The following contains spoilers for The Rookie Season 4, Episode 21, "Mother's Day," which aired Sunday, May 8 on ABC.
For the last two weeks, The Rookie has been busy promoting a possible spinoff. Potential spinoff star Niecy Nash stole the show and made a good case for the new series, though were some issues that need to be ironed out first. "Mother's Day," however, brought The Rookie back to focusing on its own business as the Los Angeles Police Department had a very busy holiday weekend. Here's a quick look at what happened in the episode.
The major story in "Mother's Day" involved Detective Angela Lopez and her mother-in-law having brunch when a pair of lovers robbed the restaurant -- then crashed a wedding, made the minister marry them and were caught after a short firefight. Meanwhile, Officer Nolan and Sergeant Grey had trouble with a man who was supposed to be entering witness protection. The most important parts, however, were the subplots that will dramatically impact next week's Season 4 finale and the series going forward.
Wesley Evers Wanted a Career Change
Wesley has had a difficult time in Season 4. He had to put his career in jeopardy to find Angela and as a result, Elijah Stone had turned him into a dirty lawyer. Wesley put a stop to that, but did so by violating attorney-client privilege, which got him suspended for several episodes. In "Mother's Day," he finally had enough -- and saw a new opportunity to join the District Attorney's Office. If he couldn’t beat the system, he would try and change it from the inside.
Bradford's Girlfriend Didn't Want to Get Married
Bradford and Ashley announced that they were planning a vacation to Hawaii. Chen spent her entire day convinced that Ashley would be expecting a proposal -- so at the end of "Mother's Day," Bradford cleared the air. He said that he wasn't ready to get married and hoped Ashley wasn't expecting him to ask. He was surprised when Ashley said she didn't want to get married at all -- to Bradford or anyone else. Of course, that immediately got fans hoping that it's a sign for the end of their relationship because The Rookie has continued to tease Chenford.
Nolan Is in Trouble With the Union President
Earlier in Season 4, Nolan was elected as the LAPD's union representative. As usual, he put a lot of effort into the job and ruffled some feathers along the way. In "Mother's Day," that came back to haunt him. At the very end of the episode, Sergeant Grey went to Nolan's house with some bad news: Nolan was being temporarily reassigned to a station close to the Mexico border. Nolan could have refused, but doing so would have harmed his chances at becoming a training officer. It was a way for the union president to punish him off the record. If Nolan can survive the experience, though, it will put him in a great position to achieve his goal next season.
The Rookie was clearly using "Mother's Day" to move some pieces into place for its upcoming Season 4 finale. Characters were making some major life decisions (or in Nolan's case, having one made for him). Since the series has already been renewed for Season 5, viewers know that these plot points will have repercussions and not be left unanswered.
To see what Nolan and the LAPD do next, tune into the Season 4 finale of The Rookie. The episode airs Sundays May 15 at 10 pm ET, on ABC.