When Tamara (Dylan Conrique) moved out of Lucy’s (Melissa O’Neil) apartment last season of The Rookie, I was worried that that was the last we would see of her. The Rookie has previously had a habit of writing off characters to never be seen again, which it just recently fixed with Rachel (Jasmine Mathews) and which it will hopefully rectify at some point with Aaron (Tru Valentino). Thankfully, Tamara is back not even halfway through Season 7, but I’m not feeling too great about her latest storyline.
One of the more compelling storylines this season of The Rookie has been the introduction of Mid-Wilshire’s two newest rookies, Miles (Deric Augustine) and Seth (Patrick Keleher). In a lot of ways, the two have had parallel but opposite arcs of each other; as Miles becomes more likable and trusted, Seth becomes even more unlikable and untrustworthy. As if it’s not bad enough that Seth has lied to Lucy a number of times and now manipulates her into letting him keep his job, in this week’s episode, Seth starts up a romance with Tamara.
The Seth and Tamara plotline this episode starts with Lucy and Seth on duty together. Naturally, things are uncomfortable in the wake of their last conversation, and Lucy hints that she thinks that Seth is lying about his cancer. Seth is fully confident in his response — that is, until she says that she might look into his records. That’s when Tamara calls, and Seth is drawn to her from the moment he sees her contact photo pop up on Lucy’s phone. It’s possible that Seth is actually interested in Tamara, but it’s also awfully convenient that he weasels his way into Lucy’s personal life like this, right after she has shown that she is onto him.
Tamara and Seth have a spark as soon as they meet, and I am not thrilled to see this development. They decide to go undercover together to catch a drug dealer on Tamara’s college campus, and Seth poses as her boyfriend. Later, they even go out on a date. On the one hand, this romance is a great way to bring Tamara into the main plot. She is likely to eventually realize who Seth really is, possibly after he has put her and Lucy in danger, which could make for an interesting plotline. On the other hand, though, I feel weird about Seth and Tamara as a couple, and I don’t like seeing Tamara wrapped up in Seth’s lies and his fake persona.
