It’s the penultimate episode of Rookie Blue, and here’s what Global’s official episode synopsis says:

“Now that Sam and Marlo’s baby girl has arrived, it’s clear nothing could have prepared Andy for this moment. So when Juliet offers Andy an opportunity to leave town for four months on an undercover project, Andy starts to consider it. Meanwhile, Jarvis reveals the shocking news that 15 Division will be restructured following the corruption scandal.”

We can sum up tonight’s drama is six images. Hold on tight, fans!

Rookie Blue‘s season finale airs next Wednesday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on Global.

Still basking in the happiness that was Andy and Swarek’s engagement, I tuned in to this week’s episode of Rookie Blue knowing that things wouldn’t be all fun and games. Juliet throwing Oliver under the bus to IA meant bad times were coming at the precinct. Did they ever.

“Best Man,” written by Adriana Maggs and series co-star Enuka Okuma (check out her chat with The TV Junkies), was very much about Oliver. Not long after Swarek asked him to be his best man, he was under the microscope and more folks were learning of his impending fate. I like Matt Gordon a lot. His Oliver is able to successfully walk that line between goofy and serious, and he commands respect from his fellow cops. But despite the fact Oliver is just outside the core group of RB characters, Gordon is able to make the most of the lines and scenes he’s given.

His speech to Swarek, Andy and Izzy near the end of the episode, when the list of reasons he could be named the bomber was read off, was stunning and emotionally draining. Twenty years on the job, cleaning the streets of criminals and saving lives—including Evan, the autistic boy who’d disappeared and was found by he and Diaz—and he’d missed seeing his little girl grow up. So Oliver put his badge on his desk and left to play drums with Izzy.

To make that move was shocking in and of itself, though there is no way Swarek is handing over Oliver’s badge. He’s going to hold onto it until the firestorm is over.

And what a firestorm is promises to be. Steve Peck is the man behind the bombing? That little tidbit left me reeling. Bomb dealer Chris Klem (Flashpoint‘s Sergio Di Zio) was finally tracked down by Swarek and Andy and delivered he and his daughter to Traci, who was putting them in protective custody. I never believed Oliver was the cop who’d gotten the bomb pieces from Chris—but I never suspected Steve either. I never saw outward signs that he was unhappy or held a grudge with anyone on the force. Is there something that happened in earlier seasons that I missed because I’m a relative newbie to RB? Was he upset he was passed over for Sergeant and wanted to frame Oliver? Was he forced to do it by someone else?

Either way, the fact Traci has discovered her man is the bomber sends their relationship in a whole new direction (how could she kiss him and go out to dinner after Chris identified him?) and throws the precinct into upheaval. Holy crap.

Notes and quotes

• Does every couple go through the gauntlet of a marriage quiz when they become engaged? I’m asking for a friend.
• “There’s nothing in this world that isn’t somewhere.” — Traci
• “How many times have I been right? Is anyone even keeping track anymore??” — Andy

Rookie Blue airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Global.

I was out of town last week, so I was unable to review “Letting Go,” which gave fans a peek into Nick’s backstory. It was a pretty emotional ride, with Nick coming close to meting out the justice he’s waited so long for, an introduction to his older brother (Peter Stebbings in a beard!) and Dov and Marlo continuing the bombing investigation on their own.

This week saw closure in the case of the man stalking Traci. Or should I say “men” as the duo of Adrian Locke (J. Adam Brown) and Corey Sleeman (Will Bowes) were working in tandem to capture women and rape them. Eagle-eyed viewers will note Corey Sleeman is the guy who was pulled into the station and questioned by Swarek in Episode 1 and aimed the investigation away from himself.

“A Real Gentleman,” written by Karen Moore, may very well have been named that because Corey felt he hadn’t done anything wrong by nabbing ladies like Traci. After all, he wasn’t the one sexually assaulting them; that was Adrian and Corey was just watching and making sure his partner was being gentle. The whole storyline was pretty terrifying simply because the suspects were so blasé as they recounted what they’d done. Most TV shows go the route of a hardened, veteran criminal committing the crimes, but Thursday’s storyline proposed the quiet kid next door or the barista in the coffee shop could be stalking and plotting harm. It was a dark route to go, and kudos to Bowes and Enuka Okuma for saying the lines with the appropriate gravitas. Okuma’s Traci hasn’t had a heck of a lot to do this season, but she more than made up for it on Thursday. (And can we talk about the serious butt-kicking Traci delivered to Corey in that basement? Wow.)

Rookie Blue isn’t the first cop drama to throw a red herring into the mix but the latest was offering up gun smuggler Thom Kozik (Daniel Kash) as the possible reason Traci had gone missing just minutes before the raid. Kash plays bad guys to a tee and was in his element as the sleazy Kozik, hinting to Swarek and Steve that perhaps he was behind Traci’s disappearance. He wasn’t, of course, but I have to wonder if Kozik will be back in a future episode. Kash is a little too high profile an actor for a one-off and the case against him seemed to be far from closed.

Gail’s ongoing adoption storyline made a little step forward this week, as she and Dov were tasked with keeping Leo company while the force searched for his mom. There was a nice moment in the squad car where Gail and Leo bonded and he showed his trust in her by putting his head on her shoulder. Awwww.

Notes and quotes

• The look Gail gave Dov when he suggested she might be iron deficient? Priceless.
• Track grabbed a bike lock to defend herself from Corey, but I would have used the canoe paddle by the door.
• Diaz needs to run away from Jamie as fast as he can. But is he in too far to escape her if he decides to break it off?

Rookie Blue airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on Global.

Last week, David Sutcliffe dropped by Rookie Blue to play a father who went a little too far when it came to controlling his kids. This week it was Mary Walsh (22 Minutes) who hopped into the sandbox to play … and ended up having quite the impact on Gail.

I’ve watched enough seasons of prison series to know that not all convicts are deadly, but I admit I worried for Gail’s life when she first came upon Odelle (Walsh) in the room where the prison riot had taken place. I kept waiting for Odelle to take Gail prisoner in a bid to get out of Pine Valley, you know, like what had happened to Andy and Juliet with Kenzie. Turns out Odelle was a lonely woman with a tragic story: she was in prison for murdering her husband after he’d accidentally set their house on fire and killed their children. Odelle implored Gail to embrace every day as if it was her last and our favourite blonde cop did just that, pinching Lauralee’s bottom when the two ran into each other at the precinct.

Raise your hand if you knew right away that even though Kenzie was labelled the belligerent convict that it was really Rachelle that Nick should have kept his guard up for? Yeah, me too, though it was still interesting to learn (and see) how she got everyone’s guard down and then attacked. Her plot to kill a fellow inmate almost came to fruition; if the assault team—aided by Shaw and Diaz—hadn’t arrived when they did the situation would have had a much bleaker conclusion.

Prison riots are claustrophobic scenes where I suspect something bad it going to happen, so I was glad when Andy and Juliet emerged unscathed. Well, as unscathed as you can be when a knife is being held to your throat. “Uprising” (directed by Gregory Smith) allowed for the two to get to know each other a little more, especially Andy, who learned as we already have that Juliet is not exactly who she appears to be. Kenzie recognizing Juliet means she was in Vancouver and involved with a drug dealer who worked for a gang. Juliet said things got messy, and I wonder if she became so involved in the gang she got addicted to drugs or even witnessed a murder and failed to intervene. Whatever it was, it was enough she appears to be an unwilling participant in an internal investigation into the precinct. (Erin Karpluk is the queen of playing awkward characters, so it was a joy to see she and Missy Peregrym going back and forth in the car about Nick and the baby.)

Speaking of the baby, I’m betting that although things appear to be OK spine-wise for the little girl so far, a major health issue for she and/or Marlo will threaten to tear the tenuous relationship between Marlo, Swarek and Andy apart. This is Rookie Blue after all, and there can’t always be happy endings.

Notes and quotes

• “Is it true that Peck has retractable fangs?” That line from Duncan had me giggling for minutes. His body roll? Disturbing.
• “No one’s seen a pirate in a cop costume before?” — Shaw
• Speaking of Shaw, only Matt Gordon could rock an eyepatch like that. Fingers crossed the eye infection lasts another week or two so that we can get more images like this:

Rookie Blue airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on Global.