Jeffrey is a freelance features writer at Collider. He is an MPA-accredited entertainment journalist and a Tomatometer-approved critic based in the LA area. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Radio, TV, & Film and a Bachelor of Arts in Theater.
One of the most popular aspects of The Rookie is the whirlwind romance of Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) and Tim Bradford (Eric Winter), dubbed Chenford by the fanbase, which has blossomed over the last eight seasons. Lucy and Tim started as a rookie recruit and a training officer, before they eventually caught feelings and began a romantic relationship. Unfortunately, circumstances led to their breakup in Season 6 before they got back together in Season 8. However, instead of getting Lucy and Tim back together in Season 7, the show’s writers created a new romantic pairing for a different couple that was not a worthy Chenford replacement. We’re talking about the romance between Celina Juarez (Lisseth Chavez) and “Daddy Cop” singer Rodge Bronson (Zander Hawley).
How Did the Cold Open Gag Become a Recurring Character?
During Seasons 5 and 6, episodes of The Rookie showed Officer John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) being menaced by a garage band singer who serenades John with a catchy earworm, “Cop Cuties” (aka the “Daddy Cop” song). The scenes were isolated to the cold open sequences for their respective episodes, and they worked well within The Rookie’s framework and its sometimes kooky, comedic style. Rodge Bronson finally received a full storyline and was properly introduced in the Season 7 episode “Chaos Agent,” where it’s revealed that he and Celina are dating, much to Nolan’s comedic disappointment.
The Rookie started as a show about a man starting over at forty-five and
turned into a proper ensemble drama somewhere around season three. Here is which of them you are,
and the case for yours being the best of the four.
You started late and you are not embarrassed about it. Nolan
walks into the academy at forty-five surrounded by people half his age, and the show is
honest that this is both his biggest disadvantage and the only reason he is any good at the
job.
- You are relentlessly decent, and people keep underestimating how far that gets you.
- The series was inspired by William Norcross, who really did join the LAPD in his
forties. - Nathan Fillion has played him for eight seasons and the show has outlasted most of what
ABC launched alongside it. - Your flaw is wanting to solve the human problem when somebody just needs you to do the
police work.
You are better at this than people expect and you intend to keep
proving it. Chen goes from rookie to the best undercover officer in the division, which
works because she is genuinely good at becoming somebody else and genuinely bad at
pretending she does not care.
- You are ambitious in a way that lifts the people around you rather than stepping over
them. - Her undercover episodes are the ones the fandom rewatches, and the show knows it.
- Chenford has carried more internet discourse than any other relationship on network
television this decade. - Your risk is taking on the hardest version of every assignment just to see if you can.
You are hard on people because you have decided that is what
caring looks like. Bradford is introduced as the worst training officer in the building and
slowly revealed as the one who takes the job most seriously, which are the same fact seen
from two angles.
- You hold a high standard and the people who meet it would follow you anywhere.
- The shop talk and the tests he sets his rookies became the show’s most imitated running
bit. - Eric Winter has said the character works because the audience is allowed to find him
annoying first. - Your weakness is that discipline is easier to give people than warmth, and you know
which one they need.
You said what you wanted and then you went and got it. Lopez
wanted detective from the first episode, said so out loud, and got there by being better at
the work than the people who were quieter about wanting it.
- You are direct, which some people find abrupt and the rest find enormously restful.
- She is the character the show most often trusts with the actual detective plotting.
- Her storyline with Wesley gave the series its best running argument about what the job
costs at home. - Your flaw is that being right quickly is not the same as bringing everybody with you.
It was a good episode where Nolan and Rodge finally found some common ground and made amends. Nolan learned to lighten up about Rodge’s music, and Rodge learned that he needs to be a little more self-aware about how his observational songs make people angry. The storyline worked because of the comedy rule of threes, serving as a strong payoff and conclusion to the previous gags involving Rodge. The problem is that he stayed past his expiration date.
Rodge Doesn’t Work as Well as a Recurring Character in ‘The Rookie’
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Image via ABCThe “Daddy Cop” joke was a fun recurring gag that happened once in Season 5 and again in Season 6. One more episode with Rodge in Season 7 was acceptable, but the Rodge and Celina relationship continued into Season 8. Rodge simply existed as a recurring gag character beforehand, and he never seemed like a character who would work well as a long-term regular. Plus, something always seems off about the Rodge and Celina romance. Maybe it’s because in all of his appearances, Rodge doesn’t come off as a three-dimensional character. Aside from his penchant for writing catchy tunes, Rodge plays like a decidedly one-note individual: the sensitive, caring boyfriend and musician.
Additionally, something felt off when Celina tried to write Rodge a song for his birthday present in Season 7, and when Rodge tried to console Celina when she was dealing with inferiority issues in Season 8. Their relationship feels awkward, and it does not appear natural. Rodge cannot emotionally reassure or connect with Celina when she needs the most encouragement.
Rodge and Celina Are Still an Item Heading Into Season 9
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Rodge and Celina were still together as The Rookie Season 8 wrapped up, and there has been no indication that they might be breaking up before Season 9. That said, characters in The Rookie have broken up off-screen before without any proper closure until years later. Case in point: Tim and his ex-girlfriend, Rachel Hall (Jasmine Matthews), from Season 2. It took five seasons for Rachel to show up and for the series to tie up that loose end.
Now, in defense of Zander Hawley, his dad, series showrunner Alexi Hawley, Lisseth Chavez, and the writers, some of the anger over Rodge and Celina could be the residual frustration over the failure to get Chenford back together in Season 7. Most of the other main characters had their own established relationships, and now it was Celina’s turn. However, a long-term relationship between Celina and the “Cop Cuties” singer for three seasons was not something Rookie fans wanted or asked for. Maybe Rodge still has some tricks up his sleeve and can finally woo us over to his side, much like he did with John Nolan.
The Rookie returns for its long-awaited ninth season next year on ABC.
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