Season 7 begins with Lucy, now a temporal training officer, as the episode sees her taking a rookie named Seth under her wing. Trusting she’s well suited to the task at hand, she agrees to enter into a bet with Tim on who will emerge as a better rookie trainer. This new role signals that Lucy’s career could be headed in a direction different from her original aspirations of becoming an undercover cop. Lucy’s chances of becoming a detective were undermined following her low score in the detective exams, an outcome that can be partly blamed on a sacrifice — the five-player trade she made in Season 5 to get Tim a better job after they began dating. The move earned her some enemies, one of whom was responsible for sabotaging her placement in the results.
Now broken up from Tim, Lucy is free to prioritize herself without the burden of her feelings for him, and showrunner Alex Hawley has teased that the show will explore her considering a different career path should her dreams of becoming a detective go unfulfilled. Speaking to ScreenRant about the possibility of Hawley becoming something other than a detective, Hawley said:
“She could. We’re definitely exploring that this season. It was important in the fallout of Tim sort of blowing up their relationship that Lucy come out of it with a renewed sense of agency, of not being a victim, of ultimately needing to make her career a priority.
Part of the reason that she scored so low on the detective’s exam, which she passed, but she’s just so far down the list that there’s not going to be a spot that opens up, is because she put herself out there and put together this five-player trade to get Tim a better job. And so I think there’s definitely a sense of her going, ‘I’ve got to look out for myself here. I’ve got to make myself a priority,’ which I think is super positive for her.”
A New Career Path For Lucy Bodes Well For Chenford
Lucy’s career taking a path different from her dreams will tie well into making a future relationship with Tim not only possible but also smoother than before. When they began dating in Season 5, her detective aspirations were the major bone of contention between the couple, as Tim, having previously lost a spouse to undercover work, was against her becoming a detective. So should Lucy’s career trajectory turn away from detective work, Tim will likely feel more comfortable pursuing a romantic relationship with her.
Catch up with Chenford on The Rookie Season 7 airing on Tuesdays on ABC with episodes available to stream on Hulu.
