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ABC‘s The Rookie this Tuesday closed out Season 5 with an intense hour during which members of the Mid-Wilshire Division were targeted by creepy af, mask-wearing goons. When all was said and done, which officer’s life was left in limbo?
“Under Siege” opened with Thorsen and Juarez on the way home after a late night of D&Ding when a noise down an alley catches their attention. As they split up to patrol the alley, Thorsen gets sneaked up on and walloped. Juarez runs to help him, only to find him on his knees, seemingly about to be killed execution-style. The gunman shoots Thorsen in the back, while Juarez gets KO’d by one of his two accomplices. But before she passes out, one masked man whispers into her ear a weird rhyme.
As they’re both rushed to the hospital, Thorsen goes into surgery, while Juarez makes a point to relay the rhyme to Nolan before she loses consciousness again. Nolan returns home to Bailey, but soon spies one of the masked men outside their kitchen window. Nolan slips outside to confront the man, but only finds the mask — meaning the attacker is inside, now attacking Bailey. Bailey gives about as good as she gets, and at one point when the guy is attacking John, she plunges a knife into his back. The attacker is undeterred, though, until Nolan puts a bullet in his shoulder. When prints come back, they realize the attacker is a high-paid merc.
Similarly, Nyla and James are at home when Nyla spies a masked man on the baby monitor. By the time she darts to Leah’s room, the crib is empty. She and James give chase, but the baddies speed away in a car. Luckily yet oddly, Nyla and James find Leah in the bushes, unharmed.
Angela and Wes, at the hospital about to have their latest baby, wind up working the rhyming riddle on the whiteboard in Angela’s room, and eventually get an assist from Grey’s wife Luna. The closing line to the riddle, they realize, is palindromic and in fact says “TRAP EVIL A REVILED GOD.” That leads them to a line from a short-lived L.A. play, that used the creepy masks worn by the suspects. The masks were bought by a goon named Gracco, but when the team descends on his home, they find him dead — and the place booby-trapped.
A subsequent lead points to seven people who A) have a beef with Mid-Wilshire Division and B) have ties to Gracco. Lucy and Tim team up to knock on the door of one low-threat suspect, Luke Moran, and we soon realize it’s all a trap. Lucy and Tim realize it, too, as a full platoon of mask-wearing, riot shield-toting goons march toward them in formation. Lucy and Tim head up the stairs to gain the high ground outside, before turning and whipping out their batons and delivering an epic beatdown on their attackers. Nolan & Co. arrive at the location to assist, and a surrounded Moran chooses suicide by cop, while Nyla uses her sniper skills to pick off the stragglers attacking #Chenford.
The threat is seemingly snuffed, yet Nolan can’t help but wonder aloud to Sgt. Grey and the others how Moran — who had served 90 days for elder abuse, and was by no means a man of means — was able to recruit mercs. As they puzzle over that, and more LAPD units and ‘copters respond to the site of the fracas, we see a pair of Escalades traveling on the highway in the opposite direction. The well-dressed passenger in the lead vehicle (played by Orphan Black‘s Donny aka Kristian Bruun) laughs at the all-out police response to an event that is “away from our target,” chalking up the distraction as “money well-spent.”
“And by the time they realize the damage we’ve done,” he gloats, “we’ll be long gone.”
Meanwhile at the hospital, Angela and Wes welcomed their baby girl…. and Thorsen got out of surgery/was in a coma, and Juarez was at his bedside rooting hard for him to pull through, when a Code Blue sounded and doctors/nurses stormed the room, before the season ended….
I hate season finale cliffhangers. If a show is good, it stands on it’s own merit and I will watch next season regardless. Tie up loose end storylines and move on.
It’s a gimmick Producers came up with for shows on the borderline hoping it would sway the networks towards renewal. Not necessary for veteran shows with decent ratings.
I agree. That said, I don’t mind episode epilogue teasers, whether a show continues or not. For those, I figure that within the reality of the show, the show goes on, even if the show we’re watching doesn’t.
I was ready to scream when Sergeant Grey walked in behind the suspect alone. I know he has been talking about retiring but I was convinced they wouldn’t let him just retire after hinting about someone not coming back next season. I know they wouldn’t/couldn’t kill him off after him being Jackson’s replacement. That wouldnt look good. I thought maybe Bailey might be the one but hell nah she is a bad a$$ b&tch. So I guess Celina is would be my guess. I’m just mad we have to wait forever to find out what’s really going on!
It’s annoying too cause we’re gonna have to wait even longer now for it to be resolved cause of the writer’s strike. It’s probably won’t air until mid/late fall at the earliest.
The mastermind in that vehicle leaving town was also sitting in a chair in the hospital when they were discussing what was initially going on. I think Grey was talking to Nolan and Tim. You can just see him in the distance a little on the right of the screen.
Do we have another Jackson who wants to leave the show? Otherwise, I hope he’s back in the fall with the rest of the cast. Have to say, I think the show has gotten better each season and they have really found their groove!! Until September
Good eye! About 17 minutes in. Looks like it’s him drinking a coffee…
Oh, I totally missed that. TY. I will have to ‘go back to the tapes.’ Interestingly, the actor playing the villain in this storyline is yet another Canadian. But up here, this actor is know for playing somewhat dim but loveable characters, so we are excited he’s been picked to play something sinister and dark. :-)
Bad time for a writers strike
I enjoyed the finale. It was tense and full of action, easily holding my attention the whole time. Everyone (except Angela & Wes) got to fight people, which was great fun to watch. I don’t mind the cliffhanger at all, although I’m sad that we might have to wait quite a while before we get the continuation of the story.
…Isn’t Celina’s last name Juarez? Not Suarez?
Indeed; fixed!
My guess is Celina was a one year contract. They will kill her off, have Aaron recover, and Nolan gets a new rookie. It makes sense in that it adds emotional baggage to Nolan and raises the stakes for his being a TO. Having his first rookie die on him is an excellent way to shake him up.
I’m not Celina was a contract at all because Lisseth Chavez has always been listed as a guest star but I’m not sure how they’d kill her from where they left things since she seemed fine. Maybe undetected brain injury?
Very small bleed in her brain (too small for the imaging to see.) Eventually it expands and turns into a full aneurysm. Head traumas like hers can absolutely have a delayed set of fatal consequences. I think they even foreshadowed this a bit with her conversation with Nolan about blame vs mistake. If it was her mistake then as her TO he will blame himself.
FYI, sometimes actors who become regulars retain their “guest star” billing because they actually make more money that way; surely you’ve noticed how many “Blue Bloods” regulars are still billed that way after upwards of 13 years. The practice as a deliberate choice apparently originated with Jonathan Harris in “Lost in Space.”
This season has been The Rookie’s weakest. The introduction of Celina, the multiple crossovers with feds and humdrum stories made this season unbearable to watch. As much as I loved it so far, I probably won’t continue.
Gotta think you won’t have to worry about one of those issues next year; guessing Feds isn’t too long for this world.
Agreed. I have had these same thoughts and feelings. And I left a comment for the show on a social that if Aaron is a goner like Jackson, so am I. I’m tired of this recycling of lazy storylines. It’s been years and nothing seems to improve. Is this what the fans really want??
Hey! I like Celina. I think she’s a good fit with Nolan.
I really didn’t like Celina, the character, in the first two shows, but she’s grown as others have told her to relax on the hippy vibes and to follow procedures. Her doing too much right out of the gate was too much. Much like a lot of us don’t like Rookie: Fed’s main character doing all kinds of things a rookie agent wouldn’t be allowed to do. I get why, but it’s unrealistic.
Best episode in a while. The cliff-hanger was a little too abrupt (a little more time with the guys in the Escalades woulda worked better), but the missus and I were on the edge of our couch the whole hour.
Best episode ever for this great series. Celina was a marvelous addition to a great cast and was the star and centerpiece of this episode!
i think the guy who orchestrated all is Oscar, wasn’t it his voice on the phone with Moran?
They guy behind it all was in the back seat of the car with the guy who was talking at the end.
Nope, I think it was Elijah. I recognized the voice but couldn’t quite place it but I don’t think it was Oscar’s voice.
Kristian Bruun was also on Hawley’s other show, The Recruit. Was hoping he would make an appearance on The Rookie! We all need more Donny in our lives!
Excellent finale to a really great season!
what a way to introduce a new bad,Elijah has been overused. I like the twist that attacking cops were just a smoke not the real event.
if one of celina or Thorsen has to leave, I vote celina. I thought they had us worried about Thorsen all episode but twist celina would be the one end down due to her head injury.
As a retired Police Officer of 30 years, I try to stay away from most Police shows. Started watching this late season 3 and got hooked!! I have found this to be pretty realistic most of the time and love the characters. The dash cam footage and body cam footage adds to the realism. If I have to give this show one negative, it would be episodes like last night. I was in the shoes of a brother officer being shot, so that part was tough for me and my family to watch, but the story line itself was way over the top. The show sometimes loose touch with the realism it normally brings out and hits this over the top mark at times. But then again it is for entertainment!! Looking forward to next season!!!!
I always wondered how accurate most police shows are
Realistic? What, the show where a group of LAPD street cops ran a covert exfil operation is Guatemala?
I understand the writers want to keep fans on the edge of there seats with the story line but these seasons are to short and need to have a decent ending to the season. I know the actors are wore out from the stress and heat of all the lights and special effects that goes in to the show’s. Hope the writers bring the next season in with a bang. Sure hope arron pulls thru and the slick dress in the SUV gets caught. Tim and Lucy didn’t back down when they where surely out number. Harper broke out the big gun when she knew what needed to be done. Sgt Grey show his bravery by going in alone and soon Nolan, Tim, and Lucy was backing him up to track down the bad guy. Wesley and Angela welcome a baby girl in to the world. I can’t wait until next season to see what happens. Sure hope ABC brings the show back on air a lot sooner then Sept to get an ending.
I agree that the voice on the phone was Oscar. I thought that immediately. Nail biter til the end.
When Bradford & Chen were being attacked/approached by the men with shields, why didn’t they shoot for their legs?
I asked same in this Friday’s upcoming TVQs column 🙄
Fun fact, those shields are rated to stop handgun bullets only. So, yes, this IS the only question anyone with two braincells can have IMO.
I said the same thing. That whole scene was just so dumb.
My immediate thought as well. Go all John Reese/PoI and shoot the knee caps, surely 2 cops know what will happen shooting riot shields with hand guns?
I think most of us asked the same thing.
About shooting at the legs.
Or go up another flight of stairs and shoot down on their heads. My guess, dramatic effect. Lol
I’ve practically given up on The Rookie due to them pairing Nathan Fillion’s character with actresses that I can’t stand to see onscreen. It’s too bad that Ali Larter left the show since I really liked her. I can’t stand Sarah Shahi and Jenna Dewann is even worse. I’d rather they just have him be single.
Estoy totalmente de acuerdo y digan lo que digan la mejor pareja que ha tenido es Stana Katic, con la que tenia un poco de quimica era con Larter con las otras me duelen los ojos
Nope, my fav was Shahi. I thought they had a ton of chemistry. Can’t stand Dewan.
Who is Oscar? When did he appear in the show? And I thought Elijah was going to work w the crazy lady from Mexico? I must have missed something.
Abril (the ‘crazy lady from Mexico’… she was actually from Guatemala haha) died in an episode of Feds. Part of the issue when you create ‘crossovers’ that fans of the original show have no need or interest to watch.
Oscar is a recurring character. I think he started out in the episode where the prison bus crashed and he escaped. He’s the one who stabbed Wesley during the missle scare and he’s been back on and off since. His last appearance was in the prison cell across from Elijah’s while the two of them talked about a ‘revenge story’.
That said – I really doubt that was him on the phone. The characterization in the wording didn’t feel right and the voice sounded a lot like Kristian Bruun (the guy wearing a suit in the SUV at the end), and honestly that would make the most sense considering the way it was edited.
Where was Smitty?
A cliffhanger is cheap, garbage writing and a really easy way to get me to stop watching a show. I really liked The Rookie, too.
There was a lot of misuse of characters Why would have two rookies not calling it in before they went in.
Would have given the whole season a B if there hadn’t been so many crossovers! I can’t stand crossovers (On any series, here’s looking at you Chicago Med & Fire). I’m not a fan of Feds. I realize they did them to pump up Feds but…?
Great finale apart from “the reveal” of the suit behind it all at the end which was botched.
Not shooting the knees of the gang was dumb but it also led to Chenford going full Daredevil on them instead, and NOBODY messes with Harper!
Here’s to no more crossovers next season, though no doubt Hawley will give us a multiple part documentary story about Aaron and a “where are they now” with the Feds cast (no way that continues, surely?!)
A very hit and miss season overall. Too many crossovers, drawn out plots and repeat villains (though in hindsight having Rosalind back was probably to give Annie a farewell and if so that’s a lovely gesture).
More episodes like the finale next time and more characters socialising too!
tbh the ending would’ve been better without the escalade scene. we already knew that someone was pulling all the strings from behind the scenes so that scene was unnecessary. aaron going into cardiac arrest is a perfectly good cliffhanger on its own.
One of the best show and cast on TV.