We don’t watch One Chicago just for the ships, but there are many ships to watch in these shows. So, in the interest of keeping up with one of the most important parts of Chicago Fire, Chicago PD and Chicago Med, we’re going to be examining the progress of the featured ships every week, in a roundtable.
This is in now way meant to be exhaustive, and we’ll only be talking ships here – check out our full reviews if you want more. If you, however, want to see us talk about the love lives of our favorite doctors, firefighters, paramedics and cops …well, this is the place for you.
CHICAGO PD
Jay and Hailey finally kissed! Upstead is a go! How do you feel about this development, and what do you want to see going forward? How about Burzek? Are they basically an old married couple or what? Do you want to see them back together or are you happy with their current dynamic?
Lizzie: It’s about damn time, seriously. The show had done everything well up to this point – even if I think they did stretch it out a little more than they should have, but okay, let’s blame the pandemic for that one. So hey, I’m super happy they finally get a chance to BE a couple, and I hope this isn’t just about them being a couple, and them breaking up, and then back. I don’t want more will they/won’t they, that’s what we had before! There is no Moonlighting Curse. People want to see happy couples on TV, couples that fight against the obstacles life throws at them the same way couples do in real life, together. So that’s what I want to see now.
As for Burzek, I must admit I like them more now than I did when they were actually together. I think it’s clear to me they rushed into a relationship they weren’t ready for, and then the relationship moved super fast and it just …they ruined that, by not taking the time to do it right. Except now it feels like they’re setting them up again, and honestly, they got me at the point where I actually truly want them together. No rush, just take them there organically and let it happen when it needs to (not in like 3 seasons, okay?).
Raquel: YAYYYYYYYY FINALLY!!!!!!!! It was about damn time! I think my reaction explains a lot about how I feel hahahahaha. I LOVED Jay with Lindsay but she left and the show goes on and with Upstead they did so well, SO well. They were built from scratch, without haste, slowly … so it didn’t feel rushed or forced, if not something natural, so easy and simple…as natural as breathing and just … you have to love them. You cannot do otherwise. So I’m glad they finally take THE STEP. I’ve been waiting YEARS for this.
Burzek is my other big ship from this show (except for a little while when Adam was a jerk and didn’t deserve Kim) They’re certainly an old married couple. What they have experienced together in this episode has made them remember what could have been, what would have been, has made them see themselves with the son they lost, as a family … and has stirred feelings that both of them are determined to bury because neither of them dares to take the step, because they are afraid that everything will go wrong again. And the looks, those looks that say everything without saying anything.
Of course, I want to see them together again but I’m aware that they’re rebuilding them from scratch and it will not be easy or fast, it will take time … and I like it because that means that, like Upstead, they’re endgame and … I’M HERE FOR THIS!
Samantha: Freaking finally! It’s about time! I loved Linstead, but I also really really love Upstead. Upstead just gives us so many things that Linstead didn’t. With Upstead, we got this epic slowburn of partners, to friends, to now what is hopefully the start of an official relationship. I’m really hoping these two last for a while and this isn’t just a short-lived thing or an on-again-off-again relationship. Upstead has potential, and I really hope the writers do right by them. Jay finally had somebody wholeheartedly choose him over everything else, and I don’t think the writers should just ignore that. HIs dad chose Will, Mouse chose the war, Erin chose the FBI, but Hailey chose him. Please don’t let that be for nothing. I want to see happy, domestic Upstead. It’s their time to shine.
As for Burzek, they have never been one of my top One Chicago ships. They have their moments, sure, but I’ve never been completely sold on them. I really like their dynamic now and their friendship. They are definitely like an old married couple! I think they definitely have potential and I wouldn’t be mad if they got together again, but I also wouldn’t be mad if they didn’t. I just feel like their relationship needs to progress naturally and whatever happens, happens.
CHICAGO FIRE
Moving onto Chicago Fire …Stellaride seems to be imploding just about as much as the possibility of Brettsey. But are things what they seem? What do you think the immediate future looks for Stellaride and Brettsey?
Lizzie: It’s been a while since Severide has been this dumb, so I’m gonna give him some leeway cause at least he’s doing it for what he thinks are the right (dumb) reasons. The problem is, of course, he’s going to cause a lot of pain to Stella, the woman he loves. He might think that’s worth it, that what she can gain from him staying away from her is worth it, but he hasn’t let her decide. And that’s not what partners do. That’s not what a real relationship is about. So, it’s clear that Severide still has some growing to do, not in his feelings, not in what he wants …but in trusting in the relationship he and Stella have built.
Honestly, I hope Stella figures it out and tells him to go to hell. I hope she calls him out on not trusting her, because that’s what he’s doing – not trusting her. And I hope they can then work on trusting not in each other, necessarily, but in the idea of their relationship as a priority.
Brettsey is another matter altogether, as I already wrote about. This is setup – and if you ask me, the kind of setup that needed to happen when you’re trying to move on from a couple like Dawsey. Because Dawsey was the core of this show for a long time, and then it ended in a way that left anyone who ever rooted for them feeling kinda blah. It didn’t feel like an ending. Except, you know, it’s been years. Casey himself confessed in this episode Brett has been the only one in his mind for a while. Gabriela clearly isn’t thinking about him enough to reach out. And that’s okay …they are both moving on. That’s normal.
So, Brettsey just needs to …well, they need to communicate. If Casey had told Brett what he told Severide, they’d be together now. But he needs to figure out some things still, among them that he can tell her that, that he doesn’t have to be passive, that he can take the initiative about their relationship, and that will be welcome. And Brett just needs to understand that she isn’t a consolation prize, or worse, rebound. But that’s okay, I think we’re in for a fun season of Casey showing her just that.
Raquel: I think things are exactly how they seem to Brettsey. I don’t ship Sterallide hardcore but I think that’s the way it is for them too. And I think anguish awaits both couples but…I’m going to talk about Brettsey because, you know, reasons. Much anguish awaits them because they’re building them from the ground up. This is just what you do with an endgame, you build it from scratch, you do a slow burn… and that brings a lot of anguish and problems. Especially when there’s the big problem that Gaby was Brett’s best friend and she and Casey were together. That is the biggest problem they both have.
Brett must convince herself that Casey no longer has feelings for Gaby and overcome her own problems with the idea that she has fallen in love with her best friend’s ex. And it’s funny that I say this because I don’t usually like relationships that have this base, but they I just fell in love with them as soon as I saw them. You already know that I’m not a fan of this show but they … they have made me start watching it in its season 9, and much more now because if they are already dealing with the big problem between them it is because they are serious and they are endgame, this was something they had to deal with sooner or later and I like that it’s early. Overcoming this is going to cost them sweat and tears, but once they do, there is nothing worse that they can put on them and there is nothing that they cannot overcome. I said what I said.
Samantha: Severide needs to get his act together! Up until this point Severide has been the perfect boyfriend, so I really want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but his actions in the latest episode were not great. I get that he’s doing what he thinks is best for Stella, and that he doesn’t want to come between her and any success, but honesty is always the best policy. Severide should have told her the truth about the rumors that were going around and let Stella decide what she wanted to do about it. She is going to hate the he didn’t trust her with that, and I have a feeling that once she finds out what’s really going on, their relationship is going to take a toll.
And then there’s Brettsey. I don’t think their story is done yet. Even after Brett said that they were over and could never happen again, those two couldn’t help but glance over at each other. They still obviously care for each other, and those feelings aren’t just gonna go away. Casey just needs to do some grand gesture or something to let Brett know that he is over Gabby and fully in on committing to a relationship with her. And Brett also needs to convince herself that it’s okay that she’s fallen in love with her best friend/ex-partners ex. Until these things happen, I think it’s safe to say that Brett isn’t going to feel comfortable being in a relationship with Casey. The road ahead looks bumpy for them, and they’ve definitely got some work to do, but I don’t think Brettsey’s story is over yet.
CHICAGO MED
Finally, Med. How do you feel about Mancel? Are you on board or are you still holding on hope for Manstead? Things are also tense for April and Ethan. Can any couple on this show be happy for long?
Lizzie: I love Will Halstead, but I can’t root for WIll Halstead with anyone when Will Halstead is the dumbest by in One Chicago, by far – and that’s not even an easy thing to win when they’re all acting like idiots. So though I liked the idea of Manstead when it was going on, I’m open to another ship coming in and sweeping me off my feet. And if Will ever stops acting like Will, we will revisit this conversation.
As for April and Ethan, the thing that upsets me more about One Chicago in general is that it seems we only get ONE happy couple in between the 3 shows at a time. We have Upstead now, so …that’s it? Granted, April and Ethan have a lot of issues that aren’t even close to being resolved, the main one being that they talk at each other, not to each other, and I don’t think they’re truly on the road to being back together again, but like …some happiness would not go amiss here. Or at least less of a confrontation?
Raquel: The truth is that I was never very on board with Manstead because they didn’t quite fit me together so if Mancel manages to win me over … well, let’s say I’m open to that possibility. The couple that I ship the most in this show is April and Ethan and my babies are not having a good time right now … of course, this series doesn’t like happy couples and we, the fandom, love them, why can’t the writers be more like us?
Samantha: Manstead since day one! I am a hardcore Manstead shipper. I’ve loved them since the beginning, and I will probably always have a soft spot for them. They were the first One Chicago ship I fell in love with and truly cared about. Mancel’s flirting in the last episode was kind of adorable, and I know that endgame couples don’t end up together from the beginning. That being said, I would be fine if Mancel had a little fling or a short-term relationship, but nothing serious or lifelong. There is too much history there (and in my opinion there’s still too many feelings there) for them to just end things the way they did for good. Manstead is endgame, not Mancel. And I’m not ready to give up on them yet.
Ethan and April can drive me crazy sometimes. They have a lot of issues, the main ones seeming to be communication issues. I hate how April seems to take everything Ethan says or does lately as a personal attack. It’s not always about you, girl. I love Ethan and April as a couple, but their issues are no where close to being resolved and they don’t seem to be anywhere close to a solid relationship. I miss happy Chexton. Would it really kill the writers to give them back to us?
One Chicago airs Wednesdays on NBC.
