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Does Aaron Thorsen Die on The Rookie?
Wednesday, May 3rd, 2023
It wasn’t a good night for Aaron Thorsen. In The Rookie’s intense Season 5 finale, “Under Siege,” which aired on Tuesday, May 2, 2023, we saw the police officer gunned down by masked assailants. Now, we all want to know: Does Aaron Thorsen die on The Rookie?
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The Rookie is ABC’s police procedural that follows the story of John Nolan, a recently divorced man in his 40s who pursues a career as a police officer at the Los Angeles Police Department, after inadvertently helping the police stop a bank robbery. Created by Alexi Hawley, the series is based on the true story of William Norcross, a real officer with the LAPD who moved to Los Angeles in 2015 and also joined the department in his mid-40s. The show premiered in October 2018 and just wrapped up its fifth season. The Rookie was recently renewed for a sixth season on ABC, our sister publication Variety reported.
Actor Tru Valentino has portrayed police officer Aaron Thorsen since Season 4 of The Rookie. He trained as a rookie under Nyla Harper (Mekia Cox) before she returned to her detective position. Although Aaron’s background is as a social media influencer, he works hard to earn his promotion to Police Officer II, which he achieves in the fifth season. As a result, his character becomes more involved in solving cases and faces increasingly dangerous situations, including this one in the Season 5 finale.
In an interview with The Man Cave Chronicles w/ Elias in November 2022, The Rookie actor talked about what it felt like to join a cast like this. “They had already done three seasons before I got there. I didn’t know how I would fit in with the cast — if they would be okay with this new person coming in or whatnot. But they welcomed me with open arms,” he said in the interview. “It’s been a really great experience ever since… I’m fairly new to acting especially this type of acting… this is my first TV show, so I’m just constantly trying to learn from them.”
So, what happened to Aaron Thorsen in the Season 5 finale, and does he die? Is Valentino leaving The Rookie after Season 5? Read on to learn all that we know.
Does Aaron Thorsen die on The Rookie?
Does Aaron Thorsen die on The Rookie? The answer is we’re not sure. His life does seem up in the air (and we likely won’t get any clarity about whether the officer lives or dies until the Season 6 premiere). In the episode, Aaron and Celina Juarez (Lisseth Chavez) are walking back after a night together. When they hear a strange noise in an alley and go to investigate, they encounter masked assailants. Aaron gets shot in the back and Juarez is knocked out. The rookie calls 9-1-1 and Bailey Nune (Jenna Dewan) rushes to the scene to take Thorsen to a hospital. When he gets there, he goes into emergency surgery while the team figures out who did this.
At the end of the episode, Thorsen emerges from surgery, but he was placed in a coma by doctors to save his life. The entire team is pulling for his recovery, but Thorsen’s condition only seems to worsen. Juarez was at his bedside when a Code Blue alarm sounded, and doctors and nurses stormed the room to transfer him back to the OR. Then, the show was over. Talk about a cliffhanger!
The Rookie has killed off a main character like this before. Police offer Jackson West (played by Titus Makin Jr.) was killed in the Season 3 finale. It was later revealed that Titus Makin Jr. left The Rookie on his own terms, and he almost left earlier in Season 3 following the tragic deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at the hands of the police. “I woke up one morning and I was watching the news, and I was like, ‘I can’t do this. I can’t go 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,” he told Entertainment Weekly in 2020.
Is Tru Valentino leaving The Rookie?
Is Tru Valentino leaving The Rookie? As of now, it doesn’t look like Tru Valentino is leaving The Rookie. ABC and Valentino have not released any statements announcing the actor’s exit from the show. Valentino started as a recurring character in Season 4 before he was upgraded to a series regular in Season 5, our sister site Deadline reported in July 2022. Additionally, Valentino has not given any indication on his social media that this was his final episode. He continues to post pictures of himself on the show and alongside his coworkers.
We will keep you updated as we learn more about Tru Valentino’s status on The Rookie.
The Rookie airs on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC.
For more on primetime shows, check out our photo gallery on the best nighttime soaps ranked.
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<p><strong>Why We Love It:</strong> Taylor Sheridan’s Paramount Network Western pulls no punches, and neither do any of the members of the rough-and-tumble Dutton family. Well, maybe Jamie. (But he’s adopted.) <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> The outta-control Season 4 finale that gunned down John, took aim at Kayce and blew up Beth. Or <em>tried</em> to, anyway. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> As of Season 5, Sheridan has written or co-written every episode of the series, which has thus far spawned two prequels, <em>1883</em> and <em>1932</em>.</p>
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> As much as we may hate actually going to see the doctor, we can’t get enough of medical dramas set in hospitals. Plus, this long-running NBC series featured George Clooney, whose Dr. Doug Ross was the original McDreamy. <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> The Season 2 episode in which Ross saved a child trapped in a storm drain left us breathless and helped propel Clooney to superstardom. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> The series was created by Michael Crichton. Yes, the same man who gave us <em>Jurassic Park. </em></p>
Image: OWN/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> There was no “there” to which Tyler Perry’s OWN soap wouldn’t go. Yet neither Jeffrey Harrington stabbing his homophobic Mommie Dearest in the breast implant nor Veronica Harrington setting her estranged husband on fire is <strong>What We’ll Never Forget:</strong> That would be Crystal R. Fox’s fierce portrayal of long-suffering Hanna Young. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> In 2022, Tika Sumpter, who played Candace Young, tied the knot with co-star Nicholas James, aka off-kilter Officer Justin Lewis.</p>
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> Over the course of its 2016-22 run, the creators of the NBC series proved master manipulators where our emotional well-being was concerned. <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> The unbreakable bond between the Big Three — the Pearson siblings. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> So upset were fans upon learning that a slow cooker was the cause of Jack Pearson’s death that the makers of the responsible appliance posted a Facebook message addressing the incident. “We love [Jack], and we love you, too. Don’t further add to our heartbreak by no longer using Crock-Pot Slow Cookers.” </p>
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<p><strong>Why We Love It:</strong> Unlike its American brethren, the British sudser makes a big deal of the “little people.” In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a “have” amongst the “have-nots” who populate Albert Square and hang at its beloved Queen Vic pub. <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> The 2008 tearjerker in which Dot Cotton recorded an episode-long farewell monologue to former hubby Jim. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> For 28 years running, June Brown’s Dot wore the same dress on Christmas Day. </p>
Image: Aaron Spelling Productions/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> In a way, we grew up with the characters on Aaron Spelling’s 1990-2000 Fox hit, which originated as the fish-out-of-water story of sheltered Minnesota twins transferred to schmancy West Beverly High. <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> The heated debates that erupted over Season 3’s Brenda/Dylan/Kelly triangle. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> Since the network wasn’t initially as sold on Luke Perry or the character of Dylan McKay as Spelling was, the EP at first paid the future teen idol’s salary himself.</p>
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> While we could wax poetic about the shocking plot twists which befell the Lyon family as they fought for control of their hip-hop dynasty, the truth is, what we <em>really</em> loved was Taraji P. Henson’s trash-talking Cookie. <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> Sadly, the show will likely be most remembered for star Jussie Smollett staging a fake attack against himself. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> Henson darn near got a spinoff focused on her character, but that Cookie crumbled before the proposed show could launch.</p>
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<p><strong>Why We Love It:</strong> Nineteen seasons in, Shonda Rhimes’ medical drama never forgets that sometimes all it takes to get a <span style="text-decoration: line-through">patient</span> series off life support is a transfusion of fresh blood. <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> Season 5’s finale, which kept us waiting till the last second to learn whether Izzie Stevens or George O’Malley died. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> Original cast member Ellen Pompeo was TV’s highest-paid actress — to the tune of $20M/year — when she stepped away from her role of Meredith Grey in 2022.</p>
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> The suburbs-set 2004-12 series beautifully combined slapstick comedy with dark drama while chronicling the lives of Wisteria Lane’s residents… as seen through the eyes of a dead neighbor! <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> Early in Season 1, Gabrielle Solis mowed her lawn in a full-length evening gown to prevent her hubby from finding out their hunky young gardener had been too busy tending to her needs to do the chore himself. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> Said gardener was played by none other than a post-<em>Passions</em>, pre-<em>Chesapeake Shores</em> Jesse Metcalfe.</p>
Image: Fox/Courtesy of the Everett Collection
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> After Aaron Spelling spiked his <em>Beverly Hills, 90210</em> spinoff with <em>Dynasty</em> vet Heather Locklear as Amanda Woodward, it went from plain and boring to wild and crazy. <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> The Season 2 scene in which a back-from-the-dead Kimberly Shaw ripped off her wig to reveal her scarred head. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> Years after the show ended, Locklear dated and even got engaged to former leading man Jack Wagner, who’d played her love/hate interest, Dr. Peter Burns.</p>
Image: Aaron Spelling Prods./Courtesy of the Everett Collection
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> ABC’s answer to <em>Dallas</em> was heavy on the glitz and glamour and even heavier on the catfights and spectacles. (Moldavian massacre, anyone?) <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> Joan Collins’ Season 2 debut as Blake Carrington’s ex, Alexis, who elevated bitchcraft to an art form and moved the series out of Dullsville. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> The role of the scheme queen was originally supposed to go to Sophia Loren. Elizabeth Taylor and Jessica Walter were also pursued, Collins told <em>W</em> in 2018. </p>
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> Based on Grace Metalious’ novel, ABC’s 1964-69 serial about a small town with big secrets was so addictive that at one point, three new episodes aired every week. <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> Lee Grant’s stunning turn as the sublimely cynical Stella Chernak. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> The exit of rising star Mia Farrow in 1966 not only killed the popular Allison/Rodney/Betty triangle with Ryan O’Neal and Barbara Parkins’ characters, it began the series’ slide toward the primetime graveyard.</p>
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<p><strong>Why We Loved It:</strong> Only one thing ran deeper than the oil wells on CBS’ 1978-91 smash, and that was the grudges onto which the Ewing and Barnes families held with a viselike grip. <strong>We’ll Never Forget:</strong> The Season 9 finale, in which the “late” Bobby Ewing stepped out of sometime wife Pamela’s shower and erased Season 8. <strong>Fun Fact:</strong> The Season 4 episode that resolved the “Who shot J.R.?” cliffhanger is the second-highest-rated primetime telecast ever. (FYI, Kristin Shepard did it.)</p>
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