We’re back! The Rookie Season 8 Episode 17 ‘Dead Ringer’ continues to show just how dangerous Glasser is, while Monica faces the end of her game, revealing her true self, and Tim takes a step toward that big Chenford moment we’ve all been waiting for. Ready?
Here we go!
The Rookie Season 8 Episode 17 Delivers the Chenford Moment Fans Have Been Waiting For
We knew Chenford was going to get us emotional. We also knew Tim was going to do everything perfectly and make sure the ring, the proposal… were a reflection of them. But we didn’t know just how much. We cried listening to him talk like that about Lucy in The Rookie Season 8 Episode 17 ‘Dead Ringer.’
The way he knows her, how he knows Lucy lives to help people and gets involved with them, with their stories, because she cares. The way he knows that her compassion doesn’t prevent her from being a force of nature—on the contrary, it’s part of what makes her so fierce—and the way Tim simply gets lost in memories of her when he’s describing her…it’s beautiful. Lucy’s passion, her compassion, and her kindness are just some of the things that made Tim fall in love with her. And The Rookie Season 8 Episode 17 ‘Dead Ringer’ is proof of that.
But what touched our hearts the most in The Rookie Season 8 Episode 17 ‘Dead Ringer’ is how Tim acknowledges out loud—something that would have been impossible before, which speaks volumes about character growth—how much Lucy means to him. How she makes him feel. Why he couldn’t help falling in love with her and why he knows she’s the one.
Tim always felt he didn’t deserve a love like that. A love so sincere, pure, and clean. But Lucy came along and changed all that. She turned his world upside down. She made him feel not only that such a love existed, that it was real, but that it was possible for him. At first, he resisted it—so much so that it led him to break up with her—but he worked on himself and is ready to embrace that love. Forever.
That’s why Tim chose that ring in The Rookie Season 8 Episode 17 ‘Dead Ringer.’ It’s the perfect ring. Two people who fell in love little by little, first building a relationship of friendship and trust before daring to take the next step, before realizing that what they felt went far beyond friendship. Just like them.
And The Rookie Season 8 Episode 17 ‘Dead Ringer’ perfectly showcases both Tim’s character growth and why Chenford is so important to this show and won us over from the start. Kudos to Eric Winter for his wonderful performance in this one.
MORE: The Rookie Season 8, Episode 16 Review: ‘Out Of Time’
Monica’s Ending Is the Most Emotional Twist of the Episode
It’s no secret that we wanted to be rid of Monica for a while. But not like this. We would have liked her to have escaped and reappear eventually. Her death caught us off guard, and honestly, we didn’t expect to feel so sad about it. But we do. We want her alive. Even so, we liked that the last thing The Rookie Season 8 Episode 17 ‘Dead Ringer’ showed us of Monica was her heart. It’s the best thing they could have done.
Monica made many questionable decisions that led her right there. To that moment where there was no way out. She regretted every single one of her decisions, but it was too late. The life Monica chose only had two possible endings: prison or death. She knew it. And she accepted the consequences of her choices a long time ago. But when everything was about to explode, she allowed herself a moment to stop being the impassive and unscrupulous woman she had learned to be.
In The Rookie Season 8 Episode 17 ‘Dead Ringer,’ Monica took a moment to be her again. The same woman she buried deep inside herself so many years ago. The one who loves Wesley with all her heart. Because Monica never stopped loving him. So much so that she respected that he didn’t feel the same way. So much so that she respected his happiness with Angela and she’s happy for him, even though it broke her heart.
That’s why Wesley is the only one she wants to see before whatever is going to happen to her. The only man she ever loved. The only person who really know her. And the only person she truly has. Everyone else is either an ally or an enemy. But no one knows her like Wesley does. No one appreciates her like he does. Because Wesley may not love her, but he truly cares about her. That’s why he doesn’t call Angela immediately and listens to what Monica has to say.
And in The Rookie Season 8 Episode 17 ‘Dead Ringer,’ Monica needs to know. She needs to know what Wesley truly felt for her. It’s a doubt that had been gnawing at her for years. And it’s now or never. Hearing that Wesley truly loved her heals something inside her that had been broken for far too long.
Perhaps in another life, if she had made different choices…everything could have been completely different. But it’s not worth dwelling on the maybes. And knowing that she was as important to Wesley as he is to her is the comfort Monica needed. Somehow, that brings her peace.
And that’s the only thing that comforts us. Monica passed away peacefully, and The RookieSeason 8 Episode 17 ‘Dead Ringer’ gave us a glimpse of what could have been…and the woman Monica was before it all. We loved that because it did justice to this complex character. We will miss her. And we have to congratulate Bridget Regan for her tremendous work on this show over the years, especially in the episodes where Monica allowed herself to be vulnerable, like in this one.
MORE: The Rookie Season 8, Episode 15 Review: ‘Survive The Streets’
The Rookie Season 8 Episode 17 Misses a Key Opportunity With Celina
Celina’s cell phone got her into way too much trouble in The Rookie Season 8 Episode 17 ‘Dead Ringer.’ She and Rodge are cute, but we think the show missed an opportunity here.
This funny misunderstanding should have led to Celina and Rodge talking about taking their relationship to the next level and everything that entails. We should have known where they really stand, if they’re ready to take that step, if they truly want to, if they see a future together…
Anyway, The Rookie Season 8 Episode 17 ‘Dead Ringer,’ should have used this to advance Celina’s story and put the focus on her. But instead, the episode decided to use this misunderstanding only as comic relief, which actually demonstrates the immaturity of her and Rodge’s relationship—seriously, not talking things out? Trust and honesty are the foundation of a relationship.
However, that doesn’t lead anywhere because Celina doesn’t recognize this as a warning sign. It just happens, the show takes it all as a joke…and that’s it. So the episode missed a golden opportunity to advance Celina’s story here.
MORE: The Rookie Season 8, Episode 14 Review: ‘Tiger Bear’
Other Developments in The Rookie Set Up What’s Next
- That judge is amazing!
- Glasser definitely has John back on his blacklist. And it’s clear he’s going to do something. This…manipulative man wants Nolan to feel guilty for whatever he’s planning. We’re worried.
- Tim panicking is hilarious.
- But Angela sees right through him. She knows him better than anyone.
- Lucy was suspicious after Tim reacted that way to the news about Celina and Rodge. And she definitely didn’t like him saying that. Will Tim’s strategy backfire?
- Angela asking for a “second” opinion. LMAO.
- We were all Angela listening to Tim talk about Lucy like that.
- The ring Tim chose is perfect and beautiful.
- Celina definitely can’t keep a secret…
- We’re glad Aaron and Celina worked things out. Who hasn’t talked trash about a friend without really meaning any harm?
The Rookie Season 8 airs Mondays at 10 pm on ABC.
