The Rookie Season 7 Episode 14 Recap: Mad About Murder

In episode 14 of ‘The Rookie’ season 7, titled ‘Mad About Murder,’ a retinue of old storylines is explored in a new light as our main characters grapple with some tricky cases. Tim Bradford uncovers a dark web conspiracy that stretches back further than anyone imagines, leaving behind a trail of dead bodies. Things get complicated when Nolan and Bailey realize that the perpetrator at the center of it may have something to do with her own sullied past. Meanwhile, Celina finds out that a true crime podcast host is on the lookout to get a scoop on her sister’s murder. The ethics of the proposal raises questions about entertainment and exploitation. However, it also gets Celina thinking about her own origins and how they shaped her into the detective she is today. SPOILERS AHEAD.

A True Crime Podcast Dredges Up Celina’s Past

The episode begins with Tim inviting Miles to his place, where he asks the rookie to join the LAPD football team for the football season. While Miles hesitates to accept, their discussion is cut short by a mysterious stranger reciting a recorded message outside Tim’s door. The officer quickly realizes that the recording and its threatening content are related to a website on the dark web sent to him by an anonymous hacker. Across town, Nolan gets out of bed after Bailey trash-talks him about the LAFD’s chances for the upcoming match with the LAPD. Lucy finds a true crime podcast called ‘Mad For Murder,’ run by Heather Marie, which happens to be talking about Celina’s sister Blanca. When Celina finds out about it, she heads for the podcast office, where she confronts the host who is interviewing her mom, Carla.

Heather tells Celina that she is trying to get to the bottom of Blanca’s case by interviewing people who were involved. However, Celina has no interest in any such venture because she does not trust Heather’s motivations. On her way out, she is flagged down by a woman named Taylor, who is desperately trying to find her missing pregnant sister, Aria. At the station, Nyla and James find out that no one is willing to attend the event she organized. Miles comes up with a suggestion – updating the police training videos to help officers understand how to deal with different situations professionally. He starts working on his idea while Nolan heads off with Tim and Laura to investigate the dark web case. Lopez also joins their little team.

The Team Digs Deeper Into Their Dark Web Mystery

Miles goes through the old training videos, finding them obnoxiously presented by Officer Rich Rowley, who even brings in his civilian girlfriend, Tawny, to demonstrate how to perform pat searches. After watching the clip, he realizes there is much ground to cover. In the meantime, Lopez interrogates the man who relayed the recorded message to Tim at his home, trying to find any links to the hacker who hired him. Although they find nothing on that front, they discover that the website in question is a hitman-for-hire service. Because the identity of the clients is hidden, they start questioning the targets instead, trying to figure out why anyone would come after them. Meanwhile, Miles talks to a resident cop named Smitty to figure out whether Rowley’s training videos helped him in any way. The interaction leaves him feeling even less convinced than before.

A break arrives in the dark web case as one of the hitmen is identified – a 35-year-old man named Greg Davis. Expecting some resistance, Nolan, Tim, and Lopez break into his apartment with a SWAT team, only to find the man dead. At the same time, Lucy and Celina interview Aria’s boyfriend, Abel, who tells them that Aria’s family was very unhappy with her when she got pregnant because they felt she was throwing her life away. At the murder site, the forensic team establishes that Davis was killed recently, suggesting that the hitman website’s administrator could be tying up loose ends. Taylor visits the station with Heather in tow, hoping that the podcast host might expedite her sister’s search. Once Lucy sends the latter away, she and Celina talk to Taylor about Aria’s family situation. Celina finds parallels between her and Taylor’s circumstances.

Malvado’s Emergence Worries Nolan and Bailey

During their patrol, Nolan and Bradford get a lead on another hitman, Danny Feng. They track him down to a bar and start following him through the streets. However, during the chase, the man is killed by an unseen member within the crowd of pedestrians. Armed with his research, Miles visits Grey’s office to provide him with the lowdown on the current training videos and their lack of valuable knowledge. Grey tells him to start updating the videos by himself rather than waiting for an official commission. While surveying the body cam footage from Feng’s murder, Nolan discovers that one of the civilians walking in the background is Malvado, a dangerous assassin who has sporadically shown his face in the series. Laura surmises that he is the hitman going around killing other hitmen for a client named ShadowStrike.

Nadia and Igor, a Russian “hitman” couple, are brought in for questioning because ShadowStrike had previously contacted them for an assassination. However, they are not real assassins; they are fraudsters who hail from Cleveland, and their real names are Zack and Kailey. They were running a Bitcoin scam to rob wealthy clients. Angela and Tim start perusing through their transactions to get a lead on ShadowStrike. During the exercise, Angela asks Tim about his relationship status with Lucy. She tells him that he should be eternally grateful if he manages to get her back. At home, Nolan breaks the news to Bailey that Malvado is back, who previously took payment from her to take care of her abusive ex-husband, Jason. In the meantime, Lucy and Celina discover that a woman named Greta Wooston, who runs a home for pregnant women, might know Aria’s whereabouts.

Celina Finds Closure While Malvado Meets His End

Lucy and Celina visit Greta’s home, where they talk to the woman, who seems awfully shifty. Before long, it is revealed that Greta has Aria locked in her basement while her baby is in a crib upstairs. Greta wants to keep the baby for herself but needs Aria alive because she is the mother. However, with cops on her tail, Greta prepares to kill Aria. The two cops put a stop to Greta’s plans, and Aria is taken to the hospital. Although hesitant to show her face because of her emotions, Taylor steps inside Aria’s hospital room as the two sisters reconcile their differences. Celina gets emotional watching them comfort one another. Lucy tells her that “it is okay to not be okay.” She runs into Tim on her way out, who urges her to take some rest. He receives a message that the perpetrator targeting the hitmen has been identified.

Nolan, Lopez, Bradford, and Laura gather at a golf club where they locate ShadowStrike, a trust fund kid named Mitch Yancy. The cops theorize that Malvado will see Mitch as a “loose thread,” which they are right. They find the assassin on the roof, preparing to snipe down Mitch. A chaotic chase ensues, which takes them to the club’s locker room. After a fight with Nolan and Tim, Malvado is shot dead by Lopez. Subsequently, the case is closed as Laura informs them that the hitmen-for-hire website will be kept running by the FBI to weed out more individuals with homicidal tendencies. Meanwhile, Bailey is relieved that Malvado is gone from her life. Elsewhere, Miles impresses his superiors as he launches his training video – ‘Behind the Badge,’ which he thinks should be presented by Tim. In exchange, he is willing to play for the football team.

While leaving the station, Celina is flagged down by Heather, who tells her numerous people have stepped up to be interviewed for Blanca’s case. However, Celina rejects appearing on Heather’s show, stating that she already holds Blanca’s memory everywhere she goes. As the episode draws to its conclusion, the football match between the LAPD and LAFD kicks off. Nolan watches from the sidelines as his wife stars for the opposition. Still, he gets the last laugh as the police department smokes their counterpart, leaving them shaking their heads in defeat. Bailey says that the LAPD only won because they had Miles on the team, who is a pro athlete. Nolan consoles her with a subtle dig – “In my eyes, you are always a winner. Except for today.”