Lucy Chen and Tim Bradford (Chenford) standing together in The Rookie Season 7Image via ABC
By
Jeffrey Harris
Published 53 minutes ago
Jeffrey is a freelance features writer at Collider. He is an MPA-accredited entertainment journalist and a Tomatometer-approved critic based in the LA area. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a Bachelor of Science in Radio, TV, & Film and a Bachelor of Arts in Theater.
Sign in to your Collider account follow Follow followed Followed Like Like Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recapThere's some good news for fans of The Rookie. Season 8 finally has a debut date, but unfortunately, the show will not air until January 6, 2026. Fans have been waiting patiently since the Season 7 finale for an update on the status of Lucy Chen (Melissa O'Neil) and Tim Bradford (Eric Winter), and whether they will finally figure things out and get back together. In the meantime, it's the perfect time to go back and look at some of the Chenford pairing's greatest moments. After over seven years of the hit series, few moments come close to this one from Season 4. It's time to take a look back at the story of Lucy and Tim's very first kiss!
How Lucy and Tim's First Kiss Happened
Tim Bradford and Lucy Chen standing together in The Rookie Season 7Image via ABC
The first Chenford kiss took place in the fourth season finale, "Day in the Hole," and it's a scenario that works perfectly within the show's framework. What makes this episode so great is that it's the same episode that introduces Tim and Lucy's famous doppelgängers, Jake Butler and Sava Wu, or as they are later nicknamed in the episode, "Dim and Juicy." Get it? Tim and Lucy? Dim and Juicy? Stars Eric Winter and Melissa O'Neil even perform double-duty, portraying their lookalikes in the episode. Although Lucy and Tim are police officers, Dim and Juicy are career criminals. Dim is tracked down as the original owner of Tamara's (Dylan Conrique) newly acquired vehicle, which is discovered to be carrying black tar heroin. Since Tim looks exactly like Dim, it creates a scenario for Tim to go undercover to take down a drug dealer named Roy Hajek (J.P. Pitoc).
Of course, they later discover Dim's girlfriend, Sava Wu, who looks exactly like Lucy, so Lucy joins the undercover op to bring down Hajek. True, that scenario could only work in a television series, but just go with it. This leads to Tim and Lucy prepping for the op at Lucy's apartment, and since they are going undercover as a couple, they need to get their backstories straight. The situation ultimately leads to Tim and Lucy kissing as a form of practice to sell the idea that they are a genuine couple. Soon, what was originally meant to be a harmless type of stage kiss quickly deepens. Before things go any further, Tamara interrupts, entering the shared apartment and catching the two in the act. Before the end of the scene, Tim is seen pontificating about what just took place outside Lucy's building. Clearly, the kiss with Lucy had a major impact on poor Tim, shaking him to his core.
The Importance of Tim and Lucy's First Kiss
Although the moment of Tim and Lucy's first kiss occurred through a wacky and comedic setup, it was amazingly executed. Winter and O'Neil's onscreen chemistry is electric, so it's no wonder audiences across the globe were desperate to see Tim and Lucy get together. The undercover storyline with Tim and Lucy posing as Dim and Juicy continued into the Season 5 premiere, "Double Down." Although Tim tried to claim to his friend and colleague, Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz), that his moment with Lucy was just a kiss, his true feelings were evident. Tim was falling in love with Lucy, and the feeling was mutual. Unfortunately, the kiss came at an awkward time, as Tim and Lucy were both dating other people, and Tim was also Lucy's superior officer, making a romantic relationship between them strictly off-limits.
Regardless, their romantic relationship, as the true endgame pairing for The Rookie, was inevitable, and the amazing kiss felt like the culmination of several seasons' worth of buildup. Winter and O'Neil performed the scene excellently, imbuing it with humor, sweetness, and charm, even though some boundaries were likely crossed in the name of "practice" for their undercover assignments. Following their first kiss, The Rookie established that Lucy and Tim were on a romantic collision course, raising the stakes and excitement for what would eventually transpire with their relationship. Their pivotal first kiss signals how Tim and Lucy would eventually get together and start dating, later in Season 5.
Why Tim and Lucy Are Meant To Be
Tim Bradford and Lucy Chen's first kiss on The Rookie.Image via ABC.
The crucial moment in Season 4 showcases how Tim and Lucy were head over heels with each other, and despite their circumstances, they were catching real feelings. Unfortunately, after they finally got together in the fifth season, their relationship ended far too quickly, with Tim dumping Lucy in Season 6 over the incident with Ray Watkins (David Dastmalchian), fearing his mistakes would damage Lucy's career. However, even during the period where Lucy and Tim were split up in the latter half of Season 6 and later Season 7, the show made it clear that they still belong together, and they never fell out of love with each other.
The good news is that Tim has made major progress in Season 7, going to therapy, working on his overall mental health, and becoming more emotionally available. Additionally, Lucy received a promotion to sergeant, putting her outside of Tim's chain of command, knocking over a barrier that would potentially stand in the way of the couple resuming a relationship. Unfortunately, Lucy passed out on Tim when he asked her to get back together and move in with him. Lucy definitely appeared open to the idea during the Season 7 finale, "The Good, The Bad, and the Oscar," provided she and Tim have a personal conversation first.
Hopefully, The Rookie ends all the frustrating buildup and does the right thing when the show returns in Season 8. The writers cannot continue stringing along the fans, so Tim and Lucy need to finally get back together and set things right after the mistakes of the last two seasons. Putting it off any longer would prove detrimental to the series' long-term health and would kill the interest of long-time fans who have become heavily invested in the Chenford pairing. Looking back at the key moments for Chenford, few come close to the magnitude and magic of their pivotal moment in the Season 4 finale.
The Rookie
Like Follow Followed TV-14 Crime Drama Comedy Release Date October 16, 2018 Network ABC Showrunner Alexi Hawley Directors Tori Garrett, Chi-Yoon Chung, Michael Goi, Sylvain White, Lisa Demaine, Lanre Olabisi, Bill Johnson, David McWhirter, Liz Friedlander, Daniel Willis, Toa Fraser, Anne Renton, Jon Huertas, Cherie Nowlan, TK Shom, Rob Seidenglanz, Valerie Weiss, Barbara Brown, Charissa Sanjarernsuithikul, SJ Main Muñoz, Nelson McCormick, Marcus Stokes, Adam Davidson, Anna Mastro Writers Corey Miller, Bill Rinier, Zoe Cheng, Mary Trahan, Ally Seibert, Liz Alper, Nick Hurwitz, Racheal Seymour, Madeleine Coghlan, David Radcliff
7 Images
Melissa O'Neil as Lucy Chen and Nathan Fillion as John Nolan in The Rookie season 4ABC via MovieStillsDB
Nathan Fillion as John Nolan in an episode of The RookieMike Taing / ©ABC/Disney / Courtesy Everett Collection
The Rookie CastABC (via MovieStillsDB)
Melissa O'Neil as Lucy Chen pointing at something with Eric Winter as Tim Bradford by her side in The Rookie season 1 episode Greenlight
Titus Makin Jr as Jackson West, Melissa O'Neil as Lucy Chen, and Nathan Fillion as John Nolan in The Rookie season 1, episode 16
Jackson West in The Rookie season 3, episode 7
Nathan Fillion as John Nolan in The Rookie season 7, episode 2Close
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