Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for The Rookie Season 8, Episode 3.The Rookie just delivered one of its darkest, most intense episodes in “The Red Place.” It dealt with incredibly dark themes and narrative material, as the Mid-Wilshire Division investigates Ezra Kane (David Krumholtz), a seemingly meek and timid unhoused man, who turns out to be a terrifying monster. This episode definitely played like a departure from the usual fare for The Rookie, but that’s not a bad thing, considering this was probably one of the best episodes of the show’s history. “The Red Place” exemplifies that The Rookie stepping out of its comfort zone and focusing on darker and more serious subject matter provides a refreshing change of pace.
“The Red Place” Had Very Few Jokes and No Comedic Subplots, and It Worked
The Rookie settled into a comfortable routine with its storylines in its last two seasons. The show typically straddles the dramedy line, incorporating one or two comedic subplots alongside a more serious main plot, or vice versa. However, in a few instances in Season 7, The Rookie went overboard with its comedy, such as the latest documentary-themed episode, “A Deadly Secret,” and “The Mutiny and the Bounty,” which featured the return of Skip Tracer Randy (Flula Borg). Sometimes, the pendulum tips very heavily on the comedy side for The Rookie, but “The Red Place” marks an example where the pendulum tips strongly on the drama side. At times, “The Red Place” resembled an episode of Luther rather than a typical installment of The Rookie.
The gravely serious tone for most of the episode was compelling, especially since the first two episodes in Season 8 kept things relatively light. It generally kept the focus on the Mid-Wilshire police officers investigating Kane, and eventually the search for his latest victim. John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) definitely leveled up in this episode, and Krumholtz delivered a chilling performance as Ezra Kane. Once Kane drops his mask of a seemingly harmless and socially awkward man, he becomes downright terrifying. The Rookie does not usually showcase villains like this, and even the late, great Annie Wersching brought a different type of energy as Rosalind Dyer. Something about Krumholtz’s performance was unnerving and off-putting.
Lucy Chen Acknowledges Her Past Trauma To Help Another Survivor
Another great aspect of “The Red Place” concerns the way in which Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) got the opportunity to help a kidnapping victim, Samantha, who was held captive, tortured, assaulted, and brainwashed by Kane after he murdered her parents. Samantha was so deeply traumatized by Kane that, upon hearing Lucy and Celina Juarez (Lisseth Chavez) mention “The Red Place,” she locks the officers out of her hospital room and repeatedly stabs herself using a hospital syringe.
The visceral, explicit depiction of such a shocking act of self-harm was an incredibly dark moment, and not standard fare for The Rookie. However, the scene effectively reinforces the monstrous nature of Ezra Kane and the likely unimaginable cruelty he visited upon victims like Samantha. Lucy eventually helps counsel Samantha through her ordeal, sharing with the poor girl her own past trauma, when Lucy was kidnapped by the serial killer, Caleb Wright (Michael Cassidy), a protégé of Rosalind Dyer, back in Season 2. Lucy rarely discusses or revisits her past trauma, so her willingness to open up about this was an incredibly powerful moment.
It was equally powerful to see Lucy admit that she felt guilty about her own kidnapping for months to help Samantha recognize that Kane’s deplorable crimes are not Samantha’s fault. Lucy also advises Samantha that the way to move forward is by recognizing her survival. If there’s any hope or optimism to take away from such a dark and brutal storyline, it’s seeing Lucy manage a victim through such a traumatic ordeal. Lucy’s bonding with Samantha is likely one of the most genuine, sincere, and emotional scenes in the show’s history, and O’Neil’s performance in the scene is top-notch, highlighting Lucy’s vulnerability to help someone else.
‘The Rookie’ Getting Serious Provides a Nice Change of Pace
To be clear, we are not saying The Rookie needs to make episodes like “The Red Place” the norm, but after a season where “Daddy Cop” singer Rodge Bronson (Zander Hawley) became a recurring character and Celina’s boyfriend, and a little too much comedic irreverence, The Rookie needed an episode like this. The series has now proven that it can do something completely serious without any of the comedy and jokes, if necessary. Sure, a grimy and rough storyline like this will require a lighter episode next week as a good palette cleanser. However, after Season 7 focused so heavily on comedic subplots, a darker storyline, even if it’s a one-off, provides a satisfying departure for the show.
“The Red Place” also highlights the strengths of series veterans Fillion and O’Neil, demonstrating how well they can portray more serious, less comedic material, as their performances were the highlights of the episode. Hopefully, the writers will not be intimidated by experimenting outside their comfort zone in the future.
The Rookie Season 8 is moving to Monday nights at 10/11c on ABC.
