The following contains spoilers from The Rookie, Season 6, Episode 9, "The Squeeze."

Part of the fun for audiences with police procedurals like The Rookie is its weekly release and episodic format. Fans can tune in on any random Tuesday to see a few crimes solved and interactions between characters whose slow-burn relationships are easy to understand. Even better, newcomers to The Rookie aren't missing much, even if they haven't caught up with all the show's previous episodes. However, "Squeeze" bucks this self-contained trend, since it's effectively a sequel to last week's episode. As it turns out, the series' overarching story isn't over yet.

In the previous episode, "Punch Card," The Rookie went back to its roots. For all the ways this series and other procedurals like it try to stay grounded, The Rookie is at its best when it occupies a world of unreality. For example, Lucy Chen (Melissa O'Neill) just took another step on her path to becoming an undercover officer. This is, of course, despite the fact she was the subject of a statewide manhunt when kidnapped by Rosalind Dyer's accomplice and has participated in at least two "true crime" documentaries. In fact, just a few months back in the show's timeline, Lucy was at the center of an officer-involved shooting, which had to at least make the papers in Los Angeles. In reality, Lucy's high profile would make her a terrible candidate for undercover work, assuming that these harrowing events didn't convince her to quit the force yet.

Yet, just as "Punch Card" had an open gang war in a hospital, The Rookie is best enjoyed when fans can suspend their disbelief about such things. However, by the end of "The Squeeze," the mystery around new police psychology Dr. Blair London (Darlene Campbell) was solved with the help of the Mid-Wilshire Precinct's most unlikely investigator. Smitty loves a quality snack.

"The Squeeze" Is a Big Mythology Episode for The Rookie

Nolan and Company Don’t Have Time for the Typical Case-Of-The-Week

While perhaps not the first to do it, The X-Files reimagined how procedurals work. In The X-Files, the majority of its seasons dedicated almost 20 episodes to "cases-of-the-week." These were effectively standalone adventures with moments of character evolution squeezed in between. A handful of episodes each season, however, focused on a larger story, such as Fox Mulder's missing sister or the conspiracy between Earth's elite and the aliens.

While not entirely upended, The X-Files' status quo could change in these episodes. Such earth-shattering episodes were usually reserved for broadcast "sweeps" periods in November, February, May and July. Many shows, including The Rookie, followed The X-Files' narrative structure to good effect. Nowhere was this made clearer than in this week's episode. "The Squeeze" is The Rookie Season 6's big mythology episode that brings back familiar faces, but then reveals that some of those faces were masks the entire time.

Since Season 6 began, there's been a mystery involving Dr. London, who helped Aaron Thorsen after his shooting. She was seen secretly recording their sessions, and it was finally revealed that she used this information to help criminals. The recurring antagonist, Monica Stevens (Bridget Regan), isn't just a corrupt criminal defense attorney, but a burgeoning criminal player. She used information gleaned from Dr. London's sessions to alert her clients about police action (such as investigations or raids) coming their way.

Similarly, like with Detective Pierson (Daneil Bonjour), this recorded, privileged information could be used to blackmail officers into doing Monica's bidding. After meeting with a new criminal overlord known only as Gundo (A Martinez), Monica learns that her enemy is another unknown player named "Eric Ramsey." For help dealing with this threat, she turns to The Rookie's recurring slimeball, Oscar Hutchinson (Matthew Glave).

In doing so, this episode sets up the season finale, titled "Escape Plan." The titular "escape plan" could refer to an escape being prepared by Doctor London, Oscar, Monica or all three, as they seek a way out of the coming war while still remaining on top. It's now clearer than ever that many plot threads that seemed haphazardly introduced in these recent Season 6 episodes were actually the groundwork for the forthcoming The Rookie Season 7.

When It’s Tim Bradford, the Rights of the Accused Are Suddenly Important

The Rookie Plays Fast and Loose With the Idea of Cops Always Being ‘Right'

Ever since Wesley Evers (Shawn Ashmore) became a prosecutor for the District Attorney's Office, The Rookie backslid into a police procedural trap it avoided for most of its run. In a genre where the cops are predominantly depicted as selfless heroes, defense attorneys, Internal Affairs officers and other folks looking out for the rights of suspects are seen as, at best, impediments to "real justice." In brief, checks and balances were almost always depicted as detrimental tactics used by evildoers to evade justice.

But, in The Rookie's case, when it became clear that Tim Bradford was under suspicion Mad Dog's death, his rights were taken very seriously by the officers. All of a sudden, they demanded due process and fair representation. They even opposed the same kind of unwarranted accusations thrown against Bradford that they made against suspects. This, despite corrupt Detective Pierson invoking these same rights in an earlier scene, thus impeding the Mid-Wilshire officers from cracking the case wide open. Basic human rights are apparently not universal, and are only applicable to cops and whoever they deem innocent.

This double standard was also seen in how Monica was further vilified. This episode follows the fallout of the decision to make Monica a murderer in "Punch Card." Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz) and Nyla Harper (Mekia Cox) suspect her for the murder she committed without any evidence. They actively try to skirt the law to hide their investigation into Monica's attacker. At the very least, Wesley is still committed enough to the law to refuse to help Lopez do this when she asked him for help. For what is turning out to be a thrilling end-of-season criminal conspiracy, Monica's heel turn is, at best, too sudden. That being said, this rushed storytelling may be a symptom of The Rookie's shortened 10-episode season (which was caused in part by the historic strikes that studios executives chose to occur).

For what it's worth, this string of events gave John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and Celina Juarez (Lisseth Chavez) their chance to shine, as they conducted an unauthorized investigation. Not only did this moment highlight how Nolan's cleverness exceeded that of a typical beat cop, but it also let The Rookie's resident comic-relief, Smitty (Brent Huff), do some real police work for a change. In fact, Nolan convinced Dr. London to turn herself in. If she's the one who needs to "escape" in the finale, the finale's title does make sense. However, a beat cop working as a union rep doesn't have the juice to offer a suspect an unqualified immunity deal like he did at the end of the episode.

For a Season Light on Happiness, "The Squeeze" Gave Tim Bradford & Lucy Chen a Heartwarming Moment

The Rookie Continues to Tease ChenFord Fans in Frustrating Fashion

Perhaps the most frustrating part of The Rookie Season 6 was the decision to push Tim Bradford and Lucy Chen towards a breakup. The 'ChenFord' relationship had only just begun, and its sudden end is perhaps another victim of the shortened season order. However, after watching a friend die and finding himself under criminal suspicion, The Rookie gave fans of this particular ship a brief moment of normalcy. Upon seeing Bradford in an elevator, Chen follows him inside and presses the emergency stop button so she could be there for him.

After first giving him a preamble about how the current situation doesn't change their larger problems, Lucy allows herself to feel for Bradford fully again. She gives him a long hug, asking him if he's okay. After what he'd just endured, and what lay ahead for him, the answer should've obviously been negative.

Instead, Bradford simply replies, "I am now," as he holds the woman he still so clearly loves. The Rookie is playing a risky game with the ChenFord ship, because keeping fan-favorite characters apart whose actors have winning chemistry can and will frustrate (or even enrage) fans.

As Season 6’s Finale Draws Near, “The Squeeze” Failed to Resolve All of the Season’s Stories

Character Work and Dynamics Also Took a Big Hit in The Rookie Season 6

Christian Bautista (Will Beinbrink), a money-launderer who serves "80 percent" of Los Angeles' underworld, was introduced in "The Squeeze." Sidney (Chloe Wepper), a new nanny for Lopez and Wesley, is tied to Christian and was threatened at the couple's home. After she delivered the necessary exposition, Sidney's character, position and her own role as a witness were never mentioned again. Sidney, Gundo, Detective Pierson and even returning characters like Oscar aren't given space to feel like people in a story, as opposed to characters on a game board.

This is a recurring problem The Rookie has been facing for some time. This, in turn, led to important characters, like Tamara Collins, just disappearing. This also applies to the series' main characters. Case in point, Bradford and Lopez. The two had a great moment in the elevator in this week's episode, when Lopez jokingly promised to help Bradford flee the city to a "non-extradition" country. While fun, it also reminded fans that there haven't really been any great Bradford and Lopez episodes this year.

The Rookie Season 6 did a great job using its whole ensemble each week, but individual character growth and the show's best relationships end up short-changed. Whether this was directly the fault of the Writers' Guild of America Strike of 2023 or not, Season 6's story was clearly not as tight as fans hoped for. Naturally, The Rookie Season 6 finale will be a spectacle worthy of this series, but it won't be able to tie up all the stories introduced. Hopefully, with eight more episodes, Season 7 has more breathing room than Season 6 did.

The Rookie debuts its Season 6 Finale, 'Escape Plan,' Tuesday, May 21, 2024 at 9 PM Eastern on ABC and streams on Hulu the following day.