Chicago P.D. 10×15 “Blood and Honor” is an Adam Ruzek episode and a pretty good one at that. People change, and they grow, but we don’t really need this show to establish who Adam is in Season 10. The confirmation, and the reminders, however, are not unwelcome. Good procedurals are not, as casual viewers might think, about the cases. They’re about the characters, and how they grow from moment to moment. The cases are just the background for that growth.
In that regard, the Adam Ruzek of Season 10, the Adam Ruzek we’ve seen for the past few years, if we’re being honest, is …well, a good man. He always has been, make no mistake about that. But he’s also a man who has found something he didn’t have before. Peace. A purpose. That doesn’t mean his life is complete, there are still things he wants to accomplish, stuff he desperately wants – and stuff the show needs to explore, like his relationship with Kim – but this Adam has a clear picture of his life, and he’s pretty pleased about that.
And that’s why this Adam Ruzek approaches things differently than he would have in the past. It’s also why, though the show at some point wanted to draw a parallel between Adam and Voight, that parallel no longer holds water. Adam is now a family man. And there’s nothing comparable between a man willing to do whatever he needs for his family, and a man like Voight, who picks and chooses which cases, and which moments, he is willing to go off book for.
With Jay gone, there was the notion that someone had to step into his role as the moral compass of this show, of this team. Adam Ruzek isn’t exactly doing that by standing in the middle of the bullpen and being loud about what he thinks, instead, he’s just showing up and living life according to what he thinks is right. Sometimes, that might mean making the “wrong” decision, for the right reasons. But Adam will make that wrong decision every day to protect someone, instead of the other way around.
The people you love bring out the best part of you, and sometimes allow you to become the thing you could always be, but they don’t make you good. You have to be that. This is what Adam Ruzek always was, what he could always be. And this isn’t even his final incarnation – because Adam is still not getting to be the man in love. Even that, however, is growth. Even that is promising.
Loving Kim right now, for Adam, means sitting back and letting her figure her stuff out. Loving Kim means not putting pressure on her, but making sure she knows, at every step, that he is going to be there, waiting for her. And in this episode, we also saw that this Kim, the one who is finally staring her trauma right in the face, can also love Adam back (even if she still needs more time to fully commit to a relationship) by being there when he needs it. It might seem like a small step, but in the context of their relationship, it’s a pretty welcome one.
Things I think I think:
- The opening scene with Kevin and Adam is everything I’d been asking for from this show.
- Dad Adam is my weakness, what can I say?
- Plus Kevin, and Jordan and Makayla? Uncle Kev? Perfection. All that would make it better is Kim, but I’ll take consistency in the therapy.
- This show sure has a knack for the cases that break my heart.
- Oh, joy. Samantha Beck again.
- “All normal stuff, aside from running meth.”
- Look, Adam’s a pretty charming guy, but he also gives off dependable guy vibes these days, what can I say?
- Even the part where there are multiple members of the team talking to Adam as he returns feels different. I like this episode.
- When I didn’t think this family could get worse …they’re neo-nazis!
- Adam and Kim talking about the case, about how it reminds Adam “of them” is a really nice touch. And the “let’s go see our daughter?” I’m deceased.
- Worried Kim was also very good to see. I don’t think I’d deal well in her position, at all.
- Look, making a white supremacist a recurring bad guy doesn’t bother me one bit. Call it out. Repeatedly.
- That ending wasn’t ominous, nah.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Chicago P.D. 10×15 “Blood and Honor”? Share with us in the comments below!
Chicago P.D. airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.
I agree with a lot of what you have said here. I do think that the Beck’s have the potential to be interesting adversaries for the Intelligence Unit for the remainder of this season. The father is a neo nazi racist. It is not so clear that his daughter is. Given her reaction to the paraphernalia that her father gave her son, it doesn’t appear as though Samantha shares his beliefs. The episode alluded to the fact that Samantha got herself into some trouble and her father bailed her out. Their agreement seems to have been that she is loyal to him and works for him to the bitter end, but that Samantha’s son is to be kept out of it, all of it. Grand Pa is reneging on their agreement and seeking to influence his grand son. Samantha may well have made Adam as a cop and may see him as a way out. Samantha may also have romantic feelings for Adam, how far would he go to maintain his cover? There are a number of interesting scenarios and directions that they could go in. Frankly, this was the best episode in a while and maybe the second half of the season will be better than the first half.