'The Rookie' Brought Back a Controversial Character in Season 8 for a Potential Redemption Arc

It's safe to say fans were surprised when one of the most universally disliked characters from The Rookie returned in Season 8. Seth Ridley, the controversial character played by Patrick Keleher, first appeared in the series in Season 7.

He quickly made enemies of the audience when he began pathologically lying. Seth continually made mistakes while on the job and lied to cover them up. When the lies started to pile up, the department noticed and put him in the hot seat. Here's what happened.

When Seth joined the force, he broke protocol multiple times, contaminated crime scenes, and showed up late to work. Seth said that he was late because of a doctor's appointment. He claimed that he had been diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer four years prior, and that the abnormal bloodwork from the appointment got under his skin.

Seth got dismissed for lying, but was let off the hook when the precinct got a call from his doctor, who said that his cancer is real and had returned. However, when Seth and Chen are on duty watching a teenage girl in the hospital, Chen notices something is up when Seth says that he "switched doctors" when he joined the LAPD.

When Chen confirms that the LAPD insurance wouldn't have caused Seth to switch doctors, she suspects he is lying again. Seth refuses to get a blood draw to prove that he has cancer, and is terminated.

Seth later returns and says that the cancer diagnosis was part of an insurance scam against him. He ends up taking a literal bullet for John Nolan, Nathan Fillion's character. He admits that he paid a doctor to say he had cancer because he was doing badly at work.

Show creator Alexi Hawley said that he's hoping Seth can get a potential redemption arc, as difficult as that challenge may seem. He told Deadline, "Patrick is such a dynamic actor, and I felt that his storyline last season was really provocative and interesting."

He admitted that a redemption arc would be difficult, saying, "The dial between Boy Scout and guy that feels a little creepy was really fine-tuned to get there, which was interesting to me, but yes, what does it take to redeem?"

"Can you redeem a character who really has not just f--ked up, but really crossed the lines?" he asked. Alexi said that Seth still needs to mature a lot and understand that sometimes you can't be forgiven for the hurt that you've caused.

"It's not as easy as just calling people and apologizing, and you get forgiven, and everything's good," he said.

Seth's actor, Patrick, spoke with Screenrant during Season 7 and said, "[Ridley] wants to be a good cop. That's why he started being a cop in the first place. He wants to make a difference. But God, lying is just deep in his roots..." He wondered whether the show would delve into Seth's past to see what happened that made him the way he is.

"I think he's always trying to do the right thing, but it just gets mixed up," Patrick said.

Alexi teased that Seth would be back at least a few more times in Season 8.