Melissa O’Neil as Lucy Chen and Eric Winter as Tim Bradford Disney/Raymond Liu
Melissa O’Neil admitted she had “a variety of emotions” about Lucy and Tim’s will-they, received’t-they romance on season 7 of The Rookie — however how did she really feel about their steamy lodge hookup?
Warning: Spoilers beneath from season 7, episode 6 of The Rookie.
Throughout the Tuesday, February 11, episode of the ABC sequence, Lucy Chen (O’Neil) and Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) discovered themselves alone in a lodge room following the LAPD’s Valentine’s Day gala.
After a bar battle left Tim with a reduce on the again of his neck, Lucy jumped in to assist. The previous couple, who referred to as it quits throughout season 6, have been in shut quarters as Lucy tended to Tim’s harm whereas he was shirtless. Though they each agreed they shouldn’t cross that line, they lastly attached — and actress O’Neil has some ideas.
“I believe that’s how sturdy their connection is,” O’Neil, 36, completely advised Us Weekly of the romantic intercourse scene. “I’m certain it’s within the very, very, very far again of their thoughts [to hook up], but in addition the adrenaline of Tim getting right into a battle, after which he’s obtained, like, a reduce. Is there glass in there? Like, what’s occurring? It’s on the again of your neck. How are you precisely gonna clear that up?”
The Rookie star Melissa O’Neil is opening up in regards to the candy second between her character, Lucy Chen, and Eric Winter’s Tim Bradford throughout the present’s one centesimal episode. “ what? That [scene] was lovable,” O’Neil, 35, advised TVLine in a Tuesday, February 27, interview. “It’s a type of thrilling conditions the place when Alexi is directing […]
The actress defined there was a “practicality” to “how they obtained into that surroundings” that opened the door to their intimate second after months of avoidance.
“As soon as they’re that shut to one another, and the proximity of their our bodies, and she or he is in a ravishing costume and so they’re dressed up and so they’re in a non-public house and in a ravishing lodge room, not solely is it like a second out of time, it’s like they’re utterly in overseas territory proper now,” O’Neil stated.
She confessed, “It’s nearly like all bets are off. We’re not in any realm that’s acquainted. You’ve by no means seen me on this costume. We’ve by no means been on this lodge room. It’s nearly like they’re simply some other place fully.”
O’Neil famous that “regardless of themselves” each admitting, “we shouldn’t, and we are able to’t” do that, there’s an “unstated connection” between the 2 that can not be denied.
“She will be able to’t assist herself,” the TV star stated, revealing that Lucy’s “inner expertise” of “I shouldn’t do that and s—, however I can’t assist myself and I’m so glad I did” is completely relatable.
As soon as the extremely anticipated hookup occurs, each Tim and Lucy know they’ve to speak in regards to the elephant within the room. Nevertheless, they side-step many of the dialog the morning after and depart it till they’re within the LAPD elevator collectively to set some floor guidelines.
Throughout that scene, Lucy tells him that they’ll’t try this once more and he agrees. Nevertheless, O’Neil advised Us that not even Lucy believes they are going to observe the so-called guidelines.
“Now that this sort of line has been crossed, I firmly consider that verbally and mentally she completely means what she says. However I don’t even assume she buys it,” O’Neil stated with fun.
The actress identified that the “juicy stuff” — the place one particular person is clearly saying what they consider must or ought to be stated, whereas their coronary heart says one other — is “compelling” and shall be a constant a part of the remainder of the season.
“You’re like, ‘Oh lady, this isn’t gonna go properly. However I really like you for attempting,’” O’Neil teased, including, “We’ll see what finally ends up taking place. However after I was taking part in that second even I used to be like, ‘Oh God, Lucy, like, what’s gonna occur?’”
On the subject of their future, O’Neil advised Us it is going to take greater than the bodily connection for Lucy to completely decide to Tim after he pulled the plug on their romance. (Tim referred to as off their relationship throughout season 6 after he realized that pulling Lucy into his previous drama may’ve gotten her fired.)
“For Lucy, it’s going [to] require a really actual dialog and accountability. She’s not simply gonna slide into one thing if nothing has modified, particularly as a result of he’s the one which stated that he can’t do that,” O’Neil defined.
She identified that Lucy is the kind of one that will inform Tim, “I’m not gonna allow you to inform me you don’t need me twice.”
“She’d want an actual honest dialog and accountability as a result of he type of hung her out to dry,” O’Neil revealed, noting, “It’s like traditional avoidant attachment. Like, ‘OK, so that you’re actually struggling and so now you wanna, like, isolate your self and reduce me out? Make it make sense.’”
If Tim doesn’t work out a strategy to let his partitions down and present progress on his finish, O’Neil stated Lucy will nonetheless have a powerful working relationship with him.
“Their intimacy is past simply romance and bodily. She respects him, she respects his opinion, and she or he values his enter,” she stated of Lucy’s reference to Tim on the workplace. “She leans on him in that manner for his ideas within the skilled surroundings. She desires his recommendation, and that intimacy exists for them as properly.”
O’Neil concluded that Lucy and Tim are a “good group” that “stability one another out” as law enforcement officials.
She teased, “However so far as the romantic factor, I believe it could be essential for her to have that [conversation] earlier than they may actually dive again in critically in a relationship type of a manner.”
The Rookie airs on ABC Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET.
