The Best New Character in ‘The Rookie’ Only Lasted One Episode

tq2 weeks ago

0 5 minutes read

Proving that the brightest flames burn the fastest, The Rookie just said goodbye to its most luminous newbie after one hour of television. Indeed, after being introduced in Season 7, Episode 12, “April Fools,” fans felt like a practical joke was pulled on them when rookie LAPD officer Connor Craig (David Gridley) was abruptly transferred from the Mid-Wilshire Precinct. Just as fans got to know him and his delightful charisma, Connor was rushed out the door and never heard from again.

Apart from detailing who Connor Craig is and why the beloved character had such a short stay in The Rookie, fans may have hope for the character’s return in the newly announced Season 8 renewal. With such an outcry of public support for one of the best new characters in the show’s history, Connor could return to the Mid-Wilshire division as quickly as he left.

Who Is Connor Craig in ‘The Rookie’?

Connor and John patrol by a fence in The Rookie

Introduced in The Rookie Season 7, Episode 12, “April Fools,” Connor Craig (Gridley) is the newest rookie patrol officer assigned to the LAPD’s Mid-Wilshire Patrol Division. Upon arrival, Connor meets his Training Officer, John Nolan (Nathan Fillion), who realizes the rookie officer is severely inexperienced and underqualified. Nolan’s suspicions are proven when Connor has trouble handling his first two police calls, resulting in him calling Lieutenant Grey (Richard T. Jones) for help.

With one month left in his training program, Nolan feels Connor will not satisfy his requirements and is doomed to fail as a patrol officer. Upon discussing the situation with Grey, Nolan agrees to meet with Connor’s previous training officer, Sergeant McAdams, at a nearby hospital. Nolan learns that McAdams deliberately gave Connor a light training load so that he would easily pass his exam and allow McAdams to retire quickly. McAdams claims he fast-tracked Connor as a direct favor to the police captain.

Though not his fault, Connor paid the ultimate price for McAdams’ hasty, incomplete training regiment. However, Nolan allows Connor a chance to prove his patrol skills and to see how qualified or unqualified he is with his own eyes.

Connor Craig Proves Himself as a Great Rookie Officer

Connor meets John in The Rookie

Once Nolan enables Connor to prove himself, the rookie officer answers the call with high honor. Working side-by-side, the pair respond to a shooting in the city and locate a corpse at the crime scene. The victim is an abusive husband

who the police believe was murdered by his abused wife. Arriving at the scene, Connor goes by the book and does what Nolan orders. Connor secures the crime scene and obtains crucial evidence, which Nolan praises out loud. At this point, Connor should get a promotion, not a transfer.

After performing his job admirably, Connor backs up Nolan during a confrontation with masked purgers looking to lash out violently. Despite being overpowered by the criminals and forced to flee on foot, Connor obtained key evidence implicating the dead man’s wife. Nolan, who previously believed Connor was wildly ill-prepared for police work, walks away impressed by Connor’s dutiful actions.

The rookie officer made such a lasting impression in a short time that fans were upset when Grey transferred Connor to another division at the end of “April Fools,” leaving many to wonder if it was a cruel holiday prank. Several Reddit threads have supported Connor as a great character who got short-changed. One Thread wishes Connor would have stayed for more than one episode, with one response articulating the overwhelming sentiment best:

“I wished he would have stayed for more than an episode. Would have been interesting to see him, especially when you compare him to Seth. I say compare because they are both bad at the job. Seth is just a liar pants who won’t admit it while this guy genuinely wants to get better.”

Despite gathering the key murder evidence, Connor’s incompetence in “April Fools” relates to the angry criminal mob. He seems out of his element when taking on large criminal groups at once, which is why Grey thought he’d fit better in a slower, softer division.

What Happened to Connor Craig in ‘The Rookie’?

Grey addresses Connor and Nolan in The Rookie

Although he proved himself well under Nolan’s supervision, “April Fools” ends with Grey inviting Connor into his office. Grey tells the rookie officer he will be transferred to a less dangerous division within the LAPD. While Connor is confused and disappointed by the news, Nolan offers solace by encouraging him, telling him he did a good job, and that he has a promising future in police work. Connor expresses his gratitude and vows not to let Nolan down if given another chance.

Here’s the problem. Aside from being an affable character who fans genuinely like and want to see more of, Connor’s treatment by Grey was no better than by McAdams. Connor was purposely rushed through his training to accommodate McAdams’ impending retirement, and his training was short-shrift. Similarly, Grey transfers Connor after one day, claiming that the precinct is too busy and Connor requires a quieter division to learn the trade. Connor is dogged in both cases. The wiser move for all parties would have been to keep Nolan training Connor in Mid-Wilshire, enabling him to hone his craft and improve his police skills. Another Reddit thread

noticed as much, with the OP stating:

“They pass him [Connor] on to someone else on the pretext that the station is too busy for him and he needs to be somewhere quieter. But isn’t a busy station the best place to learn as much as possible in a month?

In the end, they did what the sergeant did: they got rid of him instead of training him. I think it would have been more interesting to see his training and how it turned out – after all, Nolan already did a great job with Celina. Does anyone else agree?”

Yes, plenty of fans agree. Snowflakebites makes an astute point, adding:

“Yeah, I’d agree… I guess Nolan was just concerned that Craig wasn’t as quick on his feet as he needed to be after so many months, so he should build up his skills before being dropped into the chaos of Mid Wilshire. Comparatively, Celina did make a bad stop on her first day, but she could handle herself otherwise (she chased down that one kidnapper).”

With Connor leaving for an unknown destination on the long-running cop show, Nolan no longer has a rookie to train. This robs the show of a compelling storyline that could have continued between the two and strengthened the precinct. Fortunately, David Gridley is hopeful for a future return following the positive feedback Connor received online.

After appearing in All American in 2024, Gridley has one upcoming short film and an open schedule in 2025. Perhaps a Rookie return is on the cards, which would re-instill fan confidence. After all, “April Fools” is the lowest-rated Season 7 episode on IMDb (7.4), proving Connor’s abrupt transfer to be foolish beyond belief. The Rookie is available to stream on Hulu.