The Elijah chapter is closed, but we’re smart enough to know that it won’t be the last we’ve seen of him.
Angela got her fistfight and put some cuffs on Elijah yet again on The Rookie Season 5 Episode 17, as the L.A.P.D. got the jump on him and took down his operation.
But there’s no saving Monica, who has now set her sights on working with Abril, who is still in the wind and a significant threat.
The Rookie’s ability to juggle multiple Big Bads and have them on a constant rotation for returns has become a staple, but one cannot help but wonder if it’ll bite them in the butt.
No storylines ever truly feel complete when that happens because there are always lingering threads that may lead to something bigger and worse down the road.
Elijah is in prison for now, but he’s an intelligent man who is plotting his revenge and still has a lot of power and pull. Even if he’s still in prison, there’s no “over” when it comes to him because he could likely run antics from behind bars.
And Monica has become our latest redheaded Big Bad with her morally flexible self-serving nature that will always have her using the law to fight on the wrong side of it.
Monica: Do they believe I’m here to take down Elijah?
Wesley: Not fully.
Monica: Do you?
Wesley: No. Maybe. If I’ve learned anything about you, it’s that you’re not a victim. If Elijah really did terrorize you this morning, I don’t imagine you’d roll over and take it.
She’s not trustworthy, and everyone knows as much, particularly Harper. But this woman is ready to tempt fate and not heed Harper’s warning.
She narrowly escaped charges and imprisonment for her role in Elijah’s operation and for aiding him. She shouldn’t even have a license to practice law at this point.
But instead of laying low for a second, she took the first opportunity to reach out to Abril and offer her services if needed.
It’s like Monica gets off on the danger.
She said a mouthful when she told Elijah about her wanting revenge because of what the L.A.P.D and D.A. had done to her. He didn’t notice what that meant and should’ve tossed her in the wood chipper as planned.
Suppose Monica harbored that amount of hatred towards the good guys and people she’s at least familiar with because she felt they did something to her. Why wouldn’t she have a similar animosity and desire to get revenge on him for threatening her life?
It helps to know who you’re working with and how they tick. Elijah’s behavior didn’t mean she’d be running back to the good guys for help, apologetic, and because it was the right thing to do.
It only meant that she rearranged her priorities on her list, and they were a means to an end of getting back at Elijah for what he had done to her after all the work she put in for him.
Of course, this also meant that working with Abril, who presumably, may have shown her more faith and hadn’t threatened her life, was better than her providing assistance and cover for Elijah.
Abril was smart enough to get away. Thus far, she’s coming out on top, and Monica is drawn to who has the most power in this situation.
With an ending like that, we know it’s not the last we will see of Abril, and it won’t be of Monica either. She’s bound to cross paths with everyone again, and she’ll be a shady shark of a lawyer when she does.
Some people live to take a walk on the dark side.
Chris: What do you think?
Nyla: I think the scorpion just asked us for a ride across the river.
Of all the people who wouldn’t buy any of Monica’s crap, Harper wasn’t here for any of it, and I loved that for her. She’s smart enough to know that Monica won’t stay out of trouble, and Monica all but told her as much.
But Monica did seem impressed by Harper and the fact that the police were smarter than she gave them credit for, setting up fake information and not taking her word for everything.
Elijah couldn’t help himself. He had to get one last dig in at Angela and the family.
The two of them fighting fist-to-fist was a sight to behold, and we can be grateful that Harper woke up in enough time to hold him down as Angela got a few hits in before arresting him.
You sat in my kitchen, and threatened to fight me in the street with a clawhammer, I say let’s go! Unless you’re all mouth.
Elijah
It would’ve been concerning if he had managed to hit Angela in the stomach, especially at this stage in her pregnancy. Watching Angela in the field and in dangerous situations like this when she’s pregnant is nerve-wracking.
She doesn’t shy away from danger, gun fights, or even fist fights, in this case, and while it’s classic badass Angela, it puts you on edge when she’s carrying a child.
Wesley held his own well at the house along with Charlie when Elijah’s men attacked. He would want to keep a bullet hole in the wall as a souvenir, and he’ll be bragging about this for the rest of his life.
Was I the only one also worried about where Jack was when all these bullets flew everywhere? They never even mentioned checking on him.
But this storyline will branch out into other things since now that Elijah is down, there will be many vying to replace him and be the new King or Queen of it all.
And Abril’s operation was leaving its mark in the city as well. Metro and the others will be incredibly busy from the fallout of all of this.
The update on Celina’s storyline happened quicker than one would have imagined. She read the files offscreen, and the hour opened with her racing to talk to Nolan about them.
I wish we had seen her reviewing them and gotten a feel for her reaction. She is so caught up in the discrepancy that we don’t know how she’s processing this significant moment.
Celina: If it wasn’t just my mom. If it was just some random witness lying to you? What would you think?
Nolan: I’d think, what else is she lying about?
She did better than most would’ve given her credit for in how she approached everything and handled the case. She didn’t encroach or overstep too much, and she knew when to stand down when Nolan gave her orders.
And the case produced some uncomfortable truths. Celina discovered her mother had become an addict because of her pain pills after an accident, and Carla was out scoring drugs when Blanca got taken.
It actually speaks even more to how Carla ended up agoraphobic and hasn’t left the house. Part of this is likely her form of penance for what happened.
She blames herself for being in such a state that she sent her daughters into harm’s way so she could distract them long enough while she scored.
Part of her probably feels like if she never left the house, bad things wouldn’t happen.
Nolan managed the information and the situation well enough, and I respect that he wanted to be the one to tell Celina the truth when it was the right time.
This information has changed the nature of her relationship with her mother forever, and it’s hard to say if the two women can come back from this, but it blows the case open in a whole new way and may help them figure out who killed Blanca.
Nolan and Bailey discussing it made you think about how close this trio has become and how Celina has been this pseudo-daughter for the both of them.
On the topic of kids, Chenford were amusing, bickering about their future children while trying to handle the Jordie situation.
I love how it’s just a fact of life for them that they’ll be having kids together, and neither of them batted an eye over it.
They both would make great parents, and while the conversations were of a lighter tone for most of the hour, there’s something there, especially for Tim, knowing that he could be a great dad someday.
And you could see it in select moments when he was grateful to Lucy for bringing out the best in him, especially with how to handle the situation with Jordie and his father.
Lucy: How can you be so calm? What if this was your kid?
Tim: You and I both know that 99% of the time, the missing kid is playing hide and seek and fell asleep under the bed.
Lucy: You know what? If we ever lose our kids, I’m going to need you to take this a lot more seriously.
Tim: Hold up, our kids would know better than to pull a stunt like this.
It was a dumb plan to send his son to the police station in hopes of hacking into a computer to get rid of traffic tickets. How did he expect Jordie to figure out how to do that?
He would’ve done better pleading his case to a sympathetic judge than putting his kid in harm’s way or in a position to get into serious trouble.
To say it was misguided was an understatement. While I’m not sure I would’ve wanted to show them grace for such a move, Lucy is so pure of heart and compassionate that it wasn’t surprising that she did.
The family has enough to worry about with a sick kid, and if the father’s car got taken from him, he couldn’t go to all these appointments for Jordie.
It was a subtle enough commentary about ticketing and the impact it can have, especially on the underprivileged and low-income.
If you think about it, if one wracks up enough of them, they could lose their car and/or license, which impacts their livelihood, like going to work, childcare, medical care, and things of that nature.
But it also could lead to jail time, especially if someone doesn’t have enough money to get themselves out or pay them off. It’s a whole mess.
Amid the lightheartedness and fun of this storyline, there was a serious issue beneath it.
Over to you, Rookie Fanatics. Is this the last we’ll see of Monica? Do you think Elijah will get his revenge? Sound off below.
For the best of Elijah, you can watch The Rookie online here via TV Fanatic. And don’t forget to return for our The Rookie Round Table.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.