The Rookie Season 5 Episode 20 Review: S.T.R.
Jasmine Blu
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Tim's old life collided with his new one when his ex met Lucy as the trio worked on a case together.
And by the end of The Rookie Season 5 Episode 20, it's evident that Chenford may have an issue to navigate, but they can only do that if both of them are honest about their feelings.
Outside of that, it was an amusing hour.
After the heaviness of resolving the murder of Celina's sister, the series, they evidently opted for something more fun and laid back.
The humorous moments and scenarios were aplenty, especially with the running gimmick of a heavily pregnant Angela trying to carry on with the job even when she was tired, miserable, and more than ready for maternity leave.
Angela and Thorsen were an unexpectedly amusing duo. It's further proof that he has found his niche as the humorous other half for any person he's paired with and is great for comedy.
Valentino has strong comedic timing, making most of Thorsen's interactions with other characters in the series priceless.
Never get pregnant. I'm pretty much disgusting 24/7 now.
Angela
Thorsen seemed thoroughly amused rather than put off by Angela's pregnancy struggles, and he was a great assistant to her.
The montage of her behavior in the interrogation room took the cake, from her constantly getting up to pee to her falling asleep mid-interrogation. And it was unorthodox, but she managed to get the perp to confess, so the combination of her and the little spawn she's baking in her belly make a kickass team.
On the one hand, the montage and more were amusing and likely highlighted the unglamorous side of pregnancy. But on the other hand, it's still hard to shake that Angela didn't want another kid so soon, and even playing up how miserable she is during the last stages of her pregnancy hits differently knowing that.
Grey did everyone, especially Angela, a service telling her not to return until after she had that baby. Work was kicking her butt.
We also had a side storyline with Bailey reuniting with her college friend, who doesn't seem to grasp that they're grown adults with lives and can't party like they did when they were 21.
Bailey's attempts to keep up with her friend's drinking made her a hot mess and miserable. And she even ended up in lockup because of this woman's antics.
The fact that she approached Bailey after all that and claimed Bailey had a drinking problem, implying that Bailey was forcing them to behave this way, was ridiculous.
And Nolan had his hands full with Bailey reliving her youth and at work with Skiptracer Randy's antics.
Nolan: Hey, I need a surefire hangover recipe?
Nyla: Pickle juice.
Nolan and Nyla working together are always fun. It's much better now because they feel like equals.
And Randy's return was nothing short of eventful, with him getting hauled in twice as a suspect for murder and the unusual aside that Monica represents him. Should we be reading further into that tidbit?
You would think Monica has bigger issues or more things to do than represent Randy. Randy's not the absolute best at his job, so do we believe he's been helpful enough to Monica that she'd be his lawyer, or is it another angle to this we don't know yet?
If there is trouble, Randy is bound to find it. It gets pretty damn bad when he happens across a body, slips in the blood, and accidentally gets his fingerprints on the murder weapon.
The man is like a German Pee Wee Herman in a Three Stooges skit.
He spent most of the hour trying to solve the murder for them, not only to assist but avoid getting brought in and charged for crimes he didn't commit.
And bless his heart, he helped, but it wasn't in an ideal way, and it mostly came down to them constantly having to save him and clear his name since he got set up for the first murder and was a deliberate patsy.
After a day of getting pulled into Randy's shenanigans, there was no way that man thought they'd want to spend the evening watching a movie with him.
They'll be perfectly content not hearing from him again until the next time he finds himself in some trouble. And we can bet there will be a next time since he's one of the more memorable recurring characters.
The more highly anticipated storyline was Isabel returning to Tim's life and how that would impact his relationship with Lucy.
The series continues to handle so many parts of the Chenford relationship well. They know when to lean into the more favorable tropes and when to subvert and avoid them.
Nyla and Tamara had fun teasing Lucy about the situation and picking her brain to see if she was nervous or jealous about Isabel's return.
Why would anyone hold a grudge against Skip Tracer Randy? Everybody loves me!
Randy
But they didn't even consider playing into any of that for a second to cause tension between the women, imply that they had to be at odds with each other over a man or have Tim wondering "what if" or taking too many trips down memory lane.
Even when Lucy had the opportunity to speak to Isabel about something, it wasn't her picking Isabel's brain about Tim or their relationship. Instead, she sought advice about undercover work from a woman who was a legend in the field and a person she respected.
The unspoken boundaries in that speak to all parties involved and the respect they have for one another. Lucy didn't even think about crossing a line with how she approached Isabel, and vice versa.
And Tim didn't even consider that he'd have anything to worry about with these two women crossing paths.
Lucy was more than happy to help Isabel with the case, going undercover and searching for Dara.
She got to work with someone Tim cares about, a woman who set the bar for UC work, and Lucy is just a genuinely good person and would've wanted to help anyway.
And we got more context into Tim's relationship with Isabel, which was genuinely lovely.
They didn't vilify Isabel for her past addiction and issues nor dangle her as a potential obstacle or point of contention for Chenford.
Isabel got to be her own person with her own story, and she also got to give Lucy some advice that felt like it came from the heart.
I don't know what anyone's expectations were for Isabel, but she was a great character. If founder her self-deprecating humor that she used as a coping mechanism, both understandable and a bit heartbreaking.
She walks into every room carrying her past actions with her, and she's always willing to lead with that, make a joke at her own expense, or break the ice by addressing what she deems is the elephant in the room.
We saw it with Smitty when she made that crack about how she had track marks and dingy hair the last time he saw her. She did the same thing with Tim more than once, particularly during their conversation in the car when he expressed that things with Lucy were different.
Isabel: I can't believe, after everything I put you through, you're dating another UC.
Tim: I know. But Lucy's different.
Isabel: She isn't a junkie in waiting?
Tim: You know that's not what I meant.
She was quick to do something similar with Lucy. Isabel still carries a lot of baggage from her past, and joking about it must be a way for her to cope, but it also makes you feel bad that she feels compelled to remind everyone of her past.
As Tim said, Isabel deserves good things and to be happy. She shouldn't have to be defined or feels she must define herself by her lowest point in life.
Her connection with Dara was something special; you could tell it was a meaningful one that she never let go of. Taking care of Dara when she did was a turning point in her life, and it seems like Dara kept her honest in a way.
I loved what Isabel had to say about how one of the hardest parts of UC work no one prepares you for is the relationships you make and having to leave those people you come to care about behind.
It's not something one typically thinks about at all.
Everything that Isabel shared about UC work felt so vulnerable and real, and she gave Lucy a lot to ponder.
But at the end of the day, Lucy's biggest concern is that she feels ready for it, but she's unsure if Tim will ever be.
While Isabel and Lucy are two totally different people, it doesn't change that he'll worry about Lucy when she's away from him for extended periods of time.
It's human nature for him to fear that she could fall into similar issues or dangers that Isabel faced or that the job could come between them and negatively impact their relationship.
Tim won't stand in the way of Lucy's dreams, so there's no doubt he would reassure her that he'd be fine. But that doesn't mean he's not afraid.
Lucy undercover would trigger that part of him that's most protective of her. For Tim, his most worrisome moments with Lucy are when he's not there by her side or close by enough to assist.
Well, before they became a couple, he was like that. He took that on, and so Lucy's UC work would terrify him in that way because he doesn't have control over anything, no access to her, or even the knowledge to know how to protect her if necessary.
Lucy: Can I share something vulnerable with you?
Tim: Yeah, of course.
Lucy: I love working undercover. Love it. But I've never gone as deep as Isabel did, six months here, a year there...
Tim: And you're worried you won't be able to handle it?
Lucy: No, um. I'm worried you won't.
Tim: I will.
Tim has a lot of feelings about this, and Isabel's return stirred many of them up even further. But he's keeping everything in for Lucy.
But that'll only do more harm than good. At this point, Tim wants to be more OK with Lucy's future in UC work than he actually is.
And that's bound to come to a head.
Over to you, Rookie Fanatics.
Did you enjoy Isabel? Was the return of Skiptracer Randy fun? What are your thoughts on this Chenford issue? Sound off below!
You can watch The Rookie online here via TV Fanatic.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.
