The Rookie Season 7 Makes Up For Aaron's Exit (But Tru Valentino's Departure Is Still Disappointing)

Spoiler alert: The following article contains spoilers from The Rookie season 7, episode 2, "The Watcher."

Sadly, The Rookie fans had to say goodbye to Tru Valentino's Aaron Thorsen during the season 7 premiere, and while his exit is disappointing, the show is redeeming itself via two new characters. ABC's police procedural series, created by Alexi Hawley, follows the personal and work lives of the law enforcement officers from the Mid-Wilshire Patrol Divison of the LAPD, which used to include Aaron. Valentino's Aaron joined the cast of The Rookie after Titus Makin Jr.'s Jackson West left in season 4. Just a few seasons later, though, Valentino also departed the show.

New episodes of The Rookie air on Tuesdays at 10 pm ET on ABC. Season 7 features 18 episodes — eight more than the previous season.

Valentino left The Rookie in season 7 due to creative decisions made by the writers. Based on reports, the actor didn't solely choose to exit the series as the producers simply wanted to take the story in a different direction. During the season 7 premiere, John Nolan and Celina Juarez revealed the narrative reasoning behind Aaron's absence — the police officer transferred stations between seasons after the scandal with Dr. Blair London. However, since Nolan and Celina discussed Aaron's departure for less than 30 seconds, The Rookie hasn't mentioned him, downplaying the character's significance in the past few seasons.

The Rookie Season 7 Replaces Aaron With Two New Characters — Miles & Seth

Miles & Seth Are The New Rookies

In the wake of Aaron's poorly handled The Rookie season 7 exit, the ABC crime drama added two new characters to its cast — Miles Penn (played by Deric Augustine) and Seth Ridley (played by Patrick Kelehe). Miles is Tim Bradford's new rookie, while Lucy Chen is Seth's training officer. Miles worked as a police officer for two years in Texas, but after moving to Los Angeles, he had to start over at the beginning of his training. Meanwhile, Seth is a legit newbie whose nerves and eagerness sometimes get the best of him.

The Rookie Season 7 Cast	Character
Nathan Fillion	John Nolan
Richard T. Jones	Wade Grey
Alyssa Diaz	Angela Lopez
Eric Winter	Tim Bradford
Melissa O'Neil	Lucy Chen
Mekia Cox	Nyla Harper
Shawn Ashmore	Wesley Evers
Jenna Dewan	Bailey Nune
Lisseth Chavez	Celina Juarez
Deric Augustine	Miles Penn
Patrick Kelehe	Seth Ridley

Miles and Seth could not be more different in The Rookie season 7. However, they are both intriguing additions to the cast. At first glance, Miles is an arrogant wise guy who immediately gets on Tim's nerves (especially after he flirts with Lucy), and Seth is timid, unsure of himself, and ill-prepared for the job. As the episodes continue, though, it becomes clear that there is much more to Miles and Seth than meets the eye.

The Rookie season 7's new characters are only getting better and more interesting as time goes on, somewhat redeeming Aaron's lazy exit.

The two new rookies have complicated backstories. Miles is broke after he ruined his chances of being a great NFL player, while Seth was diagnosed with cancer four years ago, and he might be sick again. The Rookie season 7's new characters are only getting better and more interesting as time goes on, somewhat redeeming Aaron's lazy exit.

Why Miles & Seth Still Can't Make Up For Aaron's Exit

Tru Valentino Deserved Better Than His Character's Lazy Departure

Although the additions of Miles and Seth to The Rookie season 7 have been great for the show so far, they can't completely make up for Aaron's dissatisfying exit. The only way to make things right for Tru Valentino's character is to bring him back and give his story a satisfying conclusion. In the meantime, Miles and Seth are a great distraction, but Aaron still deserves better in The Rookie.