The Rookie Season 1 Episode 15: Manhunt Review

For our review of the last episode of The Rookie, click here.

Synopsis: When a prison bus crashes, all units must respond as some inmates face severe injuries while others seek an opportunity to flee. In the wake of the accident, Officer Nolan tries to impress an FBI hostage negotiator while tracking down an escaped convict. (ABC)

Writer: Robert Bella

Director: Bill Johnson

Rating: TV-14

Running Time: 43mins

Airs: Tuesdays at 10pm on CTV (Canada)/ABC (United States)

“Manhunt” starts off with the rookies starring in the LAPD’s latest recruitment video. In the bullpen, they look over the video and learn that it was a prank put on by their TOs. That day is a unique training exercise. Jessica Russo (Sarah Shahi), an FBI hostage specialist, is teaching them how to talk down a bomber and Nolan is the only one who is able to impress her. She catches up with Grey in her office and offers him a job to get away from patrol duty, but he will think about it.

They are called away when a prisoner transport crashes off the road. The rookies are sent down to do a headcount where they learn seven of them escaped. Nolan heads into the woods after a noise he heard to find an amputated prison guard. He tries to help the man, but he asks Nolan to tell a woman he loves her before dying. Suddenly, Nolan is grabbed with a chain from behind by one of the prisoners. He manages to mace him, before getting him at gunpoint.

Lopez and West find Nolan and help him with the prisoner. Meanwhile, Chen and Bradford find an armed prisoner running down the street where they knock him down and arrest him. With two fugitives down, they have five remaining suspects. Grey instructs the teams on the plan and that these men are extremely dangerous. Bishop and Nolan do routine traffic stops looking for a potential stowaway. He is concerned about getting the message out for the deputy, but Bishop says this is exactly where he needs to be.

During another stop, Nolan notices a man is a bit nervous prompting him to know something is up. He sees an empty car seat in the back and knows there is a child hostage in the trunk. He hands the man a paper and lets him go which Bishop disapproves of. The man opens the trunk at a garage and asks for his daughter back. The prisoner obliges and tries to head to the driver’s seat when he is swarmed by officers in the precinct’s garage.

While Chen and Bradford are out on patrol they are stopped by an armed militia group searching for the prisoners. They harass a local gardener and tell them to check his papers, but Chen and Bradford protect his rights and make the militia head home. Lopez and West respond to a call where one of the suspects entered a parking garage. He grabs a vehicle and tries to escape, but they manage to stop him. West says if it was worth getting the extra time, but the prisoner explains he already is serving a life sentence.

With only two prisoners left, Russo is brought in to assist. One of the men, Gibson, is a longtime gang member who has connections that can help him disappear from the state. The other is Caleb Jost (Sean Maher), a fraud banker who is most likely grabbing his stashed cash. Nolan pulls aside another deputy and asks about who Beth may be, but he learns that the man was a loner and had no close friends or family. He talks to Russo about the traumatic incident and she reassures him that things will get better.

Bishop learns that there is someone missing connected to Jost which may be where he ended up. Nolan and Bishop arrive at the woman’s house to find Jost holding her at gunpoint while he grabs his cash. They let their presence be known, but he is not budging on not getting out of there a free man. Russo arrives and tells Nolan to negotiate the situation while Bishop gives some serious stink eye to Jost. Nolan manages to scare Jost into submission and diffuse the situation.

West begins processing their prisoner who happens to know his father. He talks about how loose West used to be and compares him to a gangster which confuses the younger West. The prisoner tells West to send his father a message. Turns out Commander West may have framed this prisoner after his informant days were over. As he’s transferred to a transport vehicle, he again assures West he will discover the truth if he goes looking for it.

Chen and Bradford talk with Bradford’s first arrest, a man with connections to Gibson’s gang who they hope can help them. They learn that Gibson was going to testify against one of the gang’s leaders putting a target on his back. Bradford asks Lopez if he’s changed at all since she’s known him, and she pulls his chain a few times. But this conversation has to wait as Bradford gets a location on Gibson.

They arrive to find the gang members getting together to execute Gibson. Unfortunately, it’s in a family neighbourhood so any amount of cops may cause a body count. They enter Bradford’s informant’s house to arrest Gibson in the hope that they can avoid bloodshed. The gang members destroy the cruiser outside while Bradford and Chen debate what to do. Bradford’s guy goes outside and gets sucker punched causing him to intervene. He tries to diffuse the situation and manages to monologue long enough for the cavalry to arrive.

Back at the precinct, the rookies hand the prisoners over to the deputies. Nolan hears the name Elisabeth and realizes this is the woman the deputy loved. Bradford swings by Grey’s office and asks about taking the Sergeant’s test which conveniently falls into Grey’s potential career change. Russo and Nolan chat about his ability to connect with hostage takers as people. As she goes to leave, he asks her to sign a copy of her book. She subtly gives him her number and he immediately calls her.

Captain’s Log

• Will Russo become a recurring character?
• Will Bradford take the Sergeant exam?
• Which rookie won’t make it the year?
• Does Nolan have what it takes to become detective?

Overall, Manhunt was a great episode. The intensity of a prison break brought some high intensity action to this story. The rookies and TOs are faced with much more life-threatening situations that causes more tension than recent weeks have mustered. Some of the characters have realizations about their stagnant careers and make some impulsive decisions that could change the dynamic going forward. The fun Firefly reunion was short-lived, but had just enough to make fans of that series (myself included) more than satisfied.

Score: 9/10

What did you think of “Manhunt”? Let me know in the comments below!

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Dylan Phillips