The Rookie (2×01) Impact Review

While last season of The Rookie was one of the best new shows of last year, it came under fire for the on-set misconduct and allegations that were brought up by star Afton Williamson. With her exit from the show, can it survive these problems in the climate of the industry? For our review of the last season of The Rookie, click here.

“Impact”starts off with the officers rushing Bradford to the hospital after his collapse, but things are still not safe with Russo believing another terrorist is on the loose. Upon reaching the hospital, Nolan notices a woman with an assault rifle starting an intense gunfight between the team and the remaining terrorist. Nolan looks around, notices all the injured nurses and decides to take action. He shoots the woman, but before he can reload she gains the upper-hand and points her rifle at Nolan. Luckily, Bradford emerges from the ambulance and manages to shoot her just in time.

Jump to two weeks later where Nolan and Russo are doing a bit of construction work (with Nolan sporting a new Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge shirt). They immediately deal with the Talia exit as they discuss her career change to the ATF. While Nolan thinks things will feel weird at first, he’s sure it will be okay. (It has to be for the show to succeed). He questions how Russo feels after shooting that guy, but she shrugs it off.

At Diaz’s place, she is bantering with Wesley where he realizes that she is a bit of a messy person. With everyone back at work, Chen checks in on Bradford, but they are interrupted by Sergeant Grey’s rollcall. He talks about the rookies all passing their exams, but one got an 81 which to him is just above a fail. Rather than tell the rookies outright who had that score, Grey wants them to do some self-reflection and decide whether or not they believe that score was theirs. As a reward, they are allowed to wear short sleeves from now on, but with Talia gone Nolan is paired with Grey for patrol.

Chen decides to change into her new outfit, but Bradford forces her to change back. They arrive at a call where Bradford berates Chen for thinking the worst was over. He planted a fake IED in the park and expects Chen to find it. She manages to find the fake device, but when she tries to radio in to Bradford it explodes in her face to serve as a lesson. They respond to a call where a man, Ritchie Brown (Zeus Mendoza) has reported his wife Susanna (Amy Davidson) missing. Chen wants to give the situation the benefit of the doubt, but Bradford tells her to always suspect the husband.

Meanwhile, Nolan opens up to Grey on patrol about if the job gets any easier. Grey says that officers need to put up barriers between their feelings and the job to survive. They arrive at a disturbance call where Mark Cuban is being harassed by an entrepreneur. They quickly dissolve the situation before heading to grab some more police uniforms from a local supplier. When they arrive, Grey notices something off about the cashier and discovers a heist in progress. They chase the men and manages to grab one of their bags learning that they stole about 20 police uniforms for a bigger high-threat heist.

Grey comes by West and tells him to be in charge of the cadets coming in the following day. While Nolan helps the sketch artist draw the man he saw, they are interrupted by Grey. They head to the location of the bikes where one of the men’s bodies is also found. The officers come together to discuss what to do about this situation. They decide to create an inter-agency task force to implement more intensive identification protocols.

At the end of shift, Chen confronts Bradford about why he is treating her differently. He explains that she lied about his desire to take his own life over dying from the virus, but she was protecting his career. They bicker and it leads to her talking about him bending the rules for Isabel and he storms off. Back at home, Wesley decides to open up to Diaz about her uncleanliness, but she is upset that he wants to change her. As Nolan deals with the PTSD of the past day, he ignores a call from Russo to sit silently in his home.

The next morning, after a few officers were nervous of their coworker’s identities, Grey reveals the test scores. Turns out Nolan received the highest (97!) while West received the lowest, despite his extensive knowledge and experience. While Grey talks to the team, and West slowly melts down, Russo asks to speak to Nolan alone. She has asked for him to tag along so she can figure out why Nolan never called her back. Meanwhile, West cannot fathom not being first in the class and believes taking time off ruined his chances. Unfortunately, he needs to table this to speak to the cadets, but he instead decides to speak candidly to them. After the talk, Diaz gives him the rookie jersey of shame.

Chen heads to the garage where she is followed by a suspicious officer. She realizes he is a fake cop after he grabs a police radio, but he jumps from the garage into a nearby dumpster and escapes in a getaway vehicle. Nolan opens up to Russo about seeing her as unsympathetic because she was laughing over a dead body. However, they are interrupted when Grey sends them word about the stolen radio and to avoid certain channels. Nolan and Russo call in a stolen car at the perp’s house related to Chen and Bradford’s missing person Susanna Brown.

They listen in and see that Susanna is being held hostage to call in an ambush on a police convoy of confiscated drugs, money and guns. While Russo calls it into the precinct, Nolan decides they have to intervene at the house and crawls into the foundation. As the fake cop receives word of the convoy being hit, he plans to shoot Susanna. Luckily he is distracted by the doorbell ringing which gives Nolan enough time to enter the building and throw him through the front window. Meanwhile, Bradford and Chen intercept the convoy and manage to subdue the fake cops.

At the precinct, Grey calls West in to ask about how he is feeling. He doesn’t trust him after what happened with the cadets and decides to extend his rookie training until he fixes that issue. Wesley returns home to find Diaz cleaning and breaking down. She is afraid of the unexplored territory and doesn’t want to screw it up, but he quickly forgives her. Russo comes to Nolan’s place to discuss the elephant in the room. He cannot become numb, no matter how much the job requires it. That vulnerability causes Russo to admit she fell a bit in love with him and they start to kiss. The episode ends with them quickly rushing out the door to Russo’s more furnished apartment.

Captain’s Log

• Does Nolan trust Russo?
• Will West melt down?
• Will Chen re-earn Bradford’s respect?
• Who will be Nolan’s new CO?

What did you think of “Impact”? Was it the premiere you expected? Let me know in the comments below!

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Dylan Phillips