There’s a lot we love about One Chicago shows beyond ships but, let’s face it, we can’t live without ships! And couples are important to the emotional development of the characters in Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med, so we’re going to analyze the progress of our beloved ships each week in a roundtable.
All our feels about these ships will be summarized here and we’re only going to dedicate ourselves to them for, you know, reasons … but you can check our full reviews if you want much more. And now, let’s take a look at the love lives of our favorite firefighters, cops and doctors!
Here we go!
Let’s start with Chicago Fire. Casey is not making the best decisions right now … do you think that will end up separating him or bringing him closer to Brett? Will she be the one to make him see reason? From 1 to 10, how cute is Stellaride and why is it a 10? Do you think we’ll be able to see scenes like this with Brettsey in the future?
Raquel: Goodness, why is it that our babies don’t communicate? All this would be solved if they talked. I’m sure this story with Brettsey doesn’t lead for a moment to a return for Gabby. I think the actress made a decision that she is not coming back from and I also think that the writers went ahead by betting on Brettsey and that is not going to change.
We’re in the frustrating part of things though, the part where we just want to shake Casey so he’s not so stubborn and actually TALKS to Sylvie about all things. A solid conversation about their demons, fears, a conversation about their future. But this rarely happens in shows, not in such an open and sincere way and most of all, not quickly. These situations usually happen at the end of the season.
That being said, I think these poor decisions by Casey may come to bring them together … but not anytime soon.
Yeah, Stellaride is a big 10. And they are perfect, in fact, I’m waiting for a proposal like … now! They just need more screen time, it’s the only thing I miss about them. And yes, I think this is just the future for Brettsey … just not this season, it’s something more for season 10.
Lizzie: I’m still pretty sure of where this whole storyline is going, it’s just that we’ve gotten to the dumb part. For some reason, it’s like every time a couple is about to get together, we have to suffer through the most contrived reasons to keep them apart. This time it’s just …communication issues. Casey and Brett would be a couple now if they actually TALKED to each other. Not talked at each other, but stopped and had a real talk where both of them expressed their feelings, their expectations, their fears, their desires, all of it.
Now, I don’t for a second believe this is leading back to Gabby, and honestly, I think even if you ship Dawsey, you shouldn’t. If this were leading back to Gabby, that would be a total slap in the face for Dawsey and Gabby. And since I don’t think the writers are malicious, they just love drama, I assume this is just leading where it should be leading considering the setup of the last three years …to Brettsey.
We might just have to wait a little longer than we all would have wanted and put up with some more Let’s not actually tell each other what we feel from them before we get there.
As for Stellaride, they are a solid 10. So solid that it almost seems like there’s no way for them to get better, but I also don’t really need them to get better, I just need them to be themselves, and to get screen time. It’s super fun to have at least one couple you can count on, one you don’t have to worry about, and as someone who really suffered through the first few seasons of this show, it’s great that Severide has become this guy. It truly is.
Finally, we better get some cute Brettsey like this soon! I’d love end of the season, but fine, I’ll take next season, if that’s what you drama-loving writers want. Right now it’s a little upsetting, but I guess if the payoff is worth it, a lot can be forgiven. So it better be worth it.
Samantha: I have hopes that this storyline is only going to bring Brettsey closer. There’s no doubt that Casey needs to resolve the Gabby stuff, and I hope this storyline is going to be what gets him to do that. We already saw Brett make him see a little bit of reason when she called him out for behaving the way he did with Grainger, and I think Brett will help him see reason going forward.
While I’ll admit that my mind went there at first, I don’t think this is leading back to Gabby, and I don’t think Jesse Spencer is leaving the show. Monica CHOSE to leave. Gabby CHOSE to leave. And while Derek Haas has said that the door is always open for Monica to return, I don’t think they’re going to focus on a ship where half of it isn’t on the show anymore. It just doesn’t seem logical or reasonable to me. Plus, while there’s no denying that the writers can be cruel, I don’t think they would tease a ship for three seasons just to have it end on a whim like that. I still believe that all roads lead to Brettsey.
As for Stellaride, they are a solid 10. They’re always a 10. Severide not dealing well with change explains why they haven’t taken that next step yet, but I highly believe that some sort of proposal is in their future. I just love Stellaride so much and I’m so glad they’re back in a happy place. I’m fairly confident that Stellaride is one One Chicago ship that won’t let me down.
Lastly, I hope we get cute Brettsey scenes like this soon! Maybe not this season, but at least by next season. We’ve waited this long, I guess I can put up with waiting a little longer as long as the end result is worth it. After all, they say that good things take time and if that’s the case, Brettsey is going to be great.
Logan: *breathes deeply* I have so much to say about Brettsey, but I will try to keep it short. First of all, I get that you’re scared of your career ending, Casey, but go to the doctor! Second, dude, you have got to stop being so vague with Brett. (And the audience but that’s a note for the writers.)
I am hopeful this plot will be about bringing them closer in the same way Brett’s birth mom plot brought them closer last season. If that’s not what the writers are doing with this then they are wasting valuable time in a shortened season. I would love it if Brett is the one that gets Casey to the doctor. I think a scene like that has the potential to be truly beautiful and remind everyone why we fell in love with Brettsey in the first place.
As for Stellaride, they are a 10. They are always a 10. Severide not doing well with change explains why we haven’t gotten that proposal yet, but, buddy, some changes are exactly what your life needs! And come on, you’re practically married already. Just make it official!
Regarding the last question, this season better be leading us to cutesy dating Brettsey in season 10! If I have been teased on this ship for three seasons and then they pull a bait and switch at the last minute I will be highly upset. So, YES, we better get scenes like that for Brettsey in the future or else Derek Haas will be guilty of ship baiting which is cruel and unusual and very unnecessary.
I said what I said. *insert shrug emoji here*
We finally had ship moments in Chicago PD! A few but … well, the lack of balance in this show is nothing new. What did you think about the Upstead scenes? What do you expect for them from now on? Do you think that, with the evolution of Upstead and Burzek, we will see both couples happy at the end of the season?
Raquel: I loved those scenes! But … we need more! We can’t just settle for crumbs every 10 episodes. I think it’s necessary that since we saw an episode focused on Jay, we see an episode focused on Hailey so that they develop something more about her past with her father and her current feelings about him, in addition to dealing with that little lie that she told Jay and, taking advantage of that episode focused on her, we can have a lot of Upstead content because flash news, Chicago PD, That you center the episode on a character doesn’t mean that you can’t have ship content.
So I hope that, development and communication, that they don’t simply give us a few cute scenes, but that they develop the couple with their ups and downs and that if we see them happy, it is not an illusion waiting for the next problem to arrive.
Two happy couples seems something of a chimera or a miracle for this show, but who knows … I think that, given the development of both couples, we could be heading for it, fingers crossed, candles set.
Lizzie: I expect we’re going to have a Hailey-centric episode soon. We have to. Or an Upstead centric one. They do try to keep their balance, so that’s what makes sense. And I think …maybe I’m hopeful the idea is to leave both couples in a good place? I don’t know if it’s misguided hope, but even the obstacles they seem to be throwing Upstead’s way seem to be just things that require some communication, and Burzek is so heavily set up to get back together that I’m not sure how they could move away from that without being disingenuous? So hey, maybe just as Med just cannot keep a couple to save their lives, PD can figure out how to keep both? Fingers crossed here.
But also, give us that Hailey/Upstead episode, like yesterday. I’m tired, and I want more backstory on Hailey and her dad, more of an exploration of her feelings, and more of a chance for her and Jay to finally communicate about these thorny issues. I like them happy, but I would love them happy after they’ve talked this over.
Samantha: My guess is that we’re going to have a Hailey-centric episode soon, with some Upstead scenes here and there. It’s only logical since we’ve already had Kim, Jay, Adam, and Keven-centric episodes this season. I can’t wait for that episode when we get it, because I want to know more about Hailey and the backstory with her dad. Plus, Hailey opening up to Jay about that would give us some quality Upstead bonding moments.
As for the Upstead scenes, I love the ones we’ve been getting, but I want more. I want to see more of their relationship, and I want to see them talk about the hard issues. I need Hailey to open up about her dad and her feelings, and I need Jay to open up about his time in the war and his PTSD. Hey, maybe this will be what it takes to finally get the Jay war backstory we’ve all been wanting for so long. I love seeing them happy, but I would also like to see them open up and communicate things that they haven’t felt comfortable communicating to anyone before.
I would like to think that we can see both Upstead and Burzek in a happy place by the end of the season. While it seems like the PD writers don’t like to focus on more than one couple at a time, I think they’ve done a fairly good job of it so far, so it’s no impossible. I have high hopes that PD can figure out how to keep both couples and have them in a happy place.
Logan: I’m gonna be honest, I have no idea what to expect anymore. We’ve gotten so little focus on Upstead that I can’t say what the story goal is there and Burzek has had more focus, arguably, but it left me with a lot of questions they haven’t come close to answering. So, I have no idea how any of it will go moving forward. It’s hard to tell when you don’t have a lot of information to go on in the first place.
Chicago Med said: Mancel for the win! It seems they read us the week before and took notes, because Natalie was open about her reservations and her feelings and now Mancel is official. How is your Manstead heart right now? Do you think Chicago Med has definitely closed that door? Do you think Mancel will be a long-term relationship?
Raquel: Chicago Med is not a show where a ship has my heart. I mean, Manstead seemed cute to me when they were together but I’m not too sorry to have lost them, the only thing that annoys me is that the writers don’t remember that they know each other and they meant a lot to each other. As for Mancel, yeah they look adorable to me but I’m not quite ready to ship them hard yet so I guess I’m fine with what has happened, just not sad and not excited either, which I don’t think is a really good thing to say about a show.
As for if they have closed the door to Manstead, well, first the writers should remember the story that ties them together and then we could start talking about it. However, it does seem that Mancel has come to stay … at least, for now. But I think that they have yet to decide which couple they want to be endgame.
Lizzie: The thing about this show is …my heart is fine either way. I don’t hate Mancel, but they still don’t truly speak to me, and I liked Manstead when it was happening, but I also can’t say I’m dying to have them back considering where the characters are right now. So, I just …don’t know that I care enough, and that’s probably not a great thing? I’m going to need more of Mancel if I’m gonna get there with them, and if Manstead is a thing they’re planning
in the future, I’m going to need Will and Natalie to actually, you know, speak, like friends, not asking for more right now, but remember they know each other, at least.
But right now I can’t tell you what they want, what they plan, and to be honest …I’m not sure they know, either. Unlike the other two shows they just haven’t found what works, so it feels like a lot of the time they’re just testing the waters.
Samantha: My Manstead heart is a little fragile right now. I don’t hate Mancel, but Manstead has always been my ship from the beginning. They were the first One Chicago ship I truly cared about, so I will always root for them. They will always have a piece of my heart. I don’t think Chicago Med has completely closed the doors on them. I just think that, much like many other end-games, they aren’t going to get their happy ending right away. I’m confident that Manstead is end-game, and I refuse to give up hope.
I don’t believe that Mancel is going to be a long-term relationship. I think that they’re both helping each other grow and they’re exactly what each other needs right now, but I don’t think of them as anything more than some sort of fling. Plus, we’ve already had two botched engagements where the couple didn’t even make it to the altar, so I don’t think Chicago Med really knows what a long-term relationship is.
Logan: I LOVE MANCEL. They are my sole source of happiness in One Chicago-land right now. I was so happy to see Natalie open up at the end of the episode. I think Mancel will be significant but I’m not sure about long term. I love them dearly and I hope for that, but it’s Med. We’ve had two couples who were engaged and never actually made it to the alter and now both are broken up. So, long term relationship are had to come by on Med.
But for right now, I am on top of the shipper world! I can’t wait to see what they have in store for Mancel next!
Agree? Disagree? Don’t hesitate to share it with us in the comments below!
One Chicago shows airs Wednesdays on NBC.
