We’re back! The Rookie Season 8 Episode 18 ‘The Bandit’ gives us a season finale where Chenford finally gets the moment we’ve all been waiting for. However, it focuses too much on characters we don’t care about at the expense of those we do, and prioritizes action above all else. Ready?
Here we go!
The Finale Ignores the Story It Spent Weeks Building
We have mixed feelings about The Rookie Season 8 Episode 18 ‘The Bandit.’ This episode is as if the show spent two weeks building a puzzle, only to abandon it just as it was nearing completion and start a completely new one. Everything feels disconnected. These last three episodes of the season were set up as a kind of grand story divided into three acts. That’s what the series promised.
And it didn’t deliver.
The show spent two episodes building up to Glasser’s final act against the team, especially Nyla. And in this episode, Glasser is nowhere to be seen. It’s as if he doesn’t exist. And it’s disconcerting. It’s not that we don’t like Everett—we do. In fact, Jeffrey Vincent Parise does an exceptional job of giving us chills. But we feel cheated when we see that The RookieSeason 8 Episode 18 ‘The Bandit’ is completely different from the story the show built up over the previous two episodes.
It’s as if we’ve been led on for two weeks. And frankly, why create such an arc with Glasser only to completely forget about him? They could have included any recurring villain. But they built a story and created expectations, only to then act as if none of it ever existed. And, as a consequence, they don’t do justice to the story they were developing—it’s clear we didn’t see the last of Glasser, though.
So yeah, The Rookie Season 8 Episode 18 ‘The Bandit,’ doesn’t start off in the best way for us. We don’t like feeling cheated and disappointed by our favorite show. Playing this way isn’t the best approach. That said, that’s not the only reason this episode leaves us conflicted. After all, it prioritizes action and tension over character development.
And that’s not necessarily a bad thing in a season finale. We all expect something big. The problem is when it seems like that’s all you care about. When the smoke clears and the bullets stop flying, you’re left with the characters. And this episode doesn’t do them justice—except for Chenford. That’s why there always needs to be balance. And The Rookie Season 8 Episode 18 ‘The Bandit’ doesn’t have it. That’s a fact.
MORE: The Rookie Season 8, Episode 17 ‘Dead Ringer’ Review: Monica Faces the End of Her Game
Too Much Time on Characters That Don’t Matter
The show keeps shoehorning Bailey into storylines that have nothing to do with her. She’s a firefighter, not a cop, so what was she doing on a top-secret FBI and LAPD operation? And we’re not buying the “paramedic” excuse, because she didn’t act like one. Bailey’s presence there makes no sense. After all, she’s a civilian; neither the LAPD nor the FBI can put her in danger.
But here we are.
Once again, The Rookie Season 8 Episode 18 ‘The Bandit,’ introduced Bailey into a situation where her presence is completely unjustified. The show tries too hard to justify it. But if something doesn’t make sense, nothing will, no matter how much effort is put into it.
So much so, that the only thing that makes sense for Bailey to do—rescuing Nolan—feels like the final straw. At that moment, we couldn’t help but think something like, “Of course, out of all the people there, it had to be Bailey who saved him from drowning. There’s nothing she can’t do.”
That’s how fed up we are with seeing Bailey in a place where she doesn’t belong.
This premise also applies to Dash. After seeing him in more episodes than we would have liked, we were ready to stop seeing him for a while. But The Rookie Season 8 Episode 18 ‘The Bandit’ brought him back with an absurd excuse. We like Dash, but we couldn’t care less about his college recommendation letter or whether he wants to take a gap year. And even less so in a season finale where the show should be focusing on the characters we actually care about.
Instead of wasting time with Dash, the series should have included Glasser, or shown a scene about how Miles was feeling about his job—and his whole life—on the line, or even a scene of Nyla finding out the truth about what happened. Or, we don’t know, how about Angela confronting Wesley about what he did and him explaining why he agreed to join Everett’s legal team?
Those are scenes we wanted to see. Those are scenes of characters we care about.
We won’t see this people for months. And instead of developing the storylines of the characters we’re here for, The Rookie Season 8 Episode 18 ‘The Bandit’ chose to focus on characters we don’t care about and not delve into any of the storylines of the ones we do. It just treated everything superficially and left important scenes to the viewer’s imagination.
MORE: The Rookie Season 8, Episode 16 Review: ‘Out Of Time’
Chenford Delivers the Only Moment That Truly Works
However, is The Rookie Season 8 Episode 18 ‘The Bandit’ still worth your time? Yes, without a doubt. Because the season finale does justice to Chenford and, to a lesser extent, to Lucy.
We knew Chenford’s proposal was going to get us emotional. But we didn’t know just how much. As we imagined, Tim just nailed it. On a beach that Lucy loves. With the ocean waves as peaceful as she makes him feel. And Tim acknowledging aloud everything Lucy means to him, how her love changed him, how she healed him in a way he never thought anything could. She is his light. She always has been. When Lucy said “yes,” it brought tears to our eyes.
This scene from The Rookie Season 8 Episode 18 ‘The Bandit’ perfectly illustrates why Chenford is so important to this show and how this couple brings out the best in Lucy and Tim. Without Lucy, Tim wouldn’t have found a reason to work on himself and heal. And Tim challenges Lucy and brings out the best in her. He makes her happy in ways she didn’t know existed.
It’s beautiful.
On the other hand, The Rookie Season 8 Episode 18 ‘The Bandit’ gave Lucy the opportunity to lead in a time of crisis. Not only was the station in chaos after Everett’s escape, but she also had to deal with a shootout…and have to discipline a friend and someone she knows is a good cop.
It’s not easy having to act as a boss in a situation like that. And we saw how well she handled it and how things could be in the future. Hopefully, the show will give Lucy more opportunities to act as a sergeant.
However, although the season finale gives Miles more than usual to work with, the storyline doesn’t do him justice. Ultimately, the episode doesn’t explore how he feels about being in that situation for the second time, the doubts about whether he really did what he had to do, or what losing his job would mean for him. This storyline is treated too superficially. And, as we mentioned, the episode preferred to waste time on characters we don’t care about.
In short, this episode is a reflection of everything that worked and what didn’t throughout the season. So, when The Rookie Season 8 Episode 18 ‘The Bandit’ does it right, it gives us the best stuff, but when it does it wrong, it does it really wrong.
MORE: The Rookie Season 8, Episode 15 Review: ‘Survive The Streets’
Quick Thoughts on The Rookie Season 8 Episode 18’s Biggest Moments
- We really think Miles made that mistake. And we feel bad for it.
- Thank goodness he did everything right.
- The way Everett escaped was cool.
- And this episode had the action on point.
- Will Grey retire?
- Thank goodness Wesley’s behavior had an explanation because it was so out of character for him…
- And Tim was tough on him, but he was right.
- Chenford’s proposal was THE BEST.
- We knew something was going to happen! How did Everett’s minions know Tim and Lucy would be on that beach? If they followed them, how come they didn’t notice? They’re trained cops…
- We want Season 9 NOW!
The Rookie Season 8 airs Mondays at 10 pm on ABC.
