Chenford’s Relationship Will Face Some Huge Changes on ‘The Rookie’ Season 8 — and That’s a Very Good Thing

As die-hard fans of The Rookie continue the very long wait for Season 8, it’s a good time to take stock of the romantic pairing of Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) and Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil), which has been dubbed “Chenford” by the fandom at large. Since the couple tragically broke up in Season 6, fans of Chenford have experienced a rough ride. Although Tim and Lucy did not get back together in Season 7, they did resume their romantic liaison. At least Season 7 ended on a somewhat hopeful note that Tim and Lucy might be able to work things out and resume their relationship in the near future. Needless to say, if Tim and Lucy do reunite in Season 8, their relationship will never be the same, and that bodes well for the couple’s future. We’re going to unpack why it’s good that things will likely be different for Chenford in the upcoming eighth season.

Tim Bradford Made Excellent Strides in Season 7

As previously discussed, Tim underwent tremendous emotional growth throughout Season 7 and made some amazing strides. Despite Dr. Blair London’s (Danielle Campbell) role in trying to frame Tim for murder in Season 6, Tim recognized the necessity of how therapy could benefit his personal life. This resulted in Tim continuing his group therapy journey in Season 7. Throughout the season, Tim became more emotionally available and helpful to his colleagues, including fellow officer John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and even his newest rookie trainee, Miles Penn (Deric Augustine). He also finally found some emotional closure with his ex-girlfriend, Rachel Hall (Jasmine Mathews), after she returned to Los Angeles.

During the documentary-style episode, “A Deadly Secret,” while under the influence of truth serum, Tim admitted that trauma from his late abusive father caused him to break up with Lucy. Tim revealed that his father had caused him to internalize a need to punish himself for his failures, and Tim continued punishing himself after his father was no longer around. Tim ultimately viewed breaking up with Lucy as the worst way he could punish himself after the Ray Watkins (David Dastmalchian) drama. During the same scene, Lucy revealed that she had already forgiven Tim for breaking up with her.

Tim’s admission about his father was deeply profound. Now, Lucy has a greater understanding of Tim’s actions, and Tim has been working to fix his emotional baggage. Additionally, Lucy appears ready to get back together with Tim, and they simply need to have a long talk about how they will move forward. The fact that Tim asked Lucy to move in with him during the Season 7 finale was a huge romantic gesture. Unfortunately, an exhausted Lucy slept through Tim’s heartfelt confession.

Lucy Is Now Outside of Tim’s Chain of Command

An ongoing issue in Tim and Lucy’s relationship concerns the LAPD chain of command. When the couple initially began dating in Season 5, Tim removed himself from Lucy’s chain of command to avoid any career issues affecting their relationship. This eventually led to Lucy pulling off the infamous five-player trade to transfer Tim to a position as the Mid-Wilshire Division’s liaison to the LAPD’s Metro Division. Unfortunately, Lucy’s execution of the five-player trade caused her unwanted attention and notoriety within the department, affecting her results later in Season 6 when she took the detective exam.

In Season 7, Lucy aced her sergeant’s exam and received a new promotion, taking charge of the LAPD’s night shift, nicknamed the “Dream Team” for how they like to sleep on the job. Lucy certainly has her work cut out for her to whip the Dream Team into shape in Season 8, but she will undoubtedly pull that off due to her exceptional skills and determination. Lucy put a strong focus on improving her career standing in Season 7, and her promotion now puts her in equal standing with Tim, who is also a sergeant.

The good news is that Lucy is now outside of Tim’s chain of command and shares equal rank with him, so the chain-of-command issue in their relationship has been completely removed. However, now Tim and Lucy have to deal with their alternate schedules. As Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz) pointed out in the Season 7 finale, even though Tim and Lucy are now on opposite schedules, they could “cross over at shift changes” and “find the time” if they wanted to. Although Lucy’s late hours will be an adjustment period for the potential couple, hopefully, Tim and Lucy will find a way to work through it next season. Now that they’ve resolved any administrative problems due to their ranks, it’s simply a matter of whether they want to get back together.

Season 8 Marks a Fresh Start for Chenford

Season 8 should present a fresh start for Tim and Lucy’s relationship. They are not exactly beginning from square one, and they are head-over-heels with one another. It makes no sense for them to continue being miserable, so Season 8 needs to bring some much-needed happiness and resolution to the pairing. The fake-out moment with Lucy falling asleep in the Season 7 finale, while humorous, should not be repeated next season when Tim and Lucy finally sit down and have a serious relationship conversation. Otherwise, The Rookie risks further alienating Chenford fans who are likely already on edge after the latest season. If they do resume their relationship, they will start on a much stronger footing, with Tim reaching a higher level of emotional maturity.

Tim and Lucy’s interviewer in “A Deadly Secret” even mentioned that the couple discussed potential baby names while they were under the influence of the truth serum. They want to have kids and have already picked out baby names! Keeping the two apart for another whole season makes no sense. Hopefully, the writers of The Rookie make the right decision and restore Chenford in the upcoming eighth season. It’s time to fish or cut where Tim and Lucy are concerned. The recent changes they have made in their lives will make both of them more honest, and they will be better and stronger as a couple than ever.

The Rookie Season 8 won’t be back until 2026. Until that time, fans can check out all seven seasons of the series, which are available to stream now on Hulu in the U.S.