The Rookie – Season 6 Episode 3 “Trouble in Paradise ” Recap & Review

Trouble in Paradise

Episode 3 of The Rookie Season 6 starts with Nolan and Bailey on their honeymoon on an island. As expected from this couple, their honeymoon begins on the wrong foot. First, they realise the villa is not exactly a villa. The electricity and internet are unreliable, and their most likely source of entertainment will be loud possums in their mating season. However, they decide to keep their positive energy. 

Elsewhere, our lovebirds Chen and Bradford are at Chen’s apartment. She worries about the oral exam, and Bradford worries she is overstudying! As an African child, I have never heard of overstudying; apparently, neither has Chen. She tries to study throughout the episode and even recruits Smitty to help her. I guess desperate times and all that! For once, Smitty is helpful and advises her to try to find out more about the lieutenant she is worried about. 

Speaking of Thorsen, he comes clean to his therapist about what went down at Nolan’s wedding. You know, that little mishap when he kissed Juarez, and she pulled back. His therapist argues that the two have a shared trauma and feel like they can only rely on each other. She asks him to clear the air with Juarez and give her time. He tries, but Juarez says there is no need to apologise and refuses to accept the laptop he brought as an apology gift.  

At the same time, Sergeant Wade is concerned that he did a disservice to Juarez by focusing so much on Thorsen. He and Harper chastise her for what happened with the CI in the previous episode. He asks Bradford to take over Juarez’s training as Harper is needed in the detective’s apartment. Bradford brings Chen along to ensure she is not over-preparing for her oral exam. He, however, threatens to kick them out of the car when Chen asks why Juarez and Thorsen have been acting awkward lately. 

They get a call about a robbery in progress and immediately respond. They find the robber trying to walk away, but he seems out of it and has a head wound. He also claims not to know who he is, but the employee tag on his jacket says he is Jonathan Knight from Trusted Security. Chen and Bradford are not sure if he is faking it. Juarez escorts him to the shop, but he vomits on her. This forces Bradford to call for an ambulance, and they take the guy to the hospital.

At the hospital, they run into Sergeant Wade’s wife, Luna. She is now a patient advocate. Luna inquires from Juarez about Thorsen and learns the two have an awkward issue. Luna advises Juarez to stop thinking about what Thorsen might be feeling or thinking and simply have an honest talk with him. Juarez follows Luna’s advice and talks to Thorsen. She asks for time but wants to work on their friendship. 

Meanwhile, back on the island, Nolan and Bailey distract themselves by shooting their honeymoon. Thankfully, Nolan brought a set of different cameras that were on sale. The honeymoon goes as smoothly as it can possibly go, given the circumstances, until they spot a fellow tourist recovering from facial surgery. Nolan has the bright idea to talk to the guy and learns he is called Dean and is recovering from a dog attack. I guess that explains the bandages on the face, but Nolan doesn’t buy this excuse. Bailey advises him to drop the issue and let the man heal peacefully while they enjoy their honeymoon. Later that night, their camera records someone fitting Dean’s description, watching them sleep for over an hour.

The next morning, things take an even more weird turn when one of the cleaners, Martha, at the villa, is found dead, floating in the ocean. They try to call for help from the local authorities, but it is an isolated island, and it is presumed she died from accidental drowning. In other words, the local authorities don’t feel inclined to prioritise the case, and they store the body in the walking freezer. Fortunately, Nolan is able to get a signal on his phone, and he calls Harper to ask for help. Harper and Lopez convince Wade to let them take a mini-paid vacation to help the newlyweds. They figure they can use Wesley’s credit card, and the city will refund them later. Wade laughs at this and permits them to fly to the remote island. 

As the day progresses, Nolan’s cop intuition continues to bug him, especially after they do a preliminary search on Martha’s body and find a piece of Dean’s bandage. He convinces Bailey to help him search Dean’s room. They find a gun there, and Nolan jams it as a cautionary measure. They manage to get back to their room before Dean gets back to his room.

Given that there is a blackout, they opt to leave the island by kayaking but discover someone ruined the kayaks. They have no choice but to spend the night on the island. They head back to their room and incidentally spot the host’s daughter being attacked. Nolan rushes to help, but he is attacked too. Scared, Bailey tries to help and is hit from the back as soon as she steps out the door. 

The following morning, Harper and Lopez arrive to find Bailey and Nolan were taken hostage. They quickly assess the situation and rush in to help, but Nolan has it under control. He manages to save Bailey and the host’s daughter from a paranoid Dean who thought they were undercover cops out to arrest him. Dean killed his girlfriend, got plastic surgery and was on his way to a new life until Nolan and Bailey’s presence set him off. After saving the newlyweds, Harper and Lopez return to L.A but joke about going back to the island to give their testimony. 

Back in L.A., Chen, Bradford, and Juarez try to solve the mystery of Jonathan Knight. They find no record of him, and he is not helpful since he thinks he is a spy and was allegedly working on something revolving around North Korea. He is also concerned about his partner. Juarez decides to look deeper into Jonathan’s fantasy about being a spy and finds a clue. It turns out Jonathan and his partner were planning to rob Trusted Security to steal some diamonds. The plan went awry when Jonathan fell and hit his head. Bradford and Juarez find his partner trapped between the walls and arrest him.  

Juarez is happy when Bradford compliments her hard work. Thorsen drops by her workstation to hear all about her case, and it seems they are working on mending their friendship. They joke that in a few weeks, they might be able to joke about the infamous kiss.

On the other hand, Chen sleeps in and wakes up to find her oral exam has moved up. She has twenty minutes to get ready and get there. Chen hurries only to arrive and find a long line. She ends up being the last person to take the test. Later, it is revealed that she ranked at number 17, and she stresses that she will never be promoted since she “technically” failed. However, Bradford tries to cheer her up. 

The show ends with Nolan and Bailey back home, trying to make the best of their remaining honeymoon vacation. 


The Episode Review

With Chen failing her detective exam, we can expect more tension between her and Bradford. It might not show up now, but this will fester and create an issue in the future. However, we are sure that ChenFord will survive the storm. They are a good influence on each other. Also, Chen is not one to give up, so she will fight to earn a spot in the undercover detective team, and we are rooting for her. 

On the other hand, we have Bailey and Nolan. Hats off to Bailey’s patience. I guess she has made peace with the fact that she married a cop. Nolan left their wedding to save Juarez, and even on their honeymoon, they still end up getting caught in some crime drama. These two deserve a break, but where is the fun in that? I had only hoped to see Nolan working with the local cops to solve the case. It is annoying when these shows portray the local cops as incompetent and unable to do more than pick up a call.

Juarez and Thorsen are on the mend and will soon be thick as thieves again. They make better friends than lovers, and sometimes, not every friendship has to turn romantic; just look at Bradford and Lopez. The Rookie has a chance to go a different route with these two, and I hope they take it. 

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