Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Rookie season 8, episode 3, “Cut and Run.”The Rookie begins redeeming its worst villain, even though no one really wants to see them get another chance. As a procedural, the ABC show has no shortage of bad guys. Mid-Wilshire’s finest is used to dealing with bad people on all levels, be it through their professional responsibilities or their personal stories. That said, one The Rookie villain stands out for arguably being the most infuriating.
Opening the 2025-2026 TV cycle with what may be the final appearance of Monica, The Rookie still has several ongoing bad guys that can return in season 8. That said, “Cut and Run” shocks everyone when the show chooses a less flashy but extremely infuriating villain in Seth. A relatively new character, the former Police Officer I, was assigned to the Mid-Wilshire division. It seemed like The Rookie season 7 finale had already ended his arc, but apparently not.
The Rookie Season 8, Episode 3 Sets Up Seth’s Redemption Arc
While the rest of the team is caught up in a twisted case involving David Krumholtz’s Ezra Kaine, The Rookie season 8, episode 3 drops an unexpected side plot when Miles visits Seth’s apartment after learning about him missing his physical therapy. From the looks of it, Seth has given up on trying to better himself. Unfortunately, Nolan’s advice the last time they saw each other was not nearly enough to get him out of his rut.
Despite his initial hesitation, after Miles offers a helping hand, Seth reaches out again to supposedly get his act together. Miles tells him that he will only participate if Seth can promise “radical honesty,” which, considering his history, may be more difficult than initially presented. In any case, it’s clear that this whole plot is an effort to redeem Seth. Otherwise, revisiting him would be pointless. Multiple times in the past, he was given the chance to be a better person, but nothing worked. If The Rookie season 8 does that again, it will be overkill at this point.
Why It Will Be Difficult To Redeem Seth In The Rookie
As previously mentioned, The Rookie has no shortage of bad guys. Even Monica proved to be useful in “Czech Mate,” when she helped take down an international criminal, granted that it was part of her agreement with the FBI. That said, what separates Seth from all the villains in the show is that he was a threat from the inside. So, while he didn’t do some big criminal activity, his lies and manipulations during his time with Mid-Wilshire resulted in a lot of chaos, including almost killing both Tim and Lucy.
The Rookie Is Running Out Of Time With An Underrated Original Character
ABC has maintained The Rookie’s core cast of character coming into season 8, but the show may be running out of time with a fan-favorite character.
Because The Rookie has given Seth so many times to change, doing so again in season 8 feels repetitive. In the grand scheme of things, he really doesn’t have any redeeming quality to begin with. The worst part is that, his compulsion to lie isn’t rooted in something that people can be sympathetic about. It will be interesting to see how The Rookie will tackle this storyline, but the show has its work cut for them in terms of endearing Seth to its viewers.
Enjoy ScreenRant’s primetime coverage? Click below to sign up for my weekly Network TV newsletter (make sure to check “Network TV” in your preferences) and get the inside scoop from actors and showrunners on your favorite series.
The Rookie
6/10
- Release Date
-
October 16, 2018
- Showrunner
-
Alexi Hawley
- Directors
-
Tori Garrett, Chi-Yoon Chung, Michael Goi, Sylvain White, Lisa Demaine, Lanre Olabisi, Bill Johnson, David McWhirter, Liz Friedlander, Daniel Willis, Toa Fraser, Anne Renton, Jon Huertas, Cherie Nowlan, TK Shom, Rob Seidenglanz, Valerie Weiss, Barbara Brown, Charissa Sanjarernsuithikul, SJ Main Muñoz, Nelson McCormick, Marcus Stokes, Adam Davidson, Anna Mastro
