The Rookie Season 1 Episode 18: Homefront Review

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

Synopsis: A colleague is arrested by Internal Affairs for lying on the witness stand, which leads to the release of three felons whose cases he worked on. The team is asked to check in on them now that they are free. Meanwhile, Officer Nolan finds out he is being sued by a man who claims he used excessive force which led to an injury. (ABC)

Writer: Bill Rinier & Natalie Callaghan

Director: April Mullen

Rating: TV-14

Running Time: 43mins

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

“Homefront”starts off with Nolan having to tell Bishop that he lost the most recent suspect by falling head-first into a cactus. He believes this is his lowest point as a rookie, but it takes a turn when he is served a lawsuit by a disgruntled citizen. His appointed lawyer Simon Parks is a legend and Bradford believes he has nothing to worry about. Everyone becomes distracted with they see homicide detective Jenkins being carted off by Internal Affairs. Turns out Jenkins lied on the stand and put away an innocent woman named Samantha (Shelley Robertson). He’s put on the Brady list putting any arrest he was a part of in jeopardy. Grey instructs the pairings to check in on three of Jenkins’ recently released felons.

On their way out, Nolan is introduced to his lawyer, Simon Parks Jr. (Robbie A. Kay) who is on his first case. They confront their suspect, Terry Wright (Charles Baker), who got out early after an attempted murder charge. He recognizes Bishop, but she pushes it off and advises him to use this second chance. The man mentioned an acquaintance named Dylan who Nolan asks about, but Bishop quickly avoids that conversation.

Nolan heads to his arbitration and offers to help Simon, but he tells him that he’s got it. They start up and the judge (Gregg Henry) is not amused. Simon tries to convince them with body cam footage and the defendant’s repeated complaints towards cops, but to no avail. The defendant’s lawyer (Joseph C. Phillips) has new video footage that shows Nolan knocking the defendant over in a malicious way. No matter what Nolan says it always backfires as the defendant seeks more money.

Meanwhile, Bishop stops by Dylan’s (Caleb Castille) house to check in on him. She doesn’t want him to fall back into his criminal habits as it’s revealed that they were foster siblings. Bishop apologizes for avoiding him because he was a liability for her job, but he says he doesn’t know her so it’s all good. She looks into any known associates of Terry, Dylan’s friend, but Grey tells her to avoid any harassment claims with the precinct now under a microscope.

Bishop decides to tail Dylan that night where she sees him meet up with Terry. They pull guns from the vehicle and she decides to engage, but she is cornered by a third crewmember Maurice (Lee Coc). They throw her in the van while they plan to rob a stash house. When they return, Maurice is gone and Dylan is wounded, but Terry does not care. With Bishop missing, Nolan receives a call from Grey and he leaves his arbitration hearing regardless of the consequences.

Terry brings them to an isolated yard where he plans to dispose of Bishop in front of Dylan. As he is about to shoot her, Terry is shot from behind by Dylan. He saves her, but she arrested him anyway because to her that is the only way to save him. Back at the precinct, Nolan tells Bishop that she can confide in him if she needs. She agrees she needs to talk and decides that it’s best to talk with Grey. She reveals the connection she has to Dylan and Grey is not pleased. Simon stops by the precinct to inform Nolan that the charges were dropped when the judge saw his commitment to his TO.

Commander West pulls West aside to ask why he has been distant with their family. He wants his son to be open to him. On their way out, West tells Lopez about the felon who talked about his dad’s shady behaviour. Lopez assures him that he is straight as an arrow. They arrive at the house of the final suspect Samantha who is threatening residents with a bat trying to find her family. Detective Jenkins’ lie ruined her life and she just wants to find them.

In the precinct, Commander West asks Grey about how his son is doing. He is worried about his standoff nature the past few weeks and starts to question Lopez as a TO. West reveals he wanted Bradford to train his son, but Grey interrupts and tells him to let him do his job. Commander West comes by and warns Grey that the Commissioner is going to be going over their precinct with fine-toothed comb. Make sure not to let any of their dirty stuff blowback onto him.

Lopez and West bring in a new suspect and she decides to have some fun with him by making Wesley his lawyer. As they have a discussion of his new client’s rights, she plays footsie with him under the table leading to a heated moment immediately after. Meanwhile, West goes to his father and opens up about the convict who talked about him. Commander West becomes hostile, threatens his son and tells him to get out of his sight.

At the end of shift, Commander West pulls his son aside to apologize for his behaviour. He reveals they cut corners to get convictions and West cannot comprehend that his father did that. Commander West says he was never dirty or planted evidence, but West doesn’t believe him. On his way out, West is stopped by Lopez who has some good news. She managed to get Samantha out of prison and found her family so she can have a chance to be with them.

Lastly, Bradford and Chen check in their suspect, Max Kegel (Troy Ruptash), who is at the hospital for food poisoning. He married his prison pen pal Alicia (Nicole Steinwedell) and plans to be good so he can stay with her. However, it turns out the food poisoning is real poison as his wife tried to kill him. They arrive at a second call with a group of paintball participants where one guy has a branch lodged into his shoulder. Bradford and Chen scour the paintball course looking for the man who caused the lodging. They manage to eventually find him and Bradford fires a few paintball rounds into him. They later return to the paintball field to have some fun of their own.

Captain’s Log

• Will Russo become a recurring character?
• Is Commander West really dirty?
• 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, Homefront was a decent episode. It showed a bit more of the legal side of law enforcement as lawsuits and turned over convictions are just another part of the job. The development of Talia’s backstory adds more depth to one of the most underappreciated characters on the show. Her journey shows why she is so strong yet reserved and wary. The West storylines also got a bit of development this week in showing how this perfect cop family may not be so perfect after all. If this week proves anything, Captain Grey may have a nice ring to it come season’s end.

Score: 7.5/10

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

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