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!
Chicago Fire showed us, once again, that Stellaride is absolute perfection! Do you like the way they’ve brought them back after those hard episodes? Hawkami wasn’t so happy this time, do you think this will be fixed sometime soon? Did Gallo start his return to the ring?
Raquel: Stellaride is the reflection in which any other One Chicago ship should be looking at! Yeah, I said that. I like the way they brought them back after those forgettable episodes. This is what they are. Pure love, pure fire, pure mutual respect, and admiration. Those little moments when Severide just looks at Stella…it’s those moments that caught me. Love is made of little moments that are everything and I love how Chicago Fire is not afraid to show them. Only one thing is missing: Stellaride wedding!
As for Hawkami, they owed them more happy episodes! But in a drama there is little room for that…they just need to COMMUNICATE. That’s it. They must find a balance to separate their personal and professional lives. Violet must think less and feel more and he must understand that Violet doesn’t need protection or favors, she earned her place and that doesn’t have to change now. If the two of them talked, everything would be very easy, they are one conversation away from solving their problems. But this is a drama so they won’t have that conversation too soon…we just have to wait for them to have it, knowing that this is just a bump in the road.
As for Gallo, yes, it was a good start but he still doesn’t convince me or soften my heart one bit.
Lizzie: This wasn’t a Stellaride episode as much as it was a Stella episode, as it should be when she’s finally being recognized for the great leader she is — something that’s purely Stella. But when you’re in a relationship, your partner isn’t the reason you do things, or the reason you succeed, but they are the support that makes your successes easier. And that’s exactly what this episode gave us, Kelly just …looking at Stella not like she hung the moon, which he also does, but like she can conquer the world, which we also believe she can. “You’ve got this,” he’s said time and tie again, and she does. He’s not the reason why, but his support is still instrumental in getting her there. And that’s just what we want to see.
Now that they’re as solid as they always should have been, time to start planning that wedding, right? Right?
As for Hawkami, I don’t even think this is a big bump, this is just …they started a relationship they’re not even calling a relationship yet, and the lack of communication makes for these awkward situations. Because obviously Hawkins cares and is trying to prove that, and yet Violet is a big girl who doesn’t need her boyfriend to pull rank because he’s also her boss. If anything, she needs hi to completely separate boyfriend from boss. Oh, and they need to talk about the boyfriend/girlfriend thing, because this is not a one night thing, nope. The show isn’t treating it like that, and neither are we. Gallo, who?
Lyra: I tried to come up with an answer but Lizzie and Raquel did such a great job that I have no words. Zero.
Chicago PD did a Burzek episode! It’s been 84 years…but here it is! Did you like the way the series showed their union? THAT KISS! Did you expect it? What do you think it means? Where do you think they go from here? And then, that cliffhanger! Do you think next week we’re going to have a sequel to the Burzek united front?
Raquel: Yes, I like that Chicago P.D. brings back Burzek’s feelings and the way it did it. They are family and it’s fair that we see them fight for that family, together. It’s fair that we see them choose each other once again.
THE KISS! I’m still in heaven with that kiss! Frankly, I didn’t think the show was going there in this episode but, at the same time, it feels so natural, so organic, almost like breathing. It’s a kiss of relief, consolation, and hope. Relief that they’re able to keep their family together, a family that they have come so close to losing, consolation for all that they have been through and hope for the future, the declaration that whatever that future brings, they’re ready for it. Together. They’re on the same page. And they need to talk about it.
I think that is the beginning of Burzek’s reconciliation – and my money is still on that moment will come in the season finale. That cliffhanger was so cruel. It was like putting our soul back into our body and ripping it out again, all of a sudden. And I could feel how Adam and Kim felt the same way. So yes, next week we will have Burzek united front part 2, and can’t wait for it!
Lizzie: I’ve felt this was probably Burzek’s season from the beginning, and we just haven’t gotten the step forward in the relationship that should have been the obvious next step, but I like that this episode is about more than their romantic relationship or lack thereof. That is, absolutely, something that needs to be discussed, because it’s absurd that we’ve gotten this far without them even entertaining that possibility, but right now, it was about something else. Something more important.
It was about proving that they are family. And family isn’t just blood. There isn’t anything about the family they’ve created that’s less “real” than any other family. And I think it was incredibly important for the show to establish that, and to have them stand together this hour, and the next one. They can and should talk about the romantic issues, hopefully this season, but right now it’s about Makayla and about that family.
Shana: I honestly don’t have a lot of Burzek feelings outside of basically everything Lizzie has already said about family. I also think that, while they’re certainly not as dragged out and constantly wasting potential the way a certain other Dick Wolf show’s ship, something’s gotta give. Because I don’t want to see done to those viewers, to these characters, what has already been done elsewhere. Stop dragging it out. Stop teasing something here or there, only to drop it. Either endgame Burzek already or don’t. And whatever happens, however it happens, make Kim Burgess happy.
At Chicago Med, Stevie is faced with some decisions. Did you like the way Will handled things? What do you think Stevie will choose? Did the show surprise you with this storyline? What about Dr. Charles and his therapist?
Raquel: This story surprised me a lot because, honestly, I never imagined that Med would invent this plot with so many ramifications in the future. Yeah, of course, I thought at some point that the show would slow Will and Stevie down but I liked the way the show did it because it helps develop individual characters.
I mean, Will is making good decisions for the first time since we’ve met him! He’s learning that there are things that don’t depend on him or whether his heart is on the table or not. Some choices are not his.
And Stevie is starting to think about herself. In what she wants or needs without worrying about what others need of her. Stevie is learning to put herself first. And it’s a lesson she needs to learn. As for the choice she will make… logic leads me to think that she will stay because I can’t imagine a scenario where she doesn’t appear on the show for a few episodes or is away from the Chicago Med but I don’t dare put my money on an option because, if this season is proving something, it is that they can surprise us. But, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter what Stevie chooses, because it will be just that, her choice, and that’s what’s important.
Dr. Charles…what the hell was that? It’s not a good idea, it’s not going to end well (seriously, there’s not one way it’s going to end well), and it still feels weird. Charles deserves plots more focused on him but this is not the way.
Lizzie: We still don’t know where this is going, and I obviously think Stevie should stay, but I like that they’re making sure that when she stays, she will do so because she wants, not because someone needs her to. So much of her life feels like it’s been about making choices for others and there’s so much power in finally getting to make a choice for yourself, which I think is what’s coming. And then, well, then it won’t be time for romance, but it will be time for her and Will to grow closer in an organic way that will lead to where we want it to.
And, and …what in the world is this storyline with Dr. Charles? Like …what? Harvey Specter been here done this, and he can tell you what a bad idea it is. As much as I appreciate the attempt to give Dr. Charles, who I absolutely love, other storylines, and some personal ones at that, this isn’t the way. Even if she’s not actively treating him anymore, this still feels actively icky, and I just don’t see how it ends well, for either.
Shana: With everything Stevie had to struggle with again this week, in terms of her mother’s mental illness and her relationship with her mother, it was hard for me to even care about anything that may or may not happen with her and Will. It just hits too close to home for me. I can ship all the things and watch all the shows “only” for ships with the best of them (always valid, no matter what any asshole tells y’all)…just…not with this type of family situation.
Dr. Charles, on the other hand…Sir. WTF. This will not end well. This is not ethical, and the dynamic in this relationship, of your therapist having seen your most vulnerable places while you haven’t had that same openness—by the nature of your doctor-patient relationship!!—is not one that is healthy. It can not work. If Med tries to make it work? Shame on everyone involved in that decision. Dr. Charles and his therapist should both know better. Yes, feelings sometimes happen. No, it is not appropriate to act on them in this case.
Does Suits not exist in the Chicago Med universe? For the love of God, I have Sarah Rafferty on a television show where some dumb man has a therapist who has fallen for him…and the dumb man also thinks he has feelings for his therapist. What year is this? What show is this? I’m having flashbacks to the Suits wars.
This is bad. Very bad. Someone consult with Rafferty. Ask her how much of a trainwreck this type of relationship was when it happened on her last show. Ask her about how, despite his wife the therapist saying it was a bad idea, the showrunner decided to do this whole, messy thing with Harvey Specter and his doctor. At least on that show, there was a brief mention of a minimum waiting period—doesn’t look like the thing with Dr. Charles is even going to have that.
Also on that other show: The dumb male in question had the excuse of not really understanding why the relationship was a bad idea. Harvey had a lot of mommy issues, was terrible at understanding his own feelings—other than “loyal good. Betray bad”—and had a whole transference thing going on. He was also actively avoiding feelings for someone else. Dr. Charles…not only has none of those excuses, but he is also a mental health professional himself and knows how wrong it is. But…sure. Let’s play it like this is a “good” thing. K.
I would expect this from Iggy Frome from New Amsterdam, not Dr. Charles. Big shame.
One Chicago airs Wednesdays on NBC.
