What Happened to Jackson on 'The Rookie'? Did He Die?

What happened to Jackson on 'The Rookie'? The police officer used to be mentioned in a recent episode, and fans are wondering the place he has been. Did he die?

Spoiler alert: This article accommodates spoilers for Season 5, Episode 16 of The Rookie.

As The Rookie's fifth season is underway, many enthusiasts are lacking the series' first LGBTQ+ personality, officer Jackson West (Titus Makin Jr.). Although he hasn't been observed since Season 3, the newest episode of The Rookie attracts a parallel to him when Tim (Eric Winter) buys Lucy (Melissa O'Neil) a necklace for Valentine's Day.

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Earlier within the sequence, when Lucy was once abducted, it used to be Jackson and Tim who introduced her house. Now that Jackson is now not there to offer protection to and beef up his perfect buddy, Tim's presence in her lifestyles is even more necessary. But did Lucy omit concerning the necklace that Jackson gave her?

Read on for a refresher on precisely what happened to Jackson and if he in reality did die in the collection.

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What exactly happened to Jackson West in 'The Rookie'? Did he die?

Sadly, Sandra "La Fiera" De La Cruz's henchmen got here for Angela (Alyssa Diaz) and Jackson within the Season Three finale of The Rookie. The episode got here as a surprise for lovers, many of whom were eagerly ready to catch a glimpse of Angela's marriage ceremony to Wesley Evers (Shawn Ashmore).

Jackson controlled to ship some lucky charms (one thing previous, something borrowed, one thing blue, and one thing new) to Angela just earlier than the tragedy struck.

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In the Season Four premiere, we see that Jackson and Angela are both taken by La Fiera's subordinates by the use of safety cam pictures. Jackson resists — which roughly seals his fate. He is shot useless within the again through a person named Armando sooner than being pushed into the trunk of a automobile. Luckily, Angela and the child continue to exist.

Why did Jackson die on 'The Rookie'?

Jackson was once murdered by means of one of La Fiera's subordinates, a security tape published within the Season 4 premiere. In reality, thanks to Jackson's gumption combating again, the group was ready to get Armando's DNA from below Jackson's fingernails.

By the tip of the Season 4 episode, titled "Life and Death," Armando gets taken into custody and Angela visits Jackson's grave. While there, we be informed that Angela names her newborn after the not too long ago deceased Jackson.

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At the time, lovers had some qualms about this narrative twist. The Rookie was once up for renewal in May 2021, most probably leaving the creators little time to come up with a totally fleshed-out finishing for Jackson's character. As some argue, the Season Four premiere may have offered a more nuanced portrayal of the tragedy.

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While creators convinced Titus to stay on thru Season 3, he determined it was once time to depart prior to a fourth season. Titus prompt the creators of The Rookie to create storylines that adequately represented police violence within the wake of the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. He spread out in regards to the discomfort he felt while playing a police officer in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.

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"I woke up one morning, and I was watching the news, and I was like, 'I can't do this. I can't play a cop on a show and not talk about the fact that I'm a Black cop.' My character hadn't addressed any of that," Titus said.

"I had that conversation with Alexi [Hawley], our showrunner. I did come to that point where I was like, 'If you want to write me out, I politely receive that. I would rather be written out than ignore the reality and not be able to tell the story.'"

The showrunners were already getting ready to make some creative changes — and Titus's request most likely made it even more pressing for them to tailor those plotlines. He ended up technically leaving the show after Season Four wrapped and has since been focusing on his track career.

Catch new episodes of The Rookie each and every Tuesday at Eight p.m. EST on ABC.

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