Critic’s Rating: 2.5 / 5.0
2.5
You have to respect The Rookie for its devotion to a bit.
The mockumentary-style episodes are probably some of the most polarizing installments of this series, yet it never discourages them from returning every year.
It’s an unspoken requirement of some sort. And, no, my position on them still hasn’t wavered. They’re not my cup of tea.
The doc episodes always find a way to bring back some characters, attempt to connect or reference previous storylines, and just get full-blown kooky with their exploration.
It seems this time around, the theme was horror. And that’s not exactly a genre I dabble with either, so a double struggle for me!
The hour brings back Abigail, who was at the center of last season’s doc episode, The Rookie Season 7 Episode 15.
Apparently, Alexi Hawley, our showrunner and, of course, the documentarian for these gems, stole bits of her documentary for his.
Remember when they gave us a nesting doll of documentaries within documentaries in that last one?
So part of a plea deal was for Abigail to partner up with him for this horror-fueled, supernatural hour, which leads to a begrudging partnership that produces some serviceable moments of amusement, I guess.
There’s one point where Abigail totally cops to necrophilia, so do with that what you dare.
And for those of you who may also be The Pitt Fanatics who recall my sleep-deprived spelling mishap, YES, I actually do mean necrophilia this time.
They toss in those training tapes that have become a staple for the series, and mention that the former cop in them, Rick, was hiding symbols from murder victims in the training videos, which Lucy was able to piece together at some point.
She even confirmed that Smitty was right about something.
They’ve leaned into the unique bond those two have forged many times throughout The Rookie Season 8, and that’s been fun.
Now, somewhere along the way, they brought back that Dropout crew because they purchased some things from the horror film, I think, that was the one that Angela tried to bankroll that time?
I don’t know.
Through some of this, we learn some fun facts, like that Smitty was an actor at one point before he joined the force to gift LA his “service.” Also, young Smitty was really hot.
At one point, the hour dips into sci-fi territory with aliens, and we learn that Smitty was abducted by them, which tracks. Nolan listens to Alien podcasts, which is funny, and Lucy is a true believer.
But then we segue into exorcisms, which brings in a young Bradford and Lopez as they respond to one 15 years ago. The poor woman had a brain issue, but I guess exorcisms were the way to go! Boo.
Throughout all of this sci-fi, horror, and supernatural craziness, Bradford remains the most resistant to all of this, while various members of the squad are quietly letting their freak flags fly.
Like, Wesley is apparently such a nerd about old order secret societies and all of that cultish stuff, and I guess it makes sense that he’ll have his own thing, given that Angela is a true Horror Queen.
Given that we started this hour with Nolan and Celina finding weird caskets, the segueways have been enough to forget what the actual case was supposed to be about.
Abigail and Guy did their due diligence, digging into things, even heading to creepy habitations alone, and credit to Abigail for a great snarky line about how aware she is as a woman of dangers and how she doesn’t need that mansplained to her.
One of the highlights of the hour is that it managed to deliver a cameo by none other than the Winchester brothers.
Yes, Supernatural does exist in The Rookie world, and this show proves why it’s getting the big budget as well as a renewal, with its ability to snag Jensen Ackles and Jared Padalecki for a minute-and-a-half cameo in one of its most bizarre episodes yet.
If I were a Supernatural fan, I probably would’ve appreciated it even more. One of these days, I’ll have to put it on my binge list, I swear!
They offered some insight, but mostly, they just looked really hot on camera.
Through all of this, we surmise that the director of the horror film put others up to murdering for him under the guise of doing it for the greater good because of demons or something.
Truthfully, the hour jumped from one topic to the next so swiftly that it started becoming harder and harder to keep up with the case at hand.
But they caught the bad guys, and Angela and Harper were kicking butt during interrogation, and they got their collar.
Also, Abigail apparently has a future in being an esteemed documentarian, and she even landed a deal with Hulu, sans Guy.
It’s quite the burn, given the fact that he saved her life, and it felt like some sparks flew between them. They definitely slept together offscreen, right?
By the end of all that, all I can say is that Nolan and his son really dodged a bullet by not having Abigail in their lives.
The one great thing about these themed installments is that it seems like the cast actually likes them and has fun. I can’t hate them too much if someone finds joy in them.
Although I really wish Miles were in on the action.
Fortunately, it appears he may be in the next installment, but they’ve really sidelined the guy this season, and I hate it.
Over to you, Rookie Fanatics. Do you find these stimulating and fun or boring?
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