After the two-episode backdoor pilot introducing FBI trainee Simone Clark, The Rookie is back to its usual programming. Multiple characters think about their futures, and a robbery ruins Angela’s Mother’s Day in “Mother’s Day.”
A Proposal?
Chris asks Lucy to meet his parents, and Lucy declines. She explains that she’s boycotting Mother’s Day after her big fight with her mom. Tim and Ashley show up as they’re talking about it. They’re discussing a plan to vacation in Hawaii.
When driving on patrol, Lucy asks Tim if he is going to propose. Shocked, he tells her no and she explains that a vacation to Hawaii could set up expectations. Tim says he doesn’t want to yet because they’ve only been dating a few months.
Shortly after that, they respond to a call where a new valet driver gets into a fight with a customer and takes off in one of the cars with all the other keys.
Lucy talks to Patrice about her mom, and Patrice validates her feelings. Tim comes in while they’re talking and asks why hotels are so expensive. When it’s explained that he’s going on vacation to Hawaii, Patrice congratulates him on his engagement.
In the shop, Lucy tells Tim some of the least romantic places to vacation, and the pair continue to argue about the proposal. Eventually, Lucy asks Tim if he could see himself married to her, and he says yes after thinking about it. The camera focuses on Lucy looking down at her phone, seeming upset at the answer.
At the end of the day, Tim leaves work to see Ashley waiting for him. Tim panics when he sees she got her nails done and explains to her that he wants to make sure she isn’t expecting a proposal. Ashey explains that she isn’t and that she would reject it because she never wants to get married or have kids. After that, Tim sees Lucy watching from inside the station and decides to fake a proposal. Chris walks up as she’s watching, looking shocked and upset. He asks if she’s okay as she gets a text from Tim saying he got her.
Witness Protection Gone Wrong
Grey and Nolan go to secure the area for witness protection. They set up a perimeter and check out an apartment to make sure it’s secure for the witness. The witness, Daniel, was a drug runner for a gang. It’s going to be a big trial, and they need to keep him safe.
When the witness is there, he gets told the rules of being under witness protection. He doesn’t understand what being in witness protection means and gets upset when he learns he has to stay hidden. He fights back because he wants to see his mom.
Shortly after they leave, Grey gets a call that the witness took off. They realize that he’s going to see his mom at the stables as he originally planned.
They go to pick him up and learn that his mom doesn’t know that he was in a gang. He tries to hide it from her, but members of the gang show up. Nolan takes the mom while Grey takes the witness, and they hide. The gang members check each stall before reaching where the two sets of people are hiding. This leads to them fighting with the gang members. The witness takes off, leaving them to fight. His mom ends up helping Nolan, and they arrest the suspects. Nolan goes looking for Daniel when they realize there was a third gang member. He ends up catching the suspect and arrests him before bringing Daniel back. Daniel’s mom goes into witness protection with him.
Brunch Interrupted
Wesley oversleeps, leaving Angela to deal with an early rising Jack on Mother’s Day. After that, she insists he takes Jack with him to a thing with a client while Angela gets ready for brunch with his mom.
At brunch, she shows off the bracelet that Wesley got her. He’s running late, so the two decide to order without him. As they keep talking, a couple shows up and starts robbing people at the restaurant. Angela tells Patrice to just give them what they want before threatening the robbers and showing them her badge.
When Angela shows up at work to work on the case, she shows Lucy and Tim the suspect from the security cameras. The suspects are Tim and Lucy’s valet driver, Jonah, and Nolan’s craft services worker, Monica. Nyla decides to help Angela while venting her own Mother’s Day despair.
A Hijacked Wedding
Angela calls all the phones that got stolen in the robbery until she gets a hold of the robbers. They refuse to turn themselves in when Angela tells them to. While she’s talking to them, Nyla discovers that they’re live-streaming the conversation and shows Angela.
Angela learns that the couple robbed a bridal shop and stole a dress and tux. Lucy and Tim go look for where they’d try to get married.
The couple hijacked a wedding at gunpoint. Tim and Lucy show up as they say their vows. When Monica is done with her vows, she turns right at Tim and Lucy and shoots at them. The bullets miss, and Tim ends up shooting Jonah in the shoulder when a shoot-out follows. The couple flees, and Tim and Lucy follow. They don’t get far before Jonah collapses in the hallway when his wound gets to be too much. He tells Monica to leave and to break him out of jail later. Tim arrests the man while Lucy pursues Monica.
Angela goes to the hospital and talks to the guy who is about to be brought into surgery. She asks him to help turn his partner in and explains that it’s not likely that she comes out of a shootout with the cops alive. He refuses to record a message telling Monica to surrender when asked.
Later, Monica shows up at the hospital in disguise. She contemplates shooting the guard, but when he gets a call and walks away, she sneaks in. She tries to take Jonah and finds a cop in the hospital bed instead. Lucy and Angela arrest her.
From The Inside
Wesley’s meeting with a client isn’t going to be a good case. The woman is facing a very simple theft charge, but the person who has her case is known for overcharging.
After the meeting, Wesley stops at the DA’s office to try to get someone better on the case or to convince the person to be less harsh. He doesn’t achieve anything but does learn that there’s an open spot that they’re trying to fill there.
At the station, Patrice gives Smitty advice in the breakroom before Wesley comes to pick her up. Wesley tells her that it doesn’t feel like he’s helping, and she advises him that if he can’t beat them, he should join them.
He goes to find Angela after his mom takes Jack, and they talk about him applying for a group at the DA’s office. Angela is shocked because he’s always called them the enemy. He explains that he wants to try to change the system from within.
The Bringer of Bad News
Grey talks to Nolan that the union president is going to make a move against him. He tells him to focus on his TO exam this week instead, though. He offers to ride with Nolan to help him with his exam. Grey explains to him that he lacks some experience because he’s never been a 20-something scared rookie, and that will make training rookies a little harder.
The conversation spirals to Grey worrying he’s not doing enough for Mother’s Day this year. They respond to a call with Sabrina, who was previously seen on the show when she visits the station to observe for a show she’s doing, Hot Suspect. When they get there, she reports that someone from craft services assaulted her because she put a crouton on her salad. Grey receives a call from the DA’s office and says he’ll have someone follow up with her because they need to get an advanced team to secure a witness.
While checking out the apartment, Grey talks about the different types of TO. Grey continues to explain that Nolan he doesn’t fit in the boxes, and that will help him be great.
After worrying about a Mother’s Day surprise all day, Grey brings his wife to the ranch. He got her riding lessons and a romantic ride around the property. Grey and his wife stop by after the lessons. He explains that he received a request for Nolan to go to another station on a temporary assignment. The timeline and location of the assignment will make Nolan miss his TO exam, but the next test isn’t for two years.
Mother/Daughter Moments
Nyla shows up for work on her day off. When questioned about it, she explains that she’s working because Donvan took Leila to see his mom. After all, it’s his weekend.
As Wesley and Angela leave, they pass a sad Nyla working on stuff at her desk. She’s surprised when Leila shows up with her grandma to visit for Mother’s Day. Donavan’s mom explains that she thought her son was wrong to keep their daughter from her and then tearfully tells Nyla that she’ll always be the daughter she never had.
The finale of season 4 of The Rookie will be back next Sunday, May 15 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC. Until then, check out our other coverage of The Rookie!