Nolan and the gang were dragged into the world of a true-crime docuseries on The Rookie Season 3 Episode 7. Other shows have gone down this interview the characters route with mixed results. Castle did it once and I absolutely hated it.
But this installment of The Rookie felt like just the light-hearted episode that we needed.
And realizing that I called it “light-hearted” when there were two murders tells me that perhaps I need to cut back on my true crime series viewing.
A man had his eyeballs ripped from his sockets, for goodness sake. Thankfully, off-camera.
There’s something about our favorite shows that we watched as kids that endures. Whether the show was great or complete crap doesn’t matter. The sense of nostalgia is magic and can stick with us for the rest of our lives.
That Nolan, as an adult, loved a stupid sitcom is only made bearable by the fact that he was watching it with Henry, who had to go through multiple heart surgeries. Anything that could make your kid laugh while experiencing that kind of suffering would capture your heart no matter how bad it was, so Nolan gets a pass for lousy taste in TV.
Having the story circle back to when Lopez stopped a mass suicide on The Rookie Season 2 Episode 6 was a terrific twist.
Looping in a big reveal about Jackson’s boyfriend was an even better one.
After The Rookie Season 3 Episode 6, we were left wondering exactly what happened to Jackson and Sterling. Now we know.
If you thought Sterling Freeman sounded like a made-up name, you’d be right, but it’s hard to blame someone for changing it when their real name was Skipper Young.
Considering the huge betrayal Jackson was dealt, perhaps it’s no surprise he’d rather date a cop. At least he knows his boyfriend won’t be a felon.
But the funniest moments came from Bradford and Chen as these two were somewhere between a bickering old married couple and a brother and sister comedy team.
Bradford: What’s the saying, those who can’t do, teach?
Chen: You are literally my teacher. What are you saying?
I was worried for Lucy when she bent down to check out the body under the bed. That seems like an easy way to get shot, except when it’s a fraudulent Charlie Chaplin mummy. That was a creative distraction to the murder case that was building and a nice nod to Hollywood folklore about his corpse being stolen.
But this episode highlighted how Tim and Lucy have such different personalities; he’s all cynicism and she’s full of enthusiasm. Watching them play off of one another can be a lot of fun.
And getting a glimpse of Lucy dancing in her TikTok video was priceless.
There were lots of small roles that were standouts starting with Dan Marcie, aka The Southland Stalker…
I got tired of bashing people over the head and dragging them into cars, so I thought it would be much easier just to charm them as myself. So I asked Corey to teach me.
Dan Marcie
It’s difficult to argue with that logic since some of the world’s most famous serial killers were known for charming their victims, but I wonder how many actually signed up for classes to hone the skill.
I guess cutting out his partner in crime worked out better for Dan than it did for Corey.
And hearing producer Sheila Moore share how Corey considered his cult followers attempted suicide as his script’s proof of concept made me laugh in the darkest way possible.
Sheila was played by Meredith Lynn Scott whom I’m a fan of since her time on Days of Our Lives as Anne Milbauer. She brought a similar deadpan, sarcastic wit to this character which I found incredibly entertaining.
And having Frankie Muniz, an actual child star, play the crazy child actor, Corey Harris, was brilliant. Corey’s ego and arrogance were both funny and revolting, but his fear when being stalked in his own home felt real.
Five people almost died because some washed-up narcissist thought that the world he dreamed up in his screenplay had become real.
Jackson
The cameos by Rainn Wilson and Robyn Roberts weren’t entirely necessary, but they did add a nice touch to the theme of crime as entertainment.
But the unshakable Officer Nyla Harper was my favorite throughout this installment.
Where Nolan was starstruck, Harper was her usual unflappable self.
It didn’t really matter to me that he was famous. I mean, this is LA. Every other house is owned by a superstar or a model, or a cult leader.
Harper
That this didn’t even come close to being Harper’s craziest case didn’t surprise me, nor did her ending the interview on her terms and not theirs.
In the end, Corey’s mother murdering a young woman she’d known since she was a child all to protect her self-centered, deranged son was sad. The fact that she was willing to go to prison for it wasn’t a surprise.
That the interviewer seemed to think that any parent would murder or take the blame for a murder to protect their adult child was a little disconcerting.
Your job as a parent is to protect your children as much as you can, but that also means teaching them right from wrong. There has to be consequences. It doesn’t mean you love them any less; it just means parenting is hard.
Nolan
A couple of last tidbits to add…
I loved that Jackson didn’t hesitate to give Lopez all the credit for saving The Worthy from that rooftop.
Speaking of Angela, I know we’re probably seeing a bit less of her because the actress is pregnant, but I miss her.
So what did you think, TV Fanatics?
- Was this episode just what we needed after some of the heavier storylines from recent weeks?
- Are you missing Lopez as much as I am?
- Which guest star was your favorite?
- Is there a child actor you’d still be awestruck to run into?
- And are you glad Jackson has moved on from Sterling (aka Skipper)?
Hit that big, blue, SHOW COMMENTS button down below to let us know if you loved this installment or hated it. Then you can watch The Rookie online here at TV Fanatic.
C. Orlando is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.