Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Rookie season 7, episode 7.The Rookie season 7, episode 7 was a big one for the relationship between Nolan and Bailey. After Nolan discovered that his wife was in with the hitman who murdered Jason, the couple faced one of their biggest obstacles to date. By the end of the episode, the pair were on the path to resolution, but Bailey actor Jenna Dewan reveals there will still be some work to do.
Dewan has played Bailey on The Rookie since season 3, though she was not made a series regular until season 4. Since then, Bailey and Nolan (the busy and beloved Nathan Fillion) struck up a romantic relationship and were finally married in season 6. Such complicated revelations about Bailey coming to the surface not long after their marriage put the relationship between Bailey and Nolan to the test, and how they responded to the situation made for character-defining moments all around.

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ScreenRant interviews Jenna Dewan about The Rookie season 7, episode 7. Dewan touches on where Bailey’s head was following the events of The Rookie season 7, episode 6, as well as how she felt the relationship between Bailey and Nolan had changed in episode 7. Plus, Dewan speaks about how the events of the episode might shape the rest of the season for Bailey and touches on whether audiences will see more of the Celina, Nolan, and Bailey dynamic.
Jenna Dewan On Relating To Bailey Going Into Episode 7
“I Didn’t Necessarily See That Perspective At First”
ScreenRant: I would like to start with the moment from episode 6 when Nolan first confronts Bailey about the hitman. Did she feel like he was prioritizing the law over her safety, and how did that impact Bailey?
Jenna Dewan: From Bailey's point of view, she was in one of the most dangerous situations of her life and also one of the most complicated moments of her life. I feel, from her perspective, she really didn't feel like he was taking that into . Not to excuse all of her actions and how that all goes down, [but] I think there wasn't any ability for that. It was just this, “How could you break the law? How could you do these wrong things?”
It felt, in Bailey's eyes, only to be about himself, and I was going, “Don't you see what I was up against? You said that he was trying to come murder me, and my life was at risk here. [You could spend] even a moment to take that into consideration.”
I think it is just like a lot of other times in life where there's two sides to this and two perspectives, and at the end, [I think] how they come together and have this healing moment of realizing, “We both have a part in this and the only way forward is to really try to love and empathize with each other,” was really healing for her and for him. But yeah, I think that she felt very strongly about it. And I didn't necessarily see that perspective at first, [but] once I read it and had to get into it, I said, “Well, actually, I do. I could see how she sees it this way.”
Going into the next episode, where is her head at the beginning of episode 7? Was leaving Nolan something she was really considering if he wasn't making an effort to understand her?
Jenna Dewan: I think she was so hoping that he would be able to help her fix it. I think when she says, “Please fix this,” that's her way of saying, “Please help me fix this. I want us, but I don't really know how to do it, but I need your help.” I think if she was really considering, “This relationship is over,” it would've not had that button on the end of that phone call.
For me, at least, as an actress, that little button changed it all for me. I went, “Oh, she's vulnerable. She's a victim at the end of the day, and she is wrapped up in this, and she doesn't how to unwind herself from this complex situation she’s got him in.” And she needs him, but at the same time, she's like, “If you can't have any understanding for me, I have no idea how to meet you there.” But I thought that moment of her saying, “Please fix this,” was actually one of the fewer times I've seen Bailey being vulnerable.
For Bailey, Season 7, Episode 7 Was About “Coming To With The Fact That She’s A Victim”
“That’s Her Actual Worst Nightmare”, Dewan Says
In this episode, Bailey helps a woman who is also a victim of abuse. How do you feel that conversation helped her come to with the reality of her own experience?
Jenna Dewan: I think that all of this whole episode has been about coming to with the fact that she's a victim, and coming to with the fact that she never wanted to be a victim. That's her actual worst nightmare, but she has to accept that that's the case. So, her conversations with him and her conversation with Diana… all of [that] sort of forced her to this realization of, “I'm not perfect, I'm not invincible, I am broken inside, but I can be all those things and still be loved, and that's okay.”
I think that encapsulates everything that we all, as humans, go around life feeling. It's like, “I don't know if I want to show this side of myself that feels bad,” but those moments of showing those hard moments about ourselves are what create vulnerability and deeper relationships. And so, she learned a lot. She had to accept that she messed up, that she has parts of herself that are not wonderful, and [that] there are parts of her that have been victimized. In doing that, she, I think, became a little bit more human and a little bit more real and, [and made it so there was] more for her and Nolan to connect in with. It just creates a deeper relationship.
Nolan & Bailey Did Patch Things Up, But There’s Still “Stabilizing” To Do
Dewan Says Bailey & Nolan “Walked Through The Fire Pretty Early On”
Do you feel that Bailey got the she needed from Nolan at the end of the episode?
Jenna Dewan: I felt like it was exactly what she needed. I feel just to have him even kind of empathize and understand where she was at was everything she needed. I think it's hard to do more than that in the moment because it's a very difficult action that she had made, and that caused a lot of complexities.
But having his heart understand and his words and his emotional availability be there for her and go, “I see where you're at and why this happened,” to me, is everything. That, I think, for Bailey was the first time she's ever put herself on the line like that, and also the first time anyone's been stable enough and held her at that moment of pain. So, I think that was really healing for both of them.
Jason is gone now, but can you say anything about how all of this affects Bailey’s storyline and her relationship with Nolan going forward in the series?
Jenna Dewan: I do think that when you're going through something so intense like that together, and you actually make it out the other side of it, there's a bit of a shorthand–[they can] look at each other and go, “We went through that. That was intense, and we made it, and we love each other more for it.”
The season starts off with such high-stakes drama and intensity for Bailey, and I think from here on out, it becomes about sort of stabilizing after that and finding her way with Nolan. As well as, of course, all the things that come about that cause her to use her skills and be there and do her job. But her and Nolan, I think, walked through the fire pretty early on in the season, and then it's about stabilizing from that.
Celina Will Stick Around After ing Her Test
“We Definitely Have A Lot Of Nolan/Bailey/Celina Scenes”, Says Dewan
Celina is no longer Nolan's rookie, but she's become very close to Bailey and Nolan. Can you say anything about whether that relationship will continue to be a part of the show in that way?
Jenna Dewan: I feel like Celina [is] like my little sister or daughter in a sense. We love her so much, and we definitely have a lot of Nolan/Bailey/Celina scenes in the house and stuff that happen [that are] really fun, because there is a good shorthand.
I think she really gets me and has my back and I always have her back, and I'm kind of teasing Nolan a lot about that. It's like, “Well, you know, Celina’s right,” and then the two of us [have] our spiritual, woo-woo kind of senses, she's rubbing off of me in that way, and he's always rolling his eyes. It's cute. It's been fun. I love Celina. I think that that character is so fun. We just love Liz so much, so every time she's in scenes with us, we get really excited.
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About The Rookie's Latest Episode
Season 7, Episode 7, "The Mickey"
John gives Celina one final test on her last day as a rookie, Bailey befriends someone new, and Lucy trusts Seth for an undercover assignment.
Check out our other interviews for The Rookie:
The Rookie season 7 airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

The Rookie
- Release Date
- October 16, 2018
- Network
- ABC
- Showrunner
- Alexi Hawley
Cast
- John Nolan
- Melissa O'NeilLucy Chen
The Rookie follows John Nolan, a small-town man who embarks on a new career as an LAPD officer after a life-changing event. As the force's oldest rookie, Nolan faces skepticism from superiors who view his pursuit as a midlife crisis.
- 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
- Creator(s)
- Alexi Hawley
- Main Genre
- Comedy
- Producers
- Mark Gordon, Nathan Fillion, Jon Steinberg, Bill Norcross, Vincent Angell, Alexi Hawley, Michelle Chapman, Terence Paul Winter, Bill Roe, Fredrick Kotto, Robert Bella, Brynn Malone, Diana Mendez Boucher, Helen Pai, P. Todd Coe, Rob Bowman, Nicholas Pepper, Patrick McKee, Christiana Hooks
- Seasons
- 7
- Story By
- alexi hawley
- Streaming Service(s)
- Hulu
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