A Quick Read That Is So Worth It! I Love How @makeitastrength Writes.

A quick read that is so worth it! I love how @makeitastrength writes.

She just… she understands him, in a way no one has in a very long time. Maybe ever. It should frighten him. And it does, a little. But at the same time, it feels so natural. Dancing with Lucy. Smiling and laughing with Lucy. Being comforted by Lucy. Tim flops back onto his bed, rubs both hands over his face as the realization settles over him. He’s not sure when it happened or how it happened, but he can’t deny it to himself any longer. He’s falling in love with Lucy Chen.

-We could have it all by @makeitastrength (submitted by @mamadoc)

If you could bring back any character for another episode who would it be? Can be a guest star, a dead character, or someone from rookie Feds

I would 100% bring back Jackson West. He added a decent amount of humor. He was a great support for Lucy. His character wasn’t super complicated (like Tim is turning out to be), but he had his struggles. I know Aaron is sort of his replacement, but I would take Jackson back in a heartbeat. Plus, he added some LGBQ flair to an otherwise hetero cast.

Honorable mention goes to Captain Zoe Andersen. I loved her character and was shocked at her untimely death.

Hopeful mention goes to Genny Bradford. I think especially with Tim’s more complicated storylines, I would LOVE to see her come back to talk to him and give him some unconditional love and advice like only a close sibling can.

Thanks for the question, Anon!

One thing I'm noticing in some of the fandom reactions to this breakup and the aftermath is that the characters have been put on a pedestal and are being judged against some pretty unrealistic standards. They get raked over the coals for every single mistake. I've seen it with both characters but recently I've seen it the most with Tim.

Don't get me wrong, in no way am I condoning his current behavior. He's made multiple mistakes and he's broken Lucy's trust and her heart. He absolutely needs to be held accountable for all of these things and he owes her an apology and that adult conversation and a whole lot more if they're gonna be able to be together again.

But what he's doing right now, his imperfect actions as he navigates this period of his life... it's very human. This is a man who is at rock bottom, and when you're drowning in the weight of your own trauma like he is, you often don't have the strength to see beyond that and understand how your actions are impacting the people around you. He's not being cruel (which, by the way, implies intentionality to one's actions) by breaking up with her or denying her that conversation. He's drowning.

He truly can't see that she's *not* better off without him. He can't see how much he's hurt her, and that he continues to hurt her with his actions. I don't even think he could answer her questions right now about why he did what he did, because he doesn't fully understand it himself. He can't see anything beyond his own lack of self-worth. Right now, expecting him to be able to fully comprehend what he's done and why is completely unrealistic.

Now, does this excuse his behavior? Absolutely not. But it does explain it.

And the thing that's bothering me the most is the posts saying Tim doesn't deserve Lucy's forgiveness. This is a man who has completely fallen apart but is finally taking the first steps toward healing. Shouldn't he be given a chance at redemption before being written off as unforgivable? And shouldn't Lucy be the one to decide whether to forgive him?

Again, I'm not defending his actions. He has a lot of work to do on himself and he has a lot of work to do to gain back Lucy's trust. It's not going to be easy. But to say he doesn't deserve forgiveness without even giving him a chance? That's pretty harsh. He doesn't deserve to spend the rest of his life being defined by his worst moments. No one does.

Thoughts on Nolan as a TO

I saw that this prompt was given to several other people as well, so check out their thoughts, too.

Firstly, he’s a rookie TO. He’s going to make mistakes because he hasn’t actually been a cop for a long time. He makes plenty of mistakes. Is he learning from them? Hopefully, but I don’t feel like we’ve seen a lot of progress in that direction.

Secondly, Nolan has been portrayed as a bit of a bumbling (but kind with good intentions) idiot for a good part of the show. So did anyone expect him to be any better once he was a TO? 🙂‍↔️🫤 Meh. I don’t think so.

Thirdly, he’s in the role to make the title of the show relevant to the story. Since he is the titular character, it is consistent that he was be a part of the ‘rookie’ role.

Lastly, I would like to see it blow up in his face a little bit more when he screws things up. Other than extending his rookie year (and much of that again was a tool to keep a rookie in the show for the title of the show), he’s faced very few consequences for any of his blunders. Consequences would push for further development and growth. So I hope we see something like that in the future.

Thanks for asking!

Do you truly think they will get back together?

I really do, anon! With some other couples my answer wouldn’t be so confident, but Tim and Lucy have proven before that they have what it takes to make it through this.

Let’s start with Tim. Yes, he’s in a really bad place right now. But he’s shown us (and Lucy) over and over again that he’s able and willing to change. Every single time she’s called him out on his behavior, he has eventually accepted responsibility for it, learned from it, and changed it. Already, in the aftermath of this breakup, he’s accepted that he needs help. I fully anticipate that he will reach the point of being able to understand and accept what he’s done and take responsibility for it as well and work to make sure it doesn't happen again.

He’s also earned Lucy’s trust before. At the beginning she didn’t trust him at all - justifiably, given how volatile he was. But as he healed, he became someone she could trust on the job. And eventually outside of the job. She’s seen him change. She knows he’s capable of it. And I think once they’re communicating better and she understands what triggered him to walk away from her, she'll also be able to see that he's putting in the work to ensure he doesn't stay in this place where he might make the same decision again. With that understanding and seeing the changes, she'll be able to begin rebuilding trust.

And let’s not forget (something @timandlucy pointed out to me earlier) that Tim forgave Isabel. She disappeared, stole from him, lied, and cheated, yet Tim was willing to forgive her. He knows what it's like to be in that position. And again, I think once he’s in a better place, he’s going to understand that Lucy now has to do what he once did and that it’s not going to be easy.

Along those lines, let's talk about Lucy. From day one, it's been made clear that empathy is a core piece of who she is. She understands that people make bad decisions when they're in a bad place, but that this doesn't define who they are as a person. She’s understands why people do the things they do. She believes people can change, and she believes in second chances.

And even though right now she doesn't fully understand how deep Tim's issues run, she still knows him. She knows he struggles with his feelings and she knows he carries trauma that he hasn't dealt with. She knows he sometimes makes irrational decisions guided by his heightened emotions. She knows he struggles to ask for help.

But she also knows his heart. She knows he cares deeply. She knows he's willing to do anything for the people he loves (even if it's not actually the right thing to do). Tim is so scared of her finding out what he did and who he is - but the thing he can't see is that she already knows who he is. He says he can't give her what she needs, but again, she knows that's not true. Maybe right now he can't, but he is capable of it and she knows that, too. He just needs help getting to that place.

Is winning her trust back going to be easy? Absolutely not. And I don't want it to be. Lucy has every right to be hurt and angry and protective of her heart. She has every right to set boundaries and demand an adult conversation with him. You can be empathetic without being a pushover.

It's not going to be an easy journey and it's not going to be a quick one. It's gonna take a lot of communication and vulnerability and emotional maturity. But I really truly believe that once they can overcome these issues, they're going to be so much stronger.

(Sorry, that may have been a much longer answer than you were looking for. Long story short, yes. I do.)

This was so sweet. But also broke my heart a little bit more.

Happy Birthday

Love,

Kojo