After ranking seventeenth on the detective’s exam, The Rookie season 7 sees Lucy Chen take on a training officer role. Although the position is meant to be temporary, showrunner Alexi Hawley teases that a new career path for Lucy is possible. The officer is assigned to Seth Ridley, an earnest rookie who struggles with the tough realities of police work. He continuously recounts past tragedies, only for Lucy to discover that his stories are fabricated ways to justify his mistakes.
During the final moments of The Rookie season 7, episode 5, “Til Death,” Lucy decides to cut Seth from the training program. However, before she and Tim can tell Grey, the lieutenant walks out of his office alongside Ridley. Seth reveals that his cancer test results came back positive, and Grey assures the trainee that the entire station stands behind him. Backed into a corner, Lucy has no choice but to keep Ridley in the program.
ScreenRant interviews Melissa O’Neil about where Lucy stands with Seth and what to expect for Chenford in The Rookie’s upcoming Valentine’s Day episode.
O’Neil Explains Why Lucy Was Ready To Cut Seth In The Rookie Season 7, Episode 5
“When you’re partnered up with someone, and you ultimately can’t trust them, your safety is on the line.”
ScreenRant: Last we saw Lucy, she was struggling to correct Seth after the lies he told. What do you think really solidified her decision to cut him?
Melissa O’Neil: I think she finally made peace with the fact that her gut was telling her that something was wrong. She had this inner conflict with herself a lot of the time. That’s why she was outsourcing for help to Bradford, I think. She was going to him a lot to be like, “What do you think about this?” And he just kept reflecting back to her, “What do you think? Figure it out.”
And in true Bradford-Chen form, just empowering her to continue to make her own decisions. I think why she ultimately felt that it was time was that she sat with it and probably zeroed in on the fact that her gut feeling was enough. There was enough times where her gut was going, “Feels like a liar.” It was time to take it to Grey.
And if she needed to make that decision, then she was finally ready to because there’s a lot at stake in those situations. We didn’t explore it all the way with their dynamic, but when you’re partnered up with someone, and you ultimately can’t trust them, your safety is on the line. Their safety is on the line too. You can’t trust them to tell you the truth, let alone have your back out there.
Does she buy the story that he just panics after messing up or could there be something more sinister going on? You never know who’s a serial killer in The Rookie…
Melissa O’Neil: My perspective isn’t that she felt that he has something sinister or nefarious going on. I never internally felt that there was that going on. It was just more like, “Why are you lying? Okay, you have a problem with little white lies. Alright, fine.” And I think that there was that touch and go moment with the two of them. And ultimately, after all of those different moments where she’s like, “Let me ask, let me see what’s going on, let me double check.”
There was a progression that happened at first. She’s like, “Hey, you said that it was your one girlfriend, but then you said this.” And then she’s like, “Oh, okay. I guess that makes sense.” And then he says something else and then she goes and checks with the school guidance counselor. There are just too many things. And I think after a certain period of time, this is our girl who did undercover, she also was testing to become a detective.
At a certain point, it’s your instinct and the stacking up of instances where your gut is telling you that this doesn’t make sense and the things aren’t lining up, at a certain point, it has to be enough. It has to be enough to move and make a decision because otherwise you’re just constantly being on edge wondering if this person is lying. He is.
O’Neil Teases What’s Next For Chenford In The Rookie Season 7, Episode 6
“I think she gets a little seed, a little sideways glance when he mentions that he is taking someone to the gala.”
Does Lucy believe that Seth has cancer?
Melissa O’Neil: I don’t think she bought it. I don’t think she bought it. It’s a wonderful, imperfect human moment where she’s feeling like, “I think you’re lying. I think you’re full of sh*t.” And that is totally not appropriate to say out loud. How could you possibly ever say to someone, or even to Grey, who’s outwardly just being super sympathetic—he’s got his hand on his back. “We’ve got you, brother. Don’t worry about it.”
How could anyone, let alone Lucy say, “I don’t believe that guy has cancer.” I think her internal pride and orientation and social sensitivity prevents her from taking it to that nth degree, from saying that. Social mores dictate that you really shouldn’t go around being like, “That guy’s lying about cancer.” I don’t think that she could do that.
Which is funny because, I think it was in season 5, there was a little kid who had cancer, and Chen and Bradford are talking to him, and Bradford very freely goes like, “Do you even have cancer?” Especially because that moment happened, Lucy’s probably like, “I can’t do that. That’s crazy.” So I don’t think she believes him, but I don’t think she would dare say that out loud. She’s in an impossible spot. She’s stuck.
Where would you say Lucy stands with Tim going into the Valentine’s Day episode? What can fans look forward to?
Melissa O’Neil: I think Chen has had a thaw. She’s gone through a thawing, which we kind of saw right off of the top of the season. The acute nature of the pain of their breakup had subsided enough. And also, she’s a pro. She’s gone through so many different things. She’s had some very profound trauma that she has emerged through and retained her spirit through that. I think a breakup is not going to be the thing that makes her behave differently at work.
I think she’s going to put on a brave face, but I wouldn’t even call it brave. She’s just a pro. She’s good at what she does, and she can have fun, and “Okay, you don’t want to do this. That’s fine. I’m still going to be good at my job.” The two of them had more time being in the relational dynamic they had than they did in the relationship. So I don’t think it’s strange or out of character for them to fall back into their old dynamic of teasing each other or being competitive.
I think she is at a place of accepting where they’re at and okay to be with each other at work. However, I think she gets a little seed, a little sideways glance when he mentions that he is taking someone to the gala. I think that kind of surprises her, and she says, “What do you mean? What do you mean you’re taking someone to the gala?”
