S02.E19: The Q Word (1)

[WendyCR72]

Airing on May 3, 2020; and yes, the (1) after the title means the second part will follow the next week, which appears to be the finale:

Their rookie year is coming to an end and officers Nolan, Chen and West are about to be squeezed harder than ever before as their training officers evaluate whether they are truly ready for the job. After one of their rookie classmates is involved in a shooting, the team uncovers some unsettling evidence.

[mxc90]

30 more days for the boots and the show's title  will change from "The Rookie" to "The P2s"?

Until Rios died and Erin's RV disaster/death, I almost felt sorry for those other rookies as they had no juicy stories to share at the bar with our 3 great heroes!

Serj fired two shots at Chris from the car. Two bullets are sticking out of the Chris' vest. Did Chris die from a real bad bruise?

All the cops were at the shooting scene but not anyone to back up Nolan and Nyla in the parking garage.

Not familiar with Ford police vehicles but where is the donut tire kept if the box is in that spot?

Was Nolan hitting the box with the rear hatch part of the script? 

I would liked to have seen Erin make some appearances (if she is in the same station) in previous episodes to understand how she started with the mob. And meet her T.O. as he or she is oblivious. 

And why pick Erin? The mob didn't see any potential in the our 3?

Internal Affairs or Grey didn't review Nolan's body cam to hear Erin say "Armstrong"?

So instead of Grace having all her scenes from the hospital, she can get some fresh air and occasionally deliver pizza to our hard working officers.

Armstrong is dirty? From all we've seen from him, it doesn't seem right he's on the payroll of these clowns.

The return of Rosalind next week with her "I told you so Nolan". Yay! With Armstrong's corruption, I hope this  doesn't mean she will get her sentenced dropped and released from jail.

Edited May 4, 2020 by mxc90

[ItCouldBeWorse]

It's a good thing Grey decided to trust Lopez and not Armstrong.

[preeya]

1 hour ago, mxc90 said:

Armstrong is dirty? From all we've seen from him. I doesn't seem right he's on the payroll of these clowns.

THIS ↑. It just doesn't make sense. Armstrong and and unknown female cop connected to some really bad guys. It doesn't make sense.

[paigow]

Even Jack Bauer never had 2 moles in the same season....This will end up like The Departed ..Armstrong must die for Lopez to get a permanent promotion.

[shapeshifter]

IMO, Harold Perrineau (Armstrong) did a perfect job of playing his role with just a hint of sketchiness the whole season. 
And then when the gun was missing, immediately I (we?) thought it was Armstrong, but then they quickly threw in a red herring or two.     

But then I guess we were left with the B team writers for:

7 hours ago, mxc90 said:

Serj fired two shots at Chris from the car. Two bullets are sticking out of the Chris' vest. Did Chris die from a real bad bruise?

 

[paigow]

8 hours ago, mxc90 said:

The return of Rosalind next week with her "I told you so Nolan". Yay! With Armstrong's corruption, I hope this  doesn't mean she will get her sentenced dropped and released from jail.

Unless she worked with the Armenian / Albanian mob, how could she get dirt that IA missed?

[mxc90]

41 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

 But then I guess we were left with the B team writers for:

Maybe a second shooter from the park or Grace screwed up in the hospital and thought bringing the police pizza would make up for their loss.

12 minutes ago, paigow said:

Unless she worked with the Armenian / Albanian mob, how could she get dirt that IA missed?

Once the news is out that Armstrong is corrupt, her lawyer can ask to look into his arrest and file for a mistrial? I remember a show doing that (I forget which show).

[shapeshifter]

18 minutes ago, mxc90 said:

Maybe a second shooter from the park or Grace screwed up in the hospital and thought bringing the police pizza would make up for their loss.

No, they showed blood on Rookie Red Shirt (Rios, played by blonde British actor Christopher O’Shea) in the park. Maybe they’ll have a throwaway line about him not having a vest in Part 2. 
This was his first appearance in 2 seasons even though he and West were supposedly close in the academy and both had cop fathers and were top of the class. Maybe they were originally going to kill off West?
IDK. Weird, sloppy writing, IMO. 
Unless I missed a moment when Armstrong could have removed Rios vest and shot him? 

Edited May 4, 2020 by shapeshifter

[chaifan]

44 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

No, they showed blood on Rookie Red Shirt (Rios, played by blonde British actor Christopher O’Shea) in the park. Maybe they’ll have a throwaway line about him not having a vest in Part 2. 
This was his first appearance in 2 seasons even though he and West were supposedly close in the academy and both had cop fathers and were top of the class. Maybe they were originally going to kill off West?
IDK. Weird, sloppy writing, IMO. 
Unless I missed a moment when Armstrong could have removed Rios vest and shot him? 

I thought Rios was wearing a vest and was shot right above the vest.

They really should have had him in a red shirt in the bar.  Maybe they did and I didn't notice?  If not, that was an inside joke opportunity missed. 

I was not at all impressed with the plot.  If they wanted to end the season with Armstrong being a dirty cop/mole, it really should have been worked in throughout the season.  HP is great, and they could have used him more.  To bring in two totally new characters, retcon some strong bond between Rios and West, recon some fatherly sage advice giving relationship between Nolan and whatever the female cop's name was, just to kill them both off within an hour was just stupid. 

And going back to the Rosalind well is equally stupid.  First, I just can't get past the horribly unnatural red hair that she somehow is able to keep up with color jobs in prison.  Second, she has never added anything to any plot. 

The only thing I really liked about this episode was moving Lopez up the detective chain and Nyla getting partial custody back.   For a season finale (part I), this is probably one of the weakest episodes of the season.  I do not have high expectations for part II.

 

[shapeshifter]

20 minutes ago, chaifan said:

If they wanted to end the season with Armstrong being a dirty cop/mole, it really should have been worked in throughout the season.  HP is great, and they could have used him more. 

Yeah, I thought HP did play his character with a touch of mystery all season, which might have just been him being an experienced actor signed for a single season without the writers having a plan for his exit.

[preeya]

Maybe I've been Quarantined too long but I can't find the reason for the title of the episode, "The Q Word."

Anyone?

[Goldmoon]

The actress who plays Rosalind has an astonishing number of freckles under her makeup so my guess is that red hair is natural.  I agree that we dont need to see her again though. This is not a great series and seeing a serial killer get one up on the protagonists doesn't help.

Edited May 4, 2020 by Goldmoon
Eta: spelled "hair" wrong.

[mxc90]

9 minutes ago, preeya said:

Maybe I've been Quarantined too long but I can't find the reason for the title of the episode, "The Q Word."

Anyone?

Nolan told Nyla it was all quiet before the chaos started. She flipped out on him saying the Q word.

Edited May 4, 2020 by mxc90

[CheetaraThunder]

I did like the episode overall.

- Harper continues to move up the ranks of my favorite characters. Just like Bradford, I’m glad they added layers and humanized her. Plus, her getting her daughter back made me so happy.

- Lopez is just a BAMF. And, I definitely see them going with Lopez/Detective story into season 3. Maybe work more with Rita Calhoun or the Detective that lost his partner from season 1.

- I get from a spectator perspective that Tim was being mean to Lucy, but just step back Emmitt. Like Lucy said, she doesn’t need saving. I do feel like Emmitt and Rachel are just temporary interests  while they most likely build towards Chen and Bradford. 
 

- I hope the Armstrong ordeal is more then just being a dirty cop.

[BlakesMomma]

4 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

IMO, Harold Perrineau (Armstrong) did a perfect job of playing his role with just a hint of sketchiness the whole season. 
And then when the gun was missing, immediately I (we?) thought it was Armstrong, but then they quickly threw in a red herring or two.     

But then I guess we were left with the B team writers for:

 

I agree on Armstrong, I always felt there was something off about him and so have many other viewers that I've seen. It was very subtle and very well played by Perrineau. 

 

[devilhalo]

10 minutes ago, BlakesMomma said:

I agree on Armstrong, I always felt there was something off about him and so have many other viewers that I've seen. It was very subtle and very well played by Perrineau. 

 

100% agree.

[ribboninthesky1]

13 hours ago, preeya said:

THIS ↑. It just doesn't make sense. Armstrong and and unknown female cop connected to some really bad guys. It doesn't make sense.

I thought Armstrong was a "breaking the rules to get the perp" type, so I always assumed it would be revealed that he did something sketchy to get Rosalind and she might walk because of it.  To be a mole and murdering fellow cops seems to be a whole other level.  It's definitely a weak plot because he hasn't been in the department that long, and it sounded to me like that precinct has been after the Darriens or whoever for awhile now. 

Edited May 4, 2020 by ribboninthesky1

[chaifan]

4 hours ago, Goldmoon said:

The actress who plays Rosalind has an astonishing number of freckles under her makeup so my guess is that red hair is natural.  I agree that we dont need to see her again though. This is not a great series and seeing a serial killer get one up on the protagonists doesn't help.

I've seen her on other shows, and if I remember right she's been a redhead in those as well, although different shades.  I wouldn't be surprised if she is a natural redhead.  But the particular shade of red she has in this show is 100% not natural, not on anyone.  It's really rather awful. 

[preeya]

1 hour ago, chaifan said:

I've seen her on other shows, and if I remember right she's been a redhead in those as well, although different shades.  I wouldn't be surprised if she is a natural redhead.  But the particular shade of red she has in this show is 100% not natural, not on anyone.  It's really rather awful. 

According to Wikipedia she is a natural dark redhead. Here's a shot of the fall finale:

 

[Aliconehead]

Freckles are not an indicator of natural red, red heads come in all skin tones. I for one do not have many freckles.  Also red head usually don’t go grey, we fade. She most likely is a red head it had just faded to a light shade and she now dyes

I suspected HP from the start. He has been suspicious from the start. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

The files that were found in the house appeared to be actual police office files, with photos clipped inside, not photocopies or blown up phone photos.  Does that even make sense?  Wouldn't someone notice that the original files were gone, thus indicating that there was a mole in the police department?

Edited May 4, 2020 by ItCouldBeWorse

[Orbert]

I thought Erin said "Armstrong" a split second before she turned and saw Armstrong, who then shot her.  We played it back to confirm it.  Then we saw Nolan reviewing his bodycam footage and say the same thing out loud.  Okay, not everybody was completely shocked by that, but that would've been the perfect fade to black moment.  Nolan figured it out.

Then, just in case viewers are completely stupid, we see Armstrong meet up with the Armenian guy, who tells him he did a good job, THEN fade to black.  Ugh.  They couldn't even give us that much credit?

[Pepper the Cat]

I am a nurse and I have had freakouts similar or Nyla’s when the Q work is said. Never, ever say that word.

as soon as we met the other two Rookies I knew one of them was toast. Poor guys didn’t stand a chance.

 

[Clanstarling]

On 5/4/2020 at 4:38 AM, shapeshifter said:

IMO, Harold Perrineau (Armstrong) did a perfect job of playing his role with just a hint of sketchiness the whole season. 
And then when the gun was missing, immediately I (we?) thought it was Armstrong, but then they quickly threw in a red herring or two.     

But then I guess we were left with the B team writers for:

On 5/3/2020 at 8:40 PM, mxc90 said:

Serj fired two shots at Chris from the car. Two bullets are sticking out of the Chris' vest. Did Chris die from a real bad bruise?

I wouldn't blame the writers - that seems like a sound/continuity problem.

I agree, I thought Perrineau was possibly sketchy all season. I was hoping he wasn't, but even at the start of this episode, I was sure he was.

On 5/4/2020 at 5:48 AM, shapeshifter said:

No, they showed blood on Rookie Red Shirt (Rios, played by blonde British actor Christopher O’Shea) in the park. Maybe they’ll have a throwaway line about him not having a vest in Part 2. 
This was his first appearance in 2 seasons even though he and West were supposedly close in the academy and both had cop fathers and were top of the class. Maybe they were originally going to kill off West?
IDK. Weird, sloppy writing, IMO. 
Unless I missed a moment when Armstrong could have removed Rios vest and shot him? 

He was shot right above the neck line of the vest.

 

[BlakesMomma]

12 hours ago, Orbert said:

I thought Erin said "Armstrong" a split second before she turned and saw Armstrong, who then shot her.  We played it back to confirm it.  Then we saw Nolan reviewing his bodycam footage and say the same thing out loud.  Okay, not everybody was completely shocked by that, but that would've been the perfect fade to black moment.  Nolan figured it out.

Then, just in case viewers are completely stupid, we see Armstrong meet up with the Armenian guy, who tells him he did a good job, THEN fade to black.  Ugh.  They couldn't even give us that much credit?

 I would agree with you except that I'm continually surprised by questions viewers ask indicating they completely missed things in episodes. Maybe they're watching while doing something else, watching and tweeting, or just simply not studying every little thing or momentarily distracted. So I don't think it's a matter of not giving viewers credit, I think it's more a matter of nailing home a major plot point. 

[Orbert]

Okay that's fair.  I don't actually watch a lot of TV, so the few shows I do watch, I watch them "actively".  I want to know everything going on, I want to hear every line.  If I'm gonna spend time sitting on my butt watching someone, I want to get as much out of it as I can.  But yeah, I've seen people ask questions that stunned me with their... well, it shows that they weren't paying as much attention as I usually do.

And I suppose the reverse is true.  My wife said that Armstrong was acting kinda weird at the parking garage, the way he hovered over Nolan, watching him put the gun in the box (so that he knew exactly where it was later) and I completely missed that.

[crowceilidh]

Ironically, as I have been anti-Nolan and Grace from the overly obviously telegraphed arrival of Grace and was glad she looked like she was moving on in the last epi, I thought she was at least clearly giving off chemistry at HIM in this episode particularly their last scene.  I hate to describe my Captain this way, but Nathan Fillion looks the same kind of worried about everything and it's not a good look when directed at Ali Larter.

[Blue Plastic]

Okay, I see I'm not the only one who felt something has been off with Armstrong from his first episode! I screamed, "I knew it!" to myself on the couch. I don't follow any social media or spoilers about the show so have no idea if the show runners planned this all along and the actor was playing his character this way on purpose, but now I think it must always have been the plan since others also picked up on it.

He's really good at his job because it's hard to put a finger on it, but it was always there. I actually expected him to be revealed as a dirty cop during his first episode. It's very subtle. Love it. That was a bit of fun on an otherwise dorky show.

[devilhalo]

3 hours ago, crowceilidh said:

Ironically, as I have been anti-Nolan and Grace from the overly obviously telegraphed arrival of Grace and was glad she looked like she was moving on in the last epi, I thought she was at least clearly giving off chemistry at HIM in this episode particularly their last scene.  I hate to describe my Captain this way, but Nathan Fillion looks the same kind of worried about everything and it's not a good look when directed at Ali Larter.

He wasn’t in the frame of mind to talk to her. He was clearly worried about the case. It was the wrong time. 

[Raja]

On 5/5/2020 at 6:04 AM, Clanstarling said:

I wouldn't blame the writers - that seems like a sound/continuity problem.

I agree, I thought Perrineau was possibly sketchy all season. I was hoping he wasn't, but even at the start of this episode, I was sure he was.

He was shot right above the neck line of the vest.

 

I could have swore he had two bullets showing in his vest. But in that situation with out rewatching I would just say I misheard the shots just as is often reported from real life firefights.

[bros402]

15 hours ago, Raja said:

I could have swore he had two bullets showing in his vest. But in that situation with out rewatching I would just say I misheard the shots just as is often reported from real life firefights.

I remember seeing two bullets in his vest - I thought I heard three shots when the shooting happened, though.

[Netfoot]

6 hours ago, bros402 said:

I thought I heard three shots when the shooting happened, though.

So did I.

[Clanstarling]

7 hours ago, bros402 said:

I remember seeing two bullets in his vest - I thought I heard three shots when the shooting happened, though.

I don't remember the bullets in the vest - I was focused on the neckline to see where he'd been shot. Never noticed how many shots though.

[Gothish520]

Bradford trashing firefighters again. 🤭

Add me to the group that knew Armstrong was up to no good. 

[Waterston Fan]

Okay.. even though I have been reading the comments and not watching the episodes until I read the comments on this one and it looked interesting. So I watched this one and thought it was interesting and I think I would have thought Armstrong was there a bit too much if I hadn't read the comments about those who felt who the bad guy was. 

I think Bradford was a jerk but then he kinda does act like one at times. 

I actually liked this episode. 

[SnarkySheep]

On a side note, how is this now the end of their rookie year - two years into the show? Did anyone mention at the end of S1 that only six months had passed? I don't recall but I think I'd remember that...

And if these two seasons really are just one year, that means Nolan has been almost killed like 37 times in a mere 12 months!

[Raja]

4 hours ago, SnarkySheep said:

On a side note, how is this now the end of their rookie year - two years into the show? Did anyone mention at the end of S1 that only six months had passed? I don't recall but I think I'd remember that...

And if these two seasons really are just one year, that means Nolan has been almost killed like 37 times in a mere 12 months!

At the end of season 1 they were all prepping for the 6 month oral exam done by the Chief of Police. At the beginning of season 2 we were told the legacy cop, Officer West had the lowest passing score after some made up drama with Bradford and Chin that he would not accept being the TO of the lowest scoring Boot.

[SnarkySheep]

20 hours ago, Raja said:

At the end of season 1 they were all prepping for the 6 month oral exam done by the Chief of Police. At the beginning of season 2 we were told the legacy cop, Officer West had the lowest passing score after some made up drama with Bradford and Chin that he would not accept being the TO of the lowest scoring Boot.

Ok, so presumably they were looking for a way to drag out Nolan, Chen and West being rookies.

What happens in S3 when they aren't? Title becomes irrelevant. 

[WendyCR72]

1 hour ago, SnarkySheep said:

What happens in S3 when they aren't? Title becomes irrelevant. 

M*A*S*H made a 3-year war/police action into an 11-season sitcom. Time means nothing on TV.

[Raja]

2 hours ago, SnarkySheep said:

Ok, so presumably they were looking for a way to drag out Nolan, Chen and West being rookies.

What happens in S3 when they aren't? Title becomes irrelevant. 

On The Rookies the trio just were junior officers. The two single guys were roommates and partners while the married one worked alone in a car. 

In this case Officer Nolan (the rookie) remains a junior street cop at an age where his age peers are thinking about the early retirement law enforcers generally qualify for. And they have passed probation, not stopped being new or rookies thus leaving their trainers out of a job. One is already a Detective with a golden ticket reward for whatever assignment she wants while Lopez qualified to move to a new rookie Detective while Bradford already turned down an early move to a rookie Sergeant in another division 

[Clanstarling]

4 hours ago, SnarkySheep said:

What happens in S3 when they aren't? Title becomes irrelevant. 

Maybe nothing. There are other shows with titles that don't match the original premise. For example, comparing apples to apples (as it were) an earlier show in the 70's called "The Rookies" lasted for 4 seasons.  Spoiler tag for anyone looking to binge series they haven't seen during this time.

Spoiler

For current series, the only one that springs to mind this early in the morning is Jane the Virgin - they had fun with the title credits, but the show kept its title. Oh, and the "Last Man on Earth" became a lie pretty early in the series. (though that was probably a tongue in cheek title).

 

[Sweet Tooth]

On 5/6/2020 at 10:28 PM, bros402 said:

I remember seeing two bullets in his vest - I thought I heard three shots when the shooting happened, though.

I just watched it after reading here, so I paid attention. 100% there were THREE shots.