This season of The Rookie is heavy on Nyla Harper.
From her professional pursuits, as she hunts down a serial killer, to her personal life, as she deals with marriage troubles, the show has not paid her this much attention since she first appeared.
One of the character’s recurring arcs involves how her job as a police officer interferes with her marriage to community activist James Murray.
I have always felt that James and Nyla’s marriage wouldn’t last, but I’ve never been able to articulate why until the current season.
Nyla and James got married because Nyla was pregnant. Despite their admission that they love each other, it had always felt like they did it because they thought it was the right thing to do, at least for their child.
But during The Rookie Season 7, foundational issues come up and these are issues that no marriage can weather. People can explain and understand cheating, falling out of love, and other numerous problems that couples face.
However, there can never be a middle ground on differing values, especially when both parties feel strongly about theirs.
Nyla and James Have Conflicting Values
Not only are Nyla and James’ opinions about policing different, they are fundamentally in opposition.
James has had to water down his opinions for the sake of keeping peace at home, but he believes the police have no business in communities they’ve wreaked havoc in for decades.
He believes the community is capable of looking after itself just fine.
On the other hand, Nyla has been a police officer and knows it can work if used appropriately.
In the current season, some middle ground has been achieved, as they agree that policing is necessary, but there is work to be done.
Yet there remains a significant problem between them.
Home has turned into a minefield that no careful navigation can prevent the detonation of one.
Will Nyla find James’ community people at her home the next time she drops by, which is every day?
Will James have to support Nyla after a hard day at work despite his feelings about her job?
This unhealthy status quo of expecting the other person to attack can be emotionally taxing for couples.
Neither Nyla Nor James is Changing Their Views
The views each person holds did not emerge overnight.
They result from years of working to advance their beliefs in the real world so much that they cannot be separated from their adopted identities.
Nyla clarified that she would never quit her job because James was uncomfortable. James would rather walk on hot coals than let go of his vision for his community.
It’s an impasse that cannot be broken, regardless of the fickle solutions they’ve devised to bandage the latest crack.
The future looks bleak as they sink deeper into their beliefs.
Cops can be tribal, and so can activists. What happens when the pressure from the outside world surpasses what they’ve created between themselves?
The Cheating Arc Might Be Game Over for Nyla and James
The Rookie has introduced an arc in which James appears to have cheated on Nyla.
The full story is a little complicated, but no one apart from James knows how complicated it is since the other person died.
The marriage already has huge cracks in the foundation.
All it would take is a little gush of wind, and the building would collapse.
This gush of wind is here, and no matter what they do, they don’t trust each other to weather it.
But that’s so bleak, mister!
Couples have been known to thrive even when there are fundamental differences in values. However, there is no fifty-fifty. Someone has to give in to the other person for it to work.
People change religions, cultural practices, or political beliefs for their marriage’s sake. If that doesn’t happen, the marriage is doomed to be stuck in a toxic limbo.
The only other option is to end it; that’s the best solution for Nyla and James, and The Rookie would be wise to acknowledge this.
Otherwise, viewers will be left with a frustrating storyline with zero chance of development.
What do you think, TV Fanatics? Is there a way to turn this marriage around? Chime in in the comments section.
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