Who cares about Nathan Fillion? Even if the star is the figurehead of the police series The Rookie at the beginning, many fans’ hearts beat much stronger for two of his colleagues: Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) and Tim Bradford (Eric Winter), known together as the Chenford couple. In season 6, they suffered their biggest shock yet, which may not make sense to many in the community. But it does for actress Melissa O’Neil. Beware of spoilers!
Chenford shock in The Rookie: Melissa O’Neil explains the sudden separation
What happened? In season 6, Tim Bradford meets an old enemy from his army days. He tries to defuse the situation on his own and hurts Chen with his secrecy. When the situation becomes life-threatening, she confronts him. Finally, he explains his motives. And breaks up with Chen.
ABC
Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) and Lucy Chen (Melissa O’Neil) in The Rookie
According to TV Guide, The Rookie creator Alexi Hawley has already announced the separation planned for a long time. “Eric Winter initiated this development because he is interested in taking the relationship in new directions“, he explains. Many relationships in the series are very happy. But you also need counterexamples that show that not everything always runs smoothly.
Many of these ideas look good on paper. But how do you ensure that a breakup doesn’t come too abruptly for the fans? Lucy actress O’Neil thinks the breakup is understandable, especially from the perspective of her partner character Tim Bradford:
It makes a lot of sense. We’ve all been in situations where we thought, ‘This relationship is great, but my life is imploding right now. I can’t do this right now.’
Bradford uses his proud independence as a defensive mechanism, said O’Neil. For him, separating from Chen is the “most loving act“that he could meet at this moment. He wanted to protect against greater damage.
What will happen to Chenford in The Rookie Season 7?
Whether O’Neil is right in her assessment is up to each fan. For many it was a shock. What will happen next with Lucy Chen and Tim Bradford remains to be seen. Season 7 of Rookie has already been confirmed, but is not expected to return until 2025 to the US broadcaster ABC. There is no official German launch date yet.