We’ve seen a number of main characters come and go on The Rookie over the years, but one who has been around since the start is Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil). Lucy’s journey on the show hasn’t been easy, especially for the last few seasons. A perfect summary of it all was when Lucy caught up with Rachel (Jasmine Mathews) earlier this season. All in one go, Lucy told Rachel that a number of dreams had fallen apart, as Tim (Eric Winter) had broken up with her, she unfairly failed the Detective’s exam, and Tamara (Dylan Conrique) had moved out of her apartment. Then, most recently, Lucy became a T.O., only to end up training Seth (Patrick Keleher), a pathological liar.
Now, after a string of disappointments, Lucy Chen has finally gotten a win for the first time in a while. The entire second half of Season 7 has been building up to Lucy taking the Sergeant’s exam, and this week’s episode, “Mutiny and the Bounty,” sees her stressing about the results. Finally, after the results get delayed by a day, it is revealed that Lucy passed. Not only did she pass, by the way, but Lucy got the number one result. I am so excited that Lucy passed the Sergeant’s exam, and I am really interested to see the new storylines that The Rookie gives her, especially now that she will be working the night shift.
I Couldn’t Be Happier That ‘The Rookie’ Finally Gave Lucy a Win
In a lot of ways, it feels like Lucy’s entire character arc has been building up to this moment. She started out as the clear stand-out among the other two rookies, even with Jackson’s (Titus Makin Jr.) family ties. She excelled at the academy, and she arrested someone before she even showed up to the station for her first day. Lucy then had to face a number of obstacles. I love Tim now and understand many of his training methods, especially after seeing how ineffective Nolan’s (Nathan Fillion) less direct way of teaching is. That being said, Tim was a really difficult T.O. The worst part of Lucy’s experience as a rookie was, of course, “Day of Death,” when she was kidnapped and buried alive by Caleb (Michael Cassidy).
Lucy has endured so much during her time at Mid-Wilshire, both personally and professionally. She had to deal with the deaths of her mentor (Mercedes Mason), and later of her best friend. She also had to pivot dreams, after failing to make Detective due to a number of grudges held by powerful people. In spite of all of this, including her parents’ disapproval, Lucy has become a Sergeant. I am so happy to see Lucy actually get something that she wants for the first time in a while, and I feel like this is the perfect opportunity for The Rookie to shake things up for Lucy at work, especially now that she will be working with new people on the night shift.
I Love Chenford, But I’m Glad That ‘The Rookie’ Didn’t Make Lucy’s Exam Results About Them
It’s no secret that I adore Chenford, and that I have been a bit frustrated with how The Rookie‘s been dragging out their reconciliation this season. For once, though, I am happy that The Rookie has delayed them getting back together for at least another episode. Lucy becoming a Sergeant will certainly be great for her and Tim, as she will not be in his chain of command anymore, and the only thing keeping them apart will be her fear that he will leave her again. Ultimately, though, as Lucy has pointed out, she didn’t take this test for Tim. This is an excellent career opportunity for Lucy, and it’s a smart way for The Rookie to give her a promotion outside of her previous goal of becoming a detective.
Tim is still a part of Lucy’s big moment; he reads the results to her and is really happy for her. Sergeant Grey (Richard T. Jones) is also a major part of it, though, because he puts the results up and gives Lucy her Sergeant’s stripes. But this moment is really just about Lucy. She worked very hard, but still didn’t believe it would work out, because of her previous disappointments. The moment where Lucy reads the results made me tear up — it was so emotional seeing her finally hit this milestone. She may have only started pursuing the Sergeant dream recently, but Lucy has always been working towards some sort of promotion. It is such a beautiful pay-off to see Lucy finally achieve this, and although Lucy is fictional, I’m very proud of her.
The Season 7 finale of The Rookie will air next Tuesday night on ABC, and will be available to stream the next day on Hulu.
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