Elijah's Villain Arc Became The Rookie's Biggest Missed Opportunity

ABC's crime drama about LAPD's oldest recruit is surely one of the most popular police procedurals out there, thanks in no small part to the tremendous charisma of Nathan Fillion and the excellent work of the series' writers, who come up with new and exciting investigations for Officer John Nolan every week.

However, there is one writing decision that many fans find ridiculous, and it has to do with the series' main villain, Elijah Stone.

Stone first appeared in season four, and he did look very menacing at the beginning.

He had all the traits of a fearsome villain, showing complete disregard for the lives of others and sending some seriously threatening signals. But it seems that Stone's character development ended just there, as viewers now perceive him as a tiresome presence rather than a gripping antagonist.

Discussing the problem online, fans agreed that Brandon Jay McLaren is certainly a very talented actor, but his performance as the series' big bad guy is clumsy and disappointing.

This is hardly surprising — considering McLaren's constant struggle to sound menacing in the role, which makes his character seem like a parody rather than a real threat. Viewers just don't feel the terror emanating from Stone, knowing full well that he can't hurt Nolan or his friends.

People also claim that, after the scene where Stone hides in the cabinet after Abril's first attack, they simply don't see him as a dangerous villain because a real antagonist would never behave so cowardly.

Seriously, how can the writers make the audience fear Stone if he himself is afraid of everyone?

Another thing that people find frustrating is that Stone always seems to be protected by plot armor, never in real danger and easily surviving all threats to him. His survival scenes are not presented realistically, and the explanations seem lazy and uninspired, which makes fans wonder why the writers are so fixed on keeping the character safe.