The Rookie Season 7, Episode 2 adds Iron Man 3 and The Flash star William Sadler and 24 alum Lourdes Benedicto to its stacked guest star lineup.
The new episode of ABC's police procedural and crime series, "The Watcher," sees the team of the Mid-Wilshire precinct go on a special community policing assignment to track down a rogue vigilante.
The Rookie Season 7, Episode 2 premiered on ABC on January 14.
The Rookie Season 7 Episode 2 Cast: Every Notable Guest Star
Arjay Smith - James Murray
Arjay Smith returns as James Murray, Nyla Harper's husband and a lawyer who hosts a large gathering of community activists at their home. The gathering ends up pissing Nyla off, leading to a fight between the married couple.
Smith is known for his roles in Perception, Sacrifice, and Agent Stoker.
Deric Augustine - Miles
Deric Augustine is back as Miles, a new rookie under the supervision of Tim Bradford.
In Season 7, Episode 2, Miles is caught by Bradford for living in his car which violates a certain protocol in the world of law enforcement. He is tasked to find a new home in 24 hours or he gets expelled.
Augustine previously appeared in Cloak & Dagger, All American, and Godfather of Harlem.
Ivan Hernandez - Detective Graham
Ivan Hernandez returns as Detective Graham, a fellow detective in Mid-Wilshire who has a crush on Angela.
Hernandez can be seen in Devious Maids, The Good Wife, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
Emerson Brooks - Thomas Forsythe
Emerson Brooks guest stars as Thomas Forsythe, a former cop who now acts as a vigilante known as The Watcher.
Brooks' notable credits include Uncoupled, The Last Ship, and MacGyver.
Lourdes Benedicto - Imelda Sanchez
Lourdes Benedicto plays Imelda Sanchez, the Watcher's copycat who uses the vigilante identity to avenge her daughter's death.
Benedicto can also be seen in ER, V, and The Fighting Temptations.
Brent Huff - Quigley Smitty
Brent Huff reprises his role as Quigley Smitty, a fellow officer of the Mid-Wilshire precinct who agrees to let Miles move in with him temporarily.
Huff returns after making a prominent appearance as part of the cast of The Rookie Season 6, Episode 10.
The actor also has credits in Shameless, Tyson's Run, and Disaster Man.
Patrick Keleher - Seth Ridley
Patrick Keleher plays Seth Ridley, a rookie under the supervision of Lucy Chen.
He is struggling on his second day after his test results may have revealed that his cancer has returned.
Keleher also starred in The Egos, Dr. Alan Venture Man, and Dream Slasher.
Charles Kim - Store Owner
Charles Kim appears as a store owner who trusts the vigilante over the cops.
Kim can be seen in Grace & Frankie, The Comedy Get Down, and Pachinko.
Adela Paez - Neighborhood Gal
Adela Paez plays one of the women in the neighborhood who asks for help from Miles and Tim while they are on patrol.
Paez is known for her roles in 9-1-1, Griselda, and Primo.
William Sadler - Walter Fields
William Sadler joins the cast as Walter Fields, a scared senior who accidentally shoots his granddaughter for mistakenly identifying her as an intruder.
Sadler previously appeared in Iron Man 3 and The CW's The Flash. The actor also recently appeared as part of the cast of Salem's Lot.
Here are the other main cast members who appeared in The Rookie Season 7, Episode 2:
- Nathan Fillion - John Nolan
- Lisseth Chavez - Celina Suarez
- Melissa O’Neil - Lucy Chen
- Eric Winter - Tim Bradford
- Alyssa Diaz - Angela Lopez
- Mekia Cox - Nyla Harper
- Richard T. Jones - Wade Grey
- Shawn Ashmore - Wesley Evers
The Rookie Season 7 Episode 2 Plot Recap & Ending Explained
It's Plain Clothes Day
The Rookie Season 7, Episode 2, "The Watcher," starts things off with Nolan and Juarez chasing down a thug, but their job is cut short due to the arrival of Los Angeles' newest vigilante, The Watcher.
The Watcher's presence (no, not the MCU one) presents some trouble within the local community since it leads the citizens to not trust cops anymore.
Meanwhile, Detective Nyla Harper and her husband, James, have a major issue to settle involving some community activists who want answers about the corruption fiasco that has been hounding the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
After some convincing with James, Nyla agrees to his request to host some of the activists for dinner in their house to hear them out.
Back at the precinct, it is plain clothes day for Nolan, meaning that he wears ordinary clothes and only watches his rookie (Juarez) go on a solo patrol and does not intervene unless really necessary.
The tables have turned meanwhile for Nyla and Angela as they are required to wear uniforms to fill in for patrol despite being detectives.
The New Rookies' Dilemma Continues
The new rookies of the Mid-Welshire precinct, Miles and Seth, have their fair share of problems during their first week in patrol.
The ending of The Rookie Season 7 premiere revealed that Miles is living in his car.
In the new episode, Tim Bradford, his training officer, finds out about his living situation, and Miles tells him the truth about not having the means to pay for an apartment because he has an insurmountable amount of debt to pay.
Tim, as strict as he is, does not empathize with Miles' situation, and he tells him to find a new home in 24 hours before he gets expelled from the program.
As for Seth, his second day on the job doesn't go well either since he is late for the daily roll call because of a doctor's appointment.
It turns out that he was diagnosed with cancer four years ago, but he was able to beat it. However, the irregular results of his recent blood test suggest that his cancer might have returned.
A Vigilante in Los Angeles
A rogue vigilante being on the loose in the streets of Los Angeles gives the officers of Mid-Wilshire to be on high alert, especially now that there is a considerable spike in crime activities since the team is shorthanded.
While his modus operandi involves targeting criminals actively committing illegal activities, Lucy Chen and his trainee, Seth, encounter a different kind of Watcher who shot an innocent man in broad daylight.
Although Seth chases him off, he isn't able to get the license plate and the model of the car, leading him to get scolded by Lucy and eventually, Sergeant Grey.
Despite that, Nyla and Angela devise a plan to catch this vigilante with the help of Tim and his rookie, Miles. They end up catching The Watcher and they unmask him as Thomas Forsythe, a former police officer.
However, his alibi checks out, and it is revealed that someone else is running around as the vigilante.
Celina Juarez Takes the Test of Her Life
In Plain Clothes Day, Nolan will only watch over Juarez as she goes on a solo patrol for a day.
He is required to be on the sidelines and let his rookie take over and make decisions on the fly. He will only intervene unless it's a life-and-death situation.
However, things go sideways after Nolan decides to take the lead during a shooting gone wrong situation inside a house.
Juarez is clearly disappointed over what Nolan did, telling him, "I thought I did a good job handling that call today so I don't really understand why you stepped in to take the lead."
Nolan later speaks with Nyla and Angela about what happened, and the pair of detectives tell him that he needs to give her room for error for Juarez to grow.
Juarez proves herself again by taking on a much bigger suspect, and Nolan stands his ground and observes her rookie proudly.
Later in the episode, Sergeant Grey tells Juarez that she passed Plain Clothes Day and she is one step closer to graduation. Grey, though, tells Nolan that he still has room for improvement as a training officer.
Nolan has a lot to contemplate ahead of Bailey's return in the coming episodes (read more about Jenna Dewan's return in The Rookie Season 7 here).
The Copycat Gets Busted
After the real Watcher is free from charges, the team gets to work on finding out who the copycat is.
They end up deducing that the shooter is the mother of an 18-year-old who was killed by gang members: Imelda Sanchez.
The main team of Mid-Wilshire heads over to Imelda's house and they encounter several gang members who are about to raid her house.
While the team neutralizes the rest of the gang members, Imelda is about to shoot one of them for vengeance, but thankfully, Juarez manages to talk her down and they all arrest them in the end.
Meanwhile, Nyla and James sort out their issues with the community activists who hounded the detective with questions in their house.
James is also conflicted over Detective Graham's crush on his wife, Angela, and this storyline could further be fleshed out in the coming episodes.
The Rookie Season 7, Episode 2 ends with Miles finding a new home: Quigley Smitty's mobile home lot.
New episodes of The Rookie Season 7 premiere on ABC every Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET and can be streamed on Hulu the next day.
