The good news: Seth Gabel and Noel Fisher return as serial killers Liam Glasser and Harrison Novak in the Monday, March 16, episode of The Rookie.
The bad news: Pretty much everything about that and what Lucy (Melissa O’Neil) goes through as she returns to work following her traumatic attack at Westview psychiatric facility. Warning: Spoilers for The Rookie Season 8 Episode 11 ahead!
Due to the challenges of prosecuting Liam Glasser, the DA has instructed Wesley (Shawn Ashmore) to offer him a plea deal of involuntary manslaughter for one of his victims. And they still don’t have any evidence that Glasser’s lawyer, Malcolm (Sean Patrick Thomas), tampered with Ryan’s meds. In a word, it’s a mess. At least with the plea deal, Glasser would be locked up for a decade, giving them time to gather evidence to charge him for other crimes. As his opponent in the race, Vivian (Necar Zadegan), points out, this doesn’t bode well for him winning DA. She, on the other hand, delights in Novak coming in to confess to more crimes. That’s the problem.
Disney/Mike Taing
But Glasser refuses to take the deal, since doing so would be the same as pleading guilty. Meanwhile, Novak confesses to Glasser’s crimes as well — and he has details that haven’t been made public, that he could only have if he’d seen Glasser’s file or been told them by, say, Malcolm or Vivian.
While Wesley tries to argue against the admissibility of Novak’s confession, emphasizing it’s false, the judge sides with Malcolm. What’s worse: The DA drops all charges against Glasser. It’s a tough pill to swallow for Wesley. Not only is he set free, but the morning after he is, he drives straight to the station to greet Nyla (Mekia Cox) with donuts, as a way to say no hard feelings, he claims. He also reminds her that their last conversation by his van got her demoted. He’s planning to go get his life back on track. She stares at him, then, as he walks away, makes it clear: “This isn’t over.”
Meanwhile, Tim (Eric Winter) makes sure Lucy knows that she doesn’t have to return to work just yet after the attack that resulted in her having to take another person’s life to save herself; the man, Martin, had been affected by a chemical at Westview that made him violent and unstoppable. He was a victim, too, she notes at home to Tim. But as he sees it, it’s simple: He could’ve been spending the past few weeks picking out a coffin for her if she hadn’t done what she did. He warns her not to push herself to failure artwork; that can get other cops killed.
Tim rides with Lucy for the shift, something he says he’d do for anyone returning on patrol. And so he’s with her when Martin’s sister is waiting at the station, wanting to know why she killed him. Lucy says she had no choice before Tim sends her off and explains that she can’t talk while the investigation is ongoing. It’s up to the lawyers to determine when certain information is released. After that, he wants Lucy to remain at her desk if she won’t go home, but she disobeys his order and hits the streets again.
She gets that he was worried and wanted to protect her, and he acknowledges he wasn’t listening to her and apologizes. And while he knows all the reasons why she shouldn’t talk to Martin’s sister, he lets her make that decision for herself. She wants to be a good cop, she says, but she also needs to be a good human.
And so with that, Lucy meets with Martin’s sister and emotionally tells her what happened. If she hadn’t fought back, she’d be dead. His sister believes her and thanks her for being honest.
What did you think of this episode? Let us know in the comments section below.
The Rookie, Mondays, 10/9c, ABC