The Rookie Season 5 Episode 5 Review: The Fugitive

We got hot priests, family dinners, a breakup, and a proposal!

You could say that The Rookie Season 5 Episode 5 was a busy hour with a few laughs and entertainment.

It was an hour that also put all its characters to use, which was refreshing.

Angela was long overdue for some type of storyline or some decent screen time. The hour didn’t disappoint on that front, even going as far as introducing us to her family.

The Lopez brothers are hot, and as a forever fan of Julio Macias, there were a lot of unholy thoughts swirling around while he was playing a priest.

We’ve heard about Angela’s brothers on and off, but it was great to put faces to the names and build a story around who they are and the specific dynamics at play among the siblings.

When Angela found Momma Lopez on the pavement bleeding, it was on from there. She couldn’t investigate a case involving her family, but she ran the whole thing unofficially. Harper didn’t even put up much of a fight about it because she knew how Angela was, and there was nothing that could be done to bench her on it.

Once it was clear that one of the Lopez boys landing themselves in trouble was the catalyst behind Mama Lopez’s attack, Angela wasn’t showing her brothers any mercy in her quest to get to the bottom of things.

It was hilarious that Wesley stepped in to represent each of them during the interrogation. It became a full-blown family affair. Wesley bonding with his brothers-in-law was precious.

It seems all the Lopez men either have pasts or some secrets. Cruz was the one that was the easiest to assume the worst since he had a history of breaking the law and a former issue with addiction.

It bothered him that Angela didn’t always think the highest of him.

Don’t mess with the Lopez women. It doesn’t end well.

Angela

Damien, our hot priest, had some secrets of his own. It was shocking to hear that the man had been sleeping with a married woman. Fortunately, that wasn’t at the root of what happened with his mother.

Instead, it was the seemingly put-together Benny who was the reason his mother got attacked. Nothing good can come from owing money to a loan shark.

The Lopez family drama was entertaining, and we know how Angela will go to war when it comes to her family and knows how to handle business.

But it was that dinner and the words Mrs. Lopez shared with the family that was the most emotional. It’s a common staple in families of color for mothers to put their sons on pedestals, baby them, and prioritize them more than their daughters.

You’re my daughter. My only daughter. And I loved you in a way that’s only for you. But you didn’t need me as much, not the way that they did.

Mrs. Lopez

Angela wasn’t the oldest, but she was the only daughter, and she ended up in that role of looking after her brothers. It’s natural conditioning.

In her own words, her mother was able to share that she could’ve done better by Angela and not taken for granted that Angela didn’t need her because she was strong-willed and did things for herself.

It didn’t make her need her mother any less, and she deserved to have the specific type of love and affection that Mama Lopez unleashed on her boys. It was such a seemingly innocuous bit that actually meant so much and seemed very conscientious and aware.

Outside of the family drama, a lot was happening at the hospital with the fugitive who was wreaking havoc.

Juarez and Nolan work so well together. They’ve found their groove as partners, and Juarez is such a unique addition to the series. It almost feels like they’ve been working together for a while.

Juarez is quick on her feet and good on the spot. The perpetrator got the jump on her for a bit, but she thinks fast and got the upper hand.

Thanks to that slight hand trick that switched out antibiotics for morphine, they could neutralize him as a threat. It was a great win for her.

The excitement didn’t die down for Nolan. Once he got home, he got a proposal from Bailey. It’s a pretty big step for these characters, but I’m wary of it.

Bailey has been through a lot, so for her to make that big of a decision makes you wonder if she’s coming at this for the right reasons or if this is a trauma response to what she endured.

For now, Nolan seems happy, and I’m genuinely curious to see if we’ll end up with a wedding by the end of the season. We’ve had more than a few over the years.

Bailey didn’t seem to have anything planned when she asked him, which is another reason one can’t help but wonder about her motivations and the process behind it.

The hospital was jumping anyway since we also had Grey and Bradford down simultaneously. Funnily enough, Smitty was in charge by default as the only sergeant available on duty.

However, Smitty is a mess when you put him into leadership positions because he doesn’t necessarily want that power or pressure.

It was the perfect way for Lucy to shine and prove how great she would be as a future sergeant. She constantly doubts herself, but she’s come such a long way and has the respect of many of her peers.

She didn’t think anyone would take her seriously, but Harper set her straight, and she had the desired outcome of people pitching in a hand and serving despite them being understaffed.

Grey’s food poisoning was worrisome when it started, and we didn’t know why he was hurting. But he ended up next to Bradford in a hospital room, which was funny by the end.

Bradford: What are you doing?
Chen: I’m keeping you company.
Bradford: You don’t have to do that.
Chen: I know.

Bradford’s injury was a way to lean into what things were like for Lucy on her first day. Bradford aggravating his old injury and discovering that there’s stillf a fragment in there that could be life-threatening was a lot to process.

It wasn’t until Ashley showed up that I remembered that Ashley was still a thing. They barely use the woman anymore, and she’s been such a non-factor for so long.

They were due to address the elephant in the room and remove that relationship from where they were standing. Bradford and Ashley are incompatible, and it was no use dragging on this doomed relationship.

Bradford loves his job. It’s an integral part of who he is, and that won’t change at all.

It wouldn’t be fair for him to be in a relationship with someone who constantly pitched that he retire and give it up so she could sleep better at night or sigh in relief.

Ashley didn’t even know that Bradford had gotten shot before. Their awkwardness only worsened when Lucy was tossed into the equation.

Lucy was the one who listened, asked questions, and responded to things pertaining to Bradford’s surgery as if she was the girlfriend or loved one.

She knows Bradford better than Ashley, and it showed. Lucy was who Bradford worried about when he had to get emergency surgery.

Bailey: Here’s my question. John Nolan, will you marry me?
Nolan: Try and stop me.

The whole situation led to Ashley breaking up with Bradford, which was one of those things that felt as if it should’ve happened ages ago and didn’t even have to be onscreen.

They hadn’t devoted enough time to Ashley and Bradford’s relationship onscreen for it to really matter. And it was easy to forget that Ashley still was relevant until she was mentioned here and there.

Ashley breaking up with Bradford right after his surgery was cold-blooded. But it’s not like he’ll care all that much when it’s all said and done.

He didn’t tell Lucy what really happened, but he did seem to enjoy her presence as she sat by his bedside. It was sweet and so like them.

After everything you have been through, there’s not a cop here who wouldn’t have your back.

Harper

Over to you, Rookie Fanatics.

Did you enjoy meeting more of Angela’s family? Are you happy with the proposal? What are your thoughts about Chenford? Sound off below.

You can watch The Rookie online here via TV Fanatic.

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