For our review of the last episode of The Rookie, click here.
Synopsis: The most dangerous day of the year, Valentine’s Day, has the team on high alert, and Officer Nolan invites everyone over for a party now that he is single. (IMDB)
Writer: Vincent Angell
Director: Carol Banker
Rating: TV-14
Running Time: 43mins
Airs: Tuesdays at 10pm on CTV (Canada)/ABC (United States)
“Heartbreak”starts off with Nolan and the rookies having a fun evening at a patio bar. That is until they see Grey celebrating February 13th with his wife. He walks over and tells them to leave so he can enjoy his evening. This of course ends badly when Nolan intervenes with a disgruntled customer and causes a scene. At home, Nolan receives a call from his annual florist reminding him of his relationship status. He sends the flowers to a hospital back home when Ben stops by to check in on him and suggests having a party.
Lopez spent the night with Wesley as they banter back and forth about being on two different sides of law and order. In the bullpen, West informs them that Valentine’s Day is their busiest day of the year. He makes a few jabs at Nolan before informing the team that Bradford will be taking a personal day. Nolan invites the remaining TOs to a get together later, but they both decline. On patrol, West asks Lopez about her relationship and she asks about gift giving on Valentine’s Day. She saw Wesley got her something, but they are interrupted by a foot chase. Lopez is surprised to see Wesley brought in for being held in contempt and things get heated between them.
Lopez and West head to the hospital to speak with an assault victim. They asks him for answers, but a concussion from the attack has left his memory hazy. West takes it upon himself to look for any family to contact after some flirtatious banter with a nurse. She returns to the station where she makes up with Wesley. Unfortunately, when she asks to make dinner plans he says he is already busy. She grabs his phone from lockup and sees a dinner date with Melanie in his calendar.
West looks into the man’s family when Lopez discusses her misreading of her relationship. Nell, the police dispatcher, informs them that there was an attempted abduction near where their victim was attacked. They return to the hospital and ask the man to describe his attacker, but he gives away that he knew the other victim was a woman. Lopez suspects that the man is the attacker and gets a warrant for his DNA.
Meanwhile, Nolan and Bishop respond to a car accident where a visibly shaken woman is shocked by a powerline. Nolan rushes in and performs CPR managing to bring the woman back. On the desk, Chen deals with an odd request. A man is looking for help to find a prostitute he spent a night with. The shock victim comes to the precinct bearing gifts for Nolan leading to an awkward exchange with Chen. She flirts with him and asks for him to stop by, but Nolan keeps it professional.
Nolan and Bishop arrive at a distress call, but after clearing the house they discover it’s the shock victim wanting to see Nolan. Bishop berates her for using a police scanner to find them, but Nolan notices a photo and wants a minute with her. Her husband was killed in action and she feels Nolan lifted a cloud off of her life. He politely says he isn’t interested and they leave.
Bradford arrives at a facility to see Isabel who is sober and doing well. He feels like he sees the old version of her and she invites him in. They discuss her drug problems and his reservations with trusting her. He opens up about how everyone wanted him to give up on the relationship. He couldn’t give up on her, but he believes they cannot be together if she wants to stay healthy. After shift, Nolan and Chen discuss his anti-Valentine’s party when they notice some flowers left for Bishop. Lopez brings them to her and she opens up about her relationship with a married man.
They are interrupted with the Captain comes by with news. Turns out that their hospital victim, Kevin, is a potential serial killer who had been dormant. Back at the hospital, West responds to an unconscious Kevin who attacks him. The nurse enters the room to check on Kevin who hits him with a metal tray. Lopez arrives and chases Kevin who is armed with West’s gun. They make it to a stairwell where they exchange punches and Lopez makes it out on top.
At Nolan’s party, Ben shows up with Denise, the shock victim from earlier. Nolan looks for Denise in his home where he finds her laying naked in his bed. She says she noticed how Nolan looked at Chen and understands. When Nolan attempts to move her to get dressed, he notices an empty pill bottle and realizes she is trying to overdose. They manage to keep her alert long enough for the ambulance to arrive.
Nell plans to leave work when she bumps into Bradford who is visibly depressed. He decides to ask her out for a platonic drink and she accepts. Lopez releases Wesley and asks about Melanie. He reveals that it was a dinner date with his stepmom after his father died last year. West returns to the hospital to check in on the nurse and it ends up with a date in their immediate future. Grey goes by his office to find his wife waiting there for a Valentine’s Day surprise. Nolan and Ben clean up the party while he admits that he enjoyed being wanted by someone again. This is interrupted with Bishop arrives late to the party, but she decides to stay and listen to some crazy college stories.
Captain’s Log
- Will Nolan and Chen get back together at some point?
- How long will Lopez and Wesley last?
- Will West start dating the nurse?
- Which rookie won’t make it the year?
Overall, Heartbreak was a decent episode. The storylines were emotional, strong and more grounded than previous weeks. The heartbreaking theme of lost love is center stage and it creates a very traumatic moment for the team. There was a little more development in characters who haven’t received as much personal backstory than others. Unfortunately, some of the character moments didn’t quite hit the emotional marks that they hoped.
Score: 8/10
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