Seth’s villain arc on The Rookie has certainly been compelling, but I’m starting to reach the breaking point of how long I can handle this storyline. It was interesting to see this seemingly nice character who was always randomly revealing tragic backstories turn out to be a flat-out liar and manipulator. The problem is that Lucy and Tim (Eric Winter) are the only ones who see Seth for who he really is. Tim has been in this with Lucy since the beginning. He believed her and helped her when she first told him about Seth’s lies, and he supported her when she was planning to recommend that Seth get cut from the program.
In this episode, Smitty (Brent Huff) and Celina (Lisseth Chavez) — who don’t have all the facts — show their support for the pairing. Smitty hilariously tries to give Lucy parenting advice while encouraging her to let go. Tim understands why Seth and Tamara dating would be such a bad thing, though, and he even offers to threaten Seth. Ultimately, this storyline is reaching a nerve-wracking direction, and it certainly looks like Lucy’s life is going to be endangered in the process. I like having another villain surprise again in the lines of Armstrong (Harold Perrineau), but Seth is seriously getting on my nerves, and I want him to get exposed and fired for good in the mid-season finale next week.
Part of what makes Seth such an infuriating character is that he is not just a straight-up villain. He pretends to be this nice, innocent, and naive rookie. Really, though, Seth’s moves are calculated, and there is likely even more below the surface than we have seen from him so far. At this point, I am champing at the bit to see Seth’s lies get exposed so that Tamara will apologize to Lucy, Seth will get fired, and Lucy will finally be able to move on from being his T.O. Once the dust settles, hopefully, Lucy can take the time to see if, without Seth as her rookie, being a T.O. might be something she wants to pursue from now on.
