal named Cooper Johnson. Monica meets with the big baddie she worked with prior to this, named Aidan Warner (Tim Griffin), but he threatens Monica. Unless she can deliver Cooper in handcuffs or dead, she hasn’t fulfilled her end of the bargain. It seems that trying to be a double agent is definitely not working out for Monica.

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During this rendezvous with Aidan, the police listen in and immediately realize that Monica has violated the terms of her immunity agreement. They begin to track her down, with an exciting chase scene (some of which takes place in a spa where Monica has stashed a car in the parking lot). At first, it seems like Monica might actually get away since Aidan has promised her a plane waiting at the airport. But first, she makes a stop at Wesley Evers’ (Shawn Ashmore) house to say goodbye. This moment is incredibly sweet, and it shows that before she was hardened by life, Monica actually was a normal girl who fell in love with Wesley and showed great promise as a lawyer.

Monica hops into an Uber, ready to start her new life, but is filled with dread when she realizes the young woman driving has sped right past the LAX exit. The car stops, and Monica accepts her fate, calmly saying, “Please, not the face,” and we simply hear two shots ring out. In this last plea, Monica’s vanity is present until the very end. We get one brilliant shot, with the porcelain-looking Monica, with her bright red hair, lying in the dirt where she was dumped. The entire crew turns up there the next morning, and it’s a powerful conclusion to Monica’s storyline. She offered a lot to the series, and although Regan is an incredible actor, it was definitely time for her stint on the show to be over. Luckily, Monica received a heartwrenching and twisted ending that befit her character on the show.

‘The Rookie’ Season 8, Episode 17 Brings Back a Familiar Face

Even though Monica’s storyline is definitely the headline of the episode, it actually opens with a different returning character. Aaron Thorsen (Tru Valentino) is driving along in a very expensive car, when he’s ambushed. During the carjacking, the thieves also took his brand-new $800,000 watch. It’s fun to see Aaron back on our screen, especially because his storyline feels really organic to the episode. But his case isn’t solved quickly. Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) does her best to run down chop shops and other hotspots for criminals, but they can’t seem to find Aaron’s car or his pricey watch.

Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) meets with Aaron’s jeweler, Pierre (Michael Nouri, who recently wrapped up a stint on The Pitt). Pierre is the one who sold Aaron the watch, and he’s helping Tim pick out Lucy’s engagement ring. In a subsequent scene, the team eventually tracks down Aaron’s car, and of course, an action-packed chase ensues. It’s determined that a man named Winchell, who worked for Pierre, was the one who targeted Aaron since he knew he’d be wearing the watch. After a fight ensues, Aaron happily takes his watch off the criminal. This is a smart B-storyline that allows the crew to investigate a case and permits Aaron to rejoin the group, even if it’s just for one episode. Valentino offers a fun energy to the cast, and it’s always nice to see him pop up again.

Liam Glasser’s Case Is Over… for Now in ‘The Rookie’

Image via ABC

We ended Episode 16 with Miranda (Hannah Barefoot) running away with her children. John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and Nyla Harper (Mekia Cox) end up tracking her down at a friend’s house. They convince her to come out of hiding and attend her custody hearing, so that there’s less of a chance that serial killer Glasser will gain full custody. At the hearing, Nolan is called to the stand by the judge to offer his opinion on the case. Nolan details some of Glasser’s misdeeds, and Malcolm demands that he be allowed to cross-examine Nolan. But even when pressed, Nolan remains resolute that Glasser is an evil, dangerous man. The judge agrees — not only is Miranda awarded full custody, but the judge also institutes a restraining order so that Glasser can’t even see his children. After the hearing, Glasser is seething, but he says one last terrifying thing to Nolan. He cites horrific real-life serial killers like the Golden State Killer and BTK, and how they went dormant when they had small children. This is Glasser’s way of insinuating that without his children in his life, he’ll have much more free time to murder. He also threatens Nolan that whatever happens next will be Nolan’s fault.

I wish a little bit more time had been given to Tim’s storyline this week. He does give a very sweet description of the type of person Lucy is to Pierre when trying to select an engagement ring. But the episode gives way more airtime to Celina Juarez (Lisseth Chavez) accidentally sending a voice note to Rodge (Zander Hawley), so that he thinks Celina is expecting him to propose. I get that this is supposed to be a silly narrative, but it feels out of place in the episode. In the end, Tim picks out the perfect ring for Lucy, and Rodge and Celina are back to a good place in their relationship. I just wish this otherwise stellar episode had focused solely on the other main storylines, instead of tossing this light-hearted plot in as well.

New episodes of The Rookie air on Monday nights on ABC, with episodes available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.