Season Wrap Up: Rookie Blue

by Kelly Bedard

The second season of Canada's best primetime soap finished off last night with back to back episodes. True to its Grey's Anatomy formula, the cop show avoided the dreaded sophomore slump by simply getting better with age.

This season we got to know our central rookies even better as an awkward but fun love triangle sprung up between good guy Chris, underdog Dov and the icy-brilliant woman of their mutual dreams Gail. Underwhelming Traci even had some solid stuff this season as she finally dumped her son's pathetic father and committed to the underused but always engaging detective Jerry (terrible name, but he pulls it off).

We also spent more time with fantastic TO (training officer) Noelle and her boyfriend/division leader Frank. Though I'd still like to learn more about the other TO Oliver, Noelle has quickly become my favourite of the supporting players as she sweats out the awkward "I'm a single, middle-aged working woman who wants a baby" conundrum while embarking on a genre- typical steamy but sweet love affair with a superior officer.

And speaking of steamy but sweet... (actual spoiler line)... hells yeah to the major hookup in the third last episode. After a somewhat mediocre end to the boring and unconvincing engagement between rookie leading lady Andy and her hunky detective Luke, Andy finally did what the audience has been screaming at her to do since the pilot episode- go after her enigmatically wonderful TO Sam. They've had some close calls and longing glances before (which are fun, don't get me wrong) but when the series' inevitable central couple finally went for it, the payoff was well worth the wait. The consequences of their happiness raised the stakes so temporarily that it was sort of frustrating (come on writers, no one believed you'd let anything terrible happen to Sam), but their chemistry was so convincing that I didn't actually care that much.

As the series departed until next summer, I was very happy not to have a cliffhanger to try and care about over the long hiatus. As it was, the all round happy ending sent TV's hottest new couple off to try and "be normal together" during their mutual suspensions, set up a new rookie for next season so that we can stop pretending that cops in their 3rd year on the job are still called rookies, delivered promising storytelling potential to Noelle and Frank and reset the clock on the Chris/Dov/Gail situation to try and salvage a bit of their fun dynamic (though the potential of Dov's lingering devotion I'm convinced lies promisingly beneath their functional surface). It was a great season of a really fun show. I can't wait to get lost at the 15th precinct again next summer.

Finale Grade: B+
Season Grade: B+