The Rookie Season 5 Episode 2 Review: Labor Day

Nyla Harper had a girl!

Harper proved that she’s the ultimate badass who cannot be trifled with on The Rookie Season 5 Episode 2, and the lesson gleaned is that you always trust her gut.

Also, Timgela got in on the badass action with takedown some dirty cops.

The hour was heavy on the cases more than anything else after a slight time jump which saw Nolan on his first day as a training officer to Thorsen, Bradford, and Lopez working together, and Harper’s blissful labor and delivery being anything but that.

It was sad when Nolan and Thorsen found Garrett in his garage. Initially, it appeared to be a suicide, but that wasn’t the case once they confirmed things with the medical examiner.

From that point forward, and after a conversation with Garrett’s wife, evidently, things were revealed to be about dirty sheriff deputies on the take who stole money from drug dealers.

Bradford and Angela’s conversation about cops who name their groups instantly being dirty was funny, and they were 100% on point.

It’s such a tragedy that Garrett was trying to be an honorable cop who gathered evidence against his colleagues to root out all those “bad apples.” He lost his life because of it.

It seemed like the crew was in too deep, and there was no end to the things they had to do to cover their tracks. Angela and Bradford arresting two of them were one of the hour’s highlights.

The two best friends work so well together, and it’s always a blast when they share any screen time. But Bradford taking that one cop down was so attractive. You love to see it.

Nolan also got in on the action with his shootout and chase with the Rick guy. He held his own well, and Thorsen could barely keep up with him.

Rick: You broke my ribs.
Nolan: You killed a cop. You’re under arrest.

The two worked well together, but it didn’t give us insight into Nolan as a mentor. Things will be easier when Nolan gets a rookie of his own.

We’re familiar with Thorsen, and Harper has done well with him already. He feels like her rookie, and he’s surpassed the point where he requires someone to hold his hand through things. He’s established on his own.

Angela enlisting Wesley into the mix was fun because it’s always entertaining when he uses his expertise to aid in an investigation. They’re very much a power couple.

Wesley will need some time to adjust to life at the D.A’s office. He’s an asset and someone valuable to have on the team because of his background as a public defender.

However, it’s a hard mindset for him to get out of too. Wesley has always devoted time to finding ways out of sending someone to prison if he can avoid it.

The idea that he has to meet a quota regarding how many cases they take to trial is probably too much for him. However, the ongoing conflict could be interesting.

The hour mostly belonged to Harper, who proved she’s the most badass mommy ever.

It’s just like her to have them moving into a new home right before she started going into labor. Who would want to deal with a new baby arriving and the headache of settling into a new home?

Harper and James are an adorable couple, and their domestic moments together were the cutest. James was the perfect person for Harper to have by her side during her labor.

He thought of everything from which essential oils to use to techniques that would ease her pain. He wasn’t kidding when he said he was prepared for this and maybe even better at it because of his previous experience with his other kids.

Everything escalating with the neighbors was insane. What started with a music complaint evolved into the two guys breaking into their home and trying to kill them. Did they have a brain cell between the two?

After all the attention Harper brought to them that entire day, how did they not think about how suspicious it would be if suddenly she, a cop, and her husband were dead hours later?

It’s a girl.

Harper

Harper’s scenes felt like something out of a thriller, especially once the guys broke into her home. It was stressful when she was actively in labor, but James wandered around the house with a baseball bat in search of intruders.

Harper rising from the water with her gun drawn was something else. It’s the type of cheesiness masquerading as badassery that this show loves to do. It felt like something ripped from a horror flick.

I didn’t know if I should laugh or cringe at the scene, which also extended to Harper both shooting this man and delivering her own daughter offscreen in the two minutes it took for everyone to reach her side.

Harper’s “It’s a girl” was enough to make you smirk, though.

We spent most of the hour left in the dark about the Chenford situation, and it wasn’t until the final moments of the hour that we got a scene between the two.

Angela did her diligence by teasing Bradford about why he was at Lucy’s place when everything went down. And Lucy poured all of her attention into Chris’ healing because she felt guilty and genuine affection for him.

She got offered the opportunity of a lifetime, one she earned wholeheartedly, with the offer to attend UC school in Sacramento.

She’s terrified to go, though. It’s what she dreamed of, but she didn’t want to take that step, and she kept clinging to why she had to consider this offer instead of saying yes to it.

Bradford: What happened to him wasn’t your fault.
Lucy: You were about to…
Bradford: But we didn’t. We didn’t.
Lucy: Are you trying to get rid of me as your gopher?
Bradford: No, I’m trying to look out for you. It’s time for you to move on.

Lucy was using Chris as an excuse. Understandably, she feels guilty and blames herself for Chris’ near-death experience. Setting aside the moments she had with Tim, she knows that if Chris weren’t associated with her, Rosalind wouldn’t have attacked him.

It doesn’t make it her fault, but there’s no convincing otherwise. In her mind, she gets to do some penance, sticking around and looking after Chris, punishing herself for bringing Rosalind into his life because of her existence in his and also because of what she almost did with Tim.

Yet, it’s not surprising that the one person who could get through to her about not squandering this opportunity is Tim. But because of what transpired between them, Lucy was bound to take offense or read bad things into him, telling her she needed to go.

Tim is genuinely thinking about what’s best for Lucy. Not only is this something that she wants, and he knows it, but she’s also fantastic at undercover work. It’s her calling, and as her mentor and friend, he wants to see her thrive.

Unfortunately, because the two of them nearly hooking up, Lucy can’t help but think that he’s telling her to go to Sacramento so they’d have space and that he’s hiding behind this offer instead of admitting to his feelings.

She seemed hurt that he told her to go to Sacramento because she felt like he was tossing her away and trying to run from what happened between them. And there’s no running from that.

They can avoid discussing specifics or unpacking their real feelings, but they can’t run from anything, and there’s no going back either.

Instead, we can probably anticipate that they’ll be suspended in time regarding the elephant in the room regarding their relationship. Assuming Lucy heads away for a bit, Tim can pour all of his attention into one of the other ladies in his life, Genny.

Genny: I’m having a hard time.
Tim: Like going to counseling hard time?
Genny: Like divorce lawyers hard time.

It could be good for Tim, having his sister living there permanently and the two of them navigating personal issues, like Genny’s divorce and selling their father’s house.

If we’ll get left in limbo with Chenford, at least something is compelling about Bradford spending more time with his sister. Genny is such a lovely character, so the idea of her sticking around is nice.

Over to you, Rookie Fanatics. Are you thrilled that Harper had her baby? Should Lucy take the gig? Sound off below.

You can watch The Rookie online here via TV Fanatic.

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