“The Rookie” wrapped up a long-running story line with a major character’s death.
During the Monday, April 27, episode of the ABC series, the infamous Monica Stevens (Bridget Regan) met a violent end. After selling out international weapons dealer Cooper Johnson, Monica coordinated an exit plan with fellow criminal Aiden (Tim Griffin).
Aiden promised Monica a private plane out of LAX to escape the FBI agents who were after her. On the way to the airport, Monica’s driver passed the LAX exit, and she knew something was amiss.
Resigned to the fact that Aiden had double crossed her, Monica had just one request for her driver: that he not shoot her in the face. The driver obliged, shooting her twice in the chest and leaving her body on the side of the road.
Regan, who joined “The Rookie” cast as Monica during season 5, has no hard feelings about her character’s fate.
“Truly, I was not surprised. I was thrilled that she lasted as long as she did,” she told TV Insider. “If you play with fire, as long as she has, eventually you’re going to get burned. And as I said to [showrunner] Alexi [Hawley] and everybody, I was like, ‘She’s not on her ninth life. She’s on her 37th.’”
Regan noted that Monica, who was a corrupt lawyer before becoming an FBI informant, “escaped multiple assassinations and prison time.” She’s finally run out of luck, and Hawley wanted to make her fate absolutely clear.
“Alexi wanted to be like, ‘She’s dead, dead. She’s dead. Dead, capital D, Dead, period,’” Regan confirmed.
“She’s had an amazing run, four years on this show. I’m only filled with gratitude,” she continued. “But what I was surprised by was just how incredibly sad I was for her. Not that she died, but that she never truly flipped, that she actually succumbed to the dark side and couldn’t find her way back.”
Many fans expressed relief that Monica is gone while praising Regan’s performance.
“I was tired of Monica Stevens, but Bridget Regan sure stole the scene with her acting,” one Reddit user wrote.
“Yeah, the Monica storyline was getting tiresome, and she felt like a bad coworker who somehow kept avoiding getting fired, but Bridget Regan expertly played her, and it was sad and shocking to see her go,” another person commented.
“The Rookie” season 8 finale is set to air on Monday, May 4. The police procedural premiered in 2018 and stars Nathan Fillion (John Nolan), Alyssa Diaz (Angela Lopez), Richard T. Jones (Wade Grey), Melissa O’Neil (Lucy Chen), Eric Winter (Tim Bradford), Mekia Cox (Nyla Harper), Shawn Ashmore (Wesley Evers), Jenna Dewan (Bailey Nune), Lisseth Chavez (Celina Juarez) and Deric Augustine (Miles Penn).
“The Rookie” airs on ABC Mondays at 10 p.m. ET. Episodes are available to stream on Hulu the day after they air.