nobody likes a person who points out problems without suggesting solutions, so i’m back with what’s gotta give on the rookie.
imo their current problems aren’t rooted so much in ‘you can’t please everyone’, but rather ‘the writers are doing the absolute most to please everyone who ever existed in ~40 min.’
what’s the difference? the former puts the blame on the audience for ‘not getting it,’ while the latter asks the writers to take accountability for the directionless quality of their work. their method of ppl pleasing rn is highly unsustainable, so they need to course correct expeditiously or risk crashing and burning spectacularly.
here are some suggestions.
decline at least one of the regulars' checks.
help everyone on feds file for unemployment.
brush up on the neuroscience of reward.
put some respect on the psychology behind miller's law.
be warned: it's a lengthy below the cut! 😈
decline at least one of the regulars' checks.
alexi oprah-ed a lil too hard when handing out the series regular contracts this szn. s5 has a whopping number of NINE regulars/main characters: bailan (nolan and bailey), chenford (tim and lucy), wopez (angela and wesley), nyla, aaron, & grey. to be clear, that’s 9 whole actors who must be featured in at least one scene per ep, even if their characters don’t fit into the featured plots.
the number isn’t the problem, as s1/s2 had 8: the rookies (jackson, lucy, nolan), the TOs (tim, angela, talia/nyla), grey, & captain andersen. the problem is the writers’ propensity to give each couple their own storyline in nearly every episode. it’s unnecessary, and we’ll come back to this later.
solution? at least one of the series regulars needs to go. my vote is for bailey. she stretches the rookie universe too wide by pulling focus away from the mid-wilshire crew with her jane-of-all-trades shtick.
imo nathan and jenna’s lack of chemistry + their characters’ mr. and mrs. perfect 'brand' is the ultimate recipe for becoming the ‘pee break’ couple. so killing bailey off and having nolan process that resulting grief would give his too perfect character the depth that he so desperately needs to be likable rn. after all, bailey is supposed to his loml, right?
help everyone on feds file for unemployment.
tldr the last point? it's cool. basically, in order for og rookie to go back to its roots, the universe has to get smaller. solution? stop tryna make feds happen! let this upcoming episode be the last time the walmart version comes onto the brand name’s.
the ‘crossovers’ are most def the rookie’s way of minimizing their losses from their investment on feds. it’s doing so poorly that it needs to be propped up by the shock and awe that chenford generates. when feds eventually gets cancelled, most of s5 will be unwatchable bc of the crossover cliffhangers. idk maybe don’t force-feed us new characters that we don’t feel emotionally connected to? or at least buy us some dinner first, gosh. 🤷🏻♀️
brush up on the neuroscience of reward.
if the writers are feeling butthurt that their audience has been disappointed weekly since chenford kissed in 5x12, then they need a crash course on the neuroscience of reward STAT.
chenford was interesting bc the reward of seeing them give in to the pull was always unpredictable. so every time they kiss, it’s not like a reward, it is a reward. we get an intense dopamine high that keeps us up and posting all night, work and other commitments in the morning be damned.
the human brain is naturally wired to do everything it can to recreate that positive feeling, so we come back weekly to patronize the show in anticipation that something similar might happen again. so ofc, when it doesn’t happen again after one week, we’re understanding; it just happened last time. but when it doesn’t happen for the 4th week in a row? chaos. we go feral in search of that dopamine hit that may never come again.
solution? keep the narratives tight. if you’re not gonna give the audience a big moment like that, then supplement it with smaller, but equally unexpected moments. (to be clear, they shouldn’t be dropping big moments on the reg bc neuroadaptation becomes a prob. the unpredictability is what keeps the audience coming back. capiche?)
so if you’re gonna drop crumbs? make it mean something. take angela and tim’s interaction in 5x02 before angela transformed into a morose mom. ‘so remind me what you were doing again, in lucy’s apartment, when chris was bleeding out?’
this could’ve been called back in 5x13 when tim asked angela what’s poppin at nolan’s house during the heat wave. in one line, she could’ve said ‘oh, so dropping her off is what the kids call it nowadays, huh?’ or something to confirm to both chenford and the audience that everyone’s clocked the change in their relationship.
put some respect on miller's law.
miller’s law is the theory that the working memory can only hold 7±2 ideas at once. when the ideas are as complex as storylines, that magic number maxes out at 5. the recap sequence in 5x16 alone had us recall SIX. imagine how tired and confused i was when they also threw in celina’s dead sister trauma on top of an ebola + sarin gas drone firefight.
i understand that there is prob great external pressure from ABC for og to capitalize on its success by creating an empire, especially with grey’s on its last legs. so they’ve been trying to go bigger and better by throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks.
sure, every couple can have their own storyline…but not all at once in the same damn ep! sure, you can call back fan-favorite scenes…but not if the rising action takes too long, leaving no room for jesus a satisfying denouement! sure, you can give your marquee couple most of the run time…but not if their moments are the equivalent of an HS prom-posal! (leave no room for jesus here instead, i beg!)
the writing in the first three seasons of the show was more character-driven and intentional. talia kept giving lucy pointed looks until she broke up with nolan. nolan spent s2 building his house, only to tear it apart to exonerate himself. jackson spent half of s3 riding with a racist to make sure that he exposed that man’s sorry ass in front of his peers.
s4 seemed to be another attempt to expand the rookie universe by having the mid-wilshire crew follow-up on random lil cases that would be resolved in the same ep, but s5 is overdoing this formula. there are more conflicts that need to be resolved in multiple eps besides the tired elijah/abril/la fiera storyline.
so what does my wishlist look like for the couples? i guess you'll have to stay tuned to find out 😉
