It would be an understatement to say that things with Seth have escalated over the last handful of episodes. Seth started a romance with Tamara (Dylan Conrique), which led to Tamara getting very angry with Lucy for trying to warn her about him. Then, Seth made a mistake during the wildfire which almost got Tim (Eric Winter) and Lucy (Melissa O’Neil) killed, and he lied about it. Now, Seth has been caught in yet another lie, and it may seem like he has been taken down after he’s been fired. Don’t be fooled, though – Seth is not going anywhere just yet.
In ‘The Rookie’s Latest Episode, Seth Is Exposed for Faking the Return of His Cancer
After two back-to-back episodes that saw the lives of a number of main characters be put in danger, this week’s episode of The Rookie, “Chaos Agent,” focuses more heavily on the LAPD’s cases. One of these cases brings Lucy, Seth, and Luna (Angel Parker) to the hospital to talk to two young girls who were involved in a stabbing. While there, Lucy and Seth run into Seth’s former oncologist, Dr. Roberts (Alison Chace). Lucy still has her doubts about Seth due to his past lies, so she pays a great deal of attention when the topic of his cancer comes up. She notes that Dr. Roberts is Seth’s former oncologist and that he claims to have switched to someone new because of his insurance.
Sergeant Grey reveals that Lucy told him all of Seth’s lies and that he takes it very seriously. Seth gets really angry when he’s accused of faking his cancer, and he refuses to take the blood test, so Sergeant Grey fires him. This initially seems like a victorious moment, but this is very likely not the last that The Rookie will see of Seth. For one, he has threatened to sue the department, which could become a major storyline if he goes through with it. For another, as far as The Rookie fans are aware, Seth and Tamara are still dating.
‘The Rookie’ Has Still Not Resolved the Seth and Tamara Storyline
Several episodes ago, Seth and Tamara met when Lucy came to see Tamara about a dealer while she was on duty. Seth and Tamara immediately clicked, and then they went undercover as a couple. They even later went out on a date. Lucy tried to warn Tamara about Seth, but Tamara defended him and got mad at Lucy. Tamara hasn’t been in The Rookie since then, so unless The Rookie solves this off-screen, Tamara will still be dating Seth and not speaking to Lucy the next time that viewers see her. Because this storyline has not yet been wrapped up, it is likely that the show will use this relationship to keep Seth around for a while longer, even now that he has been fired.
If The Rookie does not bring Seth back to wrap up this storyline, it would be quite a letdown, and it would be a poor treatment of Tamara as a character. Her friendship with Lucy is one of the very best of the entire show, and at this point, they are more like family than friends. A major fight between these characters can work and can even be good for their relationship, but it has to be handled with care. Tamara blowing up at Lucy, only for things to be magically fixed between them the next time that Tamara appears on the show, would feel very dissatisfying. The Rookie should follow through with this storyline, so that Tamara can see who Seth really is and finally apologize to Lucy.
‘The Rookie’ Is Likely Going To Keep Seth Around as a Villain
Seth has certainly been an antagonist throughout this season of The Rookie, but he has only ever been shown to be dangerous out of incompetence and carelessness. As far as The Rookie has let on so far, he is not the sort of character who typically turns to violence, in the way that many of the show’s other villains do. That being said, it wouldn’t be surprising if Seth suddenly tried to hurt Lucy or someone close to her, especially after his reaction in the last scene of this episode. When confronted with his lie about his cancer coming back, Seth is absolutely livid, and he seems ready to put up a fight.
This season of The Rookie is heightening the stakes with each episode. The next step of that may very well be Seth putting someone in the department or Tamara in danger. As it stands, Seth has still not been exposed for his mistake during the wildfire. That doesn’t matter as much now that he has been fired, but with that storyline and the Tamara storyline still left unresolved, it would be worthwhile for The Rookie to properly tie these up. Although Seth is an infuriating character, The Rookie should keep him around long enough to give his storyline the right ending.
