The Rookie Season 7 ended with a jaw-dropping moment. Monica Stevens (Bridget Regan) returned to Los Angeles. Somehow, Monica managed to “leverage” her way into an immunity deal with the United States. After escaping from the authorities in the Season 6 finale, she is now free as a bird and no longer a fugitive. Monica’s appearance was quite a shocking moment since she was absent for most of Season 7, save for one appearance in “Speed.” Ultimately, The Rookie Season 7 turned out to be one of the most disappointing and uneven entries yet for the hit series, leaving us with more questions than answers. It’s time to break down some of our biggest unanswered questions from Season 7.
How Is Monica Stevens Free?
In Monica’s last appearance, she orchestrated a bus heist to steal the ID from a government worker. She copied the login data from the card to steal sensitive intel from an NSA facility in Los Angeles. According to FBI Agent Matthew Garza (Felix Solis), the secrets were “beyond top secret national intelligence, including sources and methods.” The government, fearing the release of the intel, granted immunity to Monica. The Monica reveal at the end was rushed and poorly handled. Garza dumps multiple episodes’ worth of exposition on the audience, culminating in Monica’s return, which makes no sense. How is she free?
Part of the problem is that the audience has no idea what was stolen. Most of what happened with Monica occurred off-screen, so providing all this information in a convoluted exposition dump plays out in an awkward, haphazard fashion. How was Monica able to avoid the authorities for so long? During “Speed,” she didn’t exactly look to be keeping a low profile. Why didn’t the government simply send a drone strike against her? Furthermore, why can the government even trust Monica to keep the secrets from getting out? The intelligence community has no reason to trust her. The Rookie had eighteen episodes to properly set up Monica’s return, but instead, she only appears in two scenes in Season 7. Monica’s storyline needed focus to effectively establish her motives, goals, and how she was able to orchestrate her immunity deal.
What Happened to the District Attorney’s Race?
The Season 7 episode, “Darkness Falling,” revealed that ADA Sean Del Monte (Michael Trucco) was running in the election for Los Angeles District Attorney against rival ADA Vivian Eckert (Necar Zadegan). Del Monte disclosed his intentions to bow out of the race in the penultimate episode, “Mutiny and the Bounty,” after learning that his son is a drug addict. The Eastern Front attempted to blackmail Del Monte so he would drop out of the race due to Del Monte’s hardline efforts against the group.
So, what happened with the LA District Attorney’s race? It’s never referenced again during the season finale. An earlier episode, “The Kiss,” depicted Del Monte’s opponent, Eckert, wrongfully targeting Nyla Harper (Mekia Cox) for the shooting of her husband, James Murray (Arjay Smith). The story implies that Eckert would be a thorn in the side of the officers in the Mid-Wilshire division, as she stepped over some ethical lines in her accusations against Harper, who is currently seeking police reform within the LAPD.
Season 7 creates the general impression that Eckert running unopposed and becoming District Attorney would be a negative outcome. With such an important issue on the horizon, the writers could have put more emphasis on the District Attorney election and what Eckert’s administration would look like in the show’s future. Considering Wesley Evers (Shawn Ashmore) was brought into the office by Del Monte and acted as his protégé, can we assume that Wesley will run in Del Monte’s place? The series might be heading in that direction based on comments by series creator and showrunner, Alexi Hawley, to Collider’s Therese Lacson, with Hawley stating, “I think there’s a good possibility.” The thought of Wesley running for District Attorney is an interesting one, but the recent finale could have utilized more development to foreshadow that potential story arc.
Will Tim and Lucy Finally Have Their ‘Serious Conversation’ in Season 8?
Fans of the Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) and Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) pairing, affectionately called “Chenford,” are unlikely to be super-happy after the Season 7 finale. In “Mutiny and the Bounty,” Lucy finds out that she passed her sergeant’s exam and achieves her promotion. However, she takes over commanding the night shift in Mid-Wilshire and works with the “Dream Team,” who like to sleep on the job. Since Lucy and Tim now both serve as sergeants, Lucy is no longer in Tim’s chain of command, and they are technically free to date each other without repercussions.
However, Tim is hesitant since he has broken Lucy’s heart before, and Lucy wants to have a long, serious conversation with him first. Tim was ready to have that conversation in the finale, but Lucy fell asleep after arriving home from work in one of the most frustrating moments of the season. Can we please get these two crazy kids in love to have their serious talk? It’s disappointing that, after an entire season of buildup to a breakthrough between Tim and Lucy, the couple’s big moment does not occur.
Tim pours his heart out to Lucy and proposes that they move in together, and Lucy sleeps through his whole confession. The ending comes off like an emotional bait-and-switch. Yes, the moment was played for laughs, but fans who have been invested in the pairing and strung along for years likely feel angry right now. What’s more? Fans will not get any type of resolution for Tim and Lucy until 2026! Now, fans have to hope that the moment will happen in Season 8, provided it does not take place off-screen.
Every episode of The Rookie is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.
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