The long wait for The Rookie Season 7 is almost over. With the new season nearing its debut on ABC, it’s a good time to revisit Season 6 and refresh our collective memories. The Rookie Season 6 was a shortened season due to last year’s writers’ and actors’ strikes, running only ten episodes. The good news is that Season 7 will be much longer, featuring eighteen episodes, and the show’s return is right around the corner, with only days away. Before the our return back to the Mid-Wilshire Division, it’s time to recap Season 6 of The Rookie.
John Nolan and Bailey Nune Finally Tie the Knot
Series protagonist John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) first meets his future wife, Bailey Nune (Jenna Dewan), in the Season 3 finale, “Threshold,” when she shows up at his front door wearing nothing but a towel. Their meet-cute eventually sparks a whirlwind romance. John discussed wanting to propose to Bailey as early as Season 4, Episode 9, “Breakdown.” Considering John and Bailey’s lifestyles, a police officer and firefighter/paramedic, and their unconventional romance, it seemed rather appropriate that Bailey ultimately proposed to John in the fifth season episode, “The Choice.”
Despite many roadblocks along the way, Bailey and John’s wedding arrives early in Season 6 with the second episode, “The Hammer.” They lose their D.J., the florist gives away their floral arrangement, and the caterer delivers the wrong cake. Not to mention, Nolan is sued by Oscar Hutchinson (Matthew Glave) and undergoes a deposition the day before the wedding. Skip Tracer Randy (Flula Borg) sells Bailey’s wedding ring in a bizarre romantic roleplay with Chastity Sneed (Meg DeLacy). Thankfully, John and Bailey’s friends chip in to help, and their wedding occurs without a hitch. However, Nolan and the other officers must leave the reception when Nolan’s probationary trainee officer, Celina Juarez (Lisseth Chavez), gets kidnapped when investigating drug smugglers. Thankfully, John doesn’t get seriously hurt on his wedding night.
Unfortunately, Bailey and John’s tropical honeymoon does not go as planned, and they are stalked by a mysterious assailant, Dean (Chris Conner), a psychotic murderer who recently underwent plastic surgery to assume a new identity. Detectives Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz) and Nyla Harper (Mekia Cox) arrive at the island in time to help John and Nolan deal with the paranoid psychopath. Just another day in paradise for the sometimes hectic love life of John and Bailey.
Chenford Meets an Untimely End
The Rookie fans rejoiced when series veteran cast members Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) and Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) finally began dating in Season 5. Bradford even went out of his way to remove himself from Lucy’s chain of command to avoid any potential issues with the visibility of their relationship. Lucy and the rest of the Mid-Wilshire Division also assisted with Lucy making a five-player trade, allowing Bradford to work as the Metro Liaison Sergeant between the Metropolitan Division and Mid-Wilshire in the Season 5 episode, “Death Sentence.” Sadly, things take a dark turn for the show’s destined romantic pairing about midway through Season 6. An old ghost from Tim’s past, Ray Watkins (David Dastmalchian), reappears, threatening to ruin Tim’s life.
Tim and a former military colleague falsified the after-action report regarding the corrupt Watkins’ supposed death so Watkins’ family could receive his death benefits. Watkins turns up alive to resume criminal activity in Los Angeles, causing problems for Tim, and Tim leaves Lucy in the dark to protect her. Although Watkins is apprehended, and Tim comes out of the ordeal relatively unscathed, Tim fears his relationship with Lucy could negatively affect her career. In one of the season’s most heartbreaking moments, he breaks up with Lucy in Season 6, Episode 6, “Secrets and Lies.” Tim and Lucy barely even started dating, and their relationship was beginning to gain momentum only to have it end prematurely. That’s a bummer.
Monica Stevens Becomes the Main Villain in Season 6
Elijah Stone’s (Brandon Jay McLaren) last appearance in Season 5 implied an alliance with Oscar Hutchinson, which doesn’t take place in Season 6. Instead, an alliance is formed between defense attorney
Monica Stevens (Bridget Regan)
, the former lawyer for Elijah, and Oscar. It’s later revealed that Monica has been building a criminal enterprise under the nose of the LAPD. Monica uses police psychiatrist Dr. Blair London (Danielle Campbell) as her mole inside the department, utilizing the intel from Dr. London’s sessions on police operations to sell to criminals across the city. Since Monica is well-connected to LA’s biggest criminals, she has built a lucrative side hustle as an information broker.
In the episode “Death Sentence,” one of Dr. London’s blackmailed patients, Matt “Mad Dog” Dominques (Nick Gomez), clues Tim into London’s criminal conspiracy with Monica. The officers at the Mid-Wilshire Division then piece together Monica’s plans. After they discover London’s connection with Monica, they organize a secret task force to take her down. John convinces Dr. London to flip on Monica, but she has London kidnapped and attempts to trade her to a Swiss trafficker, Jakob Olmstead (Casper Andreas), after taking Dr. London to their meeting in Argentina in the Season 6 finale, “Escape Plan.” Nolan heroically intervenes, jumping into the fray to save Dr. London, and Nolan gets shot in the rear end during the shootout. Monica runs away during the firefight, and Season 6 ends with her getting away, her whereabouts unknown.
Oscar Hutchinson Escapes From Prison With Jason Wyler
It’s odd that The Rookie Season 6 never follows up on the epilogue between Oscar and Elijah from Season 5. Instead, Season 6 sees the return of Jason Wyler (Steve Kazee), Bailey’s abusive drug dealer ex-husband from Season 4. Jason assists Oscar in torturing another prisoner at the behest of Monica, who later orchestrates their escape from prison. The Season 6 finale ends with Oscar and Jason’s escape, and Jason asking to get dropped off in Los Angeles, with his chief motive to go after Bailey and John for revenge. In the final scene of “Escape Plan,” Bailey is seen nursing John, who is recovering from his minor gunshot wound. Thankfully, Sgt. Wade Grey (Richard T. Jones) calls John, notifying him and Bailey of Oscar and Jason’s joint escape from prison. The abrupt, anti-climactic ending to the season does not provide a strong cliffhanger finale. At least John and Bailey know about Oscar and Jason’s escape, and they probably have time to formulate a plan to deal with their enemies.
Of course, we won’t know what will happen until Season 7 finally debuts on January 7 on ABC. Hopefully, this means the Oscar and Jason problem will be addressed sooner rather than later, and the show will provide an update on Monica after she escaped from the shootout in Argentina.
All six seasons of The Rookie are available to stream now on Hulu in the U.S.
Starting over isn’t easy, especially for John Nolan who, after a life-altering incident, is pursuing his dream of joining the LAPD. As their oldest rookie, he’s met with skepticism from those who see him as just a walking midlife crisis.
- Release Date
-
October 16, 2018
- Main Genre
-
Comedy
- Seasons
-
7
- Network
-
ABC
- Streaming Service(s)
-
Hulu
- Showrunner
-
Alexi Hawley
