Eric Winter and Melissa O'Neil standing next to each other in The Rookie Season 8, Episode 2Image via ABC
By
Jeffrey Harris
Published Feb 4, 2026, 8:40 PM EST
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 Add Us On Summary Generate a summary of this story 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 recapEditor's Note: The following contains spoilers for The Rookie Season 8, Episode 5.The Rookie Season 8, Episode 5, "The Network," marked a major return to the series, as the greatly missed Officer Aaron Thorsen (Tru Valentino) was back on the scene, appearing for the first time since Season 6 ended. As great as it was to see Thorsen back on the scene in the Mid-Wilshire Division, the events of this week's episode proved how poorly the writers handled Thorsen's exit from the series. Considering the circumstances of his exit and what occurred this week, we're going to examine how "The Network" proves why Thorsen never should have left the hit ABC series.
Thorsen's Exit From the Series Was Badly Handled
Aaron Thorsen greets Celina Juarez in The Rookie Season 8.Image via Disney/Mike Taing
One of the problems with Thorsen's exit is that the character was written out of the show off-screen with only one line of dialogue. In the Season 7 premiere, "The Shot," Celina Juarez (Lisseth Chavez) offhandedly mentions to John Nolan (Nathan Fillion) that Thorsen transferred out of Mid-Wilshire to the North Hollywood station because the officers there wouldn't know that he was a patient of Dr. Blair London (Danielle Campbell), the corrupt police psychiatrist who was selling officers' secrets to Monica Stevens (Bridget Regan). That was an iffy, haphazard, and convoluted way to write Thorsen out of the show, since he was a prominent character and one of the main cast's rookie recruits in the last three seasons.
Over his three seasons on the show, Thorsen proved to have an interesting and compelling character arc. He was a rich, privileged kid and social media influencer who was wrongfully accused and imprisoned for the murder of his friend. Thorsen became a police officer because he wanted to ensure that all suspects would receive fair and impartial treatment and not get railroaded through the system as he had. Not to mention, during Season 6, Thorsen had taken to shadowing Detectives Nyla Harper (Mekia Cox) and Angela Lopez (Alyssa Diaz), becoming their protégé. Becoming a detective is part of Thorsen's goal to treat suspects fairly, so his character arc always felt woefully unfinished. Writing him out of the show in such a thoughtless, arbitrary manner was disrespectful to such an important character and viewers who grew to love him.
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Posts By Erin KonradHow "The Network" Jettisons Thorsen’s Reasoning for a Transfer
In "The Network," Thorsen returns to Mid-Wilshire to assist Lt. Wade Grey (Richard T. Jones) and FBI Supervisory Special Agent Matthew Garza (Felix Solis) with their task force, using intelligence from Monica to take down other criminals as part of her immunity deal. Wasn't the whole reason Thorsen left Mid-Wilshire based on his connection to Monica through Dr. London? So now, he's returning to the station to work on a task force with intel from the criminal connected to Thorsen's old LAPD psychiatrist. It demonstrates the flimsy reasoning behind Thorsen's transfer out of Mid-Wilshire in the first place, before his character arc could truly come to fruition.
Additionally, multiple other officers at Mid-Wilshire were also patients of Dr. London, including Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) and Detective Keith Graham (Ivan Hernandez), the detective who revealed his attraction to Detective Lopez in his therapy sessions. There were no issues with gossip or any other problems of their own respective connections with Dr. London, and Wesley Evers (Shawn Ashmore) reviewed all the recorded sessions to absolve other officers of any wrongdoing. Bradford and Hernandez faced no discernible issues in the fallout from the scandal caused by Dr. London working with Monica. Therefore, Thorsen never needed to leave in the first place, and considering the circumstances of his return, the writers never provided a strong enough basis for his poorly executed exit.
Thorsen Should Continue as a Recurring Character
Aaron Thorsen chats with Agent Matthew Garza in The Rookie Season 8.Image via Disney/Mike Taing
While Thorsen does not need to rejoin the main cast of The Rookie, he should definitely continue recurring as a special guest star, similar to this week's appearance. The FBI's Monica task force appears to be an ongoing storyline, and it's also been revealed that Monica has a secret contact, proving that she is engaged in something nefarious right under the FBI and LAPD's noses. Could this be the previously unseen villainous crime-lord and mastermind of the Federal Reserve Heist in the Season 6 premiere, "Strike Back?" It would make perfect sense, and Monica is not to be trusted.
Subscribe to the newsletter for deeper The Rookie analysis
Crave clearer takes on The Rookie’s character moves and choices? Subscribing to our newsletter gives in-depth coverage and thoughtful analysis of Thorsen’s arc and other TV character developments, helping you follow narrative shifts and story logic. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.Thorsen, in a guest-star capacity, could help expose Monica and her contact’s crimes, which would go a long way to helping Thorsen achieve his goal of becoming a detective. Ultimately, it would be nice to see Thorsen continue appearing in future episodes, allowing the character to advance in his law enforcement career. The character showed so much promise when he joined the cast, so his return to the series, even if it's only for one episode, provides a welcome and joyous moment.
The Rookie
TV-14
Crime
Drama
Comedy
Release Date
October 16, 2018
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The Rookie
Subscribe to the newsletter for deeper The Rookie analysis
Crave clearer takes on The Rookie’s character moves and choices? Subscribing to our newsletter gives in-depth coverage and thoughtful analysis of Thorsen’s arc and other TV character developments, helping you follow narrative shifts and story logic. Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.What To Watch
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