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By the end of The Rookie Season 2, John Nolan (played by Nathan Fillion) had been set up by corrupt cop Nick Armstrong (Harold Perrineau). The final episode ended with him looking for the evidence that Armstrong had planted in his house while police arrived to arrest him. This seemed to suggest that Season 3 of the ABC show might see Nolan turn from a rookie cop to a criminal trying to clear his name.
Speaking to TVLine, showrunner Alexi Hawley revealed that, if The Rookie gets a Season 3, it will pick right up from the Season 2 finale. He would not give any hints, however, about how Nolan will get out of this, teasing: "We'll have to figure some stuff out in Season 3."
However, Nolan is not the only person left on a cliffhanger in The Rookie Season 2, Episode 20, titled "The Hunt." After Nolan learned that Armstrong was working with crime boss Serj Darien (Themo Melikidze) and Nolan was caught by Armstrong breaking into his house, the pair had a confrontation, that ended with the latter in handcuffs with a bullet in his shoulder.
If ABC renews the show, Hawley revealed that Armstrong would be central to the first episode of Season 3. He said: "We definitely have to resolve where we left it, and Armstrong has to play a part in that... yeah, he survived. In [Episode] 301, we get into the 'he said/he said' debate, presenting two versions of what Armstrong went through in the finale, which is two men scrambling to end up on top of this to prove the other wrong. I think that'll be very dynamic."
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Perrineau teased that Armstrong's fate may already be sealed. He said that his "theory" for The Rookie Season 3 was: "Armstrong will always bet on himself. Armstrong will push it all the way to the end; that'll be the most dramatic. He'll push and push and push to try to frame John, probably until he has to die."
Other characters, meanwhile, came out of Season 2 with happier endings. Nyla (Mekia Cox) won shared custody of her daughter, while unlucky in love Tim (Eric Winter), for example, looks ready to try a long-distance relationship with Rachel (Jasmine Mathews), changing his mind after spending much of the episode trying to break up with her. They are happy for now, but Hawley teased, "obviously it's tricky, long-distance relationships" in an interview with EW.
In that same interview, he also hinted at how the show would move forward now that Nolan is at the end of his rookie year. He said: "For me, The Rookie has always meant Nolan as a bit of fish out of water.
"Not just a rookie in the LAPD, but his fellow rookies are all in their 20s and he's in his 40s. Going forward, the show is really designed to keep that in mind. He's still going to be the oldest first-year patrol officer. He's always going to be the oldest first-year training officer. If we're lucky enough to have enough seasons, he'll be the rookie detective."
The Rookie Season 2 finale is streaming now on ABC's website, app, and Hulu.
