We’re back! The Rookie Season 8 Episode 14 ‘Tiger Bear’ puts Celina in the spotlight—though not as much as she deserves—and we see, once again, why she’s such a good cop. At the same time, it gives too much screen time to a guest star, to the detriment of our favorite characters. Ready?
Here we go!
Following Instinct in The Rookie Season 8 Episode 14 ‘Tiger Bear’
The Rookie Season 8 Episode 14 ‘Tiger Bear’ made us worry a lot about Celina. She put herself in unnecessary danger. But honestly? We would have done the same. “Missing Persons” is supposed to be a police department with a competent team that never stops searching—especially considering that time is crucial in these cases. Not a cop who clearly hasn’t cared about taking their job seriously in a long time. Or about getting involved with the cases.
So when Celina arrives and is faced with that situation, she obviously can’t ignore it. And yes, at first, she followed a lead in a case that went nowhere. Because not all missing persons cases are criminal—thankfully. But there are many others, millions that are. And those people deserve to be searched for, to have people care.
So it doesn’t matter that Celina followed the wrong lead in The Rookie Season 8 Episode 14 ‘Tiger Bear,’ because her instinct wasn’t wrong. And she was the only one who had an interest in getting justice for the victim and bringing some peace to their family. Because she knows what it feels like to not know what happened, to be kept waiting.
And that’s already much more than that cop or the police department did in years.
So we understand why Celina followed her instinct in The Rookie Season 8 Episode 14 ‘Tiger Bear.’ The victim was her neighbor; what harm could a little investigation do? She tried. She told that cop about her suspicions, tried to get him to come with her to investigate…and he ignored her. But she knew something was up…and she couldn’t just stand by and do nothing. That’s not the kind of cop she is, not the kind of cop she wants to be.
That said, what would have been the smartest thing to do in this case? Well, ask Lucy or Angela and Nyla to come with her, just in case. And that’s the only thing she got wrong, and the only thing that cop was right about: Celina can’t take risks like that. She’s not alone. If that guy wouldn’t listen to her, she has friends who can help her—and we think that Celina learned her lesson. But follow her instincts? Celina should always do that. It’s part of what makes her such a good cop.
MORE: The Rookie Season 8, Episode 13 Review: ‘The Thinker’
Role Confusion
We don’t understand why The Rookie Season 8 Episode 14 ‘Tiger Bear’ gives Dash so much screen time again. It’s not that we don’t like him. We like the guy. But he’s not part of the show, he’s a guest star. And this series forgot that several episodes ago. It’s fine to see Dash once in a while to see how he’s doing. Just like seeing Randy or any of the other guest stars.
But we don’t care about Dash enough to be interested in his family issues or to see him always glued to Nolan’s back.
We’re not here to see Dash. We’re here to see Angela, Nyla, Lucy, Tim, Grey, Luna, Wesley… in short, we’re here for the characters we’ve known for eight years. Not for Dash. And instead of developing these characters, The Rookie Season 8 Episode 14 ‘Tiger Bear’ spends its time telling us about Dash’s family problems as if we cared.
I don’t know… what if The Rookie Season 8 Episode 14 ‘Tiger Bear’ had spent that time seeing how Grey and Luna were doing? Or perhaps to involve Angela and Nyla much more in a case THEY are investigating? Or, maybe, to explain how Celina feels about working with missing persons after what happened to her sister? And how about a few crumbs of Chenford? Good grief, the episode could have even given us an update on Bailey—who we’re not that interested in either, but at least she’s more interesting than Dash.
And the worst part is, this isn’t the first time the show has done this. In episode 10, in which Lucy experienced one of the most traumatic events of her life, the episode focused more on Nolan and Dash running around hiding than on Lucy. And this has to stop.
It’s time we took a break from Dash for a while.
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Other Stuff in The Rookie Season 8 Episode 14 ‘Tiger Bear’
- Celina making Smitty work—and get covered in something unspeakable—for once in a long time. A queen!
- If we hadn’t had so much Dash-related content, the episode could have explored what working in missing persons means to Celina, given that her sister is still missing, and what she encounters in that police department. We would have liked that.
- That said, we’re proud of Dash because it’s not easy to accept that someone you love hurts you and then push them out of your life. Especially a dad. It takes real courage to do that.
- Nolan definitely gave that man the best advice. Dash is his son, and if he comes back, Dash will forgive him. But if he truly loves him, he shouldn’t come back if he hasn’t genuinely changed.
- Seriously, how can a father do that to his son and put him in so much danger?
- Is Dash Nolan’s “puppy”?
- We’re proud of Wesley! He shouldn’t have to put up with Vivian forcing him to do her dirty work and betray his principles. We were surprised that the former DA joined the team, though.
- Tim and his new toy. He seems like a kid. We love it!
The Rookie Season 8 airs Mondays at 10 pm on ABC.
