The Rookie – Season 5 Episode 12 “Death Notice” Recap & Review

Death Notice

Episode 12 of The Rookie Season 5 starts with a Kelly Clarkson cameo in the police station elevator. Chen comes back home and lies to Tamara about where she was. Tamara tells her that she saw Bradford dropping her off. She tells Tamara that she is taking it slow with Bradford and they have not slept together yet. Tamara asks what is holding her back and points out there is no reason to wait if she knows how she feels.

At the station, Chen tells Bradford that she is ready for the next step and informs him that Tamara already knows about them. They plan to meet at her place later that night, Tamara will be at her friend’s and they can get some alone time.

Sergeant Wade asks them to ride together since Lopez requested Thorsen to help her with her case. Chen thinks it will be awkward but Bradford is ever the professional and thinks it will be just a normal ride. Chen considers lying to Sergeant Wade that she has food poisoning to avoid riding with Bradford.

She points out that their dynamics have changed since they started dating and that Bradford is taking it easy on her. Technically, she is right but does this mean they can’t work together anymore?

Elsewhere, Wesley tries to get information from Harper about Elijah’s case. However, Harper is no snitch, and for good reason.  Lopez updates Thorsen on the case, they will be surveilling a man named Rivers, who is suspected of running guns.

Meanwhile, Sergeant Wade asks Nolan and Juarez to stand guard at the hospital where a prisoner will be donating a kidney. The prisoner is Oscar, we have met Oscar many times and Sergeant Wade thinks he is up to something. He asks Nolan not to let his guard down.

Oscar tries to make a pass on Juarez but her instincts are tingling and she senses that Oscar is going to die. Oscar insists he is doing a good deed for his daughter, Ashley but he is extorting her. Ashley swears that after the surgery she is done with her dad and criminals but that remains to be seen given her current boyfriend’s suspicious behaviour. He keeps getting “lost’’ in the hospital.

As Nolan tries to reign Oscar in, Lopez and Harper start their stake out. Lopez is feeling under the weather and decides to get a pregnancy test which comes out positive. Harper tries to comfort her and assure her that it will all be okay.

In the meantime, Chen and Bradford arrest a man and after paying bail, the man accuses Chen of stealing his expensive earrings. Chen worries that she focused too much on the change of dynamics between her and Bradford and that she made a mistake. They retrace their steps and try to find the earrings. Bradford is hoping he won’t have to report Chen to IA if they find the earrings.

Back to Oscar, an orderly from his past tries to kill him. Ashley’s boyfriend, Duke overdoses on drugs he stole from the medicine cabinets in the hospital. Oscar also orders food against his doctor’s instructions to get the surgery postponed. Bailey drops by to give Nolan an overnight bag.

Ashley contemplates leaving the hospital and is angry her dad is using the surgery to get a few days out of prison. She is hurt that Oscar has never been a father to her. Nolan asks her to stick it out and wait. Juarez thinks she got into Oscar’s head and that is why he did what he can to postpone the surgery.

The day ends with Lopez cancelling her date night with Wesley to continue surveilling Rivers.  Harper gets angry at Lopez for lying to her when she spots Rivers with Elijah coming out of a club. She asks Lopez to get out of the car, she is angry that Lopez is ruining the whole case against Elijah. Harper is right, Elijah hired a private detective to follow Lopez and now he has probable cause to legally come after her.

Elijah sends his lawyer, Monica to warn Lopez and Harper. The two detectives insist that they were surveilling Rivers and it was a mere coincidence that Elijah happened to be in the club. Sergeant Wade is angry but asks them to explain themselves the next morning.

Chen cancels her night with Bradford and confesses to Tamara the day was hard on them. It made them realize there are many complications to dating your superior.  Bradford visits Chen and admits he can’t be objective when it comes to her. Lucy comes clean that the earrings were never missing in the first place. She just wanted him to admit the truth so they can find a solution.

The next morning, Nolan and Juarez are introduced to a new doctor named Acker who is supposed to observe the procedure. Nolan and Juarez notice that the lead doctor is acting strangely and they decide to investigate.

Turns out, the new doctor, Acker is an impersonator, the lead doctor confesses that her family was taken, hostage. The kidnappers attacked her (lead doctor ) home last night and will only release her family if she kills Oscar during the surgery.

They arrest the fake doctor while Chen and Bradford lead the rescue mission at the doctor’s home.  They save the doctor’s family and the surgery proceeds as planned.

Chen and Bradford contemplate one of them leaving the station. Chen thinks it should be her but Bradford thinks they still have time to decide. Bradford tells Sergeant Wade that he is dating Chen and he is serious about her. He takes a job as the Court Liaison Sergeant, a desk job out of Chen’s chain of command. Chen is concerned he will be bored in his new job but he says he will be okay.  They end up bickering for a while and finally sleep together.

Lopez apologizes to Harper for lying to her. She admits she is scared that Elijah is coming for them. Harper assures her that she has got the case. Lopez goes home and tells Wesley that she is pregnant. Wesley is happy but scared too.

The Episode Review

Lopez is falling into Elijah’s trap and that is scary. She should have more faith in Harper and the rest of the team to handle Elijah. Right now, she should focus on her pregnancy and relish it.

It is sad that Bradford took a demotion to be able to freely date Chen. He must be serious about her and it is a romantic gesture but I am not sure it is a sustainable move. Has Bradford met himself? How will he manage to be away from the field?