The Rookie: Feds Season 1 Episode 11 Review: Close Contact

Simone strikes again!

Simone’s ex Damien sought protection from the unit when multiple attempts were made on his life on The Rookie: Feds Season 1 Episode 11. After making a wrong profile, Brendon got a second chance with Antoinette with the help of Simone.

Simone and Damien rekindled something from their past that put Simone in the crosshairs of her superiors.

Say whatever you will of Simone, but one of her most admirable qualities is how real she is. She doesn’t mince her word or hide her intentions, which is why most criminals who come across her respond to her.

While that can prove to be a power in most instances in which she finds herself, in her personal life, it can become annoying to those close to her.

She had no business shouting that across a room full of agents.

Simone: Good Lord, Brendon. In this particular case, don’t act like Laura. Be more like me.
Brendon: Ok, but what would you do?
Simone: I’m glad you asked. Carter, are you hooking up with Antoinette or what? I’m just asking.
Carter: I’m sorry, what? Why in the world would you think that and then shout it across the bullpen?

Now, I’m glad that Carter and Antoinette are not dating because I want her and Brendon to date, and it is not ethical.

Carter ranks higher than most of the characters we follow, Antoinette included. The optics of a superior agent dating a younger agent are, to say the least, not good.

Power dynamics in the workplace are not something to be trivialized.

Overall, this hour was such a huge letdown. Coming off the energy of “The Crossover,” it was boring.

Even though I had my reservations about The Rookie: Feds Season 1 Episode 10, I acknowledge how action-packed it was, which was good.

This hour opted to explore the romantic relationships of multiple characters, which ate into the time that they’d have managed to squeeze in some action. The Damien-Simone relationship seems like such a waste and will turn out to be so if it doesn’t go anywhere.

How Brendon has escaped scandals from his days as an actor for so long remains a mystery. If he was really as famous as they hype him to be, you would have assumed that paparazzi would have intercepted him while on duty a time or two.

Maybe he would have preferred that because when it happened, it hit him where it hurt the most — his romantic relationship.

Laura: Ok, what’s going on? Is there an emergency?
Brendon: Yes. Well, no. It’s kind of you know, my ex-girlfriend, Heather Jacobs.
Laura: The model?
Brendon: Yeah. So apparently, she wrote a memoir. She dropped a couple of chapters online.
Laura: I take it you don’t come off well?
Brendon: No. she wrote that I’m a narcissistic serial dater who’s definitely afraid of being alone and needs constant validation in order to breathe.

The case was filled with twists, as expected.

Politicians are sly people; that cannot be argued. Something else that can’t be argued is slipping so deep into the darkest corners of political divides to the extent of storming government capitols, as in real-life events or, in our fictional story, carrying out physical harm on them.

The twist about the assistant felt like it was used for the sake of a twist. If we are already to twists in the show, they must have figured, hey, why not add one more? It took away from the gravity of the whole situation. 

It took away from the real threat of political extremism in America to a watered-down piece of commentary on mental health, grief, and loss.

The episode featured some very beautiful and heartwarming scenes.

The first was when Garza called Brendon into his office and gave him a pep talk about office romance. It is easy to get lost in the feelings, beauty, and danger of sneaking around that you forget the potential ramifications if something goes south.

Garza: A little birdie told me you asked Antoinette out.
Brendon: A little birdie, huh? Was Elena the little birdie?
Garza: I was once stationed in Tampa with a fellow trainer. Her name was Candace. She was a Marx woman, as smart as she was deadly. And I was a goner, Brendon. I was smitten.
Brendon: So, what happened?
Garza: She became my first ex-wife. After the divorce, we had to continue working together in the same field office for a year.7
Brendon: Awkward.
Garza: Awkward as hell.

Graza imparted his knowledge gained, sadly, from first-hand experience. Garza also didn’t lie to Brendon when he told him it was great when it worked out and left the ball in his court to decide what to do with that information.

Brendon was always in because he had never met someone like Antoinette. The thing he finds most attractive about her is how she doesn’t treat him like most other girls with whom he has been involved.

His courage to approach her and put the ball in her court was admirable.

On the surface, there is nothing wrong with their relationship. No one is above the other in terms of rank; they are mutually into each other and look good together.

Hopefully, it remains as such because sometimes even the most innocent-appearing relationships can turn sour.

The second beautiful moment was when he laid it all at Antionette’s feet and walked away, smiling like a champ. You can’t say that she didn’t dig that confidence.

Maybe she has never met a man that confident before; you might never know why she agreed to go out with him.

Antoinette: I would regret not giving us a try.
Brendon: Wait, that’s it?
Antoinette: Until our date. Saturday night.
Brendon: I’ll wear something quite.

The episode had Cutty and Simone in the same room without screaming at each other. Are we witnessing growth, or what? I love it.

Damien had the guts to ask Simon to go to DC, which I respect. A man’s got to ask for what he wants. Simone said no and decided to put herself first, which is also respectable.

However, she stared longingly at him when she saw him on TV. Did this speak to some hidden feelings she might be having about him?

Now that Antoinette and Brendon might finally be going out, should we expect it to be as good on the inside as it looks on the outside?

Are you rooting for them?

We always love hearing what you say, so don’t hesitate to comment below about your thoughts.

It’s yours to watch The Rookie: Feds online anytime you want, right here at TV Fanatic.

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Denis Kimathi is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. He has watched more dramas and comedies than he cares to remember. Catch him on social media obsessing over [excellent] past, current, and upcoming shows or going off about the politics of representation on TV. Follow him on Twitter.

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