Television shows are no stranger to letting main characters go in some of the most dramatic ways. When this happens, it usually has some deep impact on the characters and the surrounding story. The Rookie, a show that follows a small group of rookie cops as they begin their careers, is no stranger to this.
As a show, The Rookie has forgotten characters in weird ways. The cop drama has a tendency to write off important characters while giving others a boost. At times, it has also had supporting characters who have received more screen time than the main characters. When it comes to character arcs, The Rookie has been notably inconsistent.
Throughout the years, The Rookie has had character deaths like one would expect from any police show. When a job is as dangerous as theirs is, it would be unrealistic to assume everyone makes it home all the time. There is one death, however, that still bothers me after all these years, simply because it did not get the attention it deserved.
Jackson West Was An Original Cast Member In Seasons 1-3
His Character Left A Major Impact On The Story
In The Rookie season 1, a portion of the show’s focus was on three rookies who had gone through the academy together and were later assigned to the same squad. One of those rookies was Jackson West (Titus Makin Jr.), a legacy cop whose father is the head of Internal Affairs in the LAPD.
He soon learned that being in law enforcement wasn’t as easy as he thought it would be. He was fortunate enough to be paired with a training officer, Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz), who provided him with the time and energy needed to develop. Because of this, Angela and Jackson developed a close bond.
Throughout the first three seasons, Jackson underwent significant character development and made notable strides in his career. He was no longer afraid to be in the field, he fought against racial injustice in the LAPD, and even had a boyfriend. Things were going well for Jackson by the end of season 3.
Jackson’s Death Had No Repercussions For The Characters
It Was Like The Characters Forgot He Even Existed In The First Place
Tragically, it was short-lived. The other characters witnessed Jackson’s death via video while searching for Angela, who was kidnapped. In the video, Jackson is seen being shot in the back and thrown in the trunk of a car. Everyone spent the episode looking for Angela and for Jackson’s murderer, as it was important to them at the time.
Once Jackson’s murderer was apprehended and Angela was home safe, Jackson was never mentioned or seen again. It was as if his existence had been completely wiped from the show. With as much as Jackson meant to the entire cast of characters, the nonchalant way the show handled his death was shocking. It was hard to believe that no one cared.
With as close as Jackson and Angela were, it is weird that she just completely forgets about him.
It was especially weird given how close Jackson and Angela were. While she did name her first child after Jackson, after season 4, episode 1, Jackson was never mentioned again. After Jackson, Angela didn’t have a new rookie to train, but that was because she had been promoted to detective, not because of her grief over Jackson.
Likewise, Lucy and Jackson had been extremely close, and his death hit her the hardest when she saw the tape. After he was gone, however, Lucy seemed to be more or less okay and managed to replace him as a friend fairly quickly. She had no time to process her grief on the show.
We Deserve Some Closure After All These Years
He Impacted The Story Too Much To Be Ignored For This Long
We spent three seasons with Jackson. We watched him grow as a character and became attached to him. We rooted for him when he took on some very powerful people in the LAPD and wanted him to find happiness. So it’s hard for me to fathom how the show completely memory-holed his existence.
Granted, Makin Jr. left the show for personal reasons before the filming of The Rookie season 4, so it is understandable that the writers had limited material to work with when using the character himself. However, Jackson impacted the lives of the characters around him and was a centerpiece of the story. Having him completely disappear is unfair.
Grief is not something anyone forgets, especially it’s grief over losing someone that you had been close to. The writers could have used this very human aspect in season 4 to give more depth to the characters and given the fans a sense of closure. Instead, the show quickly moved on. While The Rookie season 8 is likely too late to offer closure, it’s a shame because Jackson’s death should have mattered.
All episodes of The Rookie are available to stream on Hulu.
