One star of The Rookie is hoping season 9 will send her character on a wild secret assignment.
The Rookie wrapped up season 8 on several big notes. The biggest was that Tim finally popped the question to Lucy, who accepted, only for both to be kidnapped by a crime lord. That makes it likely that season 9 will open with the squad racing to rescue them.
In an interview with Extra at the Disney upfronts in May, The Rookie stars Melissa O’Neil (Lucy Chen), Mekia Cox (Nayla Harper), and Lisseth Chavez (Celina Juarez) discussed the season 8 finale and their hopes for season 9’s various storylines.
Naturally, the trio wasn’t sharing secrets of Tim and Lucy’s fates, although O’Neil hinted the season 9 premiere “will be epic.” When it came to what storylines they’d like to see for their characters, Chavez had an intriguing idea.
“I would like to go fully undercover, but, like, unrecognizable undercover, where just like people are like, ‘Was Celina in this episode?’”
Cox added that she’d like to be part of the storyline with Nayla coaching Celina. “I’ve been there and I’m not exactly trying to do that as much anymore.”
This would be a fun callback for Chavez as she played Officer Vanessa Rojas in season 7 of Chicago PD. That had her taking part in several undercover assignments (including posing as a gun dealer in her first episode) and showed she could have the chops to handle it. PD fans are still miffed that Chavez left after season 7 and her Rojas character was never even referenced again.
Celina has seen a strong character arc on The Rookie, going from a wide-eyed rookie under Nolan to a capable officer in her own way. It’d be interesting to see her go undercover, given her faith and belief in the supernatural, so maybe her undercover persona can play on that somehow as a "spiritual advisor” to a gang leader.
A clever touch would be an episode unfolding with Celina seemingly absent on an assignment and then the final act revealing her underneath a disguise as part of the gang. It might make for a fun twist on the show’s annual “documentary” episode, complete with her showing a montage of her makeup job and how she got into character.
It would also be a great angle with Nayla using her own undercover experience to teach Celina not just how to get into character but how to avoid falling in too deep and forgetting who she is. With her kind heart, it’s easy to imagine Celina feeling protective toward one of these criminals and trying to help them out, putting her in danger.
We’ll have to wait a while to see if this really happens or not, but Chavez seems excited about the idea of Celina getting more into danger in The Rookie season 9!
The Rookie is now streaming on Hulu.
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