Sumith Prasad
The five seasons of ABC’s police procedural series ‘The Rookie’ are filled with several captivating antagonists. From Rosalind Dyer to Elijah Stone, these characters have added immense tension to the narrative and enhanced the same. The final episode of the fifth season follows a group of masked men who attack LAPD officers without an explicit motive. A part of them nearly kills Aaron Thorsen and attacks officers such as John Nolan, Tim Bradford, Lucy Chen, Nyla Harper, etc. Although the officers trace the attacks back to a criminal named Luke Moran, the closing scene of the episode reveals that Moran is just a pawn in the hands of a superior force. So, who exactly is he? Let’s find out! SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Elusive Target of the Mysterious Mastermind
In the fifth season finale, the attacks on the LAPD officers begin with a group of three masked men attacking Aaron Thorsen and Celina Juarez. After shooting down Aaron, nearly killing him, a masked man recites a riddle to Celina. Angela Lopez, Wesley, and Luna crack the riddle and find out that the final line in the same is from a play in which the actors used masks similar to the ones worn by Aaron and Celina’s attackers. The masks were traced back to a criminal named Roy Gracco, who is found dead. Wade Grey and his officers find Gracco’s adversaries to find the man behind the masked men, which leads them to Luke Moran.
Moran is eventually identified as the leader of the masked men. However, he is not the mastermind behind the whole predicament that revolves around the mysterious attackers. He doesn’t have the money or resources to hire an infamous international killer to attack Nolan and his wife Bailey Nune. Moran is hired by an anonymous man who appears in the closing scene of the fifth season finale. He is plotting an even more severe crime in the city and uses the attacks committed by the masked men as a distraction. He takes advantage of Moran’s enmity towards the LAPD officers to use him as a front to the crime he wants to commit.
Since the anonymous man is able to hire international criminals and orchestrate attacks on half a dozen LAPD officers, it is clear that he is a big shot. Considering that he uses multiple attacks on police officers only as a distraction, the crime he wants to commit has to be extremely severe in nature. Considering that Los Angeles is the home of thousands and thousands of influential people, who range from politicians to celebrities and crime lords to businessmen, he can be targeting anyone from these groups to kill, abduct, or blackmail. One thing that’s certain is the target is worth the trouble of spending possibly millions to hire personnel and fund their attacks on the LAPD officers.
After the introduction of the man in the episode, the camera pans to Bank of America, which can be considered foreshadowing. It makes sense that the man may have plotted a high-scale heist when the LAPD exhausts its resources and manpower to capture the masked men. If that’s the case, his target can be a financial establishment such as the aforementioned bank. Another important detail concerning the anonymous man is his confidence that he will be able to flee from the City of Angels right after committing the crime, which indicates that he has international connections.
If ‘The Rookie: Feds’ gets renewed for a sophomore season, we can expect a crossover event in which the LAPD will join hands with the FBI to capture the man. Since Nolan is already wondering about how Moran was able to hire an entire militia without much money to his name, the LAPD may even be ready for the man in the sixth season premiere.
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