The Season 4 finale of The Rookie gave fans a reason to celebrate with a Chenford kiss. While we’ve talked about some of our favorite Chenford moments before, I think it’s safe to say that the events in The Rookie’s “Day in the Hole” left fans more excited about the direction of Tim and Lucy’s relationship than before. And why shouldn’t they? After all, viewers finally got to see Tim Bradford and Lucy Chen share a kiss. Now that we’ve had some time to recollect ourselves let’s dive in and discuss the episode’s events.
Of course, the kiss is brought up as preparation for when they go undercover as a couple. At Lucy’s apartment, Tim states that they should discuss their cover stories to keep their undercover roles “airtight.” Lucy immediately dismisses Tim’s suggestion that their undercover characters, “Dim and Juicy,” met at a barbecue. Instead, she rather quickly improvises (if that’s what they want us to believe) an elaborate initial meeting of Dim running from the cops, Juicy opening the door for him, and Juicy getting hot for Dim and the two hooking up while the cops continue to search for Dim. This leaves Tim in stunned silence with his mouth open for a second or two before agreeing with no resistance.
Then the atmosphere shifts as Tim turns to “the elephant in the room.” The two realize that in order to “sell” their fake relationship, they have to appear to have kissed before. And it’s during this discussion that we see various feelings shooting off every few seconds. Tim being awkward because he can’t seem to say the word “kiss” out loud, and Lucy responding by acting dumb, only for the signature Bradford look of annoyance to flash on his face. Then we see the two stand up to practice, except Lucy starts to giggle and get a little uncomfortable while Tim remains annoyed. Finally, she’s ready, and Tim leans in for a quick peck on the lips. Lucy is clearly not satisfied and grabs him to pull him into a proper kiss. Before you know it, the two are melting in each other’s arms. Sadly, by the time you can get your squeals out, we have Tamara’s untimely interruption as she opens the door.
The two break apart and immediately remain several feet apart, visibly flustered and stammering explanations to Tamara about them working. May I just point out that while these two were “working,” there were lit candles around the apartment and music playing softly in the background? Yep. Super professional. Totally. Tamara’s loving this, by the way — she knows exactly what’s going on, and she doesn’t even have a police badge.
Tim abruptly leaves, allowing viewers to see Lucy act nonchalantly in front of Tamara and not say anything. Meanwhile, we see Tim outside of the apartment, clearly taking in what just happened. Despite his previous insistence that he and Lucy are “professionals,” he unquestionably has some thoughts running in his head. Whatever he has previously said, or even thought, the Chenford kiss evidently has affected him in some manner, and it’s not an everyday occurrence for Tim Bradford to be stunned.
The same could be said for Lucy. Lucy is often an outspoken proponent of discussing her feelings or talking things out. She’ll even talk to Tim even though he’s typically not the one for conversation, stating that it helps her work around her thoughts and feelings. However, when she and Tim speak to each other the next day, the usually chatty Lucy seems unsure of what to say. Similarly, Tim ordinarily does not falter when he needs to get his line of thinking across, and for a brief moment, it seems he’s going to tell Lucy something regarding their kiss. He hesitates and backs out at the last second, diverting the conversation back to their undercover work. In turn, Lucy displays a brief moment of disappointment before following Tim’s lead in the conversation.
Unfortunately, their storyline for the episode, and the season, ends there. On the bright side, it’s reasonable to assume that the kiss and undercover storyline will cross over to the next season, so there’s plenty to look forward to until then. While there wasn’t an immediate exploration of Chenford’s kiss, the kiss was a nice callback to the hug in the season’s premiere. Both instances introduced a new level of intimacy between Tim and Lucy, and both of them seem unsure how to react each time. At this point, it’s discernable that their relationship will head on a path different than just co-workers. And guaranteed, Chenford fans will be alongside their ship as Lucy and Tim confront their feelings.
Until that time comes, what are your thoughts on all things Chenford in the comments below! The Rookie is now streaming on Hulu.