When will Stanton’s reign end?
It doesn’t seem as if that’s going to happen anytime soon, no matter how hard some of the gang worked to catch him onThe Rookie Season 3 Episode 4.
And now, Jackson’s career could hang in the balance thanks to Doug Stanton.
I have to give a shoutout to Brandon Routh, who genuinely seems like a lovely person and plays some of the noblest and lovable characters from Superman to Ray Palmer. Doug Stanton is a repulsive piece of garbage and prompts a simmering rage on sight.
Jackson is in an unfortunate position here. And you have to give the series credit for showcasing how difficult it is to catch a bad cop. Tim broke it down beautifully. Once they get beyond their rookie status, the level of protection they have is surreal.
My last student didn’t ask a lot of questions, and he was a “brotha.”
Stanton
The best thing they could come up with was Jackson chronicling the most troubling stops, however minute, and hoping that if they could compile enough of them, it would build a case against Stanton.
It’s hard to expect Jackson, who already let Stanton know how uncomfortable he was, to place nice with his T.O. and stand by, watching Stanton harass people and escalate situations. The only thing he had going for him was Tim and Lucy as backup, but it wouldn’t have taken too long before Stanton deduced what was happening.
And once again, Stanton’s stops were troubling. The first couple of stops weren’t as bad as they could’ve been. However, everything about the traffic stop with Erica made your hair stand on end.
He mistook her nerves with something more illicit, and despite hearing her story, he jumped to conclusions and hauled her in for three felonies.
The system is not going to change.
Owens
But the case that was the most troubling was the one that backfired on Jackson. The kid dealing drugs was a mouthy jackass, and Stanton wasn’t a fan of it. The second he shared that his camera fell off in pursuit and then chose to take the dealer back to the truck, you understood why Jackson feared the worst.
Of course, he had to make a split decision of following Stanton to make sure he didn’t rough up their suspect or watching the evidence. As much as it pains me to say it, he made the wrong call.
Messing up the chain of command and leaving drugs out there to babysit his T.O. was such a huge risk and infraction, and I hate that he got screwed.
In hindsight, you already know Stanton did it on purpose. And that’s mostly thanks to Owens. Stanton’s ignorant comment about his last rookie being “a brotha,” tipped Tim off about Owens.
See, he’s the kind of citizen I like. Knows his place. Respects authority.
Stanton
It made sense that Tim and Lucy would approach Owens and try to feel him out and his thoughts about Stanton. Unfortunately, Owens subscribes to backing the blue, and as long as he gets ahead, he can overlook the other parts.
He didn’t necessarily like what Stanton said or did, but he’s where he wants to be in his career because of him, and he’s not the type to step out against a system that would ruin him.
It’s easy to understand some of where Owens is coming from; however, he could’ve kept his mouth shut, you know, like he’s done with all of Stanton’s behavior and not tipped the man off.
The entire situation now has Jackson in hot water. Stanton is coming for him, and he knows the best way to do it. He’s protected, too.
He knows that Grey’s hands are tied because of the write-up and that Jackson’s actions are enough to get him kicked out of the program.
After all of this work they did to capture Stanton, and it’s Jackson who’ll pay the price. It’s sickening!
I feel awful for Jackson. All he’s trying to do is be a good cop and stand up for what’s right, but he’s fighting against something much bigger than him.
I do love that the situation has prompted some self-reflection for Tim. He finds Stanton loathsome, and now he’s aware of how wrong it was for him to look away. But then Lucy hit him with something irrefutable that rattled him.
Tim: I’m not mad, but I am upset.
Lucy: I knew it.
Tim: At myself.
It’s one thing to look at another person and see where they have gone wrong, but it’s another thing to have your own issues brought up. Kudos to Lucy (and the show) for bringing up Tim’s questionable scene on The Rookie Season 1 Episode 1.
The moment with the gardeners was a memorable one, and it wasn’t the best impression. I side-eyed it myself, and it took a bit to warm up to Tim as a result.
Lucy and Tim have formed such a close-knit bond that neither of them ever want to acknowledge but can’t deny. She’s able to tell him things now that she wouldn’t have ages ago.
And Tim did not take it well when she reminded him of that Tim Test moment and the extent of what he did for the sake of teaching her a lesson. It made him uncomfortable, and he shut down.
But Tim is learning to sit in his discomfort, and I give him credit for that.
He heard her and what she said, and he recognized the error of his ways, and I like the idea that in investigating and trying to take down genuinely bad cops like Stanton, it’s helping others, like Tim, learn how to be better cops.
As we know, there’s always room to learn and grow. One of the best parts about the Chenford partnership is that they both learn and grow from one another and bring out the best in each other. All partners should be that way.
Nolan: I didn’t know you could do that?
Harper: Do what?
Nolan: Giggle.
Nolan and Harper have a bit of that, and I love how they tease one another. Harper’s ongoing quest to be a good mom remains an endearing storyline for her, and Nolan’s experience as a father leads to the two of them balance each other out well.
So, how are we feeling about the handsome new dad that Harper met? The sparks were flying, yes?
Hopefully, he’s a decent guy.
But one of the best Harper moments was her conversation with Angela. Harper has a way of getting paired with anyone in a scene and spinning gold out of it. She fits in seamlessly with any character.
And I appreciated her speaking to Angela as one career-oriented mother to another career-driven mother-to-be. It’s no surprise that Harper kept her pregnancy secret up until she took a vacation. Can you imagine the types of things she was doing while pregnant?
Just because I’m pregnant, it doesn’t mean I can’t do my job.
Angela
However, Angela didn’t want to do any of that. And with the news that her baby could have a genetic disorder that runs in Wesley’s family, she should have space to talk about her pregnancy openly.
I love Wesley, but he was wrong for keeping Angela in the dark. She should’ve known about things like genetic disorders the moment they broached the topic of children. He should’ve told her when he found out she was pregnant.
It would’ve worked better than micromanaging her pregnancy and trying to force her to see his mother’s OBGYN without telling her the real reason.
Wesley, I love you dearly, but you’re so WASPY sometimes.
Angela
It had Angela distracted at work, and it left her thinking that her boss figured out she was pregnant and was starting to hold her off of cases.
The confrontation in the parking garage was enough to give a person secondhand embarrassment. But Angela is bold and unapologetic, and her boss is badass and was unfazed by her display.
He has no intentions of treating her differently, and he appeared happy for her, too. They have a fun dynamic.
Nolan and Grey’s dynamic is a blast, too. And Grey’s wife, Luna, is such a dynamic character. I hope we spend more time with her.
All three of them handled each other well against the drug dealers. Nolan and Grey proved that they are far from beyond their prime, and Luna showed she could handle her own.
Angela: Stop micromanaging my pregnancy.
Wesley: Our pregnancy.
Angela: Oh really? Who wears the stretchy pants around here?
Nolan’s mother is quite the character, though. She’s toxic, emotionally manipulative, and abusive. Her short visit has caused so much needless drama for Nolan.
How do you take all of that money from the wife of your son’s boss and not think about how it would affect him? She’s destructive and doesn’t care about who she ruins in her path.
Fortunately, Luna gave Nolan some advice on how to deal with his mother and cut her out of his life, and he took it. He had to set that boundary for himself — for his sanity.
Evelyn didn’t react well at all, and it broke my heart when she verbally abused him on her way out, but he did what he had to do.
I love you, I really do, I just don’t want you here anymore.
Nolan
Over to you, The Rookie Fanatics. Will the team ever take down Stanton? What happens with Jackson? Did Nolan make the right call with his mother?
Hit the comments below! And you can watch The Rookie online here via TV Fanatic.
The Rookie returns February 14!
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.