The Rookie Season 7, Episode 7, “The Mickey” Spoilers Ahead
Welcome to Chenford Chats, a column dedicated solely to highlighting Tim Bradford and Lucy Chen’s interactions during the latest episode of The Rookie.
Thematically, The Rookie’s “The Mickey” is about backing promised words with actions, and it starts with Tim Bradford daydreaming, then finally opening up with a support group again. Back at home, while she’s getting ready, our girl Lucy Chen is also having the same flashbacks to Tim’s body wrapped around hers. You know—the good stuff.
We don’t get too much after this opening, but these scenes alone are huge. Every Chenford fan has been wanting Tim to work through his demons, but, most importantly, what stands out is that he understands the flaws in his perspective. As a member of his support group points out, he keeps using the word “I” when they were always a “we,” showcasing all the ways their relationship initially fell apart and thus, thrusting us toward the progress we need to ensure that when they do get back together, it’ll be for good this time.
The Rookie Season 7, Episode 7 Emphasizes the Importance of Agency
When recalling everything that happened between them in “The Gala,” Tim is asked, point blank, why he’s taking away Lucy’s agency. This is the kind of moment that deserves a round of applause because so much of this breakup with Chenford is a direct result of Tim forgetting that a relationship is a consensual partnership. He and Lucy were no longer a rookie and a training officer paired together by an authority figure, but they were two individuals who chose to take their friendship to the next level. They chose to act on their feelings, and back at the hotel room, they both chose to sleep together.
But if Tim Bradford isn’t carrying everything on his shoulders, then is he really Tim Bradford? This is the bridge he needs to cross fully in order to ensure that his second chance with Lucy doesn’t go to waste. Tim needs to understand that by choosing to love him, Lucy is choosing to embrace all of him in the same way that he would have her. She’s choosing to be his armor when he’s vulnerable, knowing that he’ll do the same for her when she needs him.
It’s admirable that he admits to the fact that he wants to fix everything he broke before the two of them give things a chance again, but The Rookie Season 7, Episode 7, “The Mickey,” counters this fact by essentially showing the audience that small steps matter, too. We see it with Nolan and Bailey but also with Nyla and James. Making the decision to take an extra step and following through with it is just as important as completing the task. In addition, when Tim and Lucy were together, he did understand the importance of her agency, so it’s fascinating how his pain is forcing him to believe he’s a lone player in all of this.
With this in mind, it’s still unclear how long the show intends to keep Chenford apart, but the conversations in this episode show that if they could just talk things through together, then there’s a good chance they’re ready to be a couple again. The physical spark is clearly still haunting both of them, but what’s even more evident is that before they became a couple, they built a solid foundation that’s impossible to find elsewhere. They still need each other outside of the realtionship, too, choosing to call one another through everything. The embers of the adoration for one another aren’t going to diminish—ever, so really, how many more episodes will we have to keep watching them run around in circles during? This conversation is a huge catalyst to ensuring that Tim understands both his role in the relationship and Lucy’s.
Now streaming on Hulu: What are your thoughts on Chenford’s scenes in The Rookie Season 7, Episode 7, “The Mickey?” Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image Credit: ABC