We’re back! After so much waiting, The Rookie Season 8 Episode 1 ‘Czech Mate’ takes us to Prague to face the team with a game-changing mission that has unexpected consequences, while Chenford finally has the conversation they’ve been meaning to have. Ready?
Here we go!
Difficult Conversations in The Rookie Season 8 Episode 1 ‘Czech Mate’
We’re celebrating! We were totally fooled by the promo because The Rookie Season 8 Episode 1 ‘Czech Mate’ brought Chenford back! AND WE’RE SCREAMING! Tim won Lucy’s trust back in season 7, so they deserved their moment. It was about time. Although, if it had been up to these two lovebirds, this moment would never have happened. Thankfully, they had Celina and Angela taking charge of the situation.
But, although it was frustrating, we understood why Tim and Lucy were putting off their conversation. He was afraid she would reject him, and Lucy was afraid to take another chance with Tim. She knew she couldn’t bear to have her heart broken again. Once they started talking, everything flowed. Tim was honest about his fear, about his work on himself and his change, and that was the final push Lucy needed to know that giving Tim another chance was the right thing to do. The old Tim would never have been so honest, so…open about his feelings, never would have shown himself to be so vulnerable with her.
But here is Tim, in this moment from The Rookie Season 8 Episode 1 ‘Czech Mate,’ opening his heart to her and also making it clear that he wants to move forward with her and that he loves her. So Lucy trusts him. She doesn’t hide how much what happened hurt and how Tim broke her heart, but she trusts him and takes the leap, confident that Tim, the man she loves, will be there to hold her hand. And she’s right.
That said, a part of me thinks this was a rushed conversation and that Chenford still has some tough conversations to have. Lucy herself admitted to Tim that her scars weren’t fully healed yet. So we think they’ll have all those difficult conversations throughout the season, as obstacles arise for them, and we hope we can see them truly communicate, unlike before.
MORE: What’s Next for Chenford in The Rookie Season 8?
Priorities
The only aspect of The Rookie Season 8 Episode 1 ‘Czech Mate’ that we didn’t like was what they did to Grey and Luna. They are precious, and we’re not going to forgive them for messing with them. Also, Grey is completely out of character. He’s not at all like the episode portrays him. He and Luna have always supported each other and been strong, overcoming every challenge.
So we can’t believe that this sweet man we know was close to crossing the line into torturing a suspect and then berated Luna for not staying home to wait for him, and to top it all off, asked her to sacrifice her job to do just that, even though that job makes Luna happy. Grey tried to make Luna feel guilty about it, when all she did was wait for him without complaint and didn’t even protest when Grey decided not to retire.
Luna has always supported him, and now Grey is trying to manipulate her into believing she’s the villain and that it’s her fault they don’t spend time together. It’s unfair, it’s sexist, and it’s nothing like Grey. So this man that The Rookie Season 8 Episode 1 ‘Czech Mate’ presents to us is not Grey. We don’t know this man. But the worst part is that he doesn’t learn from his mistakes. When it seemed like he was going to apologize, he ended up making everything worse.
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An Unfamiliar Grey…
Now, Grey has accepted a job that will take him far without even consulting Luna. And we’re supposed to believe he did it because she’s focusing on “her new purpose”? As if Luna were doing the same thing and he was paying her back in kind? Nope. Again, it was unfair and nothing like Grey.
We understand that the show decided to give Grey and Luna more storyline. We love them and are grateful for it. And we also understand that they stirred things up a bit, especially since Grey leaving his position opens up new possibilities for other characters. The problem arises when, to do so, they make a character into someone else entirely. Without any explanation. Just someone acting in a way they’ve never acted before. And that can’t be.
As we mentioned, we don’t recognize Grey. He’s not the same man we’ve known for the last seven seasons. The most basic thing a story should do is be true to its characters. And The Rookie Season 8 Episode 1 ‘Czech Mate’ isn’t being true to Grey. We hope this changes because it’s a huge mistake. We said what we said.
MORE: The Rookie Season 7, Episode 18 Review: ‘The Good, The Bad, And The Oscar’
Other Stuff in The Rookie Season 8 Episode 1 ‘Czech Mate’
- Miles is super cute, and we love him.
- We knew he was going to move in with Celina!
- Smitty is a bit much…but we can’t help but love him.
- Celina and Angela are the duo we didn’t know we needed.
- And the best friends for Chenford.
- No one deserves that job more than Nyla, but we think she made the right decision.
- We don’t understand what Bailey is doing in the middle of the operation as if she were just another cop. Nolan is the cop. If Nyla doesn’t include James in the operation, why does Nolan include Bailey?
- Tim is super cute. He melted our hearts when we saw that he had already prepared everything for Lucy and that he kept worrying about her being okay.
- And the scream he let out when he thought she’d been shot. Tim’s heart stopped—just like ours. Seeing him so worried was priceless.
The Rookie Season 8 airs Tuesdays at 10 pm on ABC.
