Warning: SPOILERS for The Rookie season 7, episode 18, "The Good, The Bad, And The Oscar."

Although The Rookie season 7 finale doesn’t quite get Tim and Lucy to that same place.

Speaking with Rachel Foertsch of ScreenRant, showrunner Alexi Hawley explains the decision not to pair up Chenford just yet. Luckily for the romantics among the fanbase, it appears that Chenford will likely make a resurgence in The Rookie season 8. It just won’t be easy, since it appears from the finale that both Tim and Lucy are hesitant about jumping back into a relationship before they’re certain they can make it work. Tim’s shown he’s willing to put in the effort by making breakfast for Lucy after her night shift with no expectations in return. Read his full comment below:

Ultimately, you leave that episode knowing where it’s going to go. I think you feel very positive about it. Obviously, Tim has done the work. Lucy and Tim still need to talk about it. One of the things that I think is clearly established during the course of our show is that healthy communication is not always their strong suit, but we’ve turned a corner. We’re heading in a good direction. It just made me laugh. Let’s put it that way. But we’re heading in a good direction.

We’re heading in a really good direction for fans of Chenford. This season has taken them on a journey that we all felt, on the show and in the room, was important to both deal with the real repercussions of what Tim did and the very real pain that he caused, including to himself, and trying to figure out why he did what he did and having Lucy have to forgive him.

That didn’t feel like a “three episodes and everything’s good again” kind of story. But I feel like now that that journey has been taken that we’re at the end of that journey. I think that moment at the end is very sweet. We’re not teasing anybody. We’re heading in a good direction.

What This Means For Tim And Lucy In The Rookie Season 8

Getting Back Together Might Take Real Effort

Much like two of The Rookie’s best villains, Oscar and Monica, it appears from The Rookie season 7 finale that Chenford will indeed return. As Hawley points out, however, Lucy shouldn’t take Tim back until they’ve gotten to the root of their previous breakup. Ultimately, Tim ended things because he felt like he wasn’t good enough for Chen. Although her promotion to sergeant makes their relationship more professionally acceptable, it also means he needs to address his insecurity issues more than ever before he can patch things up with Lucy.

As Celina points out, Tim and Lucy reigniting their ions could also change things around the house. The Rookie’s musician character Rodge has become one of the more fascinatingly entertaining love interests they could have given Celina, but he’s also something of an acquired taste. It’s difficult to imagine someone with Tim’s personality getting along with Rodge for an extended period of time, so the work that Tim and Lucy put into rekindling their relationship will also have to accommodate how their personal lives have changed since they were last together. Otherwise, they can’t truly come back stronger than before.

Our Take On Hawley’s Comments About Tim And Lucy In The Rookie

Chen And Bradford Appear To Have A Bright Future Ahead

There are plenty of reasons Tim and Lucy should get back together in The Rookie, not the least of which is that they both still visibly feel the spark of chemistry between them. Their feelings for one another don’t even seem to have cooled down much since they’ve started sneaking around again, let alone vanished entirely. Additionally, while Tim can still be one of the more ornery grumps in the LAPD, his time in therapy since season 6 has leveled him out significantly.

Chen and Bradford will have some work to do, but it’s rewarding to watch knowing that it will lead to a brighter future for them both by the end of The Rookie season 8. It’s less of a will they/won’t they issue and more about how they’ll get there with their heads held high. And that can be a lot more exciting to see unfold, especially when it’s happening in favor of a couple with as much potential as Chenford.

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