The Rookie (3×03) La Fiera Review

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

Synopsis: Nolan’s mother makes an unexpected visit after a broken engagement. Sgt. Grey wants to retire. (IMDb)

After last week’s fracas, you think a TV series would step off the gas for a second and meander through a boring, unrelated storyline, but instead The Rookie doubles down on facing its issues head-first in a story that is just the tip of the iceberg. Where it goes from here is dependent on how real the showrunners want to be with this series.

This week isn’t the John Nolan show as him and Harper are relating to secondary patrol and deal with short, minor storylines. Nolan’s mother Evelyn (Frances Fisher) AKA the momster has dropped in for a surprise visit after her recent engagement was abruptly cut short. He deals with his mother’s antics and even this situation allows him and his TO to bond on some level. While they are present during many of the episode’s pursuits, they aren’t the main characters and to be honest that is a good thing so this show can allow its full ensemble to enjoy some spotlight.

Meanwhile, Detective Lopez is brought in for a homicide involving a local gang that has ties to the mysterious La Fiera (Camille Guaty), a famed female mafia boss. With some help with her former rookie and TO squad, she manages to locate her before an assassin can kill her for what he did to his family. While the team takes care of the situation, Lopez has some alone time with La Fiera who reveals that strong women will do whatever they must to protect their children. Perhaps some foreshadowing for Lopez’ pregnancy?

And finally, the Stanton issue. After last week, West isn’t keen on letting Stanton’s antics slide as he continually sees more and more racist behavior. Eventually this comes to a head when Stanton wrongfully takes down and arrests a black teenager whose only matching descriptor of a wanted criminal was his skin color. This leads the family to come outside their house and argue with Stanton, but the officer immediately gets hostile and starts pointing his gun towards everyone and telling West to arrest everyone including the grandma.

Luckily Bradford and Chen arrive on the scene with the TO taking control of the situation, but this was the last straw for West. While Grey has been contemplating retirement, he is distracted by West barging into his office to discuss the broken system they are serving. He wants Stanton to pay for his actions and desk duty isn’t enough, but Grey tells him to stand down and know his place. In the end, West is unsure if this is a place he wants to be if people like Stanton can get away with what he did and this causes Grey to question if he really made a difference during his career.

Captain’s Log

• Will Grey delay his retirement to fight back against cops like Stanton?
• How long will Lopez keep her pregnancy a secret?
• Will Nolan continues his work in the community?
• Will we see more of Tamara, the new puppy for Chen and will that be the cause of her being held back?

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

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Dylan Phillips