As The Rookie closes out season 8, the showrunner is promising a major step forward for Chenford.
The Rookie season 8 already had a shocking turn with the death of longtime nemesis Monica (Bridget Regan). The shifty lawyer finally met her end on the orders of crime boss Heath Everett (Jeffrey Vincent Praise), with the LAPD cops targeting him.
However, fans are more interested in the romance between Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) and Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil). Having gotten back together, the pair are still in a strong romance, with Tim planning to propose to Lucy. This being The Rookie, we’ve gotten hijinks like Tim not wanting to use his family’s hideous heirloom ring and roping the rest of the gang to plan it out.
Speaking to TV Insider, showrunner Alexi Hawley discussed the pair's journey and how he knows fans want a good payoff.
“A lot of the fun when I’m not breaking people’s hearts with breaking them up has been the dating and then them moving in together and all that kind of stuff. So, it felt like the ring was just; it deserved its own story really. And obviously over [Episodes] 16 and 17, you went on a journey with that ring. First, it was the horrible family heirloom.”
Hawley acknowledges the season 8 finale will feature the comedic fun of everyone trying to keep Lucy in the dark about Tim’s proposal plans, and “it’s safe to say that it’s not going to be a simple A to B journey with that ring.”
That’s proven by a TVLine preview of the finale, where Angela has been keeping the ring safe only pushing Tim to propose to Lucy quickly, given it won’t be long before she finds out for herself. That hints at a proposal that may go awry.
That should be no surprise given the complex relationship between the pair. Tim was pretty brutal in his training of Lucy when she started as a cop, often driving her crazy. That grew to mutual respect and then an affair that has survived a tough breakup. They do love each other, but jumping to getting engaged is still a major step for two cops in a dangerous job.
Speaking of danger, the main plot of the finale has Everett’s prison transfer going awry with the team facing off against an enemy with incredible resources, and Hawley indicates that’s going to lead to drama.
“Ultimately, the LAPD is trying their best to protect against all possibilities, but when you’re talking about a villain who is a billionaire, where’s the end? I mean, with enough money, you can pay people to do anything. That was the fun of [it]. With a man with infinite resources who knows that he’s just going to spend the rest of his life in prison, willing to do anything, how does the LAPD protect against that?”
Hawley isn’t giving many details other than “It is a very powerful ending that will make you feel all the feels.” Hopefully, it’s a good feeling for Tim and Bradford making it official, but The Rookie fans know it can’t be an easy road there.
The Rookie season 8 finale airs Monday at 10/9c on ABC.
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