On An Island Alone

It’s been 3 weeks since Chenford’s breakup and I feel like I’m on an island… alone.  The day after 6x06 aired, I made the decision to walk away from The Rookie. Well, at least until after the finale. I’ll decide if I'm walking away permanently once I check online and see how the season ended.  And before I go any further, to anyone who wants to say I'm not a true Rookie and (most importantly) Chenford fan: I have just as much right to stop watching the show as you do to keep watching it.

So why am I choosing to no longer watch the show?

The main reason I started watching the show in the first place is/was Chenford and I can’t sit there and watch them redo Seasons 4 and 5A and I won’t. Especially considering the fact we already know from Eric’s comments to TVLine they’re not getting back together by the end of the season finale.  I do not see them getting back together until at least the midseason finale next season.  Actually, if I’m being completely honest, I’m not sure they will get back together or if they even should.  I know me saying that will make a lot of people mad, but after reading Melissa and Eric’s post-episode interviews, I got a sense of finality when they were talking about Tim and Lucy’s relationship as a couple and the breakup.  Plus, I honestly don’t see how they can come back from what they did, which leads into the other reason why I’m not watching anymore.

Tim’s whole storyline rubs me the wrong way in so many ways.  They could’ve brought in his military past in so many other ways and still had him struggle without destroying his character in the process.  As it is, the storyline feels extremely forced just to cause drama for the sake of drama and, for me, irredeemably destroyed Tim’s character.  They completely erased 5 ½ seasons of character growth in the matter of only 1 ½ episodes.  And I'll never be able to see Tim the same way again, even if he goes to therapy.  I personally would never be able to trust him again and I honestly don’t see how Lucy could either.  That’s also why part of me feels like they should not get back together. Yes, I know it’s a short season and everything is condensed, but Alexi and the writers should not have done the storyline this late in the season, knowing they would not be able to do it justice with only 4 episodes left and not knowing the show’s fate by the time they finished filming the finale.  Since they were planning to break them up, I feel like they should’ve done it at the end of the premiere or by 6x03. That way there would’ve been time for Tim and Lucy to work through their struggles individually then work them as a couple by the end of the season.

Why do I feel like I’m on an island alone?

After the episode aired, a lot of the fandom was angry and a good number said they were done to show.  However, over the last few weeks, I’ve noticed that number dwindling and a lot fans are now justifying the breakup who weren’t before and they have absolutely every right to.  I can see where they’re coming from, to a certain extent.  Tim and Lucy both were hiding things from each other since they started dating and would just gloss over things that needed deep and meaningful conversations to work them out.  That said, I personally will never agree with the breakup or the whole (Tim’s) storyline and will always maintain the breakup was completely unnecessary and they could’ve (and should’ve) stayed together and worked through their struggles as a couple.  So yeah, I’m on an island alone… and that’s okay.

Chenford Crumbs Per Episode:  Episode 6x6 Secrets and Lies

I CHOOSE TO BELIEVE THEY'LL BE OKAY 🥺 OTHERWISE, WHAT WAS THE POINT...

I may not be a fan of S6, but this scene I loved. Lucy storming through the door like an angry Mama Bear because her man's secrets put their daughter at risk. Tim worried out of his mind because his family was targeted by a dangerous individual from his past. The moment he starts to hate himself when he realizes that he accidentally put them in danger when he should have been home with them, protecting them.

ER: "Secrets and Lies"

Criminal Minds 1.21 | Secrets and Lies

Secrets & Lies (1996) | dir. Mike Leigh

A little birdie told me… 🤭

What did they do???

I am so heartbroken by last night's episode. I haven't felt like that for a show or a ship since I was in my twenties (and I haven't been for almost 15 years now...). I love the show, like IMMENSELY, I care about all the characters, but Chenford? We/They haven't been through six seasons and 6 episodes to end like that. I'm hurting a lot.

The actors though. Gosh they were amazing. That last scene 😭

I don't know if I'll ever be able to enjoy it as much now that they are so far apart. I know all the characters have great storylines, but I honestly couldn't care less about Bailey being pregnant (one episode and I already can't stand how it is TOO MUCH).

I want Lucy and Tim to work things out so badly. It's really painful.

Me watching Argylle (many times) and finding all the Kingsman references and parallels. Also me trying to work out what is all means, deducing all the plot possibilities and connections; and making my friends listen to me about it while I fall further and further down the rabbit hole.

Secrets you keep

Even the closest of friends keep secrets from one another.

Christine knows Joseph's secret. She saw the knife on his belt; she knew what he was setting out to do.

He never told her what happened, and she never asked. Both of them prefer to keep the truth to themselves.

Erica, on the other hand, wears her heart on her sleeve.

In spite of their friendship, she can't know. Her loyalty to her friends and to her captain would tear her in two.

So Christine lies.

Erica is left unburdened.

The secret remains between the doctor, the nurse, and a dead Klingon.

How long before it breaks them?

The Rookie 6x06 “Secrets and Lies” promotional photos ©️DGE Press / ABC. ⬆️

Bailey & John sneak peek video below ⬇️

THEY'RE NOT FIGHTING AGAINST EACH OTHER. BUT FOR EACH OTHER 🥺❤️‍🩹

You can't convince me that these two lines aren't the main reason Tim broke up with Lucy. Yes, he jeopardized both Lucy and Lopez's careers, but I don't see that leading him to break-up with Lucy. It was the fact that a dangerous guy from his past shows up, finds out where Tim lives, and then threatens the girls who are essentially Tim's wife and daughter. Lucy may have been able to handle herself, but Tamara couldn't have.

Lucy and Tamara came real close to being hurt and that's not something that Tim could ever live with.

I'm Alive

I’m alive.

I’m alive.

I’m alive.

I’m alive.

I’m alive.

Two words. Seven letters. And the first thing Tim has thought every morning for the past week and a half.

Some days, it doesn’t feel like he is. Every day, it feels like he shouldn’t be.

He wakes up alone, in his bed, in a house that’s only his own. He lays there, in plain white sheets, beneath a navy duvet, and wonders why any of it matters.

And every morning, without fail, he reaches for his phone and texts Lucy.

I’m alive.

It’s the only thing he can bring himself to do, most days. He eats cereal for breakfast, even though he has bacon and eggs. He feeds Kojo and walks him far enough to use the bathroom, but gone are the long walks through the neighborhood. When Kojo brings him a chew toy, Tim tosses it across the room, but he doesn’t watch to see if the dog chases after it.

He showers, because he showers every morning. But most days, he stands underneath the spray and asks himself why he bothers with it. It’s not like he’s moving around that much, or seeing anyone who would notice.

Or seeing anyone at all.

He’s sequestered himself, his own personal house arrest, a punishment of his own design. It’s not enough, it doesn’t make up for anything he’s done, for the mess he’s made of his life.

He doesn’t recognize the man in the mirror anymore.

Read the rest on ao3 here!

Criminal Minds 1.21 | Secrets and Lies