‘The Rookie’ Boss Explains Unexpected Character Death

The Rookie has got some explaining to do.

In Monday’s episode, the ABC procedural shockingly killed off Bridget Regan’s manipulative lawyer, Monica Stevens.

The episode saw Monica crossing people and trying to escape some dangerous criminals for a better life that isn’t in witness protection. Unfortunately, she found herself in a fake rideshare and she’s taken to her death. Monica is ultimately shot in the chest at point-blank range after she thought she was going to LAX. Creator and showrunner Alexi Hawley explained to TV Insider why he decided to kill off Monica, who has been causing trouble since Season 5.

“It felt like it was time. Ultimately, it felt like she’d escaped a lot of things,” he shared. “And I never like to just tread water or feel like we’re telling the same story over and over. So I think it just felt like it was a natural end. And yeah, it felt like we needed to give her a really powerful ending.”

Before her untimely death, Monica said goodbye to her ex, Wesley (Shawn Ashmore), and Hawley praised him and Regan. “Those two actors are so brilliant. When I talked to Monica about it, I did tell her I’d give her a Viking death, and it felt like — but I remember talking to her in Prague about Monica and sort of layering in trying to keep the dimensionality of that character going,” Hawley recalled. “It’s very easy to fall into, she’s just a villain, but I thought we did a really good job this season with showing the cracks in that armor she wears every day. I just think that that scene was so powerful, where she’s like, ‘I know every move I made, but I still don’t understand exactly how I got here,’ was really emotional.”

For those hoping that Monica will make a return in some way, shape, or form, that will not be happening. “We don’t do a ton of flashbacks. So I think that story is told,” Hawley revealed.

How Moncia’s death will impact The Rookie going into the Season 8 finale, which airs on Monday, is hard to tell. It can be expected that things will also be a little shaken up for Season 9, but fans will just have to wait and see. The Season 8 finale of The Rookie airs on Monday at 10 p.m. ET on ABC, streaming the next day on Paramount+.