The Rookie season 7 only has a few episodes left, and the latest episode is filmed as a true crime documentary, which is a fun device that sets it apart from the regular case-of-the-week format. As John Nolan (Castle and Firefly star Nathan Fillion) continues his work with the LAPD, he and his teammates are interviewed about a missing character whom fans know and who he has personal ties to. Ever since the show’s premiere in 2018, The Rookie has been one of the more cheerful procedurals, and its sense of humor balances out the darker cases that the team investigates.
The Rookie season 7, episode 15, “A Deadly Secret,” aired on Tuesday April 22nd, 2025 and told a fun story about a missing person whom Nolan knows. It has some fun horror movie elements and a humorous ending.
What Happens At The End Of The Rookie Season 7, Episode 15, “A Deadly Secret”?
At the end of The Rookie season 7, episode 15, “A Deadly Secret,” body cam footage is shown of Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) and Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) waiting in the abandoned ward of Westview Psych Hospital. Since they touched the wet walls that had sodium pentothal, which they say is “truth serum,” they are honest and vulnerable with each other. Fans have been wondering why Bradford broke up with Chen, and he shares the reason why here: he wanted to punish himself since he was used to getting in trouble because his dad treated him poorly. Chen says she forgives him. On the one hand, it’s great to find out this information, but on the other, there are likely more than a few viewers who are frustrated that these popular characters continue to spend time apart.
Like the most interesting seasons of NCIS, The Rookie shines when an episode updates fans on a popular couple like Chen and Bradford. The Rookie season 7, episode 15 moves between the team’s body cam footage in Westview and interviews for a documentary. Then, the team finds Abigail Tierney (Madeleine Coghlan), who went missing. She says that she survived because of trail mix and a water jug that she found. She also talks to a dead body of a man named Bob who was murdered, but she thinks he’s alive. Celina Jurarez (Lisseth Chavez) played a significant role in The Rookie season 7, episode 14 as she helped solve a scary case, and this time, she’s front and center, too. While Nolan and the others don’t believe in ghosts, Celina does, and she talks about Abigail as if she’s a character in a horror movie about demonic possession. Celina says:
“She went in perfectly sane and came out best friends with a corpse. That’s how possession works. You can’t rule out demons.”
Then, when Nolan is interviewed, Abigail comes in and says he promised to talk to her for her documentary. Nolan agrees and then viewers see footage of Abigail’s time stuck in the Westview lab. Abigail says she found a government conspiracy, which Celina explains was a plan to give people “a truth serum” which was “mind control.” Dr. Erikson (Ray Siegle) was in charge.
Abigail is knocked out, and since a woman filmed a man named Carl kidnapping Abigail and putting her in a car. The cops find her at Westview again. Abigail explains that Carl’s boss Meg Davidson, the director of Westview, wanted him to kill her, but she convinced him not to. Davidson targeted wealthy patients who could be forced into conservatorship. Nolan explains that Davidson was Dr. Erickson’s therapist and thought the “tainted water” could harm patients. After a state investigation, Westview was shut down. It’s hard not to think of Hawkins Lab and all the evil plans in Stranger Things.
Nolan and Abigail share a moving scene at the end of The Rookie season 7, episode 15 when she says she’s fine and is happy to focus on her documentary. Nolan says he has “been guilty of using my work as my therapy” and that she can talk to him if she needs it. Nolan is surprised to hear Abigail say that Bob shared details of the case with her, proving that she still thinks he was alive. The episode concludes with the Ghost Files hosts running frightened out of Westview.
The Rookie Season 7, Episode 15 Uses A True Crime Documentary Format To Debate Science Vs. Ghosts
The Rookie season 5, episode 18, “Double Trouble” was also filmed as a true crime documentary, and this time, the storytelling device is used to bring back Abigail, who was once engaged to Nolan’s son Henry (Zayne Emory). Abigail previously appeared in The Rookie season 2, episode 5, “Tough Love.” “A Deadly Secret” examines the popularity of ghost-hunting shows. Ryan Bergara and Shane Madej guest star as hosts of a series called Ghost Files. The episode also has some fun and campy moments about horror movies as Abigail was making a film called Hell P.D.
In an interview with TV Insider, showrunner Alexi Hawley explained more about this episode:
“we really wanted to lean into sort of the horror motif a little bit more, the ghost hunter-y vibe, that sort of real-life scary places type thing. And that’s sort of where it came from.”
Hawley also mentioned that while Nolan and Harper (Mekia Cox) think there is always a scientific explanation, Lopez (Alyssa Diaz) and Celina think ghosts are real. As usual, The Rookie is most fascinating when spotlighting its unique characters, which was also the case in season 7’s “Three Billboards” which told a story of anti-LAPD billboards and buses seen around Los Angeles. After this true crime documentary-style episode, The Rookie season 7 will return with a regular episode.
