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!
As always, Chicago Fire is first and we still haven’t recovered from all of the Brettsey feels! Finally, Casey confessed to Brett about his injury and she chose him over Grainger. Do you think this is a great step towards a future together? Do you think Brett will be the one who realizes that her relationship with Grainger has no future or will he be ahead of her? From 1 to 10, what is your rating on Stellaride and why is it 100?
Raquel: HELL YEAH! It’s definitely a big step for their future, in fact, it seems like a small step because I think Brett didn’t realize the decision she made here but actually, it’s a big step because she will always choose Casey. Always. And the best thing is, Casey would choose her too. What I like more about this is that they just don’t realize how unconsciously they always choose each other. Their heads may want to forget but their hearts, in these little moments, speak for them and that seems so special and magical to me. Beautiful.
Following this line of thinking, I think it will be Grainger who realizes what Brett’s heart is screaming for. Sometimes, we are the most determined to deny what we feel and I think this will be the case with Brett because, after all, she is not aware right now of how important the decision she made in this episode has been. So my money is that Grainger will see just what is happening and, since he is a good man, he will not force things. So…Brettsey for the win!
Sterallide is absolute and complete perfection. In fact, I didn’t expect to see on One Chicago a couple so stable, so happy and so well shaped for so long and I love it. Of course, they are a 100 or a 1000 and I want them to marry now. I neither confirm nor deny that I’m waiting to see the proposal at the end of the season and if it doesn’t happen I will be very disappointed.
Lizzie: I don’t think Sylvie truly realized the choice she made in this episode, but I think she will. I think she has to – it has to be on her. As fun as it would be for Grainger to have to point out her feelings, at some point, she’s gotta see it, admit it, and then maybe she and Matt can have the long-overdue conversation they need to have.
A part of me thought they were just going to figure things out on their own, but I’m starting to think they just need to approach the topic and everything will come out. Like they’re basically in soft denial right now, they both know not so deep down, but they’re telling themselves they don’t know because that’s easier. So, as soon as they get out of that – and I think Matt might get there first – they’ll be ready for that talk. I still want Matt to initiate it, but Sylvie has to be ready to listen, to let him say what she needs to hear. She hasn’t really done that so far.
Stellaride, on the other hand, is perfect. I’m glad we got to see Stella getting to be the supportive one, because that’s what a real loving relationship is all about. These two are truly goals, and I will take a bunch more episodes of them basically proving it. No complaints here, no need for drama, just more of this please.
Logan: All I have to say is thank God for Brettsey’s adopted son, Blake Gallo. If he hadn’t called out Matt last episode then Matt never would have slipped up in front of Sylvie and then she would have been none-the-wiser. I do think Gallo got Casey thinking about his injury, but I love that Sylvie is the one to get him to act on it.
It’s really and truly beautiful to me that Sylvie can hold Matt accountable without him getting defensive. He knows she cares only about him no matter how weird their relationship becomes. He can trust her to tell him the truth and he understands that she simply wants him to look out for himself. It’s a level of care and concern that clearly means the world to Matt. Her opinions, her thoughts, her regard for him…he values it above anyone else who’s currently in his life and it makes me highly emotional.
But I truly enjoyed Brett and Grainger in this too! I love that show is portraying him as a solidly good person. His only flaw is that he’s not Matt. A fact I’m not sure Sylvie’s allowed herself to face yet. She’s clearly hesitant about the relationship and as many times as she’s been burned, even apart from Matt, I can’t blame her. But I think by that second conversation in Molly’s it’s clear there’s more to her aversion to sleepovers than not wanting to move too hastily.
And if it wasn’t clear by then, then it’s certainly clear by the time we reach that conversation with Matt where she barely hesitates to cancel her plans. She stops just long enough to remember she has plans but not long enough to make me believe she actually considered choosing skiing over Matt. Her soft empathetic face before she offered to go with him ended me. She knows how anxious he is and how much is riding on this for him. She hates the idea of him facing all of that alone. No matter what else happens between her and Matt, she believes he deserves as much support and encouragement as he offers her. That moment gets to the heart of why I think they deserve to be together.
Matt took a colossal step by opening up and being vulnerable with her and she took a huge step in return by putting herself in his orbit again. Sylvie’s trying to get over him and struggling, but not even that will stop her from being there for Matt when he needs her most.
Since last episode and Violet’s “I wanted to ask but I felt it needed to come from you” line, I have had an inkling that Sylvie may have to be the one to give Matt a sign she’s open to the possibility of them again. That felt too on the nose not to be foreshadowing. So, I think Sylvie’s gesture here will lead her to ending things with Grainger over the next few episodes and I hope the combination of her being there for him with his head injury and her ending things with Greg will be enough to push Matt forward. But if not, I think Sylvie may initiate some sort of conversation. Matt is trying to be respectful of Sylvie’s “never happen again” declaration and I don’t think he’ll cross that line a second time unless he believes she’s opened up to the idea again.
Personally, I still need Matt to find a way to make it clear to Sylvie, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he doesn’t want anyone else, that he’s no longer in love with Gabby, and that she has never once been second best. I don’t know if that’s done in a grand gesture or a deep and heartfelt conversation and I don’t have a preference. I only care that Sylvie knows Matt’s feelings for her are as strong as her own for him and wholeheartedly believe the show can make that happen.
Now for Stellaride, they are truly OTP excellence. Imagine if every show wrote OTPs the way Chicago Fire writes Stellaride, the entertainment world would be a much more enjoyable place. As much as I swoon over supportive boyfriend Severide, I love supportive girlfriend Kidd even more! The way she offered her advice but wasn’t offended if he didn’t take it is honestly relationship goals. She genuinely wanted him to make the best decision for him! And then the way he expressed his appreciation for her at the end of the episode was equally as beautiful! They are so healthy and wholesome that we have no choice but to stan so it’s a solid 100 for me!
Let’s talk about Chicago PD. Goodness, this episode was a hell of a ride. Upstead said the L word! Did you like this episode? Do you think it was more balanced? Did you understand why Hailey had to wait until the end to say those words? What was your reaction and why did you start happy dancing?
Raquel: I loved this episode! I think that balance in this show is not something that they will ever achieve but it’s times like these that it really doesn’t matter. We had a lot of character-centric episodes and it was damn time that we saw a lot more of Hailey’s past. Our past defines us and in Hailey that phrase is more true than ever.
I understood perfectly that she had to wait. Saying ‘I love you’ is … more routine these days. It’s what you feel but it’s also something … that you can stop feeling later. Not so for Hailey. For her, saying those words is a lifelong commitment. It’s confessing to Jay that she wants to spend the rest of her life with him, that she wants him in her life permanently. For Hailey, those words are not something she will withdraw or stop feeling for a while. For her, it is forever.
For her, it is opening her heart wide, in half, and giving it to Jay, entrusting it to him to take care of and keep it. Forever. For Hailey, it is much more than a few words, than a leap of faith. It is a commitment, a promise, a vow, a oath. And if that it is not easy at all, for her, having had the past that she had, it is even more difficult.
She always felt insufficient and she still feels it. Like it’s nothing and she’s so scared Jay will realize she’s not enough for him and will abandon her. She would be devastated, that’s why opening her heart is so difficult. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth, Jay loves her so much that it hurts and he just … he just wishes she could see herself as she is, as he sees her.
That is why I value these words from Hailey so much, this step, she risked twice by leaving her heart in Jay’s hands, trusting him in that way and if that always gives vertigo, she felt terror but, even so, she did it. I love her for it.
And definitely my reaction was happy dancing and screaming so loud. SO LOUD.
Lizzie: I know this is basically me contradicting myself, but balance, who cares? I absolutely adored this episode. Hailey Upton is one of my favorite One Chicago characters, and as much as I love Upstead, I usually fall on the side of the female character more, this being no exception. So I needed a Hailey-centric episode, I needed them to delve into her fears, into her desires. And I totally understood her, too, which means the show did a great job at showing us not just what she felt, but the reasons why she had to take a pause before taking that leap of faith.
I also think it means a hell of a lot, the pause. It wasn’t about her not being sure, it was about her being so sure that she understood what the words meant. If they’d just been words, then I think she would have been fine. But she recognizes in Jay a true partner, someone she wants to spend the rest of her life with, and that means, saying the words is a big commitment. So, of course, with someone who’s been through what Hailey has been through, that required a moment or two. To talk herself into jumping into the abyss, because no matter how much she wanted to …the abyss is always scary.
But honestly, I’m super happy with the way the show handled this, and I hope this is just the beginning of the development for them. This was a big step, but that doesn’t mean I want Upstead to just fade to the background now. People – and couples – go through a lot more than just one issue, and I would love see them become *that* couple who can get through everything life throws their way, together.
Logan: This episode was not more balanced, but at least it wasn’t three-fourths procedural.
I did enjoy the story they told with Upstead! I feel like with what we know of Hailey’s background her reaction was tragic and awkward but understandable and I adored Jay staying steadily there for her the entire time. Yes, he challenged her at one point but a good partner should want you to be the best version of yourself so I loved that moment even if it caused some angst.
This plot illustrated all the reasons people have rooted for Upstead over the years and it was a beautiful thing to watch! I even liked that scene between Hailey and Voight! (And I hate Voight!)
At Chicago Med, Mancel is another couple who said the L word! However, Natalie expressed some fears. How do you feel about this? Do you think they have a future? Are you #TeamChoi or #TeamWill in the men’s competition?
Raquel: Mancel is starting to win my heart. It doesn’t have it yet but hey, it’s on that path. I think that having those doubts is something logical and normal and I see a future for them. I think that relationships always come with some doubts, with fears, after all, they are inherent to us, but that doesn’t mean that everything is going to fail. It means that it is real. So we are good.
Definitely, Team Choi because Will has to stay single for a while. Although I also don’t want Choi with someone other than April and, of course, I don’t like this love triangle at all, but if I have to choose … Team Choi.
Lizzie: Let me start by saying I am firmly team: let’s stop making everything a damn competition. I’m tired, tiiiiiiiiiiiired of this same thing. Will Halstead needs to be single, and if we’re being honest, so does Ethan Choi. They can continue arguing over their job forever, we all know they like doing that!
As for Mancel, I think the doubts are normal, and I don’t necessarily think they mean they’re doomed or anything like that. Natalie has always had a hard time trusting, so this is on brand for her. My only issue with this storyline is actually something that has nothing to do with the storyline, and that is the fact that I don’t trust Med with couples. Only time and some consistency can change that, though, so here’s to them getting to that point with me.
Logan: Mancel is my favorite Med ship! I think it’s natural to have some fears, especially early on. Natalie has also been through a lot over the course of the show so I understand her being worried. For now, I’m choosing to be happy my ship is sailing and on the same page! Like Lizzie, though, I don’t trust Med with long term couples. They don’t seem to know how to keep couples together.
Pertaining Will and Ethan, these dudes need to take several seats. It’s enough for them to compete over work, they do not need a woman thrown into mix. They’re both recently broken up from pretty serious relationships. Maybe they should take some time to breathe.
Agree? Desagree? Don’t hesitate to share it with us in the comments below!
One Chicago airs Wednesdays on NBC.
