Monica Stevens Gets Her Moment in ‘The Rookie’ — But Did Fans Miss the Real Underdog?

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The Rookie Season 7 recently concluded and stands out as one of the most uneven entries in the series. Despite featuring 18 episodes, Season 7’s biggest storylines played out in a very rushed fashion. Additionally, many major payoffs ended anti-climactically, best illustrated by the Jason Wyler (Steve Kazee) storyline. Season 7 ended with the villainous former-lawyer-turned-criminal mastermind, Monica Stevens (Bridget Regan), returning to Los Angeles and achieving diplomatic immunity after stealing valuable government intelligence. It’s a good thing that The Rookie set up a major storyline for Monica when the show returns in Season 8, but the Jason Wyler storyline needed significantly more screentime for a suitable payoff as well.

Jason Wyler’s Season 6 Return Was Awkward and Short-Lived

Truthfully, Jason Wyler never came off as a character who needed to return to The Rookie. Jason debuted in Season 4 and was featured in a three-episode arc. He played the criminal, toxic, abusive former husband of Bailey Nune (Jenna Dewan), the girlfriend of John Nolan (Nathan Fillion). Jason presented a challenge to John and Bailey’s relationship, but the couple’s relationship became stronger. Wyler was an intriguing recurring villain, but his storyline was properly concluded in his last appearance in the fourth season episode, “End Game.” He was exposed for his crimes, arrested, and sent to jail. It was not necessary to dredge up Jason again after taking him off the board.

Why was Jason brought back? It always seemed rather strange that Jason was reintroduced as a fellow prison inmate alongside Oscar Hutchinson (Matthew Glave) in the Season 6 finale, “Escape Plan.” This was Wyler’s first appearance in years, and there was never a previous scene establishing that he and Oscar were neighbors at the same prison. In fact, in the last appearance of the recurring villain, Elijah Stone (Brandon McLaren), in the Season 5 episode, “The Enemy Within,” an epilogue scene reveals Elijah being put in a neighboring cell next to Hutchinson. Then, Stone asks Hutchinson if he has any good “revenge stories” to read. The obvious implication is that Stone and Hutchinson will team up to get revenge against the officers of the Mid-Wilshire Division. It’s clear narrative foreshadowing. Yet, when we see Hutchinson in prison again in Season 6, the show awkwardly switches from Elijah Stone to Jason Wyler, despite the obvious setup of an Elijah and Oscar alliance in Season 5.

Perhaps it was a matter of extenuating circumstances, McLaren’s availability, or a creative decision was made in the writers’ room. Either way, the storyline played out like a weird switch occurred between Elijah and Jason, but the narrative shifted back to Jason, causing a haphazard reintroduction to the character. Season 6 ended with Jason escaping prison, and Bailey and Nolan hearing about the news over the phone. Sadly, the abrupt nature of Season 6’s ending would carry over into Season 7, where the problems only got worse.

The Jason Wyler Storyline Ended With a Whimper and Not a Bang

Season 7 of The Rookie begins with Jason Wyler as a fugitive at large, with John Nolan desperately trying to hunt him down, fearing he will target Bailey when he returns to Los Angeles. Jason would finally make his return for a brief appearance in Season 7, Episode 5, “Till Death.” He quickly gets taken out by the hitman, Malvado (Jimmy Gonzalez), after kidnapping Bailey. After several episodes of buildup, Jason is permanently killed by a new character.

Basically, the Jason storyline played out like the writers had no idea what to do with the character, and they did not adequately map out his return in Season 6. If the writers truly wanted to utilize Jason again, they should have portrayed him as a bigger threat, with more screentime for his last appearance. Considering Jason was again attempting to victimize his ex-wife, Bailey, the storyline’s conclusion removed Bailey’s agency. The return of Jason would have provided the perfect outlet to show Bailey confronting Jason and refusing to allow him to ruin her life. Instead, the subplot served as a conduit for Bailey becoming an accessory to conspiracy and murder, as she texted Jason’s whereabouts to Malvado. The aftermath of Bailey’s actions with Malvado showcases another storyline that was not well-handled in Season 7.

Season 7 would have benefited from more time depicting Jason evading the authorities and planning his revenge, instead of focusing on Monica’s return, which only served as a setup for Season 8. More screentime would have established Jason as a stronger, more serious threat, similar to characters such as Elijah Stone. Additionally, it would have raised the stakes of John’s desperation in finding Jason, establishing that Jason is constantly slipping out of his grasp, playing a twisted psychological game by inciting fear in John and Bailey’s lives. His brief return and uneventful death in Season 7 lacked any impact or suspense, and it didn’t offer a greater sense of closure for John and Bailey.

‘The Rookie’ Can’t Afford Another Season Like Season 7

Overall, The Rookie Season 7 came together as a series of bait-and-switch moments. Many of the events, such as the uneventful ending to the Chenford romance, the Malvado storyline, the return of Jason Wyler, and the return of Oscar Hutchinson, ended disappointingly. The Rookie cannot afford another subpar climax to a major storyline in Season 8. Season 7 poorly executed Monica’s return to Los Angeles, since most of her manipulation took place off-screen. However, it’s good that The Rookie finally got back to her, and the story ends in a way that encourages viewers to tune in to Season 8 to see what she does next. If Monica Stevens is going to be the big bad for Season 8, then that storyline needs significantly more screentime than what Jason Wyler received in Season 7.

Every episode of The Rookie is streaming now on Hulu in the U.S.