‘The Rookie’ Season 7 Episode 16 Recap: A Familiar Face Returns, and I’m Reminded Why I Love This Show

The Rookie is not always the best at tying up loose ends. For example, Monica Stevens (Bridget Regan) resurfaced in Episode 11, and we still don’t know anything more about why she has popped up again. But in this week’s episode, we get some answers to several questions that I’ve been wondering about. Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) finally takes her sergeant’s exam, and none other than Seth Ridley (Patrick Keleher) comes back to the Mid-Wilshire Police Department.

Seth’s character has always given me the ick, but in Episode 16, he finally gets to tell his side of the story, and shockingly, comes out a hero. Although the series is sort of pretending like last week’s mockumentary episode never happened, this episode makes up for it with compelling storylines that had me on the edge of my seat.

Seth Returns and Stirs Up Some Trouble in ‘The Rookie’

I thought we had seen the last of Seth when the department booted him for not agreeing to a blood test after they suspected him of faking cancer. However, Seth now claims he was duped by his oncologist into thinking he was sick because of a weird insurance scam. He successfully sued the police for wrongful termination and medical discrimination, so he’s back as a trainee again. Nolan is tasked to be his training officer, but in one chilling scene, the entire police department turns their backs on Seth.

I cannot think of anything that would make me flee a scene faster than a collective shunning. But Seth decides to stick it out, even though no one is happy he’s back. Miles Penn (Deric Augustine), his former pal, even gets into a fistfight with him. Miles is mostly mad that Seth got $10,000 in back pay, since Miles has barely been scraping by, even though he’s been nothing but an upstanding officer. Surprisingly, Seth doesn’t narc on Miles, even after getting punched in the face. But Miles isn’t the only person Seth is failing to win over.

Seth is still dating Tamara Colins (Dylan Conrique), which Lucy is not happy about. Tamara convinces Lucy to have Seth over for dinner so he can show her that he is truly a good guy. Lucy convinces Celina Juarez (Lisseth Chavez) and her boyfriend, Rodge (Zander Hawley), to double-date, and then sweet-talks Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) into hosting at his house. The dinner is spectacularly awkward, and then spirals out of control when Lucy notices an engagement ring on Tamara’s finger. Tamara makes everything worse by saying that Seth had extra money (from the back pay) to buy it. When Lucy tries to insist again that Seth is a liar and not a good person, Tamara stalks out, potentially causing damage to her relationship with Lucy.

‘The Rookie’ Illustrates How Annoying Influencers Are in Season 7, Episode 16

We get introduced to Aimee (Jade Pettyjohn) and Tulsa, who are driving recklessly and livestreaming to their followers. In a completely predictable turn of events, they crash into a reservoir, but turn out to be fine. Of course, Bailey (Jenna Dewan) arrives at the scene because she’s the only paramedic in the entire Los Angeles area. Then, the police decide to arrest Tulsa, which starts an outright war with the influencers and their fans. Tons of youngsters protest outside the police station to demand that Tulsa be freed. After he posts bail, Aimee and Tulsa livestream from Wesley Evers’ (Shawn Ashmore) office, declaring that they’re coming for Wesley. To make these characters even more unlikable, their followers swarm Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz) while she’s at the park with her son, just to intimidate her.

Angela and Nyla Harper (Mekia Cox) look into Aimee and discover that she was a bright student at one time. They try to question her, but Aimee asserts that her academic prowess got her nowhere; the first time she started to get any respect was when she began focusing on her looks and dating Tulsa. In a biting commentary on our culture, Aimee claims that women are only “prudes or sluts,” and there’s no in-between. In the conclusion of this case, Aimee ends up leaking footage of Tulsa completely bagging on his followers, which means he’s pretty much canceled. She uses that opportunity to pull herself to the top of the hierarchy and releases a new skincare line. This storyline is a fun diversion from the more serious plots in this episode, and I feel like it is a pretty accurate portrayal of how social media-obsessed youths can take things way too far.

This Latest Episode Shows That Heroes Don’t Always Win in ‘The Rookie’

Nolan and Seth investigate an armed robbery taking place at a liquor store. A witness can talk down the gunman, which prevents anyone from getting hurt. When Nolan and Seth run the witness’s background check as part of the investigation, they learn that his name is Gene Webster (Paul McCarthy-Boyington), and he was recently released from a Nevada prison. The problem is that there was a clerical error, and Gene was never supposed to be released. Now, Nolan and Seth have to bring him in so he’ll get taken right back to prison. This just goes to show that being nice never pays off! I’m kidding, but it’s truly heartbreaking when Gene finds out he has to go back to prison, especially because he’s created a nice life for himself and his family. In another completely predictable moment, upon learning the news, Gene flees from the police.

Nolan and Seth then discover that Gene’s wife has withdrawn money from the bank, so it’s clear they’re going on the run. Gene ends up meeting with his prison friend, Jose (Jack St. James), who is going to help them escape. The conversation takes place in a shipping yard, which is never a good place for a meeting. Jose pushes Gene and his wife for more money, and then a huge shoot-out occurs with Seth and Nolan, and Jose’s goons. Just as Nolan is about to get shot, Seth steps up and takes the guy out. But again, heroic actions are punished in this episode, and Seth takes a bullet straight to his leg. Tragically, Seth has to have his leg amputated, which likely ends any chance he has at a police career. After a pep talk from Nolan about Seth being at a crossroads, Seth comes clean to Tamara, admitting that he never had cancer and that he lied to everyone because he was a coward. Tamara takes off the ring, and even though Seth has always been a dishonest, selfish person, I do feel super bad for the guy in this moment.

The good news is that the Nevada police have decided to drop the charges against Gene, Seth probably won’t come back for more episodes, and Lucy and Tamara have made up. And the best news is that even though Lucy and Tim keep claiming they’re just friends, Chenford does get a few brief scenes together in this episode. We don’t know whether Lucy passed her exam yet, but my guess is that she is going to, and Tim will celebrate with her by professing his love. I wasn’t sure if bringing back Seth would be a good thing at the beginning of the episode, but The Rookie did a fantastic job not only redeeming this character, but also, illustrating how truly dangerous police work can be.