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Erin Konrad's love for everything entertainment dates back to elementary school when she became obsessed with classic Hollywood musicals. When she's not catching up on all her favorite television shows, she's advising her friends and family on what they should binge watch next.
She has her Bachelor's degree in Journalism and a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing. Creating content for Collider gives her the opportunity to combine her writing skills with her passion for television and movies. She spends her free time trying to beat her personal record of reading 126 books in a year and cuddling with her dog, Gracie.
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Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for The Rookie Season 8, Episode 1.It was pretty exciting when Jenna Dewan joined ABC's The Rookie back in its third season. As Bailey Nune, Dewan injected some fresh energy into the cast. Bailey is an interesting character because there are so many sides to her. She's a firefighter/EMS in the Los Angeles Fire Department, a 1st Lieutenant reserve in the Army National Guard, and can always defend herself since she teaches capoeira (a type of martial art). She has some zany ideas, but that makes her a perfect match for the more straight-laced John Nolan (Nathan Fillion). But now that The Rookie has entered its eighth season, it's easy to see that the series has absolutely no clue what to do with her character now that she and Nolan are married.
Bailey's Storylines No Longer Make Any Sense on 'The Rookie'
Bailey hasn't always felt out of place with The Rookie crew. She's found herself instrumental in several of Nolan's investigations, and was even part of one of the show's most intense storylines when her sociopath ex-husband, Jason Wyler (Steve Kazee), re-enters her life in Season 7. Bailey takes matters into her own hands with Jason, and enlists the help of the notorious hitman, Malvado (Jimmy Gonzales) to take him out. This plot was an intriguing way to gain more insight into Bailey's character and to see that there was some moral ambiguity there. As the survival of domestic abuse at Jason's hands, we learned so much more about Bailey's traumatic past. The series also delved into Bailey's motherhood journey, which represented a relatable and heartfelt storyline for viewers.
But now that we're in Season 8, it seems like The Rookie has no idea how to further develop Bailey's character. When she is included in the action alongside her husband, it's actually completely illogical. Case in point: in the premiere episode, which aired on January 6, Bailey tags alongside the Mid-Wilshire crew and Nolan on an international sting. But it seems like The Rookie writers have forgotten that she's a firefighter, not a cop, so it's completely unrealistic that she would be included in this type of operation. Sure, she knows how to defend herself, but Bailey doesn't add anything to these scenes, other than a frustrating sense of silliness. There's no way a regular civilian wife would just get to accompany her husband while he works on a top-secret, dangerous mission.
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'The Rookie' Needs To Figure Out Another Plan for Bailey
We're not advocating for The Rookie to just have Bailey play second fiddle to Nolan. Portraying her as nothing more than a wife also does a disservice to Bailey's vast array of abilities. Perhaps the writers could have her realize that she really does have the desire to become a police officer. Bailey could enter the force as the newest rookie, offering plenty of interesting storylines and keeping with the theme of the series.
It's not that Dewan is not a completely capable actor; it's just that the stuff The Rookie writers are giving Bailey to do either feels boring or totally inauthentic. Bailey pops in to save the day often, but it's not typically in a way that feels organic to the storytelling. She also never seems to face consequences for her actions (especially when it comes to the Jason/Malvado plot), so Bailey's choices often seem unfair. If the writers don't come up with an authentic, exciting story arc for her soon, viewers are going to quickly tire of her popping up with the other characters for no reason. We don't want to be Bailey haters, but she's definitely the weak link so far in Season 8.
New episodes of The Rookie air on Tuesday nights on ABC, with episodes available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.
Release Date October 16, 2018
Showrunner Alexi Hawley
Directors Tori Garrett, Chi-Yoon Chung, Michael Goi, Sylvain White, Lisa Demaine, Lanre Olabisi, Bill Johnson, David McWhirter, Liz Friedlander, Daniel Willis, Toa Fraser, Anne Renton, Jon Huertas, Cherie Nowlan, TK Shom, Rob Seidenglanz, Valerie Weiss, Barbara Brown, Charissa Sanjarernsuithikul, SJ Main Muñoz, Nelson McCormick, Marcus Stokes, Adam Davidson, Anna Mastro
Writers Corey Miller, Bill Rinier, Zoe Cheng, Mary Trahan, Ally Seibert, Liz Alper, Nick Hurwitz, Racheal Seymour, Madeleine Coghlan, David Radcliff
English (US) ·