The following contains spoilers for The Rookie Season 4, Episode 20, “Enervo,” which aired Sunday, May 1 on ABC.
ABC has seen The Rookie‘s success, and that’s why the network started exploring opportunities for a spinoff. “Simone” functioned as Part 1 of a backdoor pilot. Starring Niecy Nash as FBI trainee Simone Clark, the episode saw the LAPD get some help from the Bureau as they all worked together to stop a mysterious Russian bomber. It wasn’t unexpected that Nash’s character stole the show (the episode was named after her), but she did so in the weirdest way.
“Enervo” picked up right where “Simone” left off, and the trajectory of the spinoff came more into focus. However, a problem also became clear: the potential new series, aside from sharing the exact same premise as The Rookie, could be too political for its own good. Here’s what happened in the episode, what the show might look like if it goes ahead, and what it needs to be wary of.
“Enervo” was about a team-up between the LAPD and the FBI, but the local CIA office was anything but helpful. Years ago, the station chief had run an unsanctioned covert operation called Enervo. The idea was to train foreign operatives and send to their home countries to cause chaos. The aforementioned Russian bomber had worked under the program before he was captured. When that happened, the CIA boss shut down the operation, abandoned the man in Russia and did nothing for his family stateside. That’s why the Russian man was bombing Los Angeles — he was turning what he learned against the USA and taking the CIA boss down with him.
Luckily, Nolan and Simone were able to stop most of the bombs before he could detonate them. They also caught the bomber and arrested the CIA boss. Simone did most of the legwork in breaking the case, and everyone was impressed with her, even though she had a propensity for disobeying direct orders. As a character, Simone was quick-witted, fast-talking and had a propensity for being unconventional. That in and of itself is enough material for a spinoff to work with. Agent Fox even mentioned that Agent Garza wanted to start a specialized FBI unit that did less technical work and more “boots on the ground” work. That should work well for Simone’s people-person style when she finishes her training.
However, there’s a major snag holding the potential show back. Simone’s father Christopher “Cutty” Clark was adamantly against the idea of her becoming an FBI agent. After being wrongly incarcerated, he became a leading member of the Defund the Police movement — so the two of them were at odds for a lot of “Enervo” and Cutty even refused to shake Nolan’s hand when they met. By the end of the episode, Cutty was starting to accept the situation, but The Rookie‘s spinoff could be treading on thin ice going forward if it continues to pursue this subplot.
Addressing the dislike for police is a valid plot point, but it needs to be done tactfully. A few story arcs on The Rookie have been blatant political statements and that can turn off viewers (as with Fox’s The Resident). If ABC decides to pick up the FBI-centric spinoff, it will have to be careful with its storylines. If episodes become too politically motivated, no amount of Niecy Nash’s overconfident charm will be able to retain viewers. There’s plenty of opportunity for the spinoff as long as it plays to its strengths and avoids that potential pitfall.
To see what Nolan and the LAPD do next, tune into The Rookie. New episodes air on Sundays at 10 pm ET on ABC.
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