The best moments in The Rookie’s Season 5 finale showcase why more time spent on the characters’ personal lives matter, even on a procedural show.
The Rookie’s Season 5 finale is action-heavy and plot-heavy from its opening minutes. “Under Siege” often and only offers vignettes of the characters impacted by the violence, namely Aaron Thorsen and Celina Juarez — and briefly, Nyla Harper, James Murray and their daughter Leah. The episode walks a line between a jubilant tone and an eerie one as Angela Lopez and Wesley Evers welcome their daughter in circumstances that parallel the ones in which they welcomed their son Jack, whom they named after their dearly departed friend Jackson West. Therefore, The Rookie re-energizes interest in the characters’ personal lives with those emotional snapshots that fit around the plot that seemingly sets up Season 6.
Whether it be the aforementioned character beats or how Chenford, once again, levels up their partnership or how John Nolan and Bailey Nune team up, “Under Siege” proves that The Rookie’s characters can hold their own in extensive action sequences. However, the most appealing angles come in the quieter moments. Though those scenes are brief in a heavy-hitter season finale, they leave a far more lasting impact than most of the action sequences, albeit not the one that threatens to end Aaron’s life. Ultimately, these scenes reinforce why Season 6 would benefit from a more dedicated exploration of the characters’ personal lives.
Aaron and Celina Have an Unseen Connection in The Rookie
It’s unfortunate that it takes the extreme circumstances of “Under Siege” for The Rookie to provide some clarity about Aaron and Celina’s unseen connection. Their friendship and personal lives mostly fly under the radar. Aaron’s arc takes a significant backseat, making his decision to become a detective a bit surprising, unlike Angela and Lucy. Meanwhile, Celina’s takes the front seat only when a break in the case involving her sister’s death comes to light. It’s then that The Rookie stirs up a reminder about Aaron and Celina’s friendship and how deep it could go if it carves out more space for it.
In Season 5, Episode 19, “A Hole in the World,” Aaron assures Celina that she’s not alone because he knows what it’s like to lose a loved one and not know what happened to them. It’s a quick exchange of dialogue that may go unnoticed to some, but it expands their friendship in a necessary way that contributes to the overall gravity of Celina sticking by Aaron’s bedside in “Under Siege.” They may have initially bonded over Dungeons & Dragons, but their friendship has more depth than that. Celina’s plea at Aaron’s bedside is one of the finale’s emotional cornerstones, proving that Season 6 can reach new heights by exploring their friendship.
James and Nyla’s Family Is Threatened
Likewise, Season 6 needs to spend more time with Nyla and James — James stopping in to visit Nyla at work (sometimes with Leah) is not enough. However, even with the limited time The Rookie gives them as an on-screen couple in Season 5, Mekia Cox and Arjay Smith pull out powerhouse performances when Nyla and James believe that Leah is kidnapped, resulting in the finale’s other emotional cornerstone. It’s an immersive, heart-stopping sequence.
It’s intense that these masked antagonists would target an innocent child to prove their point (yet to be known), but more time well spent with Nyla, James and Leah would amplify its intensity. More scenes like the ones Tim Bradford and Lucy Chen get this season only create more opportunities to invest in James and Nyla as individuals and as a couple. Nyla and James deserve those foundational scenes, too, and maybe Season 6 will deliver them.
Wopez Welcome Another Child in The Rookie’s Season 5 Finale
Where “Under Siege” could check in with James and Nyla more, it perfectly utilizes Wopez. It’s in character that Wesley helps Angela uncover the key to a riddle while she’s in labor. Their scenes breathe some levity into the episode until the tone shifts with the realization that The Rookie comes uncomfortably close to repeating history. In Season 5, Episode 21, “Going Under,” Aaron tells the couple that “Erin” can also be a girl’s name, bringing up bittersweet memories of Jack’s name reveal in Season 4, Episode 1, “Life and Death.”
Because Aaron’s life hangs in the balance, the possibility of history repeating itself is a reasonable concern. Wade Grey even speaks to that overwhelming feeling when he tells Luna, “I can’t lose another.” The parallels don’t just hit the show’s fans; the characters also recognize them. Alternately, “Under Siege” also sets The Rookie up to choose a different path where Aaron lives and Wopez doesn’t name their child after another lost loved one.
Chenford Finds Comfort in Each Other
Fear radiates throughout all the characters, including Chenford, who find their own parallels to the Season 4 premiere. Though the reminder that Lucy and Tim know each other “so well,” the best Chenford scene comes in the final minutes of “Under Siege.” In “Life and Death,” Tim invites Lucy to stay with him and gives her what she needs — a hug. Still, Lucy comes home to her apartment alone then. But not in this season finale because she has Tim. Even when Chenford is uncertain about the future, they show up for each other.
The Rookie’s Season 5 finale demonstrates that sense of community throughout the ensemble and the episode. So, even when “Under Siege” walks a familiar path, it diverges from it in a way that matters. These characters are a family that grows closer with every obstacle, and Season 6 has the opportunity to fortify that point.
