It’s felt like a lifetime since The Rookie graced our screens, and fortunately, the wait for the show’s return is almost over.
ABC released the full trailer for the upcoming season that will make the dreary month of January worth every second, and they didn’t hold back, not even an ounce.
Seriously, they dropped so many nuggets and teased plot points within that two-minute trailer that it practically feels as if we watched most of the season already.
(Courtesy of ABC)
The Rookie Doesn’t Hold Back with Season 8 Trailer
Personally, that was a choice.
I like it when they leave a little more to the imagination, but there’s also the question of whether they showed us just that much at all. What does it say about them possibly switching things around and misleading us?
It’s something worth mulling over.
As much as they threw at us during that trailer, credit to them for a perfect use of The Heavy’s ‘How You Like Me Now.’ It’ll be the perfect earworm to replace that excellent cover of Tatu’s ‘All The Things She Said’ during Heated Rivalry that’s been playing on repeat in the recesses of my mind.
And it perfectly encapsulates the full breadth of badassery of The Rookie gang. We get that in great measure during the trailer, but we also have our usual frustrations, so we may as well get that out of the way.
One of the most amusing things about The Rookie is how they know how annoyed we generally get about certain things, and they double down on those exact things anyway. Let’s get into the villains!
Monica, The Rookie’s Favorite Whack-A-Mole is At It Again
(Disney/Mike Taing)
Yes, Monica, in all her redheaded glory, is still wreaking havoc on everyone for the third season in a row.
Apparently, The Rookie simply refuses to abandon this particular villainess. As long as Bridget Regan is willing to act like the rent is due in two hours and she’s $400 short whenever she plays Monica, they’ll drag on this Monica arc within an inch of its life.
Now, we have her in Prague, and thanks to Monica, there’s a full-blown global operation that somehow involves some of LAPD and the FBI, and Interpol or something.
Monica is helping the FBI take down a weapons trafficking operation, and the LAPD is along for the ride because they’re just like that.
But it means we’re getting Agent Garza back, so small miracles and all that good stuff. With a bit more context, it helps to know that Garza asked for their assistance, specifically Nolan, because they have a rapport.
And knowing that it’s a trafficking operation at least makes it more grounded in realism, that it’s something that the entire team could be plausibly working on, whether it’s in Los Angeles or elsewhere.
It’s also an operation that could easily serve as a multi-episode arc, or even a season long arc, with many components that involve multiple characters.
Monica Escapes More Than Houdini (It’s Not Funny Anymore)
(ABC/Screenshot)
There is an intrigue there.
But Monica, being an asset, is still irritating, and worse yet, The Rookie is already teasing that she may ghost them again. Seriously, how many times can this one woman elude the authorities to the degree that she does?
If Monica somehow manages to escape for the umpteenth time while in Prague, and under Nolan and Bailey’s watch at that, I may throw the remote at the television. There, I said it.
They’re already going for laughs with Monica as their prisoner and Nolan and Bailey serving as her wardens. Still, she’s eager to lure them into enjoying Prague and using it as a vacation spot, something that appears Bailey is even considering.
The Rookie still has a villain problem, and Monica, so heavily featured in this trailer, is like a blessing and a curse because, as entertaining as she can be, she’s long since surpassed her welcome as the primary antagonist all the time.
(Disney/Mike Taing)
And to make matters worse, they also tossed Oscar into the mix.
Sure, he’s in his orange jumpsuit, and we can maybe rest easy that he’s in custody, for now, but I don’t put anything past The Rookie anymore.
Hell, the whole plane/chopper crash scenario they’re teasing with Garza saying that their plane is going down could easily be another way for Oscar to escape for the millionth time.
It’s within The Rookie’s wheelhouse to pull a stunt like that.
Also, Garza better be okay!
The Rookie Continues to Troll Us with Bailey. Yay.
Seriously, WHY IS SHE THERE?!
(ABC/Screenshot)
Instead of literally anyone else (or just Harper as it should be), Nolan partnered up with Bailey to watch over Monica, and it makes little sense why.
But they’re naturally leaning into their Badass Bailey thing as per usual, because we clearly see her kicking some ass in Prague at some point in the trailer.
Maybe someone will find that exciting, and if you do, I love that for you. But our real inkling is how Bailey may be involved in the first place, as the trailer teases that she has a new job offer in DC.
They even show the Pentagon, you guys. If they somehow manage to offer Bailey a secret government job in DC, I cannot be responsible for my crash-out, so brace yourselves.
The series’s ability to shove this character down our throats in the most implausible of ways is irritating beyond words, and now they’re using her yet again to present more conflict for Nolan.
(ABC/Screenshot)
Because, you know, covering for his wife, orchestrating the murder of her ex-husband, wasn’t enough, I guess.
Now, if Bailey takes this job in DC, it could mean Nolan would have to relocate there and start all over again as a rookie. I honestly can’t even keep typing about this without laughing humorlessly over Nolan having to start over somehow.
Nolan and Bailey’s continuing story arcs don’t sound particularly appealing outside of the Prague action, but we shall see!
Chenford Angsting in Dog Years — We’ll Never Know Peace
Meanwhile, it does look like Nolan will get in on lots of action this season, as we see him kicking butt himself, involved in some big cases, and working alongside Miles, which is fun. Miles booking it in that one clip was exhilarating.
The season feels like it’s going to be very action-packed, and frankly, that’s the type of The Rookie content a girl signed up for, and it feels like things are bigger and better than ever on that front.
(ABC/Screenshot)
Miles has already earned his stripes with this crew, but it’s nice to see him in real action mode throughout most of the trailer, as Bradford comments about how their job is to ensure the safety of all Angelenos. He also tells everyone not to do their best, but his best.
Bradford in charge as our new Grey is going to be so epic!
But while it’s clear that the professional aspect of his life is going well, the same can’t be said of his personal life: when he asks Lucy to move in with him, she seems completely resistant to the idea.
I mean, how else are we supposed to take” You broke my heart, the scar is so deep it may never fade.”
Like, damn, Lucy! But also, as much as it’s nice to see Lucy come into her own, the series doing this push-pull game with Chenford because they don’t know what to do with them after they put them together is getting old.
Does this mean we’ll have another season of Chenford angst?
Lucy & Harper Undercover? Sign Us Up
(Disney/Larry Horricks)
At least on a professional front, things are going well with Lucy, since we see she and Harper must be on an undercover job together that may involve the cartel.
Lucy is fantastic undercover, and she works so incredibly well with Harper, who is the queen of undercover work.
It’ll be exciting to see these two working so closely together, and, of course, having Lucy more in the fold with the badass duo of Angela and Nyla. But there’s also some danger there since it’s apparent they’re both on the cartel’s radar, and that’s worrisome.
It’s also interesting that Angela probably cannot go undercover in any capacity now that Wesley is running for office, and she’ll be more of a public face than ever.
Wesley & Angela are Goals … But Luna & Grey Are Struggling
(ABC/Screenshot)
Wesley and Angela lacked substantial storylines during The Rookie Season 7, so it’s promising that we may finally get something solid with Wesley campaigning to be LA’s new district attorney.
It could also potentially bring up some sticking points from both of their pasts.
Do you think this would be a perfect way to bring up Elijah again? There are endless possibilities for how the Evers-Lopez family being put in the public eye on a larger platform can lead to so much, given their respective jobs.
At least they can hold their record for being the most stable couple on the series with little issue, because apparently, not even Luna and Grey are safe!
Those two are like Grey’s Anatomy’s Ben and Bailey.
(Disney/Mike Taing)
They’re supposed to be the foundation and blueprint for romantic stability. Why is The Rookie stressing us out by even teasing the idea that Luna could be having an affair with a doctor at work?
At best, it’s annoying that they’re recycling a storyline after they just put Nyla and James through something similar with an infidelity scare.
And at worst, there’s actual truth to this, and they’re just about to casually destroy the backbone couple of this entire series “because plot.”
Neither of these scenarios works for me. How about you?
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The Rookie returns on January 6 at 10/9c on ABC.
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