The Rookie’s latest episode, “Wildfire”, is an anxiety-inducing hour that puts many of our favorite characters in jeopardy. From emotional deathbed confessions to truths that may be taken to the grave, this week’s episode is one that will need plenty of rewatches in the future.
DISCLAIMER: This episode was filmed before the recent Los Angeles Wildfires. Reader discretion is advised.
This one took a while because it was a lot to process! Now, let’s dig in…
MEKIA COX, ALYSSA DIAZ, NATHAN FILLION, DERIC AUGUSTINE
Recap:
The episode begins with Nyla, Lucy, and Celina hiking together. They’re following Liam Glasser, the serial killer Nyla vowed to take down back in episode 4. There, they realize there’s a fast-spreading wildfire. They call it in. Nyla is convinced it’s Glasser. Nolan and Miles are assigned to evacuate the neighborhood near the trails. Celina is assigned to an evacuation shelter, where James is also set to be. Seth is assigned to the phone lines keeping everything about the wildfire in check.
Tim is pulled away from work when Genny calls and asks him to pick up the boys from school. He agrees to let them hang out at his place until she can get home. Meanwhile, James and Celina set up at the evacuation shelter. Kylie arrives, being a little overly friendly with James, offering to volunteer at the shelter.
Nyla calls Wesley, who is babysitting all the kids while the court works remote, to ask what her legal rights are to enter Glasser’s home while evacuating. She checks out his house without his permission, stating that she is allowed to as long as she sticks to things like closets where people might hide. Glasser antagonizes Nyla. His wife insists he’s innocent and the LAPD is harassing him. After she exits his house and the Glassers leave, Nyla asks Nolan to follow them to the shelter and keep a close eye.
At the shelter, the Glassers check in. Miles is instructed to keep a close eye on them, but loses sight when he hears a crash. The crash is from Kylie having a confrontation with someone from the Six Street Devils, who threatens her. In that moment, Glasser says goodbye to his wife and disappears. Nolan realizes they lost sight of him and makes the difficult call to Nyla to tell her. Nyla gets upset and Angela calls her out on being overly obsessive with the case.
MELISSA O’NEIL, MEKIA COX
James asks Kylie about what happened with the man who threatened her. He pieces together that she might know something about a recent shooting and tries to encourage her to speak up. Instead, she kisses him. Nolan witnesses, but leaves before he sees that James pulls away and tells Kylie he’s not interested.
Tim gets back to the station and Lucy runs up to him to let him know about looting in his neighborhood. Together, they rush to his house to make sure the boys are okay. They end up finding that the house was broken into, but the looters are still inside. The looters ironically try to claim it’s their own home and they’re evacuating before Tim points to a photo of himself. After a brief fight, they arrest the looters and the boys come out, safe.
At Glasser’s warehouse, Nyla and Angela realize that Glasser had another car ready to swap. They talk to a nearby homeless man and find out he has a new victim. They rush back to the shelter to confront his wife, who yells at them and refuses to help. Nolan talks to their kid instead, saying they are just trying to help and that he should let the police know if there’s anything about his father. The kid ends up confessing that Glasser has a swap vehicle: a brown van. Glasser’s wife sees them talking to the kid and blows up at them, but Angela pulls up the camera footage and confirms the brown van. It’s then that the wife realizes that Glasser is not innocent and tells them where he might be.
ALYSSA DIAZ, MEKIA COX
Nyla asks Tim and Lucy to rush over to Glasser’s location since they’re the closest and they don’t have time to wait. Lucy sees that Eagle Rock Road is listed as safe from the fire and they should be able to get there quickly. They race over, unaware that Seth is currently getting a call about that exact road’s closure due to the wildfire. When Grey interrupts, Seth completely forgets about the call, not rerouting him like he should’ve. Tim and Lucy find out too late that the fire has taken over the road, and they’re trapped. Grey is at a loss – there’s no nearby fire rescue and there’s no way out. He asks Seth to help get all support and see if they can do a water drop. It’s then that Seth realizes his mistake. He goes back outside to erase the evidence that he ever received a call about Eagle Rock Road.
With no other options, Tim and Lucy grab a fire shelter and find an open space to hunker down. Lucy asks for reassurance that they will be okay and that the shelter will work. Tim is somewhat convinced this might be the end and professes that he is still in love with her. They hold onto each other while the fire passes over them. Later, once the fire has moved on, they emerge from the fire shelter and look out at the destruction. Tim radios a desperate Grey to inform him that they’re safe. Grey has a moment of utter relief. Tim embraces Lucy.
Nyla, Angela, Nolan, and Miles arrive at Glasser’s secret house. They’re close to the fire and have limited time. The smoke overwhelms them to the point that they can barely see in front of them. They enter the house and find Glasser’s victim, still alive but barely conscious. We hear the voices of Nyla and Angela fighting Glasser unseen, giving us a very eerie narrative without the visual. Nolan falls through the floor into the basement. Miles takes all the needles out of the victim and drags him back to the shop for safety. In the basement, Nolan gets into a fight with Glasser. Nyla finds Angela unconscious and rouses her while Nolan fights. Glasser almost is about to kill Nolan when Nyla intervenes and gets him to drop the weapon. He is arrested – Nyla finally put the cuffs on him!
LISSETH CHAVEZ, MARIA ZHANG
At the hospital, Tim and Lucy talk about their near-death experience. Tim says his priorities were already clear before it happened (Lucy is his priority!) but Lucy says she’s been thinking about moving forward with her career. She mentions she’s planning on taking the sergeant’s exam in a few months. This means that Lucy will no longer be in Tim’s chain of command.
Nolan asks for advice on what he witnessed with James. Wesley says he should give James a chance to come clean to Nyla himself. Unfortunately, James may not get that chance, because in the final moments of the episode he is shot in a drive-by shooting, along with Kylie.
Thoughts:
SETH GABEL, NATHAN FILLION
(Anti) Character of the Week: Seth Ridley
Usually, I reserve a space to praise a character that really excelled in an episode. This time, I am using it to hate a character.
At the start of the season, Seth was the all-innocent rookie I felt sorry for. I thought he was over his head, but his tragic backstories made me sympathize and root for him. Obviously, though, it was all a lie, intended to gain goodwill with his fellow officers and the audience alike.
I felt cheated. I felt betrayed. But I was intrigued on where the storyline was going. What’s going on with Seth? Is he going to wash out? Redeem himself? Is he really there to help people? Will he lie about anything big? What about the cancer?
This episode destroyed any lingering empathy for the character. Making a mistake as a rookie is one thing, but deliberately lying and hiding the evidence made him a clear villain. What if Tim and Lucy had died due to his mistake? Something tells me that Seth would have secretly enjoyed the only two people knowing his lies are out of the picture…
All jokes aside, the absolute fury I feel at Seth Ridley is a testament to how good Patrick Keleher’s performance is. Many kudos to him.
To Seth, though, I say… Count your days. They are limited!
PATRICK KELEHER
“Of course I still love you!”
It’s clear as day Tim and Lucy love each other more than anything and this episode proved it. While Lucy may not have said the words back, it’s clear as day and even Tim knew it. The scene in the forest and the hospital both were extremely poignant and show a clear path ahead for the relationship. They’re not there yet, but they’re getting close.
Lucy just needs to make Sergeant first!
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ERIC WINTER, MELISSA O’NEIL
Next Time:
“The Kiss”
The team mobilizes to locate a suspect after a deadly series of events affects one of their own. Meanwhile, Celina takes on her first case with Bailey’s help.
What were your thoughts on “Wildfire”? How are you feeling about this season? Comment below all your thoughts about The Rookie!
Be sure to catch The Rookie live on ABC at 9PM on Tuesdays—or catch up on Hulu the next day!