The Rookie: 15 Most Memorable Chenford Episodes

The Rookie Season 6 premieres on Tuesday, February 20, at 9/8c on ABC, meaning the next chapter of Chenford’s story is right around the corner.

Each season of the procedural drama chronicles a different era of the slow-burn relationship between Lucy Chen and Tim Bradford. The couple finally making it official in Season 5 makes every near-death experience, missed communication, longing glance, and undercover kiss leading up to that moment worth it.

With the sixth season set to include the show’s landmark 100th episode, now is as good a time as any to look back at Lucy and Tim’s relationship so far. 

In chronological order, here are the 15 best Chenford episodes to rewatch before The Rookie returns:

1. The Rookie Season 1 Episode 11, “Redwood”

Chenford’s dynamic in Season 1 is nearly unrecognizable from where they are in Season 5 — until The Rookie Season 1 Episode 11, “Redwood.”

The episode secludes Lucy and Tim at the hospital after Lucy comes in contact with a needle while on the job. The personal high stakes inspire the best side of Lucy and Tim’s partnership to shine through for one of the first times, specifically in dialogue that will recur on The Rookie Season 2 Episode 8, “Clean Cut.”

Lucy thanks Tim for showing up for her as a Training Officer — and a friend.

That acknowledgment is why Tim’s response (“For what? Doing my job?”) is a turning point. “Redwood” is an essential trust-building exercise for Chenford.

2. The Rookie Season 1 Episode 20, “Free Fall”

What’s a debut season finale without a deadly virus?

As pictured, The Rookie Season 1 Episode 20, “Free Fall,” delivers one of the best two shots of Lucy and Tim. His pessimism and her optimism are so close yet so far from each other — an overarching metaphor for their dynamic and a heartbreaking depiction in this finale.

While not necessarily a highlight of their characters’ romantic potential, “Free Fall” is a perfect example of how extraordinary Eric Winter and Melissa O’Neil are when they act opposite one another. Even when they’re back-to-back, their performances bring authenticity to Tim and Lucy’s dynamic.

Those emotionally driven turnouts from Winter and O’Neil make Chenford an easy investment from Season 1.

3. The Rookie Season 2 Episode 2, “The Night General”

The episode in which Lucy casually records an audiobook of a book that’s out of print so Tim, a kinesthetic learner, can study for his exam has to make this list of Chenford’s greatest hits.

Not only does Lucy call herself “the best Rookie” he’s “ever trained,” which Tim admits to in Season 4, but helping each other study for exams becomes a Chenford trend by Season 5.

The Rookie Season 2 Episode 2, “The Night General,” exemplifies the show steadily implementing meaningful motifs into Lucy and Tim’s dynamic. Even the gym set circles back later in the season with the uplifting roles swapped.

Sure, their teamwork in the field becomes smoother during this episode, but what happens when their work shifts end signals how close Tim and Lucy are becoming, even if they (Tim!) aren’t quite ready to admit it to themselves.  

4. The Rookie Season 2 Episode 11, “Day of Death”

The Rookie Season 2 Episode 11, “Day of Death,” is one of the show’s most propulsively acted, directed, and written episodes. It is a race to save Lucy Chen’s life after she is kidnapped, and Tim spearheads the search. 

From Tim threatening to do whatever it takes to find Lucy to him attempting to dig up the barrel she is in with his bare hands, this episode spotlights a desperate Tim Bradford. There’s an urgency to every move he makes that only falters when Lucy is finally in his arms.

Caution sets in while at her bedside — all night — with her favorite meal (Veggie burger and fries. Extra pickles!) ready because Tim knows Lucy “too well.”

If The Rookie fans couldn’t see it before, “Day of Death” makes Chenford’s romantic potential as clear as Tim’s ability to see Lucy’s ring in a desert.

5. The Rookie Season 3 Episode 9, “Amber”

The Rookie Season 3 Episode 9, “Amber,” is a transitional episode for Chenford’s relationship. Tim and Lucy go from mentorship or partnership to something different — on their way to something more.

The script has so much fun navigating the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new one. Lucy convincing Tim she has feelings for him to prove she can do undercover work and pranking Tim with a gift that calls back to The Rookie Season 2 Episode 1, “Impact,” is excellent foreshadowing and reflection.

Tim expresses his version of retrospection on their dynamic in a thoughtful evaluation that gives Lucy a professional confidence boost. Ultimately, the letter’s brevity reflects Tim’s character, but its contents (him admitting that he will miss riding with her) reflect his heart.

“Amber” is bittersweet because it marks the end of Tim and Lucy’s TO/Rookie dynamic, but Chenford can’t move forward without it.

6. The Rookie Season 4 Episode 1, “Life and Death”

The Rookie Season 4 Episode 1, “Life and Death,” is when something noticeably romantic shifts between Lucy and Tim.

This episode is more about Lucy’s realization than Tim’s — that comes later in the season. Though Tim clearly feels something, it’s Lucy’s expression after Chenford hugs and lingers a little too long that says it all. Why else does she plan to go to him before he walks back into the room? Oh, what could’ve been!

Significantly, this moment for Lucy comes after Tim offers that she stay with him because he knows she shouldn’t be alone while she’s grieving her best friend. Once again, Tim shows up for Lucy when it counts.

Also, it’s official that Tim Bradford isn’t a hugger but is for Lucy Chen.

7. The Rookie Season 4 Episode 9, “Breakdown”

Tim Bradford is vulnerable around Lucy Chen for the first time on The Rookie Season 4 Episode 9, “Breakdown.” When the selling of his childhood home coincides with an investigation into his ailing and abusive father, Tim experiences realizations about his teaching style and himself.

This episode is an emotional exercise for Eric Winter, who authentically and slowly dismantles Tim’s walls. Tim tearfully telling his father, “No, I’m who I am in spite of you,” is some of Winter’s best work on the show.

Meanwhile, Melissa O’Neil beautifully conveys Lucy’s compassion. Tim hugs Lucy in the previous episode on this list, and Lucy returns the gesture with the lasting assurance that Tim is nothing like his father. That belief reinforces Lucy’s words about Tim from Season 1: He is “calculating, not cruel.”

So, seeing Lucy create a safe space for Tim throughout “Breakdown” is moving.

8. The Rookie Season 4 Episode 12, “The Knock”

Double dates, where the two people who should be together sit on the same side of the table but date the wrong person, never get old.

The Rookie Season 4 Episode 12, “The Knock,” exceeds expectations for Chenford.

Tim and Lucy forgetting that Ashley and Chris are even at the table is the good kind of awkward, elevated by Ashley and Chris seeing that there’s something between Lucy and Tim before they’re ready to admit it to themselves.

Chenford’s shorthand, inside jokes, and deep knowledge of each other (Tim encouraging Lucy to take the mushroom pancake from his plate!) make this first date before their first date a must-rewatch before The Rookie Season 6.

 

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