The Rookie fans who tuned into the long-awaited season seven premiere on Tuesday night have called for "more context" for the current dynamic between Lucy Chen (Melissa O'Neil) and Tim Bradford (Eric Winter) following their heartbreaking split in season six.
In the season premiere, the pair appeared to be on good terms despite tensions between the former couple when we last saw them. The new episode sees Lucy and Tim engage in friendly banter as the former is promoted and tasked with training up one of the new recruits.
Taking to social media, one fan penned: "I really need context as to what's going on with Lucy and Tim cuz like they could barely talk to each other [at the] end of last season. I need to know what's changed #therookie," while another agreed, writing: "Great first episode but like I NEED the context of the time jump cause chenfords dynamic is too good for nothing to have happened."
A third fan remarked: "The end of season 6 vs the beginning of season 7… oh baby we are SO back already. Something MUST have happened in between there with Chenford that we haven't seen yet either," while another added: "What happened during the time jump for Chenford?"
Others shared their hopes for a Chenford reunion in the new season, with one person writing: "My god the love is PALPABLE here. Gonna need them to stop playing games and get back together already," while a second fan penned: "Watching #TheRookie and I DESPERATELY need Chenford to get back together this season."
Speaking about the dynamic between Lucy and Tim in season seven, Eric previously told HELLO!: "I think we're going to see Tim and Lucy continue to learn how to navigate their feelings while being on the job."
The actor continued: "We'll see them pick up in a place where they've shown that they care about each other and now they have to figure out, 'can we give each other space to do our job and allow our feelings to stay in a safe place but not rush anything and hope one person doesn't go astray?'"
The new season, which is made up of 18 episodes, picks up "within a week or two" of where season six left off, showrunner Alexi Hawley told TV Insider back in May.
For those yet to tune into the episode, here's the logline: "Now recovering from a gunshot wound and feeling the effects of his age, John and the team welcome two new rookies and continue the hunt for two dangerous inmates with very personal vendettas following their prison escape."
The Rookie airs on Tuesdays on ABC at 10pm ET.