Lucy And Tim Take The Next Step!

“The Rookie” Season 8 is jetting off to Prague, but not even a high-stakes, international mission can distract us from answering our biggest lingering question: Where does #Chenford stand after the sleepy Season 7 cliffhanger?! Let’s recap. 

Sergeant Lucy Chen reveals in the top of the episode what happened after she fell asleep during her last rendezvous with Tim — the one where Tim asked her to move in with him. 

Did she hear any of his proposal? At what point did she clonk out? Turns out, Lucy heard none of it. In fact, the premiere picks up in the middle of a cheeky misunderstanding between the two: It’s Lucy who thinks Tim has left her hanging. Apparently, the man didn’t wait around for his sleeping beauty to wake up, and walked out while she slumbered. When she awoke, the man was gone!

The premiere picks up three days after that fateful feast, and Lucy hasn’t heard from Tim since. As she and Celina discuss the man’s shortcomings and his inability to effectively communicate, all we want to do is shake the lovable sergeant and tell her the truth! Tim didn’t merely skip out on the cop during a romantic dinner — it was Lucy who metaphorically skipped out on Tim after he laid his heart out on the table!

Luckily, Lopez and Celina do the work for us and get to scheming in order to bring the two back together. Thanks to their meddling, #Chenford finally reunites, and they have a much-needed conversation — one where both parties are fully conscious. Tim apologizes for icing Lucy out, admitting he was scared, and he finally invites an alert Lucy to move in with him — and she accepts! 

Over in Prague, as part of her immunity deal, Monica is tasked with helping the FBI, LAPD, and Interpol track down high-value targets to take them off the streets. Her first target is a notorious and prolific weapons trafficker. Meanwhile, Nolan and Bailey are assisting with the assignment while simultaneously babysitting Miss Monica.  

But as far as duplicitous villains go, Monica is quite the good-time girl. For much of the episode, she appears to own Prague, strutting around the city in her perfectly blown out hair and impeccably tailored suits. Because she’s so fabulous, she decides Nolan needs to upgrade his style in order for him to believably pass as her bodyguard. She wouldn’t dare employ a man with such a disinterest in the art of serving!

Thanks to Monica, we get a Nathan Fillion-centric fashion show montage as Nolan receives the “Pretty Woman” treatment. As the man models several new looks, from a leather bomber to a silk button-up, we couldn’t help but wonder: Might this show need more Monica?! We hope there’s more where this comes from. 

Back to the crime of it all: Monica successfully orchestrates a meeting with their target, and Nolan and the team zero in on him, taking them all down. Over in the states, the LAPD does the same, finishing out the coordinated attack. 

Elsewhere, FBI agent Matthew Garza invites Nyla to join his multi-agency task force to take out more criminals with Monica’s help. The job would require international travel, and a rigorous schedule. Nyla declines the offer, saying she has to prioritize her family and her marriage.

But the FBI agent is hard-set on having an LAPD officer join his new venture. Garza goes on to ask Lieutenant Wade Grey to join his team as a senior liaison. Despite the ultra-vague sounding title, apparently the gig is an important one! Wade would help Garza oversee all domestic ventures, but international travel isn’t off the table. Wade accepts the position with a handshake — which may not bode over well with his wife, who already has expressed resentment toward her husband for his inability to slow down. Plus, the new job presents an upcoming shake-up for the LAPD: Who will become the team’s new lieutenant? 

Grade the premiere in the poll below, then hit the comments with your thoughts: Is a “Rookie” shake-up on the horizon? And will #Chenford stand the test of time?