Because The Rookie has been on for seven seasons now, there have been many characters that have come and gone over the years. Some characters have faced tragic exits, like Captain Zoe Andersen (Mercedes Mason) in Season 1 and Jackson West (Titus Makin Jr.) in Season 4. These heroic cops were killed in the line of duty, but their deaths served a purpose in furthering the character development of the Mid-Wilshire police officers. There have also been plenty of characters who haven’t been killed off, and who are free to pop up again in future episodes, such as John Nolan’s (Nathan Fillion) slacker brother, Pete (Pete Davidson), or the hilariously odd Skip Tracer Randy (Flula Borg). If the series has been able to successfully include some past characters, that begs the question of why The Rookie is fumbling the chance to bring back one fan-favorite character.
Aaron Thorsen (Tru Valentino) became a member of the Mid-Wilshire family back in Season 4 as a rookie officer. He has a unique perspective on crime-fighting, since he was once arrested (and acquitted) of the murder of his best friend while they were studying abroad in Europe. Aaron also comes from a super wealthy background and has a large social media following (which also makes him stand apart from his fellow officers). In Season 5, Aaron is shot while on the job, and decides to undergo therapy with the department psychiatrist, Dr. Blair London (Danielle Campbell) in Season 6. Dr. London turns out to be working with the villainous Monica Stevens (Bridget Regan). Aaron’s connection with the unethical Dr. London convinces him to get a fresh start at the North Hollywood precinct.
Before Season 7 aired, it was announced that Valentino would be leaving the show. But it didn’t seem like there was any bad blood, with Valentino posting on Instagram that he cherished his time on the series, and that “you never know who may pop back up in the Mid-Wilshire Precinct.” Likewise, showrunner Alexi Hawley noted that Aaron is “still very much alive in our universe, so there’s always the possibility that we see him again.” So far, the only mention of Aaron was in the first episode of Season 7, when Nolan asks Celina Juarez (Lisseth Chavez) how Aaron is adjusting to working at the North Hollywood station. She responds that he’s doing well and is relieved to be around colleagues who don’t know about his connection to Dr. London. However, there is no follow-up storyline to truly say goodbye to this character, and there has been no mention of him again this entire season. And now, The Rookie has completely wasted an opportunity to bring the character back into the fold.
In the latest episode of The Rookie, which aired on March 11, Nolan starts investigating the shooting of Nyla Harper’s (Mekia Cox) husband, James (Arjay Smith). Because Nyla is under suspicion as a potentially jealous wife, Nolan is tasked with searching their home for any potential clues as to Nyla’s involvement in the shooting. He discovers a photograph taken in their home that shows James with an associate named Leonard Kelce, who just so happens to be an anti-police extremist. Nolan tries to link him to a recent crime with connections to the North Hollywood police station. Someone blew up a few cop cars a few months prior to the shooting. The city is name-checked several times by Nolan, as he tries to figure out Kelce’s guilt. Turns out, Kelce isn’t the culprit of the assault on the police department after all, and James’ connection to him is negated. Nolan ends up saving the day by clearing James’ name, and Harper’s, by association (not to mention arresting the actual bad guy behind the violence).
The issue with this episode is that Nolan is dealing closely with the North Hollywood precinct, but Aaron doesn’t make an appearance in the show at all. Nolan could easily have stopped by the station to have a conversation with Aaron, or perhaps Aaron could have directly provided Nolan with the information he needed to solve the case. Even if the Rookie writers didn’t have enough time in the episode to do an entire scene with Aaron, they could have had Nolan on the phone with him for a quick exchange of details regarding the case. At the very least, Nolan could have mentioned that he connected with Aaron at the station to assist with the case. Bottom line: there are many, many cities in the LA area that the writers could have named as part of the investigation. Why would they mention North Hollywood if they weren’t going to include Aaron’s character in any way?
Not including Aaron in this episode was a huge missed opportunity by the writers. There was a clear way for them to insert Aaron’s character back into the action with the rest of the Mid-Wilshire gang, but they didn’t follow through with it. In fact, there have been plenty of times when Aaron proved to be an effective officer who had the necessary skills to help solve a case; one would think that Nolan would be happy to pick his brain for the investigation. There wasn’t a lot of closure for fans of Aaron’s character when he left; he didn’t even get to say goodbye onscreen to his friends at the precinct.
There have been several new characters introduced this season, but it does a disservice to fans by not saying a proper farewell to a character that was already beloved. Since Aaron is still alive, the writers should bring him back in future episodes. If The Rookie is going to cut ties with Aaron (and Valentino) for good, it should at least be in a way that feels satisfying to viewers. Hopefully, the series will write in the character for one final hurrah — or at least avoid mentioning North Hollywood in the future.
