'Rookie Blue' recap: 'Letting Go'

This was one of the most stand out episodes of the season because it was unique. It still had a case of the day but the case took a back seat to personal drama of one of the most underrated characters: the ever-noble, do-no-wrong Nick.

To be honest, I wasn't aware of how little we really know about Golden Boy Nick, but this episode gave me the back story I never knew I wanted. We got a little glimpse into his past when we learned he was raised by a foster family because his parents died in a car crash, and we know when he's first introduced that he's a former soldier. But that's all we knew.

This fleshes Nick out by showing that Golden Boy isn't perfect. He's got his demons and when the opportunity to confront one demon arises, he goes into a dark place and that journey is the highlight of the episode. Read on for more about that journey... and of course, the other stuff that happened while he was off on his quest.

Nick goes nuclear

The wonderful Golden Boy finally gets his back story and it's not so golden.

A few scenes into the episode, as Nick is driving to work with a hung-over Chloe, he gets a call from someone named Finn. Nick abruptly ends the call, drops Chloe off on the road, just where they are, and asks her to tell Oliver he'll be late. Poor Chloe, but at least exercise helps a hang-over.

Cut to Nick entering a dark, depressing, shabby apartment — Finn's. Finn is in a wheelchair and the interaction that follows reveals that the men haven't seen each other in a while and the reason Finn's called Nick is because he saw "him" coming out of the liquor store. Finn tells Nick what car this "him" was driving. When Nick asks if he's sure he's got the right guy, Finn says, "18 years I've been wheeling around in this thing. I can't screw, can barely piss, I think about that guy and his fat face looking through the window every single day. Nick I'm telling you it was him, I'd handle it on my own if I could." He gives Nick a license plate number and Nick says he's on it.

Several scenes later, Nick has Ward, his partner on their mission of the day, go to the home of someone he claims is a CI of his but is actually the "him" Finn was talking about — Marco Brunswick. When they get there, Nick tells Ward to goes inside to look for Marco, whom he describes as being blonde, slim and in his early 20's. When Ward comes out empty handed Nick gets her to take him back to the station by feigning having a migraine, claiming he gets them regularly.

Back at the station, Ward learns from Andy that Nick doesn't get migraines. This leads them to look up Marco Brunswick in the database. They learn he's really 45 years old, has OUIs on his record, and when Ward digs some more, she learns about the car accident that killed Nick's parents. Andy knows about that — it was a drunk driver who was never caught, but Ward reveals something Andy didn't know: Nick has a brother and he was also in the accident and survived. When Chloe hears that the brother's name is Finn, she mentions the phone call.

Cut to Nick entering a bar. He eyes a guy so heavily, it's obvious it's Marco, and soon strikes up a conversation with him. At some point, Marco, who is estranged from his ex-wife and daughter, asks if a "choir boy" like Nick has ever done anything wrong. Nick tells a story about how he and a friend killed a fellow soldier in Afghanistan after finding out he was a traitor partially responsible for another friend's death. Marco asks if that messed him up and Nick says "it stays with you." This prompts Marco to share a story about an accident he was involved in: a family of four in a crappy old station wagon. He wanted to help them but ended up just running away.

Just then Ward arrives inside the bar and draws Nick out of the bar without revealing his cover. Once outside, Ward tells Nick she knows about Marco and scolds him for lying to her. He points out she's been lying since they met and asks for five more minutes with Marco. Ward agrees and Nick heads back into the bar, but he and Marco soon slip out the back door — to continue drinking elsewhere.

Cut to Nick and a clearly drunk Marco walking onto Marco's rooftop. As they're sitting on the ledge sharing a drink, Marco reveals that he considers jumping to his death repeatedly, and every time he wakes up alive, he and his neighbors are surprised. He says his pitiful existence is karma for ruining people's lives, which prompts Nick to mention the accident again.

Ward arrives at Marco's building and spots Nick and Marco on the roof. She races up through the building to the roof but Nick locks the access door before she gets there. When he turns to walk back to Marco, Marco reveals he's figured out who Nick is and encourages him to push him off the ledge. With Marco's continuous provocation, Nick eventually loses his Golden Boy cool. Things get heated and at some point Marco tells Nick that his brother Finn was driving that night, which prompts Nick to punch him. When Marco recovers he admits that he had been drunk driving and speeding and took off after the accident, but says it was Finn that crossed over the line, causing the collision. Nick punches him again, which throws Marco off the ledge backwards, head first, but Nick grabs his arm just in time. Nick almost decides to let go, at Marco's encouragement, but at the last second, the Golden Boy version of Nick resurfaces and he saves him.

Ward then bursts through the door to the roof to find Nick standing over Marco, pointing a gun at him, but as she approaches them, Nick lowers it. He tells Ward to arrest Marco and have another police division come get him, and walks away.

Cut to Nick at Finn's apartment. Finn is disappointed to hear Nick arrested Marco instead of sticking to their revenge plan. But Nick says plans change, like the plan for Finn to come back for him. Finn never did (which left Nick in foster care, if you remember the only other episode we learned something about him). Finn eventually admits he was driving that night because their father had been tired. Nick is furious but quickly calms down. As he walks out he tells Finn he's over what happened and who Finn has become. Finn thanks him for his apparent forgiveness but then asks Nick when he'll forgive himself. Finn says he was glad it was him — I think he's implying Nick has always felt guilty he was the only one unscathed in the accident. This episode was annoyingly heavy on silent implications rather than clear, verbal explanations.

The Case

The case of the day is not that exciting, to be honest. It's tracking down a prisoner who escaped from a hospital while there for chemotherapy treatments. Chris is happy about it because it's a known MMA fighter, Brody Simmons.

Sam tells the officers that Simmons stabbed a doctor with a scalpel in his escape and may still have that weapon on him. Three pairs — Ward and Nick, Duncan and Gail, and Chris and Dov, who's out on the streets for the first time since starting the bomb case with Marlo — are assigned to going to different places Simmons might go, and Chloe and Andy are told to stay at the station to provide investigative support for Sam.

Along the way towards apprehending Simmons, Dov and Chris engage him in a foot chase but lose him, and the officers talk to a not-so-normal woman, Tara, who tells the officers she and Simmons met on a person dating website and even though they aren't married legally they are married in their hearts.

She'd bought him clothes and beer and left a key outside for him — which he took advantage of to change after escaping — even though she didn't expect him back for two years. Traci can't understand why Tara would do all that if she didn't help him escape or know he planned to. Chloe says that women who date prisoners don't actually want a relationship, just somebody to love "and I guess you can tell yourself you're waiting for him but it's only so you don't have to realize you're just alone." This is clearly resonating with Chloe herself (wonder why... #Dovtroubles.) Traci uses this theory to get Tara to talk. She mentions that Simmons had an ex-wife, Eliza, in town. She gives the police the woman's name and address.

Eventually Dov and Chris find Simmons at Eliza's house. After Simmons apologizes to Eliza for all he's done, says he's been trying to be better for her, and says he's dying, Dov informs him his doctor said he'll be fine. The police then arrest him. Case closed.

The people

I. Nick and Ward... and Andy?

Nick and Ward go through quite an experience together in this episode what with Nick's meltdown and near homicidal actions. But things start off light. They flirt a little in the opening scene at the bar, with Andy interrupting to remind him he should get to know someone before pursuing her relentlessly. Jealous ex or caring friend? hmm...

Later, when Andy confronts Ward about Nick being at the station out of uniform and seeming odd all morning, she takes a dig at her, claiming Nick might not trust her. But right after she says it Nice Girl Andy takes over and she apologizes.

Throughout the episode, once Ward discovers what Nick is up to, she goes out of her way to track him down and stop him from doing something he'll regret.

In the last scene of the episode Ward is treating Nick's injury from his altercation with Marco. They're sitting on a bed in his apartment. She winds up slightly caressing his face and the sexual tension between them is palpable. Finally they kiss, and Ward gives into her feelings. They fall back on the bed, kissing. Finally, an ending that isn't about Sam and Andy. It's Nick's time.

II. Chloe

In the beginning of the episode, when everyone's at the bar, Chloe tries, in her desperate yet adorkable way to get Dov to pay attention to her, but nothing she does works and eventually she gives up, disappointed.

Later, when Andy asks Chloe how she knew what Tara was thinking, Chloe admits that she has Dov's favorite beer in her locker room because she says buying it for him after they broke up made her feel happy. She's been holding out hope that he'll come back to her but she tells Andy she now knows he isn't going to. She walks away from Andy before Andy can reply, which is probably a relief for Andy.

In Chloe's last scene of the episode, she takes Duncan up on his offer for a drink, suggesting the warm beers in her locker, but noting that it's not a date. He giddily accepts.

III. Gail and Duncan

Early in the episode Duncan overhears about Gail having a bucket list — the before she has a kid list — but doesn't know the reason for it so assumes she's dying.

While on mission, they're hanging around near kids dancing in the street and Duncan starts busting a move. He tells Gail he knows dancing lessons are on her bucket list and offers to be her instructor. Soon one of the kids invites Duncan to come dance in their circle. He looks to Gail for approval and when she gives it, though in a snarky way, he runs off like a child and starts dancing — really well, surprisingly. At the end of the day Duncan asks Gail if she thinks he's a tool for dancing with the kids. Gail says she actually considers what he did good because it was outreach in a way and before they part ways, Gail tells him she wants to take him up on his hip hop lessons but makes him promise not to tell anyone.

Having her say that and Chloe invite him for a drink right after makes him elated and he says, "I think it's Duncan Day." This episode almost made Duncan likable. Having him and Gail together really worked, better than any other Duncan pairing yet.

IV. Oliver

Early in the episode, Oliver learns from police commissioner Alonso Santana that his daughter Isabella was arrested at a rowdy party and found with ecstasy on her. Santana, who was Oliver's training officer, offers to have the division that arrested her clear their records and make the incident go away. Oliver is a man of principal so he doesn't immediately jump on it, but eventually his considerations about Isabella's college aspirations sways him. He takes Santana up on the offer, reluctantly.

V. Dov... and the bomb case

When Dov gets to the station in the morning he finds Marlo packing up their evidence into the station bombing. Jarvis has shut down the investigation because, as he put it "it was Ted, Ted is dead."

Dov asks Marlo if Dr. Seuss (love this joke) knows they found a connection to the police department. Marlo says that Jarvis claims the rep sold to many other people besides the police so that theory is a stretch. Dov doesn't want to accept this since they just finally had a breakthrough on the case but Marlo says they have no choice. She jokes about how he should be happy he can go back into the field and not be stuck in a room with a crazy pregnant lady. Are they flirting or what?

Throughout the episode there's a narrative of whether or not Dov is happy to be back in the field. At the end of the episode, he comes to a decision. Walking out of the station he approaches Marlo holding a pizza box in which he's hidden copies of the files they were using for the investigation. He tells her that he had a perfect day on the street and did everything he ever wanted to do but he no longer wants to be in uniform. He wants to do Intelligence, to solve the bomb case. So Marlo agrees to continue their investigation.

Rookie Blue airs Thursday nights at 10 p.m. EST on ABC

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