The Rookie Season 7 had clearly shown throughout its run so far that despite the fact that Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) and Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) split at the end of Season 6, there was still some hope for the reunification of Chenford. There had been flashes in the sky, and during the Valentine’s episode, the storm clouds gathered and there was intense rainfall. Having gathered everyone together at a charity gala, Lt. Grey’s gala created the perfect storm as Lucy and Tim ended up spending the night together despite their best efforts.
Prior to their hookup, Lucy has confided in Tim regarding her reservations surrounding Seth Ridley (Patrick Keleher). With Seth still a bit of a problem, will Lucy continue to share her concerns with Tim? Or will their passionate affair lead Lucy to distance herself from him? Speaking in an interview with TV Insider, O’Neil reveals that she expects them to try to maintain some distance. “That’ll be the interesting thing,” O’Neil explains. “It’s leaning back onto the fact that they’re such good teammates and she trusts him implicitly as a mentor outside of it. That is the origin of their relationship. Even though she has never felt that his methods were maybe always pure, she has always respected his capacity and his opinion and his insight in these ways.” That part of their relationship remains the same.”
Lucy and Tim share an extraordinary friendship, and O’Neil goes on to explain that it will seek to pull them through what is at the moment, a messy situation. Despite the cloudy nature of their present situation, the actress goes on to add that there would be a move on the part of both parties to compartmentalize and remain professional. She adds:
“That’s the beautiful thing about them, as messy and confusing and wonderful and sweet as their out-of-work relationship has become. That’s really important as far as the underlying tenets of who these people are. They’re good at their job, and they know how to compartmentalize those things. Lucy in particular is going to be really good at that because of her background and the way that she really took to undercover work as well. She knows how to section things off.”
Lucy Wants Some Responsibility From Tim
The end of Chenford was not due to some action taken by Lucy, but solely a decision taken by Tim who has challenges of his own to handle. While fans might be invested heavily in the reunification of Chenford, O’Neil reveals in a previous interview that reconciliation in itself isn’t what Lucy is interested in, but some responsibility. “I think that that’s not what’s important to her. A lot of what I inform Lucy’s stuff [with] has to do with her in-story emotional intelligence. And I think a person’s intention matters less than their actions, so whether or not he wants to reconcile is besides the point.”
