Entertainment
‘The Rookie’ Season 8 Episode 6 Is Teasing the Dangerous Return of a Chilling Serial Killer
Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Rookie Season 8, Episode 6.
The latest episode of ABC’s The Rookie opens up with Celina Juarez (Lisseth Chavez) and Miles Penn (Deric Augustine) heading to a crystal shop a few days before Valentine’s Day. It’s so much fun to see this budding friendship between the new roommates, and the focus on Celina’s mystical beliefs is always entertaining to me. But instead of just stocking up on crystals, Miles accidentally gets a curse placed on him when he stands in front of a disgruntled customer. Celina feels guilty about ducking the spell and allowing the curse to land smack-dab on Miles and the man (who eventually dies in a pretty shocking way), but what makes the episode so captivating is the idea that Miles now has a target on his back, straight from the universe itself. He endures pepper-spraying himself and spider bites (which he’s allergic to), but by the episode’s end, it’s no laughing matter when Miles actually comes close to death.
‘The Rookie’ Presents a Villainous Arsonist, Leading to Serious Danger for Our Crew
While Miles and John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) are on duty, they notice a swan boat on fire in the middle of the lake. Bailey Nune (Jenna Dewan) shows up and identifies that it was a case of arson. This is another time when Bailey somehow inexplicably takes on a new job as an arson investigator and proceeds to tell the cops exactly how to move forward with their investigation. Not only is this incredibly unlikely, but it results in these scenes feeling way more cheesy. The cops also learn that a dry cleaning store has been targeted, leading them to realize that the arson is playing off a theme of Swan Lake. The gang then identifies a possible suspect as Arnold McKenna, but he insists he has an alibi.
Through some detective work, the Mid-Wilshire crew realizes that McKenna actually has a protégé named Mandy Fisk. Firebug Mandy, along with her girlfriend, was setting the fires together as a way to flirt. In a wild escalation, Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) and Celina almost hit a man who runs into their shop. As he walks away, we realize it’s McKenna, and he’s placed an explosive under their vehicle. They park like normal in the station, when suddenly, there’s a humongous explosion. There’s fire everywhere, and multiple injured cops. Celina has a piece of glass in her arm, but she and Lucy are able to rescue as many people as they can, like Nyla Harper (Mekia Cox), who’s trapped under some rubble. Lucy also saves her boyfriend, Tim Bradford (Eric Winter), and Celina rescues Miles, who is almost a goner because of the curse. Luckily, everyone is going to be okay, and McKenna is arrested when he shows up at the hospital. And to everyone’s relief, Celina’s boyfriend, Rodge Bronson (Zander Hawley), pays the crystal shop woman so the curse can be lifted, and everything can go back to normal.
‘The Rookie’s Latest Episode Proves This Character Never Should’ve Left
We never should have let him go.
‘The Rookie’ Season 8, Episode 6 Sets Up Glasser Possibly Being Freed
Last season, we were introduced to one of the creepiest villains ever on The Rookie. Liam Glasser (Seth Gabel) is a tried-and-true serial killer, but it’s looking possible that he might be a free man soon. Nyla is required to sit for a deposition for the case, but from the beginning, Wesley Evers (Shawn Ashmore) warns Nyla that she’ll have to be perfect in order to win against Glasser’s impressive attorney. Nyla’s words end up getting twisted around, so it sounds like she somehow used intimidation and framing techniques while going after Glasser during the initial investigation. By the end of the deposition, Nyla has seemingly done more harm than good. But that’s not the worst part: Wesley admits that it’s mandatory for him to now report Nyla for her less-than-savory police tactics. This causes a conflict between his wife, Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz), who wants to defend her friend. But Wesley points out that he might lose at trial because of Nyla’s actions.
At a DA campaign event for Wesley, one of the parents of Glasser’s victims shows up, disappointed that he’s not getting justice for his child. He runs at Wesley with a knife, but is quickly disarmed (showing that Wesley has picked up a thing or two from Angela). On the bright side, a video of Wesley’s takedown goes viral, providing his campaign with a boost. However, it’s not like everyone should be celebrating just yet. The fact that Glasser might walk is incredibly terrifying, especially because he’s one of the most brutal villains The Rookie has had. Plus, he has a major bone to pick with Nyla, since she’s the one who got him locked up. I’m seriously concerned about her safety going forward, but this is setting up an intriguing storyline that I’m excited to see play out.
There Are Lots of Valentine’s Day Shenanigans in This Week’s Episode of ‘The Rookie’
For some more light-hearted fare, The Rookie also gives us a few Valentine’s Day storylines this week. The main plot is Chenford stressing about what gifts to give each other. Tim’s sister, Genny (Peyton List), tries to help both of them, but I was a bit confused about why she shows up in this particular episode. Ultimately, through a lot of struggles, Chenford’s presents to each other are special and continue to allow the couple to move forward in a healthy way. We also see some developments with Celina’s love life. Rodge has finally returned from his music tour, but Celina accidentally sends the wrong signals to the TID agent (Jorge Diaz) from last week’s episode. He thinks that Celina asks him out, but is promptly struck down (after trying to kiss her), when Celina explains that she’s got a boyfriend. I thought that maybe this guy was going to boot Rodge out, but it seems like The Rookie is deciding to keep this romance going for now.
In more happy couple news, by the episode’s end, Bailey and Nolan make up after their serious fight. Bailey says that she’s giving up on the DC idea, apologizes, and states that Nolan is the love of her life. But Nolan knows how much the job would mean to her, and says firmly that she should take the job. I’m still really hoping that Bailey takes the offer, since her character makes no sense lately. But we’ll have to see where the couple’s path heads next.
New episodes of The Rookie air on Monday nights on ABC, with episodes available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.
- Release Date
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October 16, 2018
- Showrunner
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Alexi Hawley
- Directors
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Tori Garrett, Chi-Yoon Chung, Michael Goi, Sylvain White, Lisa Demaine, Lanre Olabisi, Bill Johnson, David McWhirter, Liz Friedlander, Daniel Willis, Toa Fraser, Anne Renton, Jon Huertas, Cherie Nowlan, TK Shom, Rob Seidenglanz, Valerie Weiss, Barbara Brown, Charissa Sanjarernsuithikul, SJ Main Muñoz, Nelson McCormick, Marcus Stokes, Adam Davidson, Anna Mastro
- Writers
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Corey Miller, Bill Rinier, Zoe Cheng, Mary Trahan, Ally Seibert, Liz Alper, Nick Hurwitz, Racheal Seymour, Madeleine Coghlan, David Radcliff
- The episode featured fantastic special effects with that explosion.
- It’s exciting that Glasser’s storyline is being introduced again.
- Bailey’s character is becoming even more ridiculous.
- The scene in the aftermath of the explosion was too dark to see a lot of the action.