The Rookie Season 1 Episode 17: The Shake Up Review

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

Synopsis: A massive earthquake rocks the city and throws everyone’s patrols and its citizens into chaos. Meanwhile, agent Russo recommends Officer Nolan for a protective detail of Brad Hayes, a man whose dealings have put a target on his head. (ABC)

Writer: Alexi Hawley

Director: Steve Robin

Rating: TV-14

Running Time: 43mins

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

“The Shake Up”starts off with Nolan and Bishop driving through a cemetery where they are searching for a grave robber. They find a guy digging up his mom’s body to grab jewelry off her body for some drug money. He tries to flee, but they grab him and realize where they are. Nolan and Bishop stand over Captain Anderson’s grave and pay their respects.

Nolan walks down the beach with Russo as they discuss her coming down more and him volunteering for some safe house detail for one of her contacts. At the bullpen, Grey goes over the new Captain’s stricter set of rules which the rest of the team aren’t too fond of. Grey brings up the protection detail that Russo had mentioned and Nolan offers to do it. Bishop quickly declines, but Bradford steps in agreeing to go with Nolan for some long overdue bonding time.

On their way out, West is called to the front desk. Nurse Gino (Cameron J. Armstrong) decided to stop by to drop off some things West forgot at his place. West immediately becomes defensive and explains how he wants to keep work and his personal life separate. This sparks an argument between them as Gino storms off. Meanwhile, Bradford goes over protection detail protocol with Nolan as they head out.

On patrol, West and Lopez stop an argument between an officer and a civilian. The civilian explains the cop offered to rip up his ticket for some money. Lopez quickly realizes the man is impersonating a police officer and they manage to subdue him and take him in. Captain Weatherby (Greg Cromer) comes by Grey’s office to discuss his choices and monthly reports which causes them to butt heads. As he leaves, Russo comes by to talk about his problems with the new captain. She tells him to find a way to work around his issues with the captain’s tactics.

Bishop and Chen respond to a call where a girl’s boyfriend has been locked inside by his mother. They hear moaning from inside and enter the home to find a weird ritualistic altar set up in the living room. Upon coming upstairs they find the mom performing an exorcism on her son. Chen receives a call from her mom that her dad was attacked by one of his patients and was sent to the hospital. Bishop decides that family comes first and opts to drive them to the hospital to check in on her dad. Chen asks her father Patrick (Jim Lau) who injured him, but he doesn’t want to turn over his patient. He believes that the mentally ill are abused by the broken judicial system.

Nolan and Bradford arrive at the safehouse where they are charged with protecting Brad Hayes (Joel McHale). He was a border patrol officer that switched sides twice and is testifying against the cartel. As Nolan and Bradford go over the safety of the perimeter, Hayes tries to start up a conversation. Bradford reminded Nolan not to engage with their suspect, but Hayes starts up a conversation about Captain Anderson. He continues to break down the barriers with Nolan by discussing Bradford’s superiority complex.

Hayes says that he changed sides to protect humanity and that he believes himself to be right. Things get a bit tense when Bradford learns that the cartel knows Hayes is going to testify and that the safe house may be compromised. Hayes wants to be read in on the situation, but Bradford is avidly against that. However, things take a turn when an earthquake erupts across the city causing new problems for everyone. Hayes believes he sees someone outside, but when Nolan looks Hayes uses the opportunity to attack him. Nolan manages to subdue him, but Bradford learns that they have no back up coming.

Bradford believes their best option is to stay moving to avoid being caught by the cartel. They hear movement above them and realize they are not alone. Bradford and Nolan engage in a firefight with assailants both outside and upstairs. Nolan manages to grab Hayes and take him to the back while Bradford subdues the armed men. Bradford hotwires a car as they drive off to Nolan’s inconspicuous hiding place: the beach! They learn that Hayes has been playing them the whole time and had a GPS tracker on him so the cartel knows exactly where they are. Nolan and Bradford prepare for a firefight, after the latter knocks out their annoying hostage. They use him as bait to lure out the cartel members and disarm them at gunpoint.

West and Lopez are sent on Bel Air looting duty where they enter a house with its alarm blaring. A man comes to the front door shooting an automatic weapon at them causing West and Lopez to take cover before entering. They run into someone hiding in a cabinet. Turns out it is the assistant of the home’s owner Tommy Lamont (Dominic Burgess). The earthquake hit while he was on drugs and believes that this is the apocalypse. West and Lopez try to talk Lamont down with the latter playing into his apocalypse fantasy. They manage to subdue him with a taser.

At the station, Grey is injured, but with Captain Weatherby gone, he takes a leadership role and sets up the station for disaster relief. Grey instructs the precinct on what to do when he gets orders from the Captain. He wants patrol in Bel Air and his own block for looters. While Grey finds this idea absurd, Russo tells him to listen to his superiors. Meanwhile, at the hospital, patients are crowding the lobby. Gino gets Chen and Bishop to help with maintaining order.

Chen goes by the hospital room of the boy from earlier. He asks about the status of his mom and Chen reassures him that she will get the help she needs. Chen confronts her father and apologizes for joining the police, but it is who she is. She believes that she can bring change to the broken system and her father reveals her overheard her conversation earlier. He was impressed with how she handled the situation.

Suddenly, Patrick’s patient William arrives at the hospital to apologize prompting Chen to arrest him. She says she will be there after surgery, but he tells her not to bother. West comes by the hospital to tend to his minor wounds and finally get a chance to talk to Gino. He apologizes for being so work-focused and how it’s hard to follow in his father’s footsteps. He opens up about being worried for Gino’s safety during this crisis and they make up.

At the precinct, the ADA reveals to Nolan and Bradford that the deputy was in on Hayes’ betrayal and was arrested. Chen tells Bishop that she plans to file a mental health report for the situation involving her father. Bishop initially believes this to be a reason to get back on her father’s good side, but respects that it’s to help fix the system. Captain Weatherby returns to the station and berates Grey for not sending patrol to his neighbourhood. Thankfully, his captaincy was short-lived as Grey made a few calls to get him promoted and out of his hair. That night Nolan asks Russo if she was hiding that he is a rookie from her friends, but she reassures him that she really likes him.

Captain’s Log

• Will Russo become a recurring character?
• Will Bradford take the Sergeant exam?
• Who will become the next captain? My bet is on Gray so Bradford can be promoted.
• Which rookie won’t make it the year?
• Does Nolan have what it takes to become detective?

Overall, The Shake Up was an alright episode. The fallout of last week’s tragic loss hasn’t necessarily hit all the officers yet, but has started the first of many changes they will have to accept. The stories of this week again border on the unrealistic and fantastical, but stay grounded thanks to the characters and their humanity. With some of the officers switching their pairings, it shows a different dynamic than the audience is used to and allows for more character growth in this oddball family. One thing is for certain, the shoes to fill of Captain Anderson are massive and these officers won’t let just anyone try them on.

Score: 7.5/10

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