The Rookie Season 1 Episode 11 Review: Redwood
Christine Orlando
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Only The Rookie Season 1 Episode 11 could begin with the explosion of a claymore mine and wrap up with a warm, fuzzy moment with a kid's homemade height stick.
In between, it was an action-packed episode that went by so fast that if you blinked, you might have missed the impressive character moments slipped in between the bullets and bloodshed.
Many of us who live in or near large cities know what it means when someone like the President or Vice President comes to town.
It means endless gridlock, delays, and aggravation, but I've never thought about it from the point of view of the cop on the street.
As Officer Bradford pointed out in this The Rookie quote:
Everything we do today is going to piss someone off.
Officer Bradford
I had lots of questions as I watched the officers attempt to move the homeless people off the street, and the residents out of their apartments because they'd have a direct view of the V.P.
Where does everyone go at a moment's notice? I wish we'd seen more of the logistics of having to move people out of their homes just because their windows faced the wrong direction.
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But what we saw was equally compelling.
At first, I wondered if the dirty needle had only punctured Chen's uniform, that was until Bradford pulled it out and there was blood on the tip.
That has got to be terrifying. All of those dreaded, some deadly, diseases that you could contract through no fault of your own. Suddenly Chen's life could have been in danger not from a bullet or an armed assailant but the tiniest of wounds.
You signed up to put your life on the line, that means your health too. Focusing on fear isn’t going to change the outcome.
Officer Bradford
Bradford was there for Chen by being steady and calm and keeping her from letting her emotions spiral out of control. He still used this as a training moment, making her repeat the procedures set in place for just such an event.
The message was clear; when in doubt, fall back on training and procedure and it can save you.
Officers Lopez and West had to collect indecent posters from an apartment building and every door they knocked on felt like Pandora's box.
The most aggravating of which was the adult son who refused to hire a caregiver for his ailing mother and instead tied her to her wheelchair whenever he needed to go out.
That was the case that got to Jackon, who was having his own troubles with his mother.
After Commander West's visit, it was clear that Jackson and his mom were on the outs, but we didn't know why until now.
Donating a kidney would have sidelined Jackson from the police academy for months, maybe longer, so when his brother let him off the hook, Jackson gladly accepted, but that obviously didn't clear things with mom.
Did Jackson bail on the surgery because of fear or because he so desperately wanted to be a cop? Probably a little of both is my guess.
Even if he could forgive himself for letting his brother down, his mother won't forgive him.
Jackson and his mother haven't spoken in months because she feels as though he's chosen the job over his family. It has me wondering if she's had similar issues with her husband and some of those feelings are spilling over onto Jackson.
All of it has me hoping we see a visit between mother and son sometime soon.
I also loved how Jackson was there for Lucy at the hospital when she finally got her test results. It highlighted how close these rookies are as friends and colleagues.
Jackson also came through another firefight without freezing, this time taking a bullet to his tactical vest. It appears that his days of panicking under fire are over.
Bishop and Nolan certainly didn't have a dull day either as they tackled an unstable man with a flare gun wrapped in his underwear, a road rage incident where an innocent woman got killed, and an armed robbery.
Did you just glass-half-full our suspect? Who are you and what have you done with my T.O.?
Officer Nolan
Bishop's new positive attitude was so startling that at first, I wondered if she had some sort of career-motivated ulterior motive for the change. Was she trying to score points with Secret Service or trying to get assigned to a specific detail?
But, surprisingly, that wasn't it. Bishop was only trying to better herself.
Although many who wear the uniform look down on therapy, Nolan was right when he pointed out that talking to someone about what they see on the job every day is essential.
Even though Nolan joked that couple's therapy didn't save he and Sarah's marriage, perhaps it helped them have a much healthier divorce for the sake of themselves and their son, and there's certainly benefit in that.
Officer Bishop: So you think less of me now?
Officer Nolan: No, the opposite. Anyone brave enough to confront their problems head-on deserves respect.
The firefight at the marijuana dispensary culminated with Lopez and West rushing Freddy to the hospital and driving on the sidewalks to get him there thanks to gridlocked traffic.
I was surprised that Nolan ran all the way back to their patrol car to get the first aid kit to help Freddy while the bullets were still flying.
I don't mean to be unsympathetic, but Freddy was a part of the crime, carried a gun, then tried to run from the officers who arrested him and got shot by his own people.
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Freddy's predicament was one of his own making, and I was a little taken aback that Bishop would send Nolan, her only backup, away to help him.
Of course, the upside of Nolan getting their shop was that they were also able to get more ammunition and the tear gas gun which ultimately saved the day.
I was relieved that Lopez and West had already informed Sgt. Grey that they'd disobeyed Agent Danvers orders to go to Bishop and Nolan's aid, and that he backed them up.
With hundreds of officers and agents guarding one man getting a sandwich for a photo op, they could undoubtedly spare two officers to save a life.
Nolan feeling nostalgic over the house he built himself and where he raised his son was very sweet, and I could understand him trying to save it, but Bishop was right, it was time to let it go.
However, I was surprised that Nolan didn't seem more concerned over Lucy's ordeal with the needle stick, but I suppose that the real crisis was over by that point.
Still, it was great to see our three rookies hanging out together once again.
What did you think TV Fanatics, will this episode having you viewing political visits any differently?
Are you looking forward to meeting Jackson's mom? As Bishop mentioned bouncing from home to home once again, do you want to know more about her upbringing?
And did you think Nolan should have been a little more worried about Lucy?
Check back in for my review of The Rookie Season 1 Episode 12, and until then, you can watch The Rookie online here at TV Fanatic.
C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.
