IN a way, Rookie Blue reminds me of Grey’s Anatomy. It had a modest start with an uncertain future. Six seasons in, there is nothing vague about the show’s prospects. The writers have done such a sterling job, skillfully etching the characters in the multi-starrer police drama series.
We have seen the key protagonists –Andy McNally (Missy Peregrym), Dov Epstein (Gregory Smith), Gail Peck (Charlotte Sullivan), Traci Nash (Enuka Okuma), Chris Diaz (Travis Milne), Nick Collins (Peter Mooney), Chloe Price (Priscillla Faia) and Steve Peck (Adam MacDonald) – ascend the ranks over the seasons.
They have evolved from rookies to now mentoring the newbies.
We also saw Staff Sergeant Oliver Shaw, after his emotionally-devastating divorce, compose himself and get his act together. And Sam Swarek (Ben Bass) confronted his own demons last season. Oh, and Andy and Sam reunited, with him breaking off things with Marlo Cruz, who, unbeknown to him when they started dating, had a bipolar disorder condition.
And that’s where things get interesting in season six – Marlo is back at 15 Division. Oh, and she is pregnant with Sam’s child.
Talk about putting the kybosh on Andy and Sam’s holiday glow.
These two are the Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd of Rookie Blue. They are perfect for each other. The chemistry is electrifying. But there is this constant influx of mayhem in their lives.
As far as relationships go – this is a big deal. Some relationships don’t survive it, à la Chris Brown and Karrueche Tran.
How will Andy deal with this blow?
In an interview with TVLine.com, Peregrym revealed: “I think it’s brilliant, to be honest. I love the storyline. This is one of my favourite seasons.”
She continued: “What I really loved about it is this is life. It’s not like Sam was sleeping with two people at the same time. He was in a relationship. I was in a relationship. It’s just something where you have to figure it out and go through it. We haven’t done anything like this before, so it’s all new to me.”
And the couple’s future does seem to be in limbo right now. After all, Sam is in a rather unenviable position, juggling his past and present.
The actress added: “The arc of this season is figuring out where her place is in this family that is inevitably being built. She’s on the outside. Obviously, Sam and Andy want to make this work. But it’s not the ideal situation. There’s a lot of grief and anger that Andy is super uncomfortable with in the beginning. Because you can’t hate Marlo for being pregnant. This isn’t ideal for her either. It’s not ideal for anybody. This is somebody Andy really cared about, in a complicated way, obviously. It’s difficult.”
Creator Tassie Cameron is really putting this couple to the ultimate test. Will their relationship survive and grow stronger? That is the question.
With this being Cameron’s last season with Rookie Blue, I guess this is her parting gift to fans. Talk about a send off of note!
l Rookie Blue season six airs on Universal Channel (DStv channel 117) on Mondays at 8.50pm.