History Characters / TheRookie2018

* UsedToBeASweetKid: According to Wesley, when they first got together Monica used to be as moral and caring as he was. By the present, he uncomfortably comes to accept there is nothing left of who she used to be, and she's now completely selfish.

* BreakingTheCycleOfBadParenting: Not hers, but herself. As an undercover cop, she missed out on the first few years of her daughter's life. In addition to some marriage problems with Donovan, Harper found herself missing her daughter immensely. Instead of using her hard-earned Golden Ticket to advance her career, she chose to go back on patrol so she can get extra pay bump at work which also allowed her to stay local so she can work on getting herself into a stable setting for the sake of her daughter.
* ButICantBePregnant: She is quite shocked to find out that she was pregnant with a child in Season 4. After the birth of her first daughter, there were complications, and her doctor said it would most unlikely that she would get pregnant again. Annoyed, Nyla says that she should have had a follow-up.
* CowboyCop: As a result of the hardcore environment of her previous undercover work with drug cartels, she has an utter disdain for the rules and the expectations Sergeant Grey has for his officers in the more toned LA city. It's why he admits he doesn't trust her as an officer because such a dramatic change "is going to be a bitch" to do. Her hard-charging attitude nearly gets John killed on her first day as his T.O, which she later gets ''royally'' chewed out for by Sergeant Grey.
* CustodyBattle: After her divorce, Harper lost all custody of her daughter to her ex-husband, leaving her with only supervised visits whenever she sees her daughter. Throughout the second season, she makes clear that she is going to fight for shared custody between her husband, going as far as to use her golden ticket to be a training officer, which would allow her to stay local and a higher paycheck so she could provide a safe environment for Lila. By Season 3, she and her husband both were able to reach in an agreement to have shared custody with each other. The fourth season however introduces some problems for her when Donovan wants to move away with Lila and his fiance to a new city, citing that their daughter would be better off with him. Fortunately, it was avoided when Harper unintentionally exposed his fiance's past, but this only worsened his relationship with Donovan.

* HiddenDepths: When Harper first arrived, she put up various walls to keep herself distanced from the other officers - portraying herself as a lone wolf only interested in the T.O. position for the pay rise, though Nolan suspect that something else is at play, since she had a golden ticket that could have gotten a far better position in the department. A few episodes later, her colleagues learn that she returned to patrol because she was sincerely trying to do right by her daughter and make up for lost time during her years of undercover work.

* MaternityCrisis: She goes into labor with just as her criminal neighbors break into the house after discovering she was snooping around their house.

* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Freely admits to Nolan that part of the reason she took the T.O. position was the 5% pay rise, though Nolan suspect there has to be something more importantat play. Once the show gives a first glance into her personal life, Nolan's suspicisions are correct, as she took position so she could have a stable work schedule that would allow her to be a part of her daughter's life.
* ParentalNeglect: Her old job working undercover forced her to be away from home, sometimes for months. This forced her to miss out on her daughter's early years, which she has come to regret. Now she is trying to make up for it by doing everything power to earn back her ex's trust and to be there for her daughter now.
* PragmaticHero: Demonstrates this when she's [[spoiler:caught in the middle of a bank robbery, pointing out to one of the civilians present that she won't risk her life confronting multiple thieves armed with machine guns when she only has a revolver, particularly since the thieves are only taking money at the moment and nobody's life is in danger]].
* PregnancyMakesYouCrazy: When she is pregnant with Leah, there are a few episodes where she starts to act uncharacteristicly nice and chipper.

* TrueCompanions: While she and Nolan initially had a rough start, they soon form a true bond of friendship, especially during their [[spoiler:personal investigation into Armstrong being dirty]]. When they face the consequences of their unreported actions, Nyla tries to take the brunt of the blow for Nolan. It doesn't work, but it brings them closer as partners and friends. They soon even share a [[LikeBrotherAndSister sibling-like friendship and banter]], often looking out for each other. Nyla even defends Nolan to a local resident (who formed a negative opinion of Nolan by mistaking his well-intended city deeds as subtle selfishness to make himself feel good). She says that Nolan is one of the most stand-up guys she knows who truly cares about those around him, even at the cost of his own convenience.

* DeadpanSnarker: she is prone to making a few snarks, especially with Lucy.

* TraumaCongaLine: In Lucy's words, Tamara's has had it rough. Her parents both died from an overdose a year prior to her first appearance. Her only family member was a violent cousin. She ended up in a shelter, but she would eventually leave, as her stuff would keep getting stolen. Without a support system, Tamara had to go to school with dirty clothes and greasy hair, and became distrustful of anyone on the street who tries to help her. When Lucy comes into her life, things start to look up for her, and with the officer's help, gets herself set up to be placed in transitional housing. Her cousin reluctantly agrees to let her stay at his place as her new preparations are being made. Things go south again, when her new place won't be ready for two more months due to black mold, and her cousin, whose girlfriend doesn't want her around, kicks Tamara out. Fortunately, Lucy allows her to stay with her and West until her place is ready. Tragedy strikes when West is killed, which saddens her. While Chen decides to let her move into his old room, it takes her sometimes to adjust, not wanting to erase West's memory. A few months later, she is informed that her friend from the streets was murdered, and later discovered she had been killed by their male friend accidentally. Tamara feels guilty over her friends, blaming herself for not being in touch with her for months. It's also implied that Tamara still carries a few emotional scars from undisclosed situations during her time living in the streets.

* BreakingTheCycleOfBadParenting: Unlike his own father who abandoned him when he was young, John is very active in his son's life, even dropping out of college so he could get a job as a contractor to support him and Sarah, and pays Henry's college tuition. In contrast to his mother, he has remained amicable with his ex, tries to be the responsible who can provide his son with advice when needed.

** Despite being the oldest rookie, John has the advantage of being able to see situations from a different perspective thanks to his age and life experiences. It was the reason Captain Anderson allowed him to become a rookie despite his older age, as she saw the value in having a cop who (unlike the younger rookies) came with life experience and the ability to see situations differently.

** This trope actually results in him being placed with Harper in Season 2, as Grey notes that she would ''destroy'' a younger rookie whereas John is more willing to stand up to her and speak out when she goes too far.

* [[BigBrotherInstinct Big Sister Instinct]]: She is this for Tamara, from giving her a place to live, helping her with her education, and making sure she is well fed.

* LikeBrotherAndSister: Has this going on with Jackson when they share an apartment together. He even gives her a family heirloom, a charm necklace given to each generation of his family that becomes a cop, as a gift for leveling up in her police career as a token of their friendship. She says the gift was far better than any medal or badge. [[spoiler: When Jackson dies, she takes months to properly grieve her loss and adjust to life without him.]]

* NiceGirl: She's one of the nicest people you'll meet.

* When she was a teenager, she had a fight with her boyfriend one night and left a party early, and later on that same night her boyfriend died in a brutal car accident that required a closed-casket funeral. She's felt guilt-ridden ever since and still has emotional baggage years later.

* AmicableExes: His marriage to Sarah ended badly, with both agreeing that the relationship was over years before they divorced. Although he ended up reeling after the split, John and Sarah eventually worked things out to become friends.

* BreakingTheCycleOfBadParenting: Unlike his own father who abandoned him when he was young, John is very active in his son's life, eve dropping out of college so he could get a job to support him and Sarah, and pays Henry's college tuition. In contrast to his mother, he has remained amicable with his ex, tries to be the responsible who can provide his son with advice when needed.

* DisappearedDad: Nolan's father abandoned his mother and him when he was only 11 years ol.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Hasn't been seen since Season 3, with his reaction to Jackson's death not being seen.

* KarmaHoudini: On her first day as a T.O. she almost got Nolan killed by going into a dangerous situation without waiting for backup, then when Nolan wanted to report Armstrong to InternalAffairs, she talked him out of it, practically guaranteeing that he would never get a promotion. Not only did she receive no punishment (other than a the same letter of reprimand as Nolan, which in her position was meaningless), she was assigned another rookie. She also cheated on her boyfriend with her ex-husband, and never got caught.

* ColdBloodedTorture: She tortured all of her victims before killing them, which include pouring boil oil down one's throat, peeling the skin off a woman's face, extracting the teeth from an anesthesiologist, and her trademark of cutting off her victims' hands and feet.