Chicago P.D. 9×20 “Memory” asks the clear question everyone who has been watching this show — and particularly Burzek fans — have been asking for a while: Why are they not together? It does so in Adam’s words, but it also does so by laying out the case for why, in most ways that matter, Adam and Kim are already a family. All they need is to accept it and take that final step.
It’s scary, of course. Right now, Kim has the best of both worlds, in a way. She’s got her kid, and a man she loves. Except she doesn’t. She truly doesn’t. Adam is there, but is he really? He can’t always reach her, can’t be the partner she needs, and she can’t be the one he needs, either. And though together they are wonderful for Makayla, there’s really no reason for them not to try to be the family they want — the one their kid craves, other than fear.
And fear seems like a pretty thin excuse for two people who literally run into danger for a living, doesn’t it?
So, let’s go into the creepy case, the way this show has built some semblance of balance in the back half of the season, and Burzek as we review Chicago P.D. 9×20 “Memory”:
THIS ONE WE’LL SADLY REMEMBER
Procedural cases aren’t always memorable, and they don’t have to be. All they have to do is serve as backdrops that will move characters from A to B. This case, however, is memorable, and not because it leaves us with any warm and fuzzy feelings. In fact, the “are you a good mother?” question to Kim is probably how nightmares start, that’s how creepy it was.
Of course, this case is particularly memorable because Kim Burgess is a mother now, and though nothing is happening to Makayla this hour, she isn’t in any real danger, the possibility is still chilling. That’s what being a parent is. And that’s why Kim Burgess, and Adam Ruzek as well, took this case so hard. It’s hard to separate your real life from the cases you’re working on. That goes for any job you have.
The ending to this case is also bittersweet. There are answers, yes, but the answers don’t change the past. This, however, doesn’t mean that the answers aren’t good news, or that the answers are worthless. We are made of memories, and there’s nothing quite as heartbreaking as believing the good ones you have, the ones that made you feel safe and loved, aren’t real. Just as there isn’t any bigger gift than being sure that the memories that made you who you are truly belong to you.
I MEAN, IT’S BETTER?
I won’t pretend Chicago P.D. has gotten anywhere near where I want it to be balance wise, but the show has gotten better this season, particularly in the back half. Sure, we still had a first half that was Upstead heavy, with very little focus on them in the second half of the season, and very little Burzek in the first half, with more of a focus on them (or well, on their family) in the back half, and yes, Kevin only had three episodes this season …but all of that still feels like a win? We were down in the dumps, after all.
Plus, there are little things, like the fact that I can’t count on the fingers of one hand how many times Kim and Hailey talked to each other this season, or the fact that the show has remembered the Kim and Kevin closeness or followed through with the new dynamics between Jay and Voight, which of course includes Hailey, cause married Upstead is a unit.
It’s not perfect, not by a longshot. I would, however, be remiss not to admit that it has indeed improved, just as I beg the show to continue on this road in the season to come.
WHY NOT?
Why are Adam and Kim not together? I don’t know. Adam doesn’t know. Makayla doesn’t either. And to be honest, I’m not sure if Kim has an answer, even though she’s the one that is keeping them apart. Her emotions are ruling her on that one, not her common sense. And by emotions I mainly mean fear, because she loves Adam — I know she does. She isn’t listening to that either, though.
I said before it was understandable, and it is. But as a storyline, it’s way past the point of making sense, and if this were real life, I would have expected Kim to have been the subject of an intervention from her friends at this point, because seriously. And storytelling-wise, the problem is that it was easy to tie her fears about this to what happened at the end of last season, but the show has dropped that, so what is she so afraid of? We don’t know! We can only speculate.
My biggest issue with Chicago P.D. 9×20 “Memory” — a pretty great episode all around and one that finally confronted the Burzek question head on — is how it ends. So, what now? Do we ignore the question and the answer for the next two episodes and pick it back up in Season 10, when it’s time for a Burzek episode? Say it isn’t so. Do we get an answer but no real reconciliation? Say it isn’t so. Does Kim say no, and we don’t get to hear her reasoning? My worst nightmare.
Either way, I don’t see how this ends up being satisfying, for the fans or the characters — no matter what happens. I hope I’m proven wrong, but at this point, I’d rather brace for the worst. It keeps coming true when it comes to these two, after all.
Things I think I think:
- I think Adam and Kim would benefit from some couple’s counseling.
- Hailey and Kim SPEAK! MORE THAN ONCE!
- Everything about this case gave me the creeps.
- Sometimes Voight needs evidence, sometimes he doesn’t. It’s a mystery which Voight will show up.
- I love that red shirt on Hailey about as much as I love the blue one on Jay.
- “Together?”/”Why not?” YES, WHY NOT? WHY NOT?!!
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Chicago P.D. 9×20 “Memory”? Share with us in the comments below!
Chicago P.D. airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.
