Abhiroop Das
Created by Alexi Hawley, ABC’s ‘The Rookie’ follows the eponymous rookies, John Nolan and Lucy Chen, as they rise up the ranks to become the Los Angeles Police Department’s beating hearts. While season 7 of this crime procedural series ends with Nolan and company barely surviving a close call with Oscar Hutchinson, there are also many new beginnings underway. With Lucy as a lieutenant, her relationship with Tim has a better shot, but with personal and professional imbalances along the way, the journey is far from being fully actualized. The arrival of Monica Stevens in the season’s final scene might be the twist everyone needs, and this season brings that idea into fruition with its premiere episode, titled ‘Czech Mate.’
LAPD’s Hunt for an International Arms Dealer Lands Them in Prague
‘The Rookie’ season 8 episode 1 begins in the city of Prague, with Nolan and Bailey walking side by side with none other than Monica Stevens, one of LAPD’s many nemesis. Behind the scenes, Nyla and Matthew are leading a collection of teams from the Interpol, the German police, and the British police force. As part of her immunity deal, Monica has agreed to be the FBI’s eyes and ears, and as her first assignment, she is tasked with luring in Lukas Wegnar, an infamous arms dealer. This happens to be a joint operation with the LAPD, as Wegnar’s biggest base is hidden somewhere along the Port of Los Angeles. While Grey and his crew have to sift through the entire landscape and nab the mafia leaders, Nolan and Bailey’s job is far more luxurious. Upon entering a grand hotel with Monica, the pair instantly decides to turn this venture into their second honeymoon the moment the operation ends.
The scene then cuts back to Tinseltown, as Lucy returns home following yet another grueling night shift. Juarez is also getting ready to leave for work, but this window gives her a perfect opportunity to bring up the elephant in the room: Tim. Back at the station, Angela grabs hold of Tim as well to continue a similar conversation, particularly about the communication gap between him and Lucy. While he tries to brush off the topic, deep down, he is yet to recover from her dozing off at the moment of his confession. Tim believes that this might be a sign of fate, but before Angela can comment on that, the entire team is summoned for a briefing from overseas. While Matthew and his international team are ready to strike when the moment shows up, the LAPD has yet to locate Wegnar’s hideout in the 7500-yard haystack that is the city port.
Grey Goes Too Far in Search of a Lead
Surprisingly, the game-changing idea comes from Smitty of all people, as he suggests looking for port workers with criminal records that match Wegnar’s operations. As the entire crew prepares to get to work, Smitty has yet another announcement, this time for Miles. Contrary to their agreement last season, Smitty intends to charge a whopping 900$ rent for the Shangri-la parking spot. Miles, completely blindsided, decides to put this development in the backseat and joins Tim on the scouting mission. As luck would have it, the duo is the first to find a lead, spotting a small-time criminal working at the port. Angela’s team wastes no time in setting up jammer stations, and the man is quickly cornered. However, he slams on the pedal in a desperate bid to ram through the police vehicles and ends up getting his car overturned instead.
Although the man is alive, his condition is critical, and he is promptly taken to St. Stephen Hospital, where Grey’s wife, Luna, also works. Tensions immediately simmer between the couple when Grey tries to halt the treatment to get answers from the man, even if it means worsening his condition. After promising him a better shot at immunity, however, Grey learns of the coordinates to Wegnar’s hideout and rushes the team to the spot. In Prague, things continue to alternate between serious and lighthearted, as Monica decides to take a tour of the city with Nolan acting as her bodyguard, and Bailey doubling as her assistant. Within minutes of setting foot out in the open, however, they are ambushed by an assassin, who is quickly knocked out by Bailey. Matthew’s team takes charge of this new development, while Nolan and company are promptly returned to the hotel.
Lucy and Tim Get Back Together at Last
At the port, Angela knocks on Tim’s door once again, urging him to take the situation with Lucy seriously. However, when he narrowly escapes the conversation once again, this time by using the excuse of Lucy being asleep, Angela realizes that she must get creative. Elsewhere, we learn more about Smitty’s strange rent agreement with Miles, which includes payment for a hot tub that will be erected in the middle of the parking lot. The duo hardly has time for chit-chat, however, as Wegnar’s crew slowly starts to arrive on the scene, indicating that the LAPD only has a few hours left in the attack. Elsewhere, Monica at last gets a phone call from Wegnar, who appears to harbor no suspicions at all, and arranges a public meeting for later that evening. The hitman is, at the very least, not one of the arms dealer’s men, which means that there are more antagonists to worry about.
At the hospital, Grey and Luna have a heart-to-heart, bringing out their frustrations about barely seeing each other every day. This is in no small part due to their conflicting schedules. While both are happy about her following her passion after so long, the changes in their lifestyle appear to have an overall draining effect. As night begins to fall, Lucy is back in action, and Angela stealthily lures her right in front of Tim’s truck. With no excuses left in the tank, the duo finally lets out all of their pent-up frustrations, discussing how their insecurities have led to too many fissures in the dynamic. Above all, Tim is afraid that his new, softer side might be a turn-off for Lucy, but that is far from true. Hearing that, an emboldened Tim asks if she can move in with him again, and she agrees, marking the official return of the relationship.
Nolan and Bailey Fight Mob Assassins to Save the Day
At Prague’s Cafe de Luna, Nolan and Bailey continue their charades of being Monica’s employees, while Nyla, Matthew, and the police teams all lie in wait. At last, Wegnar arrives with his full entourage and sits down for a deal with Monica. What he doesn’t know, however, is that Nolan is about to crash the party in his ever-so-comic style. As he and the rest of the team jump into action, Wegnar’s crew hardly has the time to react. At the same time, the LAPD storms his port hideout, putting the cuffs on every major leader. In the midst of this, however, Monica disappears into thin air, and Nolan has to track her cellphone to ultimately find his way to an abandoned mansion, where she is trying to buy some of the jewelry back. As it turns out, Monica is broke, and joining hands with the police can only serve he so long. Nolan, however, has no plans to fulfill her plans to escape with the wealth and promptly takes the jewelry into custody.
Before Nolan and Bailey can head out with Monica, they are ambushed by a horde of hitmen, with a phone call from Matthew confirming that this is indeed the handiwork of the Argentinian criminal known as the Falconer, who is out for revenge against Monica. However, the group falls short of matching up to Nolan and Bailey’s teamwork, and the duo manages to secure their target once again. The mission is a complete success, and while this demands celebration, Matthew has other ideas. He approaches Nyla with an opportunity to join a multi-agency intelligence network, which promises international coverage, but she ultimately turns him down, prioritizing her family. Grey, however, has the exact opposite response, as he is seemingly inspired by Luna’s ambitions to try out something new. With him getting ready to switch agencies, one of our core characters is likely to replace him as lieutenant, which means that big things are afoot.
Read More: Who is Monica Stevens in The Rookie? Who Plays Her?
