We’re back! The Rookie Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Baja’ brings back a familiar face while Miles puts his career on the line, and Lucy and Nyla go undercover, deepening their friendship. Ready?
Here we go!
Imposter Syndrome
Miles really messed up in The Rookie Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Baja.’ Big time. And we feel for him. Miles messed up a bit when he opened that door. And in trying to clean up his mess, he made everything worse. He put himself, Seth, and the mission in danger. Everything could have gone wrong. But it’s impossible not to relate to him.
Who hasn’t tried to fix things with a risky move? In that moment, you’re not thinking about whether it’s a good decision, you’re focused on fix the thing. Because you feel guilty. So you’re willing to do anything to make up for the mistake you made. It’s what you want most. And you do it because you feel like you’re not enough. So you need to be perfect.
When you feel like this, making mistakes isn’t an option, so you demand perfection from yourself. You demand that you be in control all the time. You build your identity around it. But we’re not machines, so failure is inevitable. And when it happens, everything crumbles around you. And you feel that you will be discarded. That’s what happened to Miles in The Rookie Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Baja.’
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The Consequences in The Rookie Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Baja’
Miles failed, and everything fell apart. And he felt guilty for letting Nolan and the rest of the team down and destroying everyone’s work in a second. So Miles didn’t think and just rushed in to fix the damage he’d done. But he ended up damaging his career. Seth covered for him, even risking his life, but they couldn’t hide the truth. Seth did the right thing by calling Nolan; he saved Miles’s life.
And we can’t blame Tim for firing Miles in The Rookie Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Baja.’ Not only was he putting himself, Seth, and the investigation at risk with that undercover surveillance, but he almost got himself killed. Miles meant well, but that’s the road to h**ll. Miles’s actions had to have consequences. But we’re glad Nolan handled it well and spoke up for him.
So, Miles has another chance to finish the program…although his career will be forever damaged, just like Nolan’s. It’s curious how history repeats itself in The Rookie Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Baja…’ just as it’s curious that the show makes everyone face consequences for their actions except Bailey. Just saying.
That said, we like that the series gave Miles this dimension, showing us his feelings of inferiority. However, we wish they had hinted at this earlier. It seemed too forced and out of nowhere. We just hope that, following Nolan’s advice, Miles works on it, and we see it on our screens.
MORE: The Rookie Season 8, Episode 6 Review: ‘Burn 4 Love’
Strengthening Bonds
The undercover mission gave Nyla the space she needed in The Rookie Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Baja.’ With all the problems she has right now, being a carefree person on the beach sounds more than necessary. The best part? The way the episode delves deeper into Nyla and Lucy’s friendship. They’ve worked together before, but they never had the time to really get to know each other.
Lucy knows Nyla is going through a lot right now, but she also knows she doesn’t want to talk about it. She needs time. Time to try to process what might happen and how she feels about it. Lucy knows Nyla will talk to her when she’s ready. And she’s right. We love that Lucy respects Nyla’s space but makes it clear she’s there for her, no matter what. Sometimes, that’s enough. Sometimes, that’s all we can do.
Eventually, Nyla feels ready to talk in The Rookie Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Baja.’ She always wanted to be a cop. She doesn’t know how to be anything else. Goddess, she’s on this crazy mission, she’s left her family behind, to get justice for those girls, because that’s who she is. That’s the kind of person and cop she is. Facing the possibility of losing her job… Nyla can barely think about it because she doesn’t know who she is if she’s not a cop.
And, on top of that, Nyla feels guilty. She’s not guilty about what she did—we all would have done the same—but it’s normal for her to feel responsible because a monster has such an easy defense due to what she said. And Nyla can barely live with that. So, yeah, it felt good to be able to put all that aside and focus on the mission and live as someone else for a few weeks. But now she’s back in Los Angeles…and facing the reality that comes with it.
MORE: The Rookie Season 8, Episode 5 Review: ‘The Network’
Other Stuff in The Rookie Season 8 Episode 7 ‘Baja’
- Chenford’s spicy jokes. We live for this!
- We still can’t get used to seeing them so domestic and happy. They’re a blessing to our eyes.
- Those hands…
- Tim as a waiter. LOL
- Share that pic, Angela!
- We love that Lucy took it so seriously to get justice for those girls. And that she planned the whole operation on her own.
- We give her a standing ovation for the way she caught that guy. If that guy had looked at her one more time…
- Nyla is wonderful. She has to stay; they can’t lose someone like her.
- Nyla was already going for the biggest fish. That ambition, that drive…we love her!
- The scene with the little girl was so cute.
- We love that James unconditionally supports Nyla.
- It still hurts that Angela and Nyla are so distant.
- Lucy and Nyla as girlfriends was the best!
- We still feel the same way about Bailey and Nolan. Their relationship is beyond repair. How long can they endure this?
- We never said anything bad about Seth! He’s fantastic! He literally saved the day.
- When Seth threw himself under that car…our hearts really stopped.
- And we’re so glad to see him doing so well.
- Miles…our hearts ache for him. But he’ll get through this.
The Rookie Season 8 airs Mondays at 10 pm on ABC.
