We’re here again! After the end of season 3, The Rookie 4×01 “Life And Death” picks up the story right where season 3 left it, while we experience an unexpected death and our Chenford hearts finally beat frantically. Time for review!
Here we go!
Has The Rookie 4×01 “Life And Death” made me cry? The Rookie 4×01 “Life And Death” has made me cry. As soon as I finished watching the episode, I was ready to rant about the way they treated West and finished his story, but luckily, I had the good sense to read some interviews before writing this review.
After doing so, I understood that this was the best they could do. The reasons why Titus Makin Jr AKA Jackson West decided to leave The Rookie are not officially known but, apparently, he made it clear that he didn’t want to return and what we saw in The Rookie 4×01 “Life And Death” is the only story that made sense and could feel credible for his departure.
Yes, it’s a murder too quick for how big Jackson West was, especially since in season 3 he began to have more prominence and yes, we felt that he deserved much more than to be killed like that by any criminal, especially when in the season finale we never saw that he was in danger, but sometimes life’s circumstances rule and this is one of those situations.
We cannot blame the producers or writers for what we see unfinished and wrong in this death. No one is to blame here. Titus had every right to decide to leave the show and the producers couldn’t do better than what we saw in The Rookie 4×01 “Life And Death.” So yeah, it feels fast, unfair, too sudden and we can’t wrap our heads around the fact that West is gone but… there was no other way to do this. So there is nothing to criticize here.
The only consolation is that it is clear that the producers knew that there was a lot of story still to be told about Jackson West and that they wanted to tell it and that they are aware that this exit that we saw in The Rookie 4×01 “Life And Death” is not the most suitable for his character … but it was what they had to do and, at least, they could give him a worthy ending considering the circumstances, he died fighting, just as he lived.
West’s murder brings emotional conflicts for everyone but, above all, for Lucy and Gray. They are, along with Nolan, the closest to West. Lucy lived next to him, she had become P2 with him, she was his partner… and Gray came to love, respect and admire him as a son. He treated him as such … and now he is gone. It broke my heart to see Lucy in front of West’s bed, a messy bed, unmade, as if at any moment he was going to come in and make it.
It’s just … that unmade bed reminds us the unfair, the unexpected, of all this. West left his bed turned upside down, thinking he’d come back later and do it, thinking he’d have time… and now he’ll never get a chance to do it anymore. Sometimes time is running out without us knowing it. Lucy is unable to be in that apartment because the noise that his absence makes, the noise of silence, is extremely painful for her.
As for Gray, he was crossing the line in The Rookie 4×01 “Life And Death.” Gray is an upright man, with integrity, he never breaks the rules and punishes whoever does, but here, in this moment, in front of the murderer of West, with the weight of the gun in his hand… he was about to pull the trigger. He’s right, it would be so easy to do it, so easy to exact revenge and pretend that he had no choice but to kill him. The guy deserves it. West crept into his heart and became a son to him. He made him be a better policeman, a better person, he made him learn.
But Gray is not like that guy. Gray is not a murderer, he is a law enforcement officer, a good man and that is what differentiates him from that murderer. West, his son, would not have wanted Gray to take revenge, he would have wanted him to do him justice. And that’s what Grey has done.
We will mis you West!
Any Chenford fan alive after The Rookie 4×01 “Life And Death?” Because, of course, this review is being written by my ghost. In other words, we really don’t know what it is to lose, we have gone from nothing … to this. The couch scene drove me nuts! Now that Lucy is P2, the situation between Tim and her has changed and it shows. He treats her as an equal now, not as a subordinate. And he almost lost his mind to seeing her suffer like this. That is what love does to you. If something hurts the person you love, it hurts you.
That’s why Tim offers her his house, his hug … all the time he tried to keep his distance, comfort her from a safe distance because Tim is afraid of what would happen if he got too close, he is afraid of the future, especially now after everything. But, in the end, he can’t help it. She is crying and he can’t bear to see her cry. She needs his comfort, his hug, she needs him and no matter what happens after this, he will always be there for her.
And they almost… they almost kissed. That almost kiss has left me on the edge of the sofa. Tim pulls away at the last moment, stopping what was going to happen, but why? Partly because he fears what that means. His last relationship was Isabel and that ended horribly bad, being with Lucy would be like jumping back into the void with his eyes closed and he’s not sure he’s ready for it.
On the other hand, if he does it, if he takes a risk because, as much as Tim wants it, he will never know what will happen until he decides to live it, he wants Lucy to be sure of what they are doing. She’s in an emotionally vulnerable state right now and Tim doesn’t want to take advantage of that, he doesn’t want them to take a step today that she will regret tomorrow. So he respects that, he respects Lucy’s pain, her grief… and takes a step back.
Now, is Lucy in an emotionally vulnerable state? Yes. Does that mean she’s not aware of the step they’re *almost* taking? Not necessarily. What happens with a situation like this, in which you see and feel death so closely is that your mind clears and, suddenly, the fears, the demons, what used to hold you back from doing what your heart screamed, everything disappears and only the feelings remain, the purest feelings.
Is a love at war any less love? No, it’s more raw love, more naked, more pure, more … visceral but it’s still love. That’s what happens with Chenford in The Rookie 4×01 “Life And Death” and that’s why Tim couldn’t sleep thinking that Lucy was so close but so far at the same time … and that’s why Lucy was getting up to go with him because after feeling that everything can end at any moment, it’s time for them to forget everything and live what they feel for each other because tomorrow is too late.
Can’t wait to see how this continues! I anticipate a lot Chenford this season and I’M EXCITED, FOLKS!
Analyzing what has happened with Sandra and Angela, La Fiera is just too much, that is, her plan is cruel, ruthless, twisted and totally out of wack even for her and we are not a bit sorry that she is dead. Wes is a puppy who loves Angela with everything and has no limits when it comes to bring her back, although this is going to cause him a lot of problems … now that criminal basically owns him, and we’re sure that this deal with the devil will bring problems.
And Angela and the team have left me speechless. The action scenes in The Rookie 4×01 “Life And Death” have been impressive. And everyone has left me speechless with their bravery, with the way they have come together for a common goal, without help from anyone. Above all, without anyone’s help.
I promise you that I screamed at the TV from my sofa when I saw that they were not going to do anything to rescue Angela for a stupid reason that is not worth the life of a person or her baby. I was ready to fight for Angela against anyone who defended this injustice. But Angela never needed anyone to fight for her, she’s very capable of fighting her own battles.
In another vein, Nolan is P2! Everything comes in this life … what will be different for him from now on?
And here ends our The Rookie review. We will be back next week with a new one!
Agree? Disagree? Don’t hesitate to share it with us in the comments below!
The Rookie airs Sundays at 10/9 on ABC.
