For our review of the last episode of The Rookie, click here.
Synopsis: On Captain Andersen’s orders, Officer Nolan and Sergeant Grey are paired up for the day on patrol. Additionally, Nolan’s son and Grey’s daughter visit their dads on the job and see them in action. Meanwhile, Officer Chen is paired up with Captain Andersen, and Officer Bradford tells Chen to protect her at all costs. (TVGuide)
Writer: Inda Craig-Galvan
Director: Jessica Yu
Rating: TV-14
Running Time: 43mins
Airs: Tuesdays at 10pm on CTV (Canada)/ABC (United States)
“Flesh and Blood”starts off with Nolan going to the airport to pick up his son Emery when he accidentally locks himself out of his vehicle. He tries to pick the lock with a coat hanger, but is stopped by airport security and caught in an awkward situation when his son arrives. As Nolan explains that they won’t be seeing much of each other while he’s on the job, Chen and West arrive and welcome Emery to Los Angeles. They joke about being social media friends which makes Nolan a bit uneasy.
In the bullpen, Grey and Captain Anderson touch base with the team and explain how sometimes they need to get their feet wet so they will be pairing up with the rookies. Captain Anderson claims Chen leaving Grey to choose his favorite senior rookie. On their way out, Bradford and Bishop make sure to put the fear of the Captain’s life in Chen’s mind while West contemplates why he wasn’t the first choice of the superior officers. Lopez tells him not to worry about it and shifts the focus to her mom’s obsessive need to ask about her bringing a date to her brother’s wedding.
Nolan swings by his son to show him his uniform when they stumble upon Dominique, Grey’s daughter who has come by to intern. The conversation between the four of them is awkward to say the least when she offers to babysit Emery at the precinct allowing them all to have lunch together. Grey and Nolan banter on their patrol when they pull over a vehicle with multiple violations, but Grey continues to criticize Nolan’s every move. They approach the vehicle and the elderly woman tries to sweet talk Nolan into letting her off with a warning, but when Grey notices her adult son in the vehicle they become hostile. The woman kicks Nolan in the groin, but Grey is able to contain the situation.
Meanwhile, Bradford and Bishop have trouble deciding who is going to ride shotgun and decides to try to force Chen to be their caddy, but Captain Anderson makes quick work of that and forces them to deal with it themselves. Anderson and Chen arrive at a domestic disturbance where a man is destroying property after his wife decided to leave him. They believe the situation is being diffused when the man rushes upstairs to the bedroom where he has a hidden firearm. They breach the room, but find the man has shot himself. West and Lopez come by for support, but Anderson tells everyone to stand down and leave.
After bringing in the woman and her son, Nolan tries to get Grey to open up about his personal life, but he won’t budge and advises Nolan to focus on the job. They head to a domestic disturbance call where they find two men bloodied on the floor. Upon inspection, the men attack them, but Grey and Nolan are able to subdue them. At the precinct, the lawyer advises the robber to not talk until his lawyer is present while he continues to banter with Lopez.
During lunch, West and Lopez stop a lawyer (guest star Shawn Ashmore) who is chasing after a suspect that stole his briefcase. He and Lopez have some instant banter as they decide to follow the tracker in his briefcase. They find him and Lopez aggressively takes him down causing the lawyer and her to get into a heated, flirtatious argument. Emery sits down with Dominique at the precinct and asks her why it’s a big deal that Grey is on patrol and she reveals his shooting incident that scarred the entire family. And it isn’t great when they see their dads return bruised and arresting two bloodied perps.
Anderson and Chen respond to a parking dispute that results in Anderson getting punched and Chen quickly intervening. They bring the perp back to the station where everyone sees Anderson’s black eye. She goes to file some paperwork when a suspicious man starts asking questions about prison sentences before stealing Anderson’s gun and taking a hostage. She manages to distract the man by making him check the gun safety before tackling him to the ground.
Meanwhile, Bradford and Bishop respond to a call of a mysterious squatter in the basement of an apartment building. They investigate and after Bradford pulls rank he is sprayed by a skunk causing them to flee the scene. Back on patrol, Grey opens up to Nolan a bit about the stress of the job when they notice an explosion up ahead. They arrive at a burst gas pipe and with watered rags enter a building to check for civilians. However, when Nolan comes out he notices that Grey never returned. He enters the building again, finds him unconscious and manages to drag him out of the building.
After their shift, Lopez runs into the lawyer and after he asks her out for a date she asks him to the wedding setting up two dates. Grey reassures his daughter he is fine after his first day on patrol in years. Bradford apologizes to Bishop for treating her like his rookie, but she reveals she is stepping down for the detective position to finish what she started on patrol. Chen stops by Anderson’s office to have a quick chat about their day where Anderson reassures Chen that the day went well and that she sees potential in her. Back at home, Nolan and Emery discuss his job and how they decide to keep each other informed on their lives for reassurance of Nolan’s safety in his new line of work.
Captain’s Log
- Will Nolan and Chen get back together at some point?
- Will Lopez get the detective position or will someone else swoop in?
- How long will Lopez and the lawyer last?
- Will Isabel testify?
- Will Grey and Nolan have to deal with their children dating?
- Which rookie won’t make it the year?
- Does Commander West trust Nolan?
Overall, Flesh and Blood was a good episode. Putting the superior officers in the field gave us more insight into their characters helping to further round out the entire precinct. The dynamic and respect between Grey and Nolan shows that these characters can be great friends in the long run while Anderson reveals she sees a bit of herself in Chen. Remembering that Nolan and Grey are parents adds constant stakes to their job which shows how perilous this line of work can be. Hopefully their kids continue to be on the show as they add another subplot to this already multi-layered story making for non-stop action and drama.
Score: 8/10
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