The Rookie Season 5 Episode 3 Review: Dye Hard

We got ourselves a new rookie.

Celina Juarez is a handful, and she was one of many reasons why The Rookie Season 5 Episode 3 was stressful to watch from the opening moments until the end.

Of course, we also got an update on the Rosalind Dyer situation, and she’ll haunt many of the characters for some time.

Has a rookie ever had a more disastrous first day than Celina? She barely got away from the station before she landed all of them in such serious hot water that she nearly caused them a lawsuit, lost a case, and jeopardized the search for a missing woman.

The second she opened her mouth and started talking about dark auras and then went rogue, it was hard not to cringe.

She put Nolan through the wringer, and it’s no wonder he didn’t instantly regret his decision to become a training officer over anything else.

The month or so time jump meant he did his own training, and he thought he had it all together, but Nolan may as well be a rookie again trying to mentor and guide someone who goes off-book seconds after meeting him.

Nolan, I trained you better than this, and now you both are making me look bad.

Harper

Because of Celina, he was getting reamed out left, right, and center from Grey, Bradford, and Harper. She really did have him coming across as incompetent and ineffective, which generally sucks.

Celina is so headstrong, but in that opener, she didn’t communicate at all, which was ridiculous! They could’ve avoided so much trouble if she had articulated what she was doing instead of jumping into action and not telling her superior her intentions.

Have we ever seen a rookie be so bold that they initiated doing their own thing, disregarding and not even paying attention to their training officer? What happened to trying to impress their superiors or even fearing them?

It was difficult to see Celina walk all over Nolan. The hierarchy treatment can be a pain in the butt for many reasons. Still, something is irritating about an inexperienced, newbie officer trying to act as if her superior is her equal and as if she doesn’t have anything to learn.

But that’s not even to say that Celina isn’t likable because she is. Despite her impulsivity, inability to follow orders, and respect for the rulebook and command, she’s brimming with potential and passionate about the job for all the right reasons.

She’s intelligent and capable and not above teaching Nolan a few things, too. But she definitely needed to be reined in, and Grey’s horse metaphor was apt.

Lisseth Chavez is a lovely addition to the cast, and it’s endearing to see her playing a cop again after her stint on Chicago P.D.

Fortunately, Celina overcame her many missteps, and they didn’t wash her out. The blood connecting to Jill was such a significant find, and if they couldn’t find a proper way to get another lead that they could use, it could’ve cost Jill her life.

Celina: Does that mean you’re not washing me out?
Nolan: Correct.

I love how Angela and Harper put Nolan and Celina to use on their case, but it sucks that they weren’t there to wrap it up with them. Celina and Nolan got the glory and win after finding the cabin with Jill and successfully taking the suspect down. Of course, that wasn’t without its fair share of bruises and high stress.

Celina was a badass for still having that much fight in her after she chased him deep into the woods. The armbar she used on him was amazing, and her classic self-defense maneuver of using her legs to choke him was amazing too.

She fought well and made me think of Angela with her defense style. But it was scary when the guy was choking her out succeeded. If Nolan hadn’t tackled him when he did, Celina would have probably died.

But it was so frustrating that she ended up there in the first place. Her priority should’ve been responding to Jill, not chasing down the suspect, heading into the woods without calling it in, requesting backup, or keeping track of her surroundings.

Nolan spent too much time fearing the worst could’ve happened to her and trying to find her in time.

Celina and Nolan’s conversation about her hunches was informative. There is nothing wrong with the concept of Celina reading auras, having intuition, or anything else.

But she cannot work in a field that legally requires so much more than a hunch. I feel like there was a way for Nolan to validate what could be real for her, like a sixth sense, without jeopardizing or impeding the necessary process.

The trick, which is something they sort of came to, was to use her intuitive gifts as a stepping stone to a legitimate process that abides by the rules.

Nolan taking the time to hear her dream helped them piece together a location. If Celina had articulated her instincts better, they could’ve found a pathway toward stopping that senior-aged woman legally and connecting the blood to Jill.

So much of the issue with Celina was the language she used openly and freely in a field where there was no place or wiggle room for mysticism.

Nolan was correct in stating that for their job, there’s no separating her read of dark auras from prejudices that make the justice system biased and unfair. If every cop can justify every action with supposed hunches, the system cannot function as it’s supposed to do.

The background on Celina gives some insight into why she functions this way. And it explained why they had Nolan psychoanalyze her aura stuff. Oddly enough, I feel like there was a way to leave the door open for that without trying to explain it away or downplay it.

Bradford and Thorsen made a fun duo. Nolan and Celina had all the action and drama, but the guys had the fun, ridiculous plot.

Bradford had nonstop funny quips when it came to Thorsen’s blackmail situation. As much as Bradford likes to act as if he hasn’t changed, his time with Lucy has changed him.

He listened to every word of Thorsen’s situation and didn’t bat an eye when helping him out. As much as he used to avoid personal talk in the shop, he’s embraced it more than he cares to admit.

The teen was a menace for blackmailing not one but two cops. You would think after the warning, he’d leave well enough alone, but that Cop-cake photo and stunt were hilarious.

Bradford will never live that photoshop of him down. If they come up with a calendar, that should be the first month.

I’m being blackmailed.

Thorsen

We still haven’t had an in-depth conversation between Chenford about their undercover situation and the feelings that were brought up. However, they exchanged looks from across the room a few times.

And you could tell that Lucy was considering that Thorsen should be Bradford’s new partner and assistant. Things feel so unresolved between them.

It’s a lot going on that they have to sort through because of Rosalind, though. Bradford is so attuned to Lucy. He knew she was offline for two hours.

His fear was unmistakable, and you could sense the tension when he entered that warehouse and searched for her. Fortunately, it was a random ordeal. Lucy probably shouldn’t have gone on the fruitless endeavor of chasing after a squatter when she was alone.

But her time in that room gave her a lead on Rosalind. And her attention was on that when she got rescued, so there wasn’t even awkwardness when she interacted with Tim because she was too preoccupied.

Chris is having a hard time trying to adjust and cope with what he experienced because of Rosalind. It’s understandable, given how traumatic it is, but it felt like too much when he asked Lucy to delve into those message boards for information.

Anything that has to do with Rosalind is traumatic for her, too. Reading message boards with a bunch of Rosalind diehard fans would seem like a triggering thing to do.

It wasn’t the least bit surprising that Rosalind, a narcissist, was in the message board that Chris was in. You hate to blame the victim, but it felt incredibly naive and dumb of Chris to find some comfort in confiding in a bunch of people obsessed with Rosalind and even fans of hers.

By now, you can tell that Lucy feels guilty that Chris got hurt because of his association with her, and she genuinely cares about him as a person, but the romantic aspect of things between them is off.

She wasn’t even excited to see him when she arrived home from her undercover schooling, and he and Tamara threw her a party. You can sense the emotional walls that Lucy has up with Chris now, and it’s only getting worse.

But the Rosalind lead led to Lucy in Seattle with the feds, and they were so close. Rosalind has too much fun playing with them.

Will they ever capture this woman or put her down once and for all?

Over to you, Rookie Fanatics. What did you think of the new rookie? Are you surprised by the latest with Rosalind? Hit the comments below!

You can watch The Rookie online here via TV Fanatic.

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