Did we really have to do this?
Television viewers, please take a minute for fans of The Rookie and the Chenford pairing, who are experiencing a bit of a moment right now. Ever since Season 6 began, the creators of The Rookie have put one roadblock after another in front of the relationship of Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) and Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil), with events hitting a tipping point in Episode 6, “Secrets and Lies.” Bradford got himself into a huge mess involving a dangerous ex-soldier from his time in the military, Ray Watkins (David Dastmalchian), who faked his death. After Ray Watkins returned to Los Angeles to continue his criminal activities, Bradford went rogue to pursue Watkins. As a result, he not only alienated his colleagues but Lucy as well. The situation with Ray Watkins was ultimately resolved, but Tim’s guilt over the incident caused a rift between him and Lucy, as he felt he could no longer go back to being in a relationship with his now ex-girlfriend due to the lies he told. As a result, Tim voluntarily ended his relationship with Lucy, breaking her heart at the end of the episode. Television shows thrive on conflict and drama, but the writers took things a bit too far with this development, especially after fans waited for years for Tim and Lucy to finally get together. Going this route with Tim and Lucy feels like a grievous error.
Chenford Implodes in Season 6
It took over five seasons for Tim to work up the nerve to ask Lucy out on a date and for the duo to finally start dating. The first major challenge was Tim’s superiority over Lucy in the chain of command, so he decided to transfer from his post as sergeant of their unit. That led to the Mid-Wilshire Division arranging a complex “five-player trade” so Tim could gain a position as the Metro Liaison Sergeant, continue dating Lucy, and work at Mid-Wilshire without conflict. For a while, things were going well, as Lucy continued with her undercover work and pursued her goal of getting promoted to detective at the Los Angeles Police Department.
Things took a turn for the worse in Tim and Lucy’s relationship in Season 6. The relationship suffered when Lucy was studying for her detective exam. While Tim was supportive during the process, his attempt to help Lucy study caused her to grow paranoid. She feared that Tim was attempting to undermine her goal of becoming a detective in the LAPD. Eventually, the two agreed to work things out. However, Lucy’s five-player trade of moving Tim to Metro angered one of the examiners for the oral portion of her detective exams, and she flunked the test. Lucy and Tim managed to work through that ordeal as well, but their relationship imploded with the recent arrival of Ray Watkins.
Tim went about things the wrong way as far as the relationship with Lucy is concerned, but his actions came from a good place. Tim was caught between a rock and a hard place in dealing with Watkins, and since Tim is a genuinely good person, he felt extreme guilt and shame about his actions. He ghosted Lucy and pushed her away during the last two episodes due to his desire to protect her and his friends. Ultimately, Tim maintains his lies about Ray Watkins, convincing Internal Affairs Division Commanding Officer Percy West (Michael Beach once again appearing on The Rookie for the first time in years) of his belief that Watkins was killed in action in the Middle East and that he didn’t deliberately falsify after-action reports. Tim also lied to protect the career of his former military colleague, Mark Greer (Brian White), who informed Bradford about Watkins’ resurfacing in Los Angeles. Sgt. Grey (Richard T. Jones), angry that Tim went rogue and failed to inform the LAPD immediately about Ray Watkins, left Tim’s punishment up to his Metro Division commander.
The effects of this incident could have turned out a lot worse for Tim. He’s lucky he managed to get out of this with his career and reputation intact, as he could have faced prison time over his actions since his altruistic decisions continued to spiral out of control. The whole experience disturbed Tim and led him to believe he would bring Lucy down as well if he continued to date her. Lucy clearly believes differently, and she is still willing to forgive Tim despite his transgressions in the past two episodes.
‘The Rookie’ Needs To Avoid Dragging Out a Chenford Breakup
Currently, Tim and Lucy’s relationship is back at square one, and they are no longer a couple. The ultimate goal should be getting Tim and Lucy back together before long. Instead of dragging out the breakup for a painfully extended amount of time, The Rookie should find a way to move the characters back together and progress their relationship. Perhaps the time apart can make their relationship stronger when they eventually reconcile. In the future, Tim should immediately consult Lucy in such a situation and trust her more often, rather than keep her in the dark about everything. But if the show makes this a long, devastating breakup with both characters moving on and dating other characters, the show will become a rather depressing viewing experience for fans.
Can Tim and Lucy Ever Find Happiness?
The recent run of episodes leaves a sour taste in our mouth after waiting all these years for Tim and Lucy to get together finally. This new development indicates that the writers struggled to develop Tim and Lucy as a couple after finally putting them together. Chenford was meant to be one of the show’s end-game pairings since the beginning, as the chemistry and romantic tension between the two characters has been building since the first season. The latest development is a gigantic kick in the gut and not quite the triumphant pairing fans were waiting for throughout several seasons of growth. Hopefully, the writers of The Rookie will come up with an organic solution to the Tim and Lucy breakup before the end of the season. It would be a bad decision for the show to remain on this path with Tim and Lucy veering further apart, especially if the show continues into Season 7.
