While it is mostly seen as a comedy-based action series, when looking at who dies in The Rookie, these elements are part and parcel of any police procedural drama. The Rookie protagonist John Nolan (Nathan Fillion), has managed to come out of each shift relatively unscathed, but not everyone in the cast has been so lucky, whichever side of the law they may serve. Many of these deaths are shocking plot twists that no one saw coming, and each packs an emotional punch, whether the character is a police officer, a beloved recurring criminal, or a shocking hero-turned-villain.
Indeed, while not too many characters from The Rookie cast are killed throughout its five seasons, this only makes each of The Rookie’s deaths all the more upsetting, crushing, satisfying, or a mix of both. Moreover, some deaths have significantly impacted viewers, leading to memorable moments in the long-running TV series. Whether it is a close friend of John Nolan or someone who drove a figurative knife in his back, these deaths all hit, some harder than others.
Caleb Wright
Shot & Killed By Harper (Season 2)
The protégé of Rosalind Dyer, Caleb Wright had an extremely quick run on the show, appearing only in two episodes of The Rookie season 2. Under the guise of dating Lucy Chen, Caleb drugs and abducts the rookie officer, and then buries her alive at an unknown location. This is why Caleb’s death was both satisfying and distressing, a memorable fate despite the character appearing only briefly in The Rookie.
The death was a huge moment, but one that shouldn’t have happened when it did. Caleb had taken Armstrong hostage and taunted him, saying that Rosalind wanted him to watch Chen’s death since he missed seeing his own wife die. However, the police find them, and when Nolan goes in to save Armstrong, Harper shoots and kills Caleb through a window to save Nolan. What made this one of the most upsetting The Rookie deaths is that, at the time, only Caleb knew where Chen was still buried alive.
As they try to get Chen’s location from him, he dies from the gunshot wound and doesn’t tell them anything. Nolan and the others eventually find Chen, despite Caleb succumbing to his injuries. However, this takes nothing away from how Caleb managed to cause so much distress in so little time, especially in the moments immediately after he died. Rosalind certainly picked the right man for the job. Sadly for Rosalind, the police also found more evidence against her at Caleb’s house.
Rosalind Dyer
Killed By A Sniper (Season 5)
Intelligent, beautiful, and extremely cunning, Rosalind Dyer was a cold-blooded murderer in the vein of Hannibal Lecter. Rosalind herself was responsible for several onscreen and off-screen The Rookie deaths, and she was inarguably the single most despicable person in a show filled with violent criminals. However, whether sh was helping the police find the bodies of her own victims or verbally sparring with John Nolan, Rosalind filled the screen with her gentle but dominating cadence, presence, and body language.
It was clear that Rosalind was one of the most intelligent The Rookie characters. Though Rosalind’s death in The Rookie season 5 means the world is safer, it also takes away one of the most beloved villains in crime series history. It’s even more upsetting that John was about to arrest Rosalind when she was taken out by an unknown sniper with mysterious motives, as John clearly had the right idea.
Apart from how taking her back to prison would’ve given Rosalind her due karmic punishment, there was also clearly more vital information to be gleaned from her criminal knowledge. The death did result in a crossover with The Rookie: Feds. Moreover, as the last character played by the great Annie Wersching, Rosalind Dyer remains deeply embedded in viewers’ minds. That makes her death even more tragic, since Wersching passed away three months after the episode aired after a battle with cancer.
Nick Armstrong
Shot & Killed By A Gang (Season 3)
It’s hard to think of Amrstrong’s death as heartbreaking given that he was one of the most powerful and major antagonists in The Rookie. Yet, his death still manages to come as a disappointment in The Rookie season 3, episode 1, “Consequences.” Armstrong spends the entirety of The Rookie season 2 convincing both Nolan and the audience that he can be trusted. He made a few questionable decisions when he was first introduced, but his actions were easily explained away and disregarded.
Armstrong accomplished so many noble things, that in some ways, it’s hard to believe that he’s been a villain the entire time. Nick Armstrong’s kindness was clearly a way of diverting suspicion, but he also traded his life for Lucy’s when she was buried alive. If Armstrong’s truly as focused on self-preservation as he’s later revealed to be, his sacrifice in The Rookie season 2, episode 11, “Day of Death” doesn’t make much sense.
While Armstrong’s murder inadvertently saves Nolan’s life, it’s not unreasonable to mourn for the character viewers thought he was. This death had a long-lasting effect on John Nolan. One person who he trusted and who he thought had his back ended up as a criminal who tried to kill him. It was also tough since Nolan had to watch as Armstrong was shot and killed in front of him as a way to “clean house” for the gang that he was working with. This helped Nolan understand that he can’t trust everyone.
Erin Cole
Shot & Killed By Armstrong (Season 2)
Erin Cole isn’t in the series for long, but her murder is especially disheartening due to the circumstances that led to it. As one of the rookies who trained with Nolan, Lucy, and Jackson in the academy, she shares a special bond with the main characters. In fact, even though she was actually working with Nick Armstrong, this only ultimately gave Erin Cole one of the most upsetting The Rookie deaths.
While Erin is responsible for her own actions, Armstrong has a way of manipulating others and backing them into a corner. Erin is clearly going through an internal struggle, as she even points the gun at herself in one of the best The Rookie episodes, “The Q Word.” Regardless of her begrudging alliance, Erin didn’t deserve to die, regardless of how Erin herself decided how she would go.
In the series, Erin proved she was the mole when she worked as the acting detective in the investigation and ignored all video footage that would have included her. The officers and Nolan tracked her down and admitted that she turned bad when the Derians paid off her debts. Serj had said he would kill Erin if she wanted out, showing she had no chance. Nolan wanted her to testify against the others, and that is when Armstrong shot and killed her. Nolan realized Erin mouthed “Armstrong” before her death, which revealed the truth.
Chris Rios
Shot & Killed By Serg Derian (Season 2)
Like Erin, the rookies befriend Chris Rios during their time at the Academy. Chris also wasn’t too heavily featured in the show, since he’s assigned to a different division, but he quickly became a likable character. Truthfully, the series didn’t suffer that much from his death, as Chris wasn’t someone whom viewers had time to form an emotional attachment with. But it still remains among the most distressing of The Rookie’s deaths, mainly due to the impact it had on Jackson.
The death happened as everyone was celebrating the end of the first year as rookies. However, this was the day that Rios would die, as he called in a report of a high-speed chase and the team realized that he sounded “too amped up.” Rios then approached the car after pulling it over despite his training officer telling him not to. That is when Serg Derian shoots him three times, and he ends up dying of his injuries. Jackson rides along with him to the hospital after the shooting.
Jackson and Chris were in constant competition with each other, yet it clearly all came from a place of love. The two were portrayed to be close, and Jackson was devastated by the loss of his friend. Moreover, in one of the most heartbreaking scenes of The Rookie, Lucy laid beside Jackson in bed and held him while crying. The death also opened up the investigation into the shooter and it was his murder that proved there was a dirty cop somewhere on the force, which turned out to be Nick Armstrong.
Evelyn Nolan
Heart Attack (Season 5)
John Nolan’s mother, Evelyn, was a known con artist who excelled not only at deception but also at making her son’s life more difficult. Evelyn appeared in only two episodes of The Rookie, and this doesn’t even include the episode in which she died. In The Rookie season 5, episode 14, “Death Sentence,” John spent an entire day ignoring his mother’s calls demanding she be paid for staying away from his wedding.
When John answered a call from a different number, he was informed that Evelyn Nolan had died of a heart attack. Evelyn’s passing was unique among The Rookie deaths for how it had such a huge impact even though it happened completely offscreen. Adding insult to injury was how John later found out that Evelyn was dealing heroin using shampoo bottles. In the end, the bank foreclosed on her house, and John had her cremated in a brief non-ceremony.
Not since the death of Captain Zoe Andersen has John Nolan been so profoundly affected by a death in the family. What really hit John was that he was denying money to his mom, knowing that she is a scam artist. However, when he gets a call from a doctor about her insurance before he finds out that she died, he realizes she was sick and might have needed the money for that. Despite not knowing when he could trust his mom, he partially blamed himself after she died.
Captain Zoe Andersen
Shot & Killed By Cole Midas After An Attempted Drowning (Season 1)
Because of how it was filmed and addressed by The Rookie, Captain Zoe Andersen’s death elicited a devastating and emotional response from audiences and cast members alike. Indeed, Andersen was a well-loved and respected police captain, and she fought to make a real change within the force. Andersen ruled through compassion rather than fear, yet refused to let her officers take advantage of the power they were given.
Few other The Rookie deaths have had as much of an impact as Andersen’s. The death came when she was taken captive by Cole Midas’ gang in the season 1 episode “Greenlight.” To her credit, Andersen refused to allow Cole to intimidate her, and she remained strong and resilient to the end. Her death was heroic, as Midas knocked the chair she was tied to into the pool to watch her drown. She broke free and got into a gunfight, killing several gang members before Midas shot and killed her.
While Andersen didn’t hesitate to call people out when they made a mistake, she also made sure to give praise where it was due. Andersen died saving Nolan’s life, and his reaction was gut-wrenching. With heavy hearts, the LAPD saluted their captain as her body was removed from the scene. Undoubtedly, Andersen was the most beloved of the supporting cast members of The Rookie. Nothing was ever the same after Andersen passed, but Tim pointed out that Andersen’s life could be used to make them better cops.
Jackson West
Shot In The Back (Season 4)
Although it’s a heartbreaking disappointment, Jackson’s death was a plot twist that everyone saw coming in The Rookie. Viewers grew suspicious when Jackson was absent from promotional material for season 4, including the trailer and the show poster. Additionally, actor Titus Makin Jr. disappeared from social media for months, creating more cause for concern. While the circumstances of his departure were foggy, this is one of The Rookie’s deaths that wasn’t initially intended to be part of the storyline.
Titus Makin Jr. left The Rookie when he decided that he couldn’t continue to be a police officer on television after the real-life deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. He wanted his character to emphasize these things, but he said that the showrunners wouldn’t go for it. Makin said he could no longer “play a cop on a show and not talk about the fact that I’m a Black cop. My character hadn’t addressed any of that.” Makin asked to be written out and wouldn’t return to film his character’s murder.
Jackson West is killed off within the first few minutes of The Rookie season 4, episode 1, “Life and Death,” and is only featured from the back due to the actor’s absence. Jackson’s friends watch the surveillance footage as he is fatally shot from behind and stuffed into a trunk. It’s a brutal way for such a youthful and vibrant character to go out, and it’s the biggest loss the show has suffered. Angela naming her baby after Jackson was a heartwarming gesture, yet nothing could fill the hole Jackson left behind. Jackson’s death is the series’ most heartbreaking.
Are Any More Characters Likely To Die On The Rookie?
In six seasons and 108 episodes, only eight characters have died on The Rookie. Two of them were major villains, two betrayed their fellow officers, and one was a supporting character who barely appeared in any of the episodes. With this in mind, only three major characters have passed away, and of them, only Jackson West and Captain Zoe Andersen were killed in action. At that pace, it is not likely there will be any major character deaths coming to The Rookie anytime soon.
With that in mind, if any future characters die, they are likely to be supporting characters. People like John Nolan, Angela Lopez, Lucy Chen, Tim Bradford, Nyla Harper, and Wade Grey should be safe. However, there have been some near deaths, such as Wesley Evers, and he is an important enough character that his death could really shake things up. However, if The Rookie really wanted to shake things up, Bailey Nune could be a huge choice as Nolan’s wife and someone whose death would change everything.
