The Rookie: Melissa O'Neil Revisits #Chenford Scene She ‘Loved,' Teases Drama-Filled Valentine's Episode — Plus a ‘Massive Twist'
'We shouldn't….'
Fans of The Rookie's #Chenford pairing have sat with those two little but weighted words for more than one month, ever since TVLine broke the Season 7 trailer that teased a possible re-igniting of the former couple's flame.
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Fans will get to see that whole scene play out when the light ABC procedural serves up a Valentine's Day-themed episode this Tuesday at 10/9c. TVLine spoke with series star Melissa O'Neil about where the Chen/Bradford relationship has been, where it might go, and more.
TVLINE | You and Eric Winter seem to be having an good time this season.You think so…? [Laughs] We have so much fun at work. Of course we're having a good time.
TVLINE | Do you enjoy the banter that's been played heavily since the wager scenario?Yessss. Yes. Eric and I are very competitive. Like, we can definitely get into it, and I think that's why a lot of the Chenford banter really shines. Because there's an aspect of our friendship that bubbles up to the surface. It's always really fun. I can see why they wanted to bring it back. Like, we launched into it right at the first episode [of Season 7], and once we got into it…. At first I was like, 'Wait a minute, are we healed enough to be doing all of this?' And once we got into it, it made complete sense. 'Oh, of course. This is so joyful and wonderful, why would we not have this back?'
TVLINE | Let's go back to last year's finale for a moment: What was Lucy thinking there in the elevator?She in that moment in the finale is kind of just resting in this impossible, heart-breaking moment.
It was really important for me to stand behind him, not only as an actor but also as Lucy, because I really wanted to make sure that it was abundantly clear that she loves him. She loves him. But she cannot show him right now. She's protecting herself, but of course she loves him. She doesn't understand what's going on, but she will abide, if that's what he is asking her to do. And it is. So, yeah. I loved that moment. I think it was a really sweet place to leave off.
TVLINE | Eagle-eyed fans noticed that the infamous '' trailer (seen above) that TVLine put out into the world a few weeks ago is from the Valentine's Day episode airing on February 11. What can we expect?You can expect a lot of drama in this episode. I mean, I don't know how the writers do it. They are juggling 11 characters with huge storylines, and everybody has a piece that's happening at the [fundraiser] gala — some that they haven't even teased, that I think people are going to get really excited about, especially with our girl Celina. [Laughs] What I hope they take away from this episode is a lot of the fun, especially around the 'Turn In Your Ex' case. I love seeing Chen and Bradford on a case together; I think they're really good coworkers.
TVLINE | They're stationed at a booth out in the public, inviting people to turn in their exes who are possibly committing crimes….Yes. Yes. So we have a crazy turnstile of characters rolling through. One of our writers, who's also a police officer, said that Turn In Your Ex days are always insane. They can be a little bit mundane and boring, and then occasionally, 'What are you trying to say?!' The tiger storyline is ridiculous and absurd and I love it. But yeah, the gala is beautiful. And it's always really fun to see everyone dolled up.
TVLINE | [Showrunner] Alexi [Hawley] told me that this season. In the meantime, have you been enjoying the TO arc, where she is learning the ropes?The thing that I really enjoyed about Lucy's training officer arc is that it's so counterintuitive from what I personally would see for her, as a training officer. When I was going through the script, I kept coming up against this inner idea that I have about Lucy, that she would give people the benefit of the doubt, potentially to a fault. And I really appreciated that instead they opted to lean into what I now understand to be her incredible perceptiveness and her capacity as a police officer with regards to her inner instinct, and her nose to sniff out something thats off-center — including somebody [rookie Seth] who is very young and charming and eager and says all the right things, but seems to be shifty in some way. I love that Lucy picks up on it instead of buying it. I think that is a more compelling and interesting story to play, and it also helps us to underline the fact that she is just really good at her job.
It seems to me that anything she puts her mind to, she does well which is nice because…. [Pauses to reflect] Man, it's crazy when I reflect on it. It's not something that I identify as a quality of her character, and yet when I take a second to think about it, everything she does she kinda crushes it. Sometimes other elements outside of her pull the rug out from under her, but she's good at what she sets her mind to — including the things she didn't expect.
She intends to [be a TO] completely different from Tim, to encourage this young man and set him up for success, and then she's not even halfway through the day and she's like, 'Why do I feel like you're lying to me, Seth?' She immediately picks up on it. It was nice to see that color from her because I think Lucy in the world of The Rookie is one of our eternal optimists.
TVLINE | Speaking of Seth (played by Patrick Keleher), he is conspicuously absent from any photos for the Valentine's Day episode. Is he off tending to yet another tragically troubled girlfriend?[Laughs] So many girlfriends….. I'm trying to remember where he was for that…. I think that actually Patrick [Keleher] was in India at the time.
TVLINE | Where is that storyline going? Is there a twist ahead?He has a massive twist coming up. I know that they shelled our some of the synopses for the episodes coming up, that feature him going undercover, and it'll be interesting to see how that goes — and why Lucy empowers him to do so, and what the circumstances are. I don't want to tease too much in the way of details, but I can say that the situation that she allows him to enter, the circumstances inside if it, the stakes are super high. The consequences of what come from it for her, for Lucy… the stakes are really high.
TVLINE | Lastly, do you have any fun anecdote from your big stunt scene in last year's finale, surfing the truck while against a Volume screen? Alexi was very proud of how that turned out. My parents were there that day! And my family had never really seen me on-set. My Dad, in the 10 years that I've been doing this now — oh my, I'm getting old — he'd never come to set on anything, so it was really fun for him. Especially because we did the whole LED wall thing. It was a treat to show off for my parents, like a 'last day of school' kind of thing, and on a day that was so incredibly technically impressive.I had fun jumping from truck to truck but they're not really moving. For me, what was so amazing was to watch the incredibly skilled technicians do what they're amazing at. I had a blast that day.
TVLINE | 'All those theater camp bills paid off!'[Scoffs] No, I grew up poor, what are you talking about? Theater camp?! No, no… My parents are still waiting for me to go on and become a doctor. 'When are you going to get a real job?' I'm like, 'Guys, it's been two decades [since Canadian Idol]. I don't know what you think I'm gonna do!'Best of TVLine
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