The first step in fixing a problem is acknowledging that there is one and getting help.
Tim Bradford is on the path to doing that after everything that has happened to him, and Blair is the person he’s willing to turn to to get the ball rolling by the end of The Rookie Season 6 Episode 7.
But is that the best choice? It’s one of many things worth discussing during this installment.
Overall, it was a genuinely pleasant hour! And that sounds a bit sardonic, but that’s not the case.
One of the things that made “Crushed” so fun and intriguing was that all the characters were involved with the same case and approached it from different angles.
The Rookie is infinitely easier to follow during these instances when one specific case brings together all the characters we love.
When you don’t have to split your attention trying to recall who is on what, we get this united effort that allows for the smaller factions or partnerings while still having the camaraderie and group vibes that take advantage of the full cast and its chemistry.
For example, the ladies and John Nolan used the radio as their personal chat fest, and they talked about nannies and the price of babysitting, which was hilarious.
It never stops being funny when they do that, and to add to the amusement of that bit, we had Grey in the field with them and hearing all of this as well.
There’s something about the superior bearing witness to some of the shenanigans and rolling with it that is entertainment at its finest.
The theme of children and how that extends to childcare had great legs in offering so many amusing little beats for characters like Nyla Harper and Lopez while tapping into Nolan’s current storyline and even loosely extending to Lucy.
For Nolan, it was proof of how out of depth he is about modern patterning, which suggests he’s not fully prepared for this baby-making journey as he may have expected.
He was the consummate supportive partner with Bailey, especially when Celina, who keeps serving as a fascinating rendition of a pseudo-daughter to him, informed him about geriatric pregnancies and why Bailey could be taking their family planning so seriously.
It was odd that Nolan seemed so aloof on the matter. It didn’t feel as true to form for him, and it was one of those things that only served the plot. How hasn’t it crossed his mind that Bailey is technically trying to have a child “past her prime,” and that makes her conceiving more difficult and stressful?
And while Bailey Nune is growing on a girl, it was still too much oversharing regarding their sex life.
How do you feel about having sex in the back of an ambulance?
Bailey
It’s still a rather dull and uninspired storyline to wrap one’s head around, and we shall avoid delving into the frustrations of inserting baby storylines where they aren’t needed.
However, the primary tie-ins for the case were with Lopez and Harper and their search for a proper nanny. They’re right about the expectations and resume for them these days.
Child care is costly, bordering on outrageous, and finding the perfect person for the job is incredibly nerve-wracking.
Lopez’s old nanny not only carrying around a gun in her purse but leaving it about where the kids could’ve gotten to it was rather disturbing, and she earned that ousting no matter her reasoning behind needing the protection.
The two women interviewing the perfect candidate from their shop while searching for missing girls was so peak them that it was worth a chuckle.
The nanny, willing to roll with the punches and literally go along with the ride, showed how perfect she was for them. It was also such a great idea for them to share her.
They’re true best friends and partners on and off the clock if they could share the same nanny and split the costs. If their kids (including the unnamed Wopez baby, seriously, what’s up with that?) weren’t already considered “play cousins,” they are now.
The case was solid, with Emma going missing after seemingly abandoning the child she babysat and never returning.
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It was a bit surprising that they put so much effort into this incident in such a short time rather than doing the 24-48 hour bit and the file sitting on the desk of an overworked or barely interested cop.
But fortunately, it was all hands on deck for this one, and it was all the better for it.
We got into a relatively convoluted bit involving Emma and Olivia, who sometimes felt interchangeable, which made things confusing. And we eventually learned that Emma’s boss, the father of the baby she was babysitting, had effectively groomed Olivia and knocked her up.
Once we got to the point where Bradford and Thorsen found Olivia, it was apparent that she wasn’t telling the whole truth about what happened, and there was more to the story.
Tim: I own my mistakes and I move on.
Blair: Except you haven’t. How could you when your whole image is acting honorably?
She was suspicious, and we got the confirmation shortly after when they found Matthew’s corpse in his car with different wounds.
Olivia’s killing of Matthew wasn’t that surprising, but it was heartbreaking to realize that she murdered Emma as well. She was her best friend who did nothing but try to help her, and it was such a tragic end for the young woman.
It was hard not to cringe when Nolan notified Bailey of the situation with Olivia because even if she didn’t know the exact code, she could pick up that something was off, and they likely figured out the truth.
And I’m still trying to wrap my head around why Bailey’s partner for the day had that huge knife on him while in the ambulance in the first place!
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Bella DeLong, who played Olivia, was fantastic. Her breakdown once Nolan and Celina closed in on her was moving, and you could tell the actress poured her all into that scene.
Despite the circumstances, you wanted to reach through the screen and hug her.
And Nolan was the perfect person to talk her down. It was such a tragic state of affairs to know that she went from a victim to a perpetrator, all because a grown man couldn’t keep his hands to himself and preyed after her.
It’s such a sad reflection of what it’s like for some victims.
Blair’s contribution to the case was interesting, as we don’t typically see a shrink onboard who inadvertently serves as a profiler. She was great at speaking to and comforting Olivia when they found her.
And Blair also had a lot of great insight for them when they were trying to work the case and figure things out.
It was enough to make you wish they had an official profiler onboard and worked with them sometimes. Someone like Tim Bradford may not be open to that all the time, but it’s not without its uses.
Blair had some great moments. It was one of the strongest installments they’ve had with her character since they introduced her, and Danielle Campbell is great when she has something substantial to do here.
Her presence during the ride-along was another situation where you had to suspend belief.
On the one hand, she was reading Bradford for filth and telling him all the things he didn’t want to hear but needed to, and it’s hard not to enjoy that.
On the other hand, it felt like she was overstepping a lot, and it was wrong of her to delve into so much when Thorsen was right there.
She didn’t let up, and it was overkill to have her psychoanalyzing him to death at every comment he made, sounding as if she was reciting lines from a psychology textbook or something.
But she had Bradford’s card, and it rattled him to have someone read him so well and effortlessly.
It was inappropriate for her to do all that with another person present. Still, she also pushed back against Bradford’s blatant attempts to stonewall her, which he didn’t anticipate.
She worked some magic with the combination of her point-blanking him about his issues and how he approaches life and his relationships because of them and realizing just how deeply Lucy was hurt enough to push him in the direction of therapy.
Bradford seeking therapy on his own was a massive step for him. And it’s something to be proud of because it’s not something he’s approaching with ease.
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He was genuinely trying to approach the job as if everything was fine, and he was affected by losing his Metro job, getting bumped down to patrol, and breaking things off with Lucy.
But we all know it was smoke and mirrors for him.
The therapy is great, but Blair remains suspect, and now we have to be worried about what could come from him seeing her specifically.
She comes across as shady, and this is The Rookie, where we can never fully trust any of the new characters introduced.
The incident with Thorse was always disturbing, and she lacked boundaries and professionalism, which is a cause for concern.
It seemed a bit off how she behaved when Bradford went to her by the end of the hour. And with the whole bank situation still unresolved, there’s the ominous tone of knowing that something is coming and someone must be involved.
Now that Bradford is on the path toward getting some help, Lucy can rest assured that something good can come out of this.
She spent much of the hour processing her feelings and realizing that she’s angry and Tim and deserves to voice that and have a say in their relationship.
Lucy and Sergeant Grey was such a fantastic dynamic, and his approach to her was something she needed. It also made me wonder if there is another scenario in the works where Lucy may become a sergeant sometime in the future.
It would be lovely if she became Grey’s mentee, and we’ve already witnessed her in positions of power; they suit her.
She also had to deal with losing Tamara. Still, it was a beautiful, bittersweet affair because she provided her with a home and became her family, and losing her now was the equivalent of sending a kid away to college and watching them start their life equipped with the tools you gave them.
She let Tamara know she has a space to land if things don’t work out. But Tamara will be okay, and that’s all because Lucy Chen took a chance on her and welcomed her into her life one day.
Lucy: I hope you know that you always have a home with me.
Tamara: I know. Thank you. Stealing your car is probably the best decision I ever made.
Thanks to Celina needing a place to stay, Lucy won’t have to be an empty nester for long. And while it’s relatively quick to switch out Tamara with Celina, it’s a dynamic that could work and serve both characters well.
Sometimes, society likes to push this narrative that people need to learn to be alone, but there’s nothing wrong with Lucy finding comfort and family within the people she welcomes into her life during times of need.
While she’s still working through her anger over the breakup, it’s nice that she can find solace in having someone around, and she doesn’t have to be by herself during all of this.
Over to you, The Rookie Fanatics.
Did you enjoy the episode? Are you concerned about Blair? Sound off below!
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You’ll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.
