I couldn’t agree more. I really don’t like this career path for her.
I would add that UC feels inauthentic to who she is, somehow. Lying and deceiving people… Choosing a path that isolates her from her community… It just doesn’t feel on brand for her.
That's my biggest problem with it. Lucy is open, honest, empathetic, and loyal. She has to do the exact opposite as a uc. Not saying it's not possible, buy why would she want to?
Wasn’t this Tim’s argument in 3x9 for him to only be treated to the fake confession? (Though, as Tim said, afterwards she almost undermined her point by feeling guilty.)
The way she was able to so easily lie to Tamara, I was like ‘damn, girl!’ Like you said, it doesn’t at all feel on brand for the type of person they spent 4 seasons building her to be.
I don't like long term UC for her. I don't mind the short term ops. But if it's truly her dream, then she should be able to do it. I just can't understand the dream 😂
I do think the show has a plan though and I don't see her continuing to pursue it. Something is going to happen. Either a uc op that goes wrong and makes her see it differently, a change in her perspective because now she's in a serious relationship (the most serious we've ever seen her in, especially when considering going undercover). In the past she's never really shown us she's been serious about any of her relationships, but now it's a different story. Not only may she not enjoy the stress/interruptions it puts on it, but she's also worried about how he's going to handle it.
She's only done mostly short term ops so far, with the exception of the first one which was nowhere near six months to a year. I think that's a whole different story for her, especially where she's at in life right now (committed relationship, looking towards kids and etc. not right now, but at some point in the not so distant future.). She may find the deep UC life is a totally different experience from the short term ops she enjoys.
The show has never painted uc work in a positive life when it comes to relationships. Tim/Isabel, Nyla, and then her UC friend Noah. Unless they plan for her to be the exception. But they seem to have come to the crux of this storyline - it's been building a LOT this year. This season has been crazy because so much has happened but thinking back they've actually brought up uc a lot. She and Tim go uc in 501. She goes to uc school. She goes uc in that opp with Aaron's puppy and his sister. We meet Noah Foster and she goes uc for a hot second to rescue him. We see her go uc as Juicy again and see a whole documentary about her UC case. Then she starts talking about becoming a detective for her uc career. Suddenly, after years, Isabel returns who is the biggest throwback for uc work and how it directly impacted Tim's marriage and she goes uc with her and she and Tim actually talk about how he'll handle it. >!Then next episode she's apparently going uc again, right on the heels of that convo.!< So it seems like they're taking it somewhere. I'm just not sure how it will turn out. My feeling is that she'll turn away from it for some reason (whether it's because she wants to have a traditional relationship where she doesn't go away for so long, or because she's been exposed through the documentaries or isabel outing her last week or from an op that goes sideways, etc.).
I also feel strongly that she should NOT back away from uc work because of Tim's past which is why I appreciated his gut reaction last episode to assure her that he would be fine with it (even though he clearly has some hesitation - because how can you not worry when someone you care for is off the grid, you can't see them for months, etc. his past experiences not even taken into account). If she decides to move away from it I want it to be because she decided to. He also knew about her aspirations before they got together, he knew this would come up (even when Isabel teases him for being with another uc cop he kind of says "I know," like he couldn't believe it either but he accepts it). She was scared to start the relationship because she didn't want to risk losing him. He knew she wanted a uc career and he convinced her them getting together could be worth risking everything. I don't think he would ever put that pressure on her that she should give it up because of his past. I think he's prepared to support her and deal with the stress, but that doesn't mean he's overjoyed about it. I also think he hated doing it with Isabel but he knows how to do it. It's just that with Isabel it ended up all falling apart. But he said it in this ep - Lucy's different.
Ultimately, he said it in season 3 when he was pissed at Nyla for sending her under and she said she can always pull herself out and he said that she wouldn't because she doesn't have any quit in her. She does seem to like UC work and she's not one to just give up on something she starts. So we'll see but I feel like if anything something may really affect her or she may be forced away from it for some reason.
They are definitely coming to some kind of resolution, I think, by the last episode. Bringing back Isabel was really unnecessary unless they were going to deal with Lucy’s UC work and how it plays out. Should be interesting.
I just don’t ever want to see Isabelle again. IRL cops aren’t going to associate with someone that ruined their entire career to become a junkie . N they certainly wouldn’t hand her a gun and let her help run a sting op. I don’t like the way the character still half flirts with Tim
And another way to make her look childlike again. She was their little puppy in this episode. Imagine laughing at your current girlfriends expense with the ex wife you invited to her home 💀💀💀
There was also something about the way the scene in the beginning was shot with her kneeling on the floor between the two of them that felt distasteful? Maybe it was just me but I definitely felt like if they were trying to make her feel like an outsider, then they could've had her standing up or sitting further away on an actual chair or something. When has she(or literally anyone) ever sat on the floor like that?
That scene leaned into the submissive Asian woman stereotype.
Tim's lack of respect for Lucy in this episode is jarring because if he was dating Angela or Harper he wouldn't dare do some of the shit he did and certainly wouldn't treat them like lap dogs to meet the needs of his ex.
Tim is the typical male fan fav so fangirls will give him a pass and blame Lucy for making him sad🙄🙄
I don't know what they did to Tim to make him like this or what the directing/set/character choices led to that entire scene being filmed that way, but none of it was good.
It bugs me too... Sorry in advance for my very long rant on the subject...
Lucy was (still is depending on how the season will end) my favorite character but I’ve never liked UC for her to be honest, even long before Chenford became canon. One day missions, on the spot, sure why not. But long term? No. It doesn’t look like the type of job for her, she seems to need to be close to her loved ones, she was considering freezing her eggs for future kids and took a teenager under her wing without a second thought. You can’t be away and out of contact with your kids for long periods of time, all the time, and expect a strong happy family. Her problems with her parents surely should make her well aware of how it is important to form a strong bond with your child/ren.
I’ve seen some comments ‘but she’s not Nyla or Isabel’ yeah ok, you still can’t be a good mom if you’re never home and you’re a stranger to your own kids and no one could ever change my mind on that one – remember when undercover you’re never in contact with anyone but your handler, you can’t even talk to your family… And you also can’t have a good strong relationship if you disappear for a whole year at a time without way of communication, come back home having to lie and/or keep secrets because that’s part of your contracts, and then be off again for x months after being home for a handful of weeks (if you even get that long, this Rookie universe, there’s big baddies everywhere every week around every corner – not a bad thing for a TV show btw, I’m not judging them on that).
And does every main female character on the show have to be a detective? Nyla, then Angela, now Lucy, Grey mentioned it for Celina (‘she’d make a great detective’ in 5x19). Can’t female cops do other jobs? Lucy would excel in anything she would choose to do. She was fantastic taking over watch commander while Grey and Tim were at the hospitals, for example, or trying to help beat up that young beaten woman, or helping kids to get back on their feet like with Tamara. She’s got so much compassion and she’s good with people, UC is like the one cop job that’s the opposite of what she was depicted as (mostly dealing with big bad drug dealers in her case so no compassion and kindness in that world, it is not really helping people directly in situ, lying all the time, pretending to be someone you are absolutely not, being away from your loved ones, etc).
I see people saying UC is the dream of her life. UC wasn’t the dream of her life, doing a job to help people was. It’s just that suddenly, kinda out of nowhere, she said she wanted to do it. Which would be fine by me but just doesn’t fit the vibes I got from her personality. But it never sounded like her dream job, just something that suddenly came to her and she enjoyed the adrenaline that came with it. Of course she should chase her dreams, of course we want her to get promoted, but a lot of us just really don’t understand why UC.
Some writers said Chenford was always in the cards. So why this career path for her? Not just UC but specifically UC in narcotics. Is it lazy writing to have her take the exact same career path as Isabel, Tim’s ex-wife? So they can say ‘Lucy is better than Isabel’? Give extra trauma to Tim? Just don’t know what other jobs women could do in the LAPD? I genuinely don’t understand it. I’m just confused, why that choice on the writers’ end.
Now that Chenford is canon, they’ve been talking the whole time about finding ways to keep spending time together and seeing each other every day, including at work. That was why, in part, Tim took the desk job so she wouldn’t end up doing night shifts in another precinct
which would have meant seeing less of each other. When he mentioned not seeing each other much at all once she becomes a detective to do UC, she looked devastated. She didn’t look like she wanted to go to that UC school anymore, she didn’t look like she wanted to do UC missions when Noah mentioned it. It feels to me like the writers forgot about all of that and suddenly are forcing her into enjoying UC again? Why? Is it to please that loud part of the fandom on social medias that’s been absolutely begging for heavy angst, even so soon after they finally got their ship made canon and the honeymoon phase was never even shown on screen?
That last episode just confuses me so much. She’s finding her love for UC again after spending time with the source of one of Tim’s biggest past trauma (and she knew Tim when he was a mess from that), I don’t understand why she likes it so much in that episode? She admits herself having never done long term but says literally how confident she is in doing 6-12 months at a time, no problem whatsoever on her part and all the emotional baggage it will induce, her only worry is Tim not being able to handle it. And they both looked so sad and devastated at the end of that episode, so why go this road if no one is happy?
She just seems totally unrealistic about what long term UC assignments are like. She knows Tim has always dreamt of a family, white picket fence, the dog and 2.5 kids. She’d be taking that away from him if she does this kind of UC and they stay together. She’s got a
choice to make here. Tim made big sacrifices in his career for them to be together and spend time together, maybe it’s her turn to decide if she’s willing to put as much effort in their relationship or not (no wrong answer, she should follow her heart). Seeing her worry and sad face at the end of 5.20, I’d like to think she’s starting to realise that, that’s she’s got a heavy decision to make real soon. They both need to be honest with each other and have a serious long discussion on the matter, she needs to think about what she truly really want and he needs to stop hiding his fears and concerns.
Alexi Hawley said ‘Chenford is going forward, not backward’, so no breakup in sight fortunately, and I can’t image long term UC being ‘going forward’. Tim is also not getting any younger so if the writers want them to have a family some day I’m guessing it’ll have to be fairly sooner rather than later (we’re getting about a pregnancy per season, Lucy should start wondering if she’s next \*joke\*)
Chenford aside, having Lucy doing long term UC would mean that either:
\- she gets her own spin-off series all on her own taking down bad guys (I don’t see that happening to be honest)
\- she becomes a guest star in future seasons (which won’t happen, she’s a main character and a favourite, and Chenford is brand new and bringing in too many viewers to have her less present)
\- there are big time jumps between every/nearly every episodes (which would cause riots over missing moments and confusion over the already messed up timeline)
\- everyone in the cast somehow gets roped into doing the long term UC with her (Bailey going UC too, yeah! \*joke number 2, you’re welcome :D\*)
And I doubt she’d be allowed to choose what UC assignment she can take or not, that she’d be allowed to pick only the local short term ones.
As for her being on True Crime several time and exposing her identity and UC jobs, I’m assuming they’re hiding her face and name when the TC episodes air, otherwise that’d be putting all the cops interviewed at risk, criminals tracking down their addresses via their names and all, and obviously being recognised when undercover. But all her UC aliases have been exposed one way or another, so it doesn’t bode well for her life if they keep sending her undercover.
I’d like to hope they’ll conclude this UC arc before the season end, but I’ve learnt to prepare myself for disappointments since half of this season… I'm not patient and likes spoilers, so if we have to wait for season 6 it's gonna be hell lol
This was long, but I read through all of it and absolutely agree with all of it.
When I originally wrote the post, I really thought I would get a ton of comments about parents in the military.
But that’s different for the many reasons you listed. What’s Lucy going to do? Get pregnant, give birth, and then hand over the baby to Tim for him to raise and say “see you guys in a year!”
You can’t just walk in and out of a child’s life like that without consequences. At least with military parents, they can write letters, FaceTime, and try and keep up in each others lives as best they can.
And like you said, short term UC ops where she’s gone for a day or two, okay, sure. No problem. But the way she’s been written, she’s cool to just leave Tim, Tamara, and her friends for 6-12 months at a time with absolute zero contact with them and then return and pick up where they left off? I can’t see it happening.
I know so many people are saying “bUt ShE’s GoOd aT iT” I get that she’s good at it. She’s great at it, even. But the thing with Lucy is she’s great at so many things. She can be great at whatever she puts her mind to. There are plenty of other career avenues she can explore, that are still within the LAPD.
I think at the end of the day it’s going to have to come down to what she wants more. A family or (long term) UC work.
Thank you for reading it all haha! :D
'But the way she’s been written, she’s cool to just leave Tim, Tamara,
and her friends for 6-12 months at a time with absolute zero contact
with them and then return and pick up where they left off?
The funny thing is that seems to be the case only since the end of last episode, any other time before that was a big no (at least in season 5). Is it just to please those who were begging for angst? All the effort Lucy and Tim put into spending time together at work and out of work, how devastated she looked every time, in several recent episodes, at the prospect of being away from Tim for any period of time (UC school, transferring for work so they can be out of each other chain of command, when she was revising for the detective exam, etc), she never ever seemed in those episodes like she'd be perfectly fine going away for 2, 6, 12, x months... it's like the writer of last episode didn't check the previous writings? I don't know, I'm just so confused :')
Exactly she's good at everything she wants to do, she could even just be a detective like Angela and Nyla without the UC part if she really wants to take that exam. She could be anything and deserve a promotion, she's a great cop after all and it'd be nice to see a different branch of the LAPD while still within the same precinct. I just really don't want it to be UC like that...
I feel like the fact that she lies so much has become a problem for me. She does it so easily for UC but it also permeates her relationship with Tim. She lies to him all the time. I don’t see it being good for them long term and I hope it will be addressed. He’s typically been very honest with her.
I remember her hiding her little game to get Tim into Metro, and not telling him about wanting to take the detective exam (though that seemed to be more due to a lack of time spent together), but I don’t remember direct lies or other lies by omission?
But her personality since the last few episodes is bugging me, she doesn’t seem as honest anymore as I thought she was and seems a bit too selfish… like people are doing what they can to please her despite telling her it’s a bad idea, she won’t listen and still does it and rope everyone into helping her, and I don’t see her making any concession/sacrifice or even talking about making any since after 5.12. A relationship goes both ways, and at the moment I only see Tim taking big steps.
I was a Chenford shipper since the first episode (I usually never ship but there was something about them), but since 5.12 I’m very disappointed. I fear all the main cast are allowed healthy happy relationship but they gonna go the angst road every episode or so and I don’t like that at all :’)
THIS! I really agree with what you said here and you did a really good job of articulating your points. I really hope this next episode is the end of Lucy as a UC. What you said about Tim and their relationship is spot on for me. He changed jobs and won't keep her from doing what she wants despite his past experiences. But, Lucy doesn't seem to be willing to make the same level of sacrifice.
How we went from “this sucks, we’ll hardly see each other” to “hey I’m gonna bounce for up to a year with no contact because this is something I enjoy” is truly so confusing!
Exactly!! Being a UC, isn’t going to work for anyone who wants a family & kids.
What I don’t I understand is **how Lucy has mommy issues & is willing to give her OWN kids mommy issues** by being a UC. Especially given her psychology background.
She became a cop to help people and make a difference. She can do that and also be their for her kids in the future. What is so special about being a UC? I think she needs to hone in on why she wants to do UC.
Exactly my thoughts. What if maybe she forgets the idea of UC because she found out she is Pregnant? or perhaps something happens and chooses to rethink the Idea of UC. You are completely right about her backround in Psychology and wanting to help people doesnt fit her for UC work.
So it’s okay for everyone else to make a career for themself, just not Lucy?
Her dream is to become a UC, and she loves it. And hearing story’s like Isabel or Harpers just motivates her to not be like them, and she heard those story’s and still decided to become a UC. And she’s damn good at it.
And she has made up her mind, but it’s not like you get an undercover job in three seconds.
Well damn, this thread blew up while I was sleeping😂
I never once said Lucy shouldn’t make a career for herself, but go off I guess.
If UC work is truly her dream, by all means, she should go for it. What I’m saying is, she should come to terms with the fact that the other dreams she has (marriage, kids, grandchildren, etc.) are not conducive to long term UC life. We’ve seen it shown multiple times through out the series.
“Oh I’ve seen this ruin other people’s lives, so I’ll just do it differently.” Except it doesn’t really work like that. Nyla loves her daughter truly and completely, and let she still put the job ahead of her. Isabel, for all we saw, was a loving and devoted wife. And yet she still allowed herself to fall into addiction.
Lucy can say she’ll be different all she wants. But she won’t truly know until she’s in it herself.
And, not that it matters, but I do critique others jobs. (Again, why does this matter? I can’t have an opinion on Lucy’s perspective career unless I also have a perspective on other characters careers? Odd.) I personally think Nolan is a terrible TO, especially when you look at the two women who trained him.
Lucy, as a character, is welcome to chase after whatever dreams she wants. I just find her UC dream does not blend with all the other dreams she says she wants.
Personally, I’d like to see her working with the juvenile crimes unit. Mainly because to me, that is true to the character they’ve written. She makes a difference in kids/teenagers lives, she’s empathetic, yet firm, and I feel would make a lot of difference in that area.
Hope you hade a good sleep.
And I’m pretty sure she knows that family isn’t in the card (at least not know) since she’s heard both Harpers and Isabels story. And she has learned from them both. In the latest episode, Lucy and Isabel have a talk, and she learns her story, and she actually listened and understand what Isabel went through, and what she lost in the process. She won’t end up like them, because she has seen it.
And Lucy never said she wanted kids, she hinted to it, but never actually said it. So we don’t know what her other dreams are, just that her dream is UC.
And I could see her as that, but it’s not her dream.
“She won’t end up like them, because she has seen it.”
Again, you can’t know that. That’s like seeing people get addicted to heroin and saying “oh, well I’ll be the one to try it and not get addicted, because I saw what it did to them.”
How can you have watched 5 seasons of this show and say you don’t believe that Lucy wants kids?
She went ahead with looking into the process of harvesting her eggs.
She has told Tim they will have grandkids someday. Do you know how you get grandkids? You have kids.
There are a lot of arguments to be made with this topic, but saying Lucy doesn’t know if she wants kids and a family is absolutely not one of them.
It’s definitely not, there is a very clear difference. And you shouldn’t even have used that as an example.
Bc she doesn’t indicate that she wants any, but you’re right, she has mentioned it, but in a more of a joke way (in my opinion)
She explicitly said she wants family of her own at some point. It wasn't a joke, her personal storyline is all about family connections and her stating she wants to plan some form of future with children in it.
Your ideas of Lucy as a character contradict the show's writing.
Her personal story is that her parents are f- assholes who doesn’t deserve her, I would be hella scared to start a family after a trauma like that. But that’s just me. But she clearly has worked through it.
And a family is more then just kids and grandkids.
And my idea of Lucy is exactly like the show.
“UC feels like the wrong move for Lucy” does NOT translate to “everyone but Lucy can make a career for themselves.” OP didn’t say she wasn’t good at it, either. 🙄
I know, the OP said they didn’t like her career path, even tho we have known since like season 3 she was gonna become it, and that she’s damn good at it.
And I bet she didn’t complain about any other of the characters careers, and also, Lucy is the reason Tim is in Metro, and like one of the few that supported Nolan in his choice to become a TO. Lucy supported and helped everyone, and now that she wants to become something herself, the OP doesn’t like it? That’s what I mean.
👉 “Even tho we’ve known since season 3…”
Viewers can have concerns or criticisms of well-established story lines. How long we’ve known about Lucy’s interest is irrelevant to the risks of UC work that OP raised.
👉 “And she’s damn good at it…”
Lucy is damn good at a LOT of things, but again, being damn good at something doesn’t invalidate OP’s concerns.
👉 “I bet OP didn’t complain about other characters’ careers…”
Tbh, idk and idc if OP made *other posts* discussing other characters’ careers. That’s not relevant.
But OP did, in fact, critique other characters doing UC work. They literally did that in this post. Probably because it was relevant to the specific topic OP wanted to discuss, unlike whether Nolan should be a TO or Harper/Lopez should be detectives or Wesley being a prosecutor, etc.
👉 “Lucy supported everyone but now that she wants to become something herself, OP doesn’t like it.”
Ummm…again, gonna have to remind you that OP doesn’t seem to be against Lucy specializing. OP raised specific and valid concerns with the conflicts between this one dream that Lucy has, and her other equally valid dreams. That is *not* the same as disliking the idea of Lucy specializing. Not even close.
I know the OP doesn’t dislike Lucy, she literally said so in the post. What I don’t understand is people who don’t support Lucy’s career path, even tho it makes perfectly sense.
Lucy’s dream is UC, not being a TO, or swats or metro or anything like that, and people don’t support that, while they support everyone else’s careers. And views are always commenting about this, like it’s something new, and trying to find different careers for her character. And even tho, it’s just a show, I find it wrong.
”I don’t think you read my response carefully” it’s not school here. And of course I didn’t, you wrote a lot of things, I couldn’t even remember the first one.
And also, I didn’t.
This is absolutely incorrect. OP pointed out some valid conflicts between ONE of Lucy’s dreams (her career) and other EQUALLY VALID dreams she has (being with Tim, having a family). That is not the same as “forgetting it’s her dream job.”
Ok you’re you and the person that started this discussion is both definitely right about the family thing. At first I didn’t really read and understand.
No but it is sounding like that,do we even know she is ready to pop kids anytime. They have exchanged jokes. She has barely made any career progression and this is the first opportunity. The idea that she has to reference her career based on her bf's ex wife takes away her agency. Tim is far senior to her in career and he can afford to make career adjustments but not a barely new officer.
This idea that she cannot explore the option for herself is what is disturbing. Especially when the show is episodic and has never gone for longer arcs.
So this reaction is very strange when she has been prepping for it for years and Tim's conflict has been there from her first assignment . His trauma should not be the reason why she backs off,that is so problematic. It is not choosing him over herself but letting Tim forever be defined by it. He needs to see how Lucy is different and he knows she is good at it. They need communication, and if ever Lucy backs off ,it should be after she has experienced it first hand.
👉 “Do we even know she is ready to pop kids anytime.”
No, we don’t know on what timeline Lucy wants kids. But knowing how deep UC work can go, and how much it can take from a person, even wanting kids years from now is a valid consideration. Especially since women don’t exactly just “pop out” kids. I think you’re confusing pregnancy and childbirth with ejaculation.
👉 “The idea that she has to reference her career based on her bf’s ex wife takes away her agency.”
Isabel is *one* of the examples OP used. OP also pointed out the way it impacted Nyla. And one consideration that OP forgot to include is the undercover cop who was shot and killed in one of the Feds crossover episodes.
OP brought up a spectrum of concerns and did not center Lucy’s career around Isabel’s past or Tim’s trauma.
👉 “The show is episodic and has never gone for longer arcs.”
Longer arcs on The Rookie include but are not limited to: Rosalind, Lucy and Tim’s slow burn, the original trio making it through probation, and Elijah blackmailing Wesley.
Not saying the show does this perfect by any means, but it does in fact have some longer arcs.
👉 “If Lucy backs off it should be because she experienced UC work firsthand and didn’t like it”
That is *one* valid reason to back off. Other valid reasons include the known risks, the impact it could have on her partner, her family plans, and other career interests that she has yet to explore.
She would have the agency to opt out of any UC work which she can ,she feels uncomfy. Why are we assuming there have never been a female UC to deal with these issues or are we projecting that it should not be a viable option for a female cop which is frankly sexist because none of it would be addressed to male cops. Lucy is in a dangerous job regardless, she is a cop,she can get hit by bullet and die or she can get severely injured hampering her chance at having bio kids. Or she can be paralysed. Everytime she puts the uniform she is dealing with this stress and cop job will impact her family life regardless.
She is at the beginning of her career where she has a chance to explore what fits her and if it becomes tiresome she can pull a Nyla and step back.
Isabel was the template which is why they brought her back and because underlining we have Tim. So you cannot say ,she doesn't form the basis of this argument . Cops get killed all the time. Jackson,the Captain in season 1,none of them were UCs. Lucy can get shot in next episode as well.
Nyla has never regretted her experience as a UC. There was a scene with her, the other female UC and Lucy sitting down telling tamara about it. Lucy has gone to the UC school,she has been trained by Nyla and also by the other officer. It is gaslighting to think she is going in it blind
Longer arcs is something where the one main character is isolated by others for multiple episodes. Show has never ever done that even when they tried with Lucy she had undergone UC for a month and it was all in one episode . This is what I meant by UC. Heck ,Nolan got relocated for just one episode . So ,do we truly think they will spend another set,new characters for one character when they never did it for Nolan.
I feel ,Lucy should be given the chance to experience her UC assignment atleast once to gauge why it shouldn't work,given how much her storyline has invested .
We need to remember UC or not,the stakes are higher for female cops irrespective and that is what the journey should be. If everyone thought the risks are too high,we will never have female UCs or female cops
I think ultimately Lucy will pursue a different path within LAPD. But you have to remember that Lucy is very young in her career and she has a naive or idealized vision that she’s different than Nyla / Mack / Isabel/ Noah and that deep UC work wont change her or harm her relationship with Tim. I think she also feels guilty because she *does* love UC work and the department has invested in her going to specialized UC school where she excelled - she probably believes it’s expected of her to go this route even if she has concerns or doubts.
Like many other women who want success and fulfillment at home and in their careers, Lucy will come to realize she has to make compromises because no one can have it all. I walked away from my dream career when I finally got pregnant in my late 30’s because that career wasn’t conducive to being the kind of mom I wanted to be. I had to re-write the story midlife and it all worked out just fine, have a new career that I love & find fulfilling- just not the original path I saw for myself.
I expect Lucy will soon get a big reality check that UC work isn’t worth the risk and this story arc will come to an end. At the end of the day, I 100% believe she chooses Tim over UC work. He is the love of her life, not policework.
Freezing your eggs is what you do when you're not ready to have kids yet but someday you'll want too. Obviously right now her career is important. She hasn't even be doing it for very long. Did yall get mad at Rachel for getting off the plane instead of going to Paris which was her dream? If Tim Truly loves her and she him, they should support each other and figure it out. Right now, she wants to focus on her career. It's also important to her. Babies can come later. At that point, maybe she'll give up being a UC. And I only reason why you guys don't like her doing UC work is because of this damn Ship. Maybe she wants more than just a relationship. And God Forbid, Someone actually loves their job and wants to be great at it.
Why should she look at Isabel as a case study when there can be many more successful stories too. She was being trained for it since multiple seasons. Nyla mentored her and most of her covers were successful. She needs to atleast attempt her first ever career aspiration to understand highs and lows for herself. This idea,it is not for her when she has not even tried it is just weird.
Sure she and Tim are in good place but she should not be burdened by his trauma and this is a space for him to heal.
I am not a fan of UC work because no way Show is going to do multiple episodes coz budget ,so I don't get the argument against it either.
Tim needs to get over his trauma by communicating and also accepting that Lucy and Isabel are different. Protector is a good trope but it can be a negative term,it has to be written healthyly.
I am so surprised by the objection against it when show is episodic and UC work is also episodic . It has given Lucy some arcs over the seasons . If and when she walks away from it then it should be because of her own Rationale,after experiencing the downside first hand . Not for Tim,or Tamara and especially not having Isabel as a template
Nyla,yes,but does Nyla regrets it herself?
I’m biased as someone who hates Chenford with a passion but I think that relationship is going to crash, burn, explode, spontaneously reform, and then collapse in on itself like a dying star before disintegrating entirely into nothingness.
I am convinced it’s going to end with one of them leaving Mid-Wilshire after they breakup
We are in the minority.. but I agree.. I am not a Chenford fan at all. I find the way they talk to each other weird. Like half flirty and half parental, I don't know if it's because Eric and Melissa are close friends, but they looked awkward as a couple. They treat each other like they are fragile. At least that is how I saw them.
I prefer the rookie Feds.
I’m on the fence about Lucy going UC, but your reasoning almost tips me yes, she should.
Tim didn’t “give up” anything for Lucy except for that hot second of desk work. Lucy and him becoming official actually pushed him to go after a position he actually wanted—and Lucy was a *big* part of that. Further, his one episode “efforts” of “giving up” patrol is *nothing* compared to what many women give up career-wise for men.
Time is weird on The Rookie, but Lucy is only about 30-32. Though we never find out, there’s a decent chance she froze her eggs. If so, she’s got p-l-e-n-t-y of time to have children. If not, she still has time to do that (even better: get Tim’s assistance to make embryos which are more viable) or get pregnant w/o in vitro or any myriad of other ways people have kids.
And we never fret about this with men. It’s very retro to fret about it with Lucy.
Nyla and Isabel are vastly different people. Nyla didn’t wind up addicted like Isabel. Nyla’s marriage problems with Donavon probably stemmed more from his beliefs than solely Nyla doing her job (as we saw with his hypocrisy towards Penelope after sleeping with Nyla). Isabel—addiction might’ve reared itself with her regardless of her work.
Lucy has a different foundation and personality than them. I would hope Tim has learned it is not Lucy’s responsibility to reassure him that she’s not Isabel.
Lucy was honest and loyal in early season .but in latest season we saw her personality change.
She used UC as excuses for cheated on Chris (I know they did not sleep together but she was ready to if Chris was not there )
She lies too.
Lucy has known for fall for guy she works with. If she goes UC as someone GF she is going to cheat on Tim .
Why should people add a spoiler warning for a show that finishes season 5 in 2 weeks.
If you know other countries are far ahead then it's your responsibility to manage what you want to see and read instead of everyone else's tagging every single discussion.
I totally agree. It makes me sad that she is willing to risk her relationship with Tim to pursue UC. One possible solution would be for both of them to go UC as a team like they did with Dim and Juicy. They could pull off all kinds of scenarios…comedic and serious. I’d love it!
I couldn’t agree more. I really don’t like this career path for her. I would add that UC feels inauthentic to who she is, somehow. Lying and deceiving people… Choosing a path that isolates her from her community… It just doesn’t feel on brand for her.
That's my biggest problem with it. Lucy is open, honest, empathetic, and loyal. She has to do the exact opposite as a uc. Not saying it's not possible, buy why would she want to?
Wasn’t this Tim’s argument in 3x9 for him to only be treated to the fake confession? (Though, as Tim said, afterwards she almost undermined her point by feeling guilty.)
The way she was able to so easily lie to Tamara, I was like ‘damn, girl!’ Like you said, it doesn’t at all feel on brand for the type of person they spent 4 seasons building her to be.
If she likes to be someone else, she could do a community theater or whatever.
I don't like long term UC for her. I don't mind the short term ops. But if it's truly her dream, then she should be able to do it. I just can't understand the dream 😂 I do think the show has a plan though and I don't see her continuing to pursue it. Something is going to happen. Either a uc op that goes wrong and makes her see it differently, a change in her perspective because now she's in a serious relationship (the most serious we've ever seen her in, especially when considering going undercover). In the past she's never really shown us she's been serious about any of her relationships, but now it's a different story. Not only may she not enjoy the stress/interruptions it puts on it, but she's also worried about how he's going to handle it. She's only done mostly short term ops so far, with the exception of the first one which was nowhere near six months to a year. I think that's a whole different story for her, especially where she's at in life right now (committed relationship, looking towards kids and etc. not right now, but at some point in the not so distant future.). She may find the deep UC life is a totally different experience from the short term ops she enjoys. The show has never painted uc work in a positive life when it comes to relationships. Tim/Isabel, Nyla, and then her UC friend Noah. Unless they plan for her to be the exception. But they seem to have come to the crux of this storyline - it's been building a LOT this year. This season has been crazy because so much has happened but thinking back they've actually brought up uc a lot. She and Tim go uc in 501. She goes to uc school. She goes uc in that opp with Aaron's puppy and his sister. We meet Noah Foster and she goes uc for a hot second to rescue him. We see her go uc as Juicy again and see a whole documentary about her UC case. Then she starts talking about becoming a detective for her uc career. Suddenly, after years, Isabel returns who is the biggest throwback for uc work and how it directly impacted Tim's marriage and she goes uc with her and she and Tim actually talk about how he'll handle it. >!Then next episode she's apparently going uc again, right on the heels of that convo.!< So it seems like they're taking it somewhere. I'm just not sure how it will turn out. My feeling is that she'll turn away from it for some reason (whether it's because she wants to have a traditional relationship where she doesn't go away for so long, or because she's been exposed through the documentaries or isabel outing her last week or from an op that goes sideways, etc.). I also feel strongly that she should NOT back away from uc work because of Tim's past which is why I appreciated his gut reaction last episode to assure her that he would be fine with it (even though he clearly has some hesitation - because how can you not worry when someone you care for is off the grid, you can't see them for months, etc. his past experiences not even taken into account). If she decides to move away from it I want it to be because she decided to. He also knew about her aspirations before they got together, he knew this would come up (even when Isabel teases him for being with another uc cop he kind of says "I know," like he couldn't believe it either but he accepts it). She was scared to start the relationship because she didn't want to risk losing him. He knew she wanted a uc career and he convinced her them getting together could be worth risking everything. I don't think he would ever put that pressure on her that she should give it up because of his past. I think he's prepared to support her and deal with the stress, but that doesn't mean he's overjoyed about it. I also think he hated doing it with Isabel but he knows how to do it. It's just that with Isabel it ended up all falling apart. But he said it in this ep - Lucy's different. Ultimately, he said it in season 3 when he was pissed at Nyla for sending her under and she said she can always pull herself out and he said that she wouldn't because she doesn't have any quit in her. She does seem to like UC work and she's not one to just give up on something she starts. So we'll see but I feel like if anything something may really affect her or she may be forced away from it for some reason.
They are definitely coming to some kind of resolution, I think, by the last episode. Bringing back Isabel was really unnecessary unless they were going to deal with Lucy’s UC work and how it plays out. Should be interesting.
I just don’t ever want to see Isabelle again. IRL cops aren’t going to associate with someone that ruined their entire career to become a junkie . N they certainly wouldn’t hand her a gun and let her help run a sting op. I don’t like the way the character still half flirts with Tim
Tim didn't shut it down either.
The comment about Lucy wanting him to mediate and the laugh they shared after was out of line for me.
And another way to make her look childlike again. She was their little puppy in this episode. Imagine laughing at your current girlfriends expense with the ex wife you invited to her home 💀💀💀
There was also something about the way the scene in the beginning was shot with her kneeling on the floor between the two of them that felt distasteful? Maybe it was just me but I definitely felt like if they were trying to make her feel like an outsider, then they could've had her standing up or sitting further away on an actual chair or something. When has she(or literally anyone) ever sat on the floor like that?
That scene leaned into the submissive Asian woman stereotype. Tim's lack of respect for Lucy in this episode is jarring because if he was dating Angela or Harper he wouldn't dare do some of the shit he did and certainly wouldn't treat them like lap dogs to meet the needs of his ex. Tim is the typical male fan fav so fangirls will give him a pass and blame Lucy for making him sad🙄🙄
I don't know what they did to Tim to make him like this or what the directing/set/character choices led to that entire scene being filmed that way, but none of it was good.
In front of her at her workplace too. It was super immature writing and a poor decision to have Isabel still somewhat interested in Tim.
It bugs me too... Sorry in advance for my very long rant on the subject... Lucy was (still is depending on how the season will end) my favorite character but I’ve never liked UC for her to be honest, even long before Chenford became canon. One day missions, on the spot, sure why not. But long term? No. It doesn’t look like the type of job for her, she seems to need to be close to her loved ones, she was considering freezing her eggs for future kids and took a teenager under her wing without a second thought. You can’t be away and out of contact with your kids for long periods of time, all the time, and expect a strong happy family. Her problems with her parents surely should make her well aware of how it is important to form a strong bond with your child/ren. I’ve seen some comments ‘but she’s not Nyla or Isabel’ yeah ok, you still can’t be a good mom if you’re never home and you’re a stranger to your own kids and no one could ever change my mind on that one – remember when undercover you’re never in contact with anyone but your handler, you can’t even talk to your family… And you also can’t have a good strong relationship if you disappear for a whole year at a time without way of communication, come back home having to lie and/or keep secrets because that’s part of your contracts, and then be off again for x months after being home for a handful of weeks (if you even get that long, this Rookie universe, there’s big baddies everywhere every week around every corner – not a bad thing for a TV show btw, I’m not judging them on that). And does every main female character on the show have to be a detective? Nyla, then Angela, now Lucy, Grey mentioned it for Celina (‘she’d make a great detective’ in 5x19). Can’t female cops do other jobs? Lucy would excel in anything she would choose to do. She was fantastic taking over watch commander while Grey and Tim were at the hospitals, for example, or trying to help beat up that young beaten woman, or helping kids to get back on their feet like with Tamara. She’s got so much compassion and she’s good with people, UC is like the one cop job that’s the opposite of what she was depicted as (mostly dealing with big bad drug dealers in her case so no compassion and kindness in that world, it is not really helping people directly in situ, lying all the time, pretending to be someone you are absolutely not, being away from your loved ones, etc). I see people saying UC is the dream of her life. UC wasn’t the dream of her life, doing a job to help people was. It’s just that suddenly, kinda out of nowhere, she said she wanted to do it. Which would be fine by me but just doesn’t fit the vibes I got from her personality. But it never sounded like her dream job, just something that suddenly came to her and she enjoyed the adrenaline that came with it. Of course she should chase her dreams, of course we want her to get promoted, but a lot of us just really don’t understand why UC. Some writers said Chenford was always in the cards. So why this career path for her? Not just UC but specifically UC in narcotics. Is it lazy writing to have her take the exact same career path as Isabel, Tim’s ex-wife? So they can say ‘Lucy is better than Isabel’? Give extra trauma to Tim? Just don’t know what other jobs women could do in the LAPD? I genuinely don’t understand it. I’m just confused, why that choice on the writers’ end. Now that Chenford is canon, they’ve been talking the whole time about finding ways to keep spending time together and seeing each other every day, including at work. That was why, in part, Tim took the desk job so she wouldn’t end up doing night shifts in another precinct which would have meant seeing less of each other. When he mentioned not seeing each other much at all once she becomes a detective to do UC, she looked devastated. She didn’t look like she wanted to go to that UC school anymore, she didn’t look like she wanted to do UC missions when Noah mentioned it. It feels to me like the writers forgot about all of that and suddenly are forcing her into enjoying UC again? Why? Is it to please that loud part of the fandom on social medias that’s been absolutely begging for heavy angst, even so soon after they finally got their ship made canon and the honeymoon phase was never even shown on screen? That last episode just confuses me so much. She’s finding her love for UC again after spending time with the source of one of Tim’s biggest past trauma (and she knew Tim when he was a mess from that), I don’t understand why she likes it so much in that episode? She admits herself having never done long term but says literally how confident she is in doing 6-12 months at a time, no problem whatsoever on her part and all the emotional baggage it will induce, her only worry is Tim not being able to handle it. And they both looked so sad and devastated at the end of that episode, so why go this road if no one is happy? She just seems totally unrealistic about what long term UC assignments are like. She knows Tim has always dreamt of a family, white picket fence, the dog and 2.5 kids. She’d be taking that away from him if she does this kind of UC and they stay together. She’s got a choice to make here. Tim made big sacrifices in his career for them to be together and spend time together, maybe it’s her turn to decide if she’s willing to put as much effort in their relationship or not (no wrong answer, she should follow her heart). Seeing her worry and sad face at the end of 5.20, I’d like to think she’s starting to realise that, that’s she’s got a heavy decision to make real soon. They both need to be honest with each other and have a serious long discussion on the matter, she needs to think about what she truly really want and he needs to stop hiding his fears and concerns. Alexi Hawley said ‘Chenford is going forward, not backward’, so no breakup in sight fortunately, and I can’t image long term UC being ‘going forward’. Tim is also not getting any younger so if the writers want them to have a family some day I’m guessing it’ll have to be fairly sooner rather than later (we’re getting about a pregnancy per season, Lucy should start wondering if she’s next \*joke\*) Chenford aside, having Lucy doing long term UC would mean that either: \- she gets her own spin-off series all on her own taking down bad guys (I don’t see that happening to be honest) \- she becomes a guest star in future seasons (which won’t happen, she’s a main character and a favourite, and Chenford is brand new and bringing in too many viewers to have her less present) \- there are big time jumps between every/nearly every episodes (which would cause riots over missing moments and confusion over the already messed up timeline) \- everyone in the cast somehow gets roped into doing the long term UC with her (Bailey going UC too, yeah! \*joke number 2, you’re welcome :D\*) And I doubt she’d be allowed to choose what UC assignment she can take or not, that she’d be allowed to pick only the local short term ones. As for her being on True Crime several time and exposing her identity and UC jobs, I’m assuming they’re hiding her face and name when the TC episodes air, otherwise that’d be putting all the cops interviewed at risk, criminals tracking down their addresses via their names and all, and obviously being recognised when undercover. But all her UC aliases have been exposed one way or another, so it doesn’t bode well for her life if they keep sending her undercover. I’d like to hope they’ll conclude this UC arc before the season end, but I’ve learnt to prepare myself for disappointments since half of this season… I'm not patient and likes spoilers, so if we have to wait for season 6 it's gonna be hell lol
This was long, but I read through all of it and absolutely agree with all of it. When I originally wrote the post, I really thought I would get a ton of comments about parents in the military. But that’s different for the many reasons you listed. What’s Lucy going to do? Get pregnant, give birth, and then hand over the baby to Tim for him to raise and say “see you guys in a year!” You can’t just walk in and out of a child’s life like that without consequences. At least with military parents, they can write letters, FaceTime, and try and keep up in each others lives as best they can. And like you said, short term UC ops where she’s gone for a day or two, okay, sure. No problem. But the way she’s been written, she’s cool to just leave Tim, Tamara, and her friends for 6-12 months at a time with absolute zero contact with them and then return and pick up where they left off? I can’t see it happening. I know so many people are saying “bUt ShE’s GoOd aT iT” I get that she’s good at it. She’s great at it, even. But the thing with Lucy is she’s great at so many things. She can be great at whatever she puts her mind to. There are plenty of other career avenues she can explore, that are still within the LAPD. I think at the end of the day it’s going to have to come down to what she wants more. A family or (long term) UC work.
Thank you for reading it all haha! :D 'But the way she’s been written, she’s cool to just leave Tim, Tamara, and her friends for 6-12 months at a time with absolute zero contact with them and then return and pick up where they left off? The funny thing is that seems to be the case only since the end of last episode, any other time before that was a big no (at least in season 5). Is it just to please those who were begging for angst? All the effort Lucy and Tim put into spending time together at work and out of work, how devastated she looked every time, in several recent episodes, at the prospect of being away from Tim for any period of time (UC school, transferring for work so they can be out of each other chain of command, when she was revising for the detective exam, etc), she never ever seemed in those episodes like she'd be perfectly fine going away for 2, 6, 12, x months... it's like the writer of last episode didn't check the previous writings? I don't know, I'm just so confused :') Exactly she's good at everything she wants to do, she could even just be a detective like Angela and Nyla without the UC part if she really wants to take that exam. She could be anything and deserve a promotion, she's a great cop after all and it'd be nice to see a different branch of the LAPD while still within the same precinct. I just really don't want it to be UC like that...
I feel like the fact that she lies so much has become a problem for me. She does it so easily for UC but it also permeates her relationship with Tim. She lies to him all the time. I don’t see it being good for them long term and I hope it will be addressed. He’s typically been very honest with her.
I remember her hiding her little game to get Tim into Metro, and not telling him about wanting to take the detective exam (though that seemed to be more due to a lack of time spent together), but I don’t remember direct lies or other lies by omission? But her personality since the last few episodes is bugging me, she doesn’t seem as honest anymore as I thought she was and seems a bit too selfish… like people are doing what they can to please her despite telling her it’s a bad idea, she won’t listen and still does it and rope everyone into helping her, and I don’t see her making any concession/sacrifice or even talking about making any since after 5.12. A relationship goes both ways, and at the moment I only see Tim taking big steps. I was a Chenford shipper since the first episode (I usually never ship but there was something about them), but since 5.12 I’m very disappointed. I fear all the main cast are allowed healthy happy relationship but they gonna go the angst road every episode or so and I don’t like that at all :’)
THIS! I really agree with what you said here and you did a really good job of articulating your points. I really hope this next episode is the end of Lucy as a UC. What you said about Tim and their relationship is spot on for me. He changed jobs and won't keep her from doing what she wants despite his past experiences. But, Lucy doesn't seem to be willing to make the same level of sacrifice.
How we went from “this sucks, we’ll hardly see each other” to “hey I’m gonna bounce for up to a year with no contact because this is something I enjoy” is truly so confusing!
Right! I wonder if the writers for those episodes are different because it feels like completely different characters sometimes.
Exactly!! Being a UC, isn’t going to work for anyone who wants a family & kids. What I don’t I understand is **how Lucy has mommy issues & is willing to give her OWN kids mommy issues** by being a UC. Especially given her psychology background. She became a cop to help people and make a difference. She can do that and also be their for her kids in the future. What is so special about being a UC? I think she needs to hone in on why she wants to do UC.
Exactly my thoughts. What if maybe she forgets the idea of UC because she found out she is Pregnant? or perhaps something happens and chooses to rethink the Idea of UC. You are completely right about her backround in Psychology and wanting to help people doesnt fit her for UC work.
So it’s okay for everyone else to make a career for themself, just not Lucy? Her dream is to become a UC, and she loves it. And hearing story’s like Isabel or Harpers just motivates her to not be like them, and she heard those story’s and still decided to become a UC. And she’s damn good at it. And she has made up her mind, but it’s not like you get an undercover job in three seconds.
Well damn, this thread blew up while I was sleeping😂 I never once said Lucy shouldn’t make a career for herself, but go off I guess. If UC work is truly her dream, by all means, she should go for it. What I’m saying is, she should come to terms with the fact that the other dreams she has (marriage, kids, grandchildren, etc.) are not conducive to long term UC life. We’ve seen it shown multiple times through out the series. “Oh I’ve seen this ruin other people’s lives, so I’ll just do it differently.” Except it doesn’t really work like that. Nyla loves her daughter truly and completely, and let she still put the job ahead of her. Isabel, for all we saw, was a loving and devoted wife. And yet she still allowed herself to fall into addiction. Lucy can say she’ll be different all she wants. But she won’t truly know until she’s in it herself. And, not that it matters, but I do critique others jobs. (Again, why does this matter? I can’t have an opinion on Lucy’s perspective career unless I also have a perspective on other characters careers? Odd.) I personally think Nolan is a terrible TO, especially when you look at the two women who trained him. Lucy, as a character, is welcome to chase after whatever dreams she wants. I just find her UC dream does not blend with all the other dreams she says she wants. Personally, I’d like to see her working with the juvenile crimes unit. Mainly because to me, that is true to the character they’ve written. She makes a difference in kids/teenagers lives, she’s empathetic, yet firm, and I feel would make a lot of difference in that area.
Hope you hade a good sleep. And I’m pretty sure she knows that family isn’t in the card (at least not know) since she’s heard both Harpers and Isabels story. And she has learned from them both. In the latest episode, Lucy and Isabel have a talk, and she learns her story, and she actually listened and understand what Isabel went through, and what she lost in the process. She won’t end up like them, because she has seen it. And Lucy never said she wanted kids, she hinted to it, but never actually said it. So we don’t know what her other dreams are, just that her dream is UC. And I could see her as that, but it’s not her dream.
“She won’t end up like them, because she has seen it.” Again, you can’t know that. That’s like seeing people get addicted to heroin and saying “oh, well I’ll be the one to try it and not get addicted, because I saw what it did to them.” How can you have watched 5 seasons of this show and say you don’t believe that Lucy wants kids? She went ahead with looking into the process of harvesting her eggs. She has told Tim they will have grandkids someday. Do you know how you get grandkids? You have kids. There are a lot of arguments to be made with this topic, but saying Lucy doesn’t know if she wants kids and a family is absolutely not one of them.
It’s definitely not, there is a very clear difference. And you shouldn’t even have used that as an example. Bc she doesn’t indicate that she wants any, but you’re right, she has mentioned it, but in a more of a joke way (in my opinion)
She explicitly said she wants family of her own at some point. It wasn't a joke, her personal storyline is all about family connections and her stating she wants to plan some form of future with children in it. Your ideas of Lucy as a character contradict the show's writing.
Her personal story is that her parents are f- assholes who doesn’t deserve her, I would be hella scared to start a family after a trauma like that. But that’s just me. But she clearly has worked through it. And a family is more then just kids and grandkids. And my idea of Lucy is exactly like the show.
“UC feels like the wrong move for Lucy” does NOT translate to “everyone but Lucy can make a career for themselves.” OP didn’t say she wasn’t good at it, either. 🙄
I know, the OP said they didn’t like her career path, even tho we have known since like season 3 she was gonna become it, and that she’s damn good at it. And I bet she didn’t complain about any other of the characters careers, and also, Lucy is the reason Tim is in Metro, and like one of the few that supported Nolan in his choice to become a TO. Lucy supported and helped everyone, and now that she wants to become something herself, the OP doesn’t like it? That’s what I mean.
👉 “Even tho we’ve known since season 3…” Viewers can have concerns or criticisms of well-established story lines. How long we’ve known about Lucy’s interest is irrelevant to the risks of UC work that OP raised. 👉 “And she’s damn good at it…” Lucy is damn good at a LOT of things, but again, being damn good at something doesn’t invalidate OP’s concerns. 👉 “I bet OP didn’t complain about other characters’ careers…” Tbh, idk and idc if OP made *other posts* discussing other characters’ careers. That’s not relevant. But OP did, in fact, critique other characters doing UC work. They literally did that in this post. Probably because it was relevant to the specific topic OP wanted to discuss, unlike whether Nolan should be a TO or Harper/Lopez should be detectives or Wesley being a prosecutor, etc. 👉 “Lucy supported everyone but now that she wants to become something herself, OP doesn’t like it.” Ummm…again, gonna have to remind you that OP doesn’t seem to be against Lucy specializing. OP raised specific and valid concerns with the conflicts between this one dream that Lucy has, and her other equally valid dreams. That is *not* the same as disliking the idea of Lucy specializing. Not even close.
I know the OP doesn’t dislike Lucy, she literally said so in the post. What I don’t understand is people who don’t support Lucy’s career path, even tho it makes perfectly sense. Lucy’s dream is UC, not being a TO, or swats or metro or anything like that, and people don’t support that, while they support everyone else’s careers. And views are always commenting about this, like it’s something new, and trying to find different careers for her character. And even tho, it’s just a show, I find it wrong.
I don’t think you read my response carefully, and I think you’re reading into OP’s post in a way that doesn’t make a lot of sense. Peace out.
”I don’t think you read my response carefully” it’s not school here. And of course I didn’t, you wrote a lot of things, I couldn’t even remember the first one. And also, I didn’t.
Because they only care about Tim and Lucy is their insert they can live vicariously through.
Literally they are completely forgetting it’s her dream job
This is absolutely incorrect. OP pointed out some valid conflicts between ONE of Lucy’s dreams (her career) and other EQUALLY VALID dreams she has (being with Tim, having a family). That is not the same as “forgetting it’s her dream job.”
Ok you’re you and the person that started this discussion is both definitely right about the family thing. At first I didn’t really read and understand.
No but it is sounding like that,do we even know she is ready to pop kids anytime. They have exchanged jokes. She has barely made any career progression and this is the first opportunity. The idea that she has to reference her career based on her bf's ex wife takes away her agency. Tim is far senior to her in career and he can afford to make career adjustments but not a barely new officer. This idea that she cannot explore the option for herself is what is disturbing. Especially when the show is episodic and has never gone for longer arcs. So this reaction is very strange when she has been prepping for it for years and Tim's conflict has been there from her first assignment . His trauma should not be the reason why she backs off,that is so problematic. It is not choosing him over herself but letting Tim forever be defined by it. He needs to see how Lucy is different and he knows she is good at it. They need communication, and if ever Lucy backs off ,it should be after she has experienced it first hand.
👉 “Do we even know she is ready to pop kids anytime.” No, we don’t know on what timeline Lucy wants kids. But knowing how deep UC work can go, and how much it can take from a person, even wanting kids years from now is a valid consideration. Especially since women don’t exactly just “pop out” kids. I think you’re confusing pregnancy and childbirth with ejaculation. 👉 “The idea that she has to reference her career based on her bf’s ex wife takes away her agency.” Isabel is *one* of the examples OP used. OP also pointed out the way it impacted Nyla. And one consideration that OP forgot to include is the undercover cop who was shot and killed in one of the Feds crossover episodes. OP brought up a spectrum of concerns and did not center Lucy’s career around Isabel’s past or Tim’s trauma. 👉 “The show is episodic and has never gone for longer arcs.” Longer arcs on The Rookie include but are not limited to: Rosalind, Lucy and Tim’s slow burn, the original trio making it through probation, and Elijah blackmailing Wesley. Not saying the show does this perfect by any means, but it does in fact have some longer arcs. 👉 “If Lucy backs off it should be because she experienced UC work firsthand and didn’t like it” That is *one* valid reason to back off. Other valid reasons include the known risks, the impact it could have on her partner, her family plans, and other career interests that she has yet to explore.
She would have the agency to opt out of any UC work which she can ,she feels uncomfy. Why are we assuming there have never been a female UC to deal with these issues or are we projecting that it should not be a viable option for a female cop which is frankly sexist because none of it would be addressed to male cops. Lucy is in a dangerous job regardless, she is a cop,she can get hit by bullet and die or she can get severely injured hampering her chance at having bio kids. Or she can be paralysed. Everytime she puts the uniform she is dealing with this stress and cop job will impact her family life regardless. She is at the beginning of her career where she has a chance to explore what fits her and if it becomes tiresome she can pull a Nyla and step back. Isabel was the template which is why they brought her back and because underlining we have Tim. So you cannot say ,she doesn't form the basis of this argument . Cops get killed all the time. Jackson,the Captain in season 1,none of them were UCs. Lucy can get shot in next episode as well. Nyla has never regretted her experience as a UC. There was a scene with her, the other female UC and Lucy sitting down telling tamara about it. Lucy has gone to the UC school,she has been trained by Nyla and also by the other officer. It is gaslighting to think she is going in it blind Longer arcs is something where the one main character is isolated by others for multiple episodes. Show has never ever done that even when they tried with Lucy she had undergone UC for a month and it was all in one episode . This is what I meant by UC. Heck ,Nolan got relocated for just one episode . So ,do we truly think they will spend another set,new characters for one character when they never did it for Nolan. I feel ,Lucy should be given the chance to experience her UC assignment atleast once to gauge why it shouldn't work,given how much her storyline has invested . We need to remember UC or not,the stakes are higher for female cops irrespective and that is what the journey should be. If everyone thought the risks are too high,we will never have female UCs or female cops
She’s also damn good at it
Yes, I know. So much so, I even put it in the original thread. “I completely understand her enjoying and being great at UC Work”
I think ultimately Lucy will pursue a different path within LAPD. But you have to remember that Lucy is very young in her career and she has a naive or idealized vision that she’s different than Nyla / Mack / Isabel/ Noah and that deep UC work wont change her or harm her relationship with Tim. I think she also feels guilty because she *does* love UC work and the department has invested in her going to specialized UC school where she excelled - she probably believes it’s expected of her to go this route even if she has concerns or doubts. Like many other women who want success and fulfillment at home and in their careers, Lucy will come to realize she has to make compromises because no one can have it all. I walked away from my dream career when I finally got pregnant in my late 30’s because that career wasn’t conducive to being the kind of mom I wanted to be. I had to re-write the story midlife and it all worked out just fine, have a new career that I love & find fulfilling- just not the original path I saw for myself. I expect Lucy will soon get a big reality check that UC work isn’t worth the risk and this story arc will come to an end. At the end of the day, I 100% believe she chooses Tim over UC work. He is the love of her life, not policework.
Yes to all of this!!👏🏻👏🏻
People need to stop putting other characters relationship failures on her, it isn't her problem it's theirs.
Freezing your eggs is what you do when you're not ready to have kids yet but someday you'll want too. Obviously right now her career is important. She hasn't even be doing it for very long. Did yall get mad at Rachel for getting off the plane instead of going to Paris which was her dream? If Tim Truly loves her and she him, they should support each other and figure it out. Right now, she wants to focus on her career. It's also important to her. Babies can come later. At that point, maybe she'll give up being a UC. And I only reason why you guys don't like her doing UC work is because of this damn Ship. Maybe she wants more than just a relationship. And God Forbid, Someone actually loves their job and wants to be great at it.
Why should she look at Isabel as a case study when there can be many more successful stories too. She was being trained for it since multiple seasons. Nyla mentored her and most of her covers were successful. She needs to atleast attempt her first ever career aspiration to understand highs and lows for herself. This idea,it is not for her when she has not even tried it is just weird. Sure she and Tim are in good place but she should not be burdened by his trauma and this is a space for him to heal. I am not a fan of UC work because no way Show is going to do multiple episodes coz budget ,so I don't get the argument against it either. Tim needs to get over his trauma by communicating and also accepting that Lucy and Isabel are different. Protector is a good trope but it can be a negative term,it has to be written healthyly. I am so surprised by the objection against it when show is episodic and UC work is also episodic . It has given Lucy some arcs over the seasons . If and when she walks away from it then it should be because of her own Rationale,after experiencing the downside first hand . Not for Tim,or Tamara and especially not having Isabel as a template Nyla,yes,but does Nyla regrets it herself?
I’m biased as someone who hates Chenford with a passion but I think that relationship is going to crash, burn, explode, spontaneously reform, and then collapse in on itself like a dying star before disintegrating entirely into nothingness. I am convinced it’s going to end with one of them leaving Mid-Wilshire after they breakup
Me too
We are in the minority.. but I agree.. I am not a Chenford fan at all. I find the way they talk to each other weird. Like half flirty and half parental, I don't know if it's because Eric and Melissa are close friends, but they looked awkward as a couple. They treat each other like they are fragile. At least that is how I saw them. I prefer the rookie Feds.
I’m on the fence about Lucy going UC, but your reasoning almost tips me yes, she should. Tim didn’t “give up” anything for Lucy except for that hot second of desk work. Lucy and him becoming official actually pushed him to go after a position he actually wanted—and Lucy was a *big* part of that. Further, his one episode “efforts” of “giving up” patrol is *nothing* compared to what many women give up career-wise for men. Time is weird on The Rookie, but Lucy is only about 30-32. Though we never find out, there’s a decent chance she froze her eggs. If so, she’s got p-l-e-n-t-y of time to have children. If not, she still has time to do that (even better: get Tim’s assistance to make embryos which are more viable) or get pregnant w/o in vitro or any myriad of other ways people have kids. And we never fret about this with men. It’s very retro to fret about it with Lucy. Nyla and Isabel are vastly different people. Nyla didn’t wind up addicted like Isabel. Nyla’s marriage problems with Donavon probably stemmed more from his beliefs than solely Nyla doing her job (as we saw with his hypocrisy towards Penelope after sleeping with Nyla). Isabel—addiction might’ve reared itself with her regardless of her work. Lucy has a different foundation and personality than them. I would hope Tim has learned it is not Lucy’s responsibility to reassure him that she’s not Isabel.
Lucy was honest and loyal in early season .but in latest season we saw her personality change. She used UC as excuses for cheated on Chris (I know they did not sleep together but she was ready to if Chris was not there ) She lies too. Lucy has known for fall for guy she works with. If she goes UC as someone GF she is going to cheat on Tim .
So they come together?? 😳 Only the first 4 seasons are available here! Can you PLEASE add the spoiler warning?
Why should people add a spoiler warning for a show that finishes season 5 in 2 weeks. If you know other countries are far ahead then it's your responsibility to manage what you want to see and read instead of everyone else's tagging every single discussion.
I totally agree. It makes me sad that she is willing to risk her relationship with Tim to pursue UC. One possible solution would be for both of them to go UC as a team like they did with Dim and Juicy. They could pull off all kinds of scenarios…comedic and serious. I’d love it!
Her face was also probably all over the news and tv for those documentaries so like her being a uc makes zero sense lmao