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!
In Chicago Fire, it was the moment of decisions and finding “the missing piece.” What are your feelings about Violet and her Boss? What do you think of Sylvie’s decision? Is Stellaride still perfect?
Raquel: Violet and her Boss got me, baby. After initial hesitation, they convey confidence, they just…fit. They don’t try to be someone else to fit, either, they just do and that is reflected in that comfortable and calm aspect of the relationship in which you are sure that what the future holds doesn’t matter, because you will face it together, taking things as they come, one at a time. Violet and her Boss are at that point right now in Chicago Fire.
Sylvie’s decision is surprising and, at the same time, the least surprising thing in the world. I mean, I didn’t expect it to happen in this episode but I can’t say I didn’t see where it was coming from and the signs weren’t there. Long-distance relationships suck.
And it’s horrible not to have the person you love by your side for big occasions but it’s much worse not to be by his/her side for small occasions. It’s those little moments that matter the most and, sometimes, you just need that person to be there and see where you’re going together, figure out who you are as a couple, and grow from there. Sylvie didn’t have that…and she needed it. I understand.
Stellaride always was, is, and will be perfection! There is no way not to love them, especially when we see them prosper like this, with respect, admiration, and being there for the biggest and the smallest things.
Lizzie: I already said it in my review, but the Hawkami thing is working perfectly because Evan and Violet are a match. No one needed to change for the thing between them to work, they just needed to commit. TV sometimes might sell the idea that opposites attract, and there’s a perfect kind of passion in opposites, and I know it can work sometimes, but in real life, you often go with the person who you fit with — the relationship that doesn’t require you to be anyone other than who you are. And it’s not settling to want that at all. Violet is not settling. She’s not rebounding. She made a decision, for herself, and she’s enjoying it. Period.
Then we come to Sylvie, and yeah, I get it. I’m not surprised. The show had pretty much telegraphed the possibility since the beginning of the season, since Casey left. They made the conscious choice to not break them up, to have them embark on a LDR and on TV, that’s huge. You don’t do something like that out of hope you can get Jesse back for one episode at some point, instead you do it because you believe that the circumstances will allow you to either bring them back together again, or write them off together. The writing was on the wall.
And as for Stellaride, well …there’s little I can say I haven’t said before, but I just really, really love them. Not just because of how good they are together on the now, but because I’ve been here for this journey, and I’ve seen them grow, put aside the doubts, and choose each other, over and over again. And I desperately want to see them do that once again, in the wedding they deserve.
Lyra: Definitely wanted to touch base on what Lizzie said about Hawkami. Relationships are work. There’s no doubt about that. But it shouldn’t feel exhausting and like you’re pulling at teach to make the differences between you and partner work. It doesn’t feel exhausting with Violet and Evan. It feels easy in the ways that matter and that cement a relationship like theirs. As for Stellaride and then Sylvie’s decision. The writing is on the wall and I think they’re all on track for what’s to come and where their relationships (or them as people) have led them.
The Chicago P.D. episode was hard for Burzek, really hard. Do you think it is the end for them or their reconstruction?
Raquel: The first thing I want to say is that when we said we wanted a Burzek centric episode we didn’t mean this, Chicago PD! That said, I think that while what happened in this episode was rough, it’s far from being the ending for them.
For years, and especially since Makayla came into their life, Burzek has been built through hidden feelings and unspoken conversations. Something just drew them to each other, no matter what, and they ended up entangled in each other’s lives, then pretended nothing had happened and started all over again. The problem? That base is as unstable as a house of cards.
At this moment, the house of cards collapsed. Now, conversations not held or feelings muted simply won’t work. The cards are on the table, the part where Adam has no limits to defend and protect his family, and the part of Kim that still doesn’t trust Adam to be who he says he wants to be. Everything is out and they can no longer hide. They can’t keep going back to each other and sweeping the dust under the rug afterward.
We’ve been saying for some time that Burzek deserves a conversation that defines how they feel, for them and Makayla. Well, this is THE moment. In this episode, everything that Burzek had been up until now came crashing down so that the future could be built on all the heartbreaking and heartfelt conversations to come. Their new relationship will be built on a solid foundation.
Every ending is a new beginning. This episode was the end of Burzek as we knew them but it’s also the beginning of their new story.
Lizzie: I always end up repeating my reviews in these roundtables, but I do actually think that, as painful as this episode was, it’s the beginning of something better. It has to be. Because we all knew Kim didn’t fully trust Adam, and we all knew Adam wasn’t very good at keeping his head during a crisis, but this week we saw those things go against each other and explode in a spectacular way.
And in a way, it had to happen. They had to break to rebuild, and hopefully do it the proper way this time. I understand the reasons why Kim doesn’t trust him, because I, at times, have felt the same as her, as a viewer. But at this point, what else can Adam do? He’s proven he’s in this, committed to this family, and he’s done so over and over again. This isn’t keep saying “prove it,” it’s basically her saying there’s nothing you can do to prove it. And if that’s the case, then — say that and end it for good.
Not that I don’t get Kim’s fear here. The hard part is I get her, completely. I get the fear, and I got her just trying to take control and make the decision she felt was right in this episode. She’s a mom, and that’s just …the job. But this is the moment where she’s gotta decide, not just for Makayla, but for herself, if Adam is her partner, or her partner.
Also, as an aide, Adam losing it? That’s on Voight. He was all like, I’ll take you off this case if you can’t hold it together, and then didn’t, when Adam was clearly way past the point where he was useful. Voight’s job was to protect Adam, and Kim, honestly. He didn’t. And by not doing so, he made the situation so much worse.
Shana: So, here’s the thing about Burzek for me: They always work best in the angsty, at-odds kinds of moments. I usually hate the “oh, the journey is better. You’re just here for the tension and won’t be as into it when you get your canon ship” mansplaining (because, come on, it’s always male showrunners saying this dumb shit). But there’s something about Burzek, where it’s like…Episodes like “Gone,” where it is all tension, that do it for me with them. When Kim got in Adam’s face and pushed him that one time? I felt all the feels.
Ever since Burgess and Ruzek broke off their engagement 84 years ago, Chicago P.D. has, periodically, teased that they might be something more again. It’s always just enough to keep dragging shippers along, keep them invested, without actually doing anything for them. Burzek have had their hookups over the years…But they barely ever talk, much less fight, through their problems. The closest they ever came to figuring out what they were to each other—family, though not in the most traditional sense (which is fine and interesting and good!)—before now was when Kim was pregnant…And, since Wolf Entertainment likes to punish women for being Strong™, we all know how that ended.
So, you look at Burzek’s interactions this week…And you see how they were there for each other, even when they were fighting and at-odds about the best way to handle the kidnapping…And, yeah. It feels like a reconstruction for me. Because emotions were all over the place instead of just teased. Because, every step of the way, you could feel something. Because, for once, it didn’t feel like a procedural’s version of Ross and Rachel—the endgame that was truly happy, yet needed to break up and have their reunion drawn out and promised, yet never delivered on, until the very end. (And for no good reason either.)
“Gone” also gave me one of the first times I had strong Burzek feelings in a quiet moment. The bedtime story scene? That’s good shit. They’re not their younger selves anymore and won’t ever have that back, but that’s actually a good thing since that fell apart. Now, build from this new dynamic. Or don’t. But stop baiting people either way.
In Chicago Med Stevie didn’t appear… Do you think we should be alarmed by that? As for Will’s decision, do you think this means he’s growing up? Speaking of Dr. Charles and his psychologist… Do you see progress in the right direction?
Raquel: Chicago Med got the benefit of the doubt this season so I’ll give them credit and I don’t think we should be alarmed by Stevie’s disappearance, I trust them to explain that in future episodes. As for Will, oh yeah, I think he finally matured. The decision that he made is controversial and we can have opinions about it but Will made it with himself in mind first, something that he hadn’t done…ever before. And that’s a step in the right direction. Sometimes, as selfish as it sounds, we have to put ourselves first.
Dr. Charles…seriously, couldn’t the show have chosen another plot for him? He deserves better. I guess if we count the fact that Dr. Charles seems to understand how bad this is…yes, we could talk about progress. However, this is still wrong and it’s still a mess.
Lizzie: My thoughts on the Dr. Charles of it all is still a big fat please, no. Same with Dr. Blake forgiving Dr. Marcel so easily. No. But the best part of this episode was truly Will’s growth, and I wanna stay with that, since there wasn’t much in the way of ship content. I’m proud of Will Halstead again, who would have thought? Just for making a decision for himself, instead of for others.
As for Stevie, one episode is okay, two, I can see …but if we don’t even get a mention this episode, I’m gonna start to side-eye them. My trust is shaky.
Shana: It’s not out of the question for one character or another from an ensemble show to miss an episode here or there, especially when we’re still in the middle of a pandemic. With that being said, it’s not like One Chicago hasn’t randomly disappeared people without a word before…And then, there’s last week’s episode and the closure(?) with Stevie’s mom, so…Eh. Let’s give it an episode or two and then start to worry.
A donation isn’t something you give to get your name on a wall or to get any other kind of recognition. It’s honestly one of my biggest pet peeves in my line of work—the people who “donate” but want something out of it, thus completely missing the entire meaning of the word. So, even if it doesn’t mean Will is growing up, the decision not to give just because it was the expected thing to do is appreciated. His beef shouldn’t have been with Sharon for making him feel or look bad, though. It was, one hundred percent, a calculated move by the suits to tell him about that donation and try to pressure him into giving up his money. It’s trash. Any donation is meaningful, but no donation is a real donation if it’s for any other reason than because you care and are doing a selfless thing. Period.
Just say NO to Dr. Charles and his therapist having any kind of relationship, whatsoever, other than professional. That’s that on that. And while we’re talking about just saying no? Dr. Blake, sweetie, no. That was way, way too soon, and y’all didn’t even really talk about how gross your boy’s decisions were. I get that he’s pretty? But honey, you deserve better than just pretty—especially considering this actress’ last on-screen romantic interest was both prettier and dragged out AF. Give the world to Sarah Rafferty and all of her characters on all the things, to be honest. Deserves.
One Chicago airs Wednesdays on NBC.
