Monica Stevens made a dramatic return as a villain on The Rookie on Tuesday, March 25, and according to Richard T. Jones, her reign of chaos is far from over.
“She’s a very destructive person,” Jones, 53, who portrays Sergeant Wade Grey on the ABC series, exclusively told regarding Monica’s (Bridget Regan) true intentions.
He hinted that the red-haired antagonist “is manipulating the system fully and completely” as the series heads toward its Season 7 finale.
The Return of Monica and Chaos in The Rookie
During Tuesday’s episode, officers John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) and Celina Juarez (Lisseth Chavez) went undercover on a metro bus to catch petty criminals in action.
However, they found themselves in a much more dangerous situation when the bus was hijacked by a bomber, whose brother demanded millions in cryptocurrency.
Throughout the tense standoff, Nolan works to keep everyone calm, including a pregnant woman who appears to go into labor due to stress.
At one point, the hijackers agree to release four hostages in exchange for a plane—one being the shot brother, another being Celina (who had to reveal she was an officer), the pregnant woman, and two additional individuals.
Nolan eventually subdues the remaining hijacker before further harm is done, and the bomb is defused. However, shortly after the police take control, the pregnant woman disappears from the scene.
Investigators later discover she was responsible for rigging a booby-trapped house—where the ransom call had been routed—that nearly resulted in the deaths of detectives Nyla Harper (Mekia Cox) and Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz).
Monica’s Master Plan Unfolds
It is soon revealed that the pregnant woman was working with Monica, a corrupt lawyer, and was tasked with stealing a government official’s key card during the hijacking—suggesting the entire ordeal was a mere diversion.
Though the woman is eventually caught, she remains tight-lipped about her connection to Monica. Jones exclusively told that the LAPD won’t immediately piece together Monica’s true motives or the extent of her influence.
“The evidence starts heading towards that situation where we’re trying to figure it out [what Monica wants],” Jones shared. “We don’t know who it might be, but the finale is the biggest reveal for us.”
He also teased that Sergeant Grey and his team will remain unaware of just how deeply entrenched Monica is in the ongoing chaos for some time as they follow various leads. (Before being taken into custody, Monica threatens the pregnant woman’s child’s safety, showcasing her ruthless nature.)
The LAPD remains oblivious to “how much she’s stirring the pot, how many sides she’s playing in this whole thing until the finale episode,” Jones said, adding that Monica’s ultimate objective is “not clear yet.”
Oscar Hutchinson’s Role in the Mayhem
As for escaped convict Oscar Hutchinson (Matthew Glave) and his connection to Monica, Jones revealed that his “hands are also in the pot.”
He remained tight-lipped about Oscar’s exact return to The Rookie but hinted, “Somehow those two forces will come together.”
Jones suggested that Oscar and Monica—who facilitated Oscar’s prison escape at the end of Season 6—will “come together in some form or fashion and cause havoc.”
