The One Chicago Crossover, titled ‘In the Trenches Part I, II and III’ was probably the best either of these shows have been in quite a while. Chicago Fire Season 13, Episode 11 ‘In The Trenches: Part I,’ started the emergency, leading into Chicago Med ‘In The Trenches: Part II,’ with the crossover concluding with Chicago P.D. ‘In The Trenches: Part III.’ However, the entire crossover felt like a movie involving the characters of all three shows—and it all clicked.
After waiting five years for a crossover, it’s very easy to pinpoint why this one worked. Even though there are fewer connections between the shows now than there used to be, these characters still all exist within the same city. Not just that, they know each other, and can very easily find a rapport with one another, particularly in tough situations. Sure, we were invested in Adam and Kim and Severide and Stella, even though they were separated, but Adam and Stella of it all also worked well and was great to see.
Let the lesson be this: One Chicago is better when it remembers that they are all in one city. And sure, we cannot have these kinds of crossovers every episode. We wouldn’t want three big characters in peril every week, either! But the shared universe remains one of One Chicago’s best assets. They would do well to use it more.
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THAT WAS WAY TOO CLOSE, TRUDY
For a moment there, I thought this might be the moment we lost Trudy Platt. If there’s anyone I thought the show might be willing to part with, it was Amy Morton’s Platt. She’s a very important part of the team, she is. But she’s also not as integral to Intelligence as Adam, and she also doesn’t appear in every episode. But I will say I’m really glad I was wrong.
I got unsurprisingly emotional at seeing Platt shot. Not to mention every second of Mouch waiting to learn if she would be okay. Mouch and Platt have been a safe harbor in many storms in One Chicago and the idea of losing Platt hurt as much as the idea of losing the couple did. The episode introduced the added wrinkle of Mouch having forgotten Trudy’s birthday the night before, so we were on edge from the beginning, thinking about what could have been.
For Mouch, perhaps the only thing scarier than the possibility of losing Trudy is the possibility of losing her when they were not on good terms. That’s partly why he blows up at Ripley, and why he seems to take Lennox being Lennox to heart. He’s scared he’s going to lose his wife, yes. But he’s also terrified that she could die thinking he didn’t love her the way she deserved. Thankfully, Trudy pulls through and as soon as she opens her eyes, not only helps crack the case—she also tells Mouch to go be a firefighter.
It’s a great reminder of who these characters are. And also… of the courage of first responders, day in and day out. And not the only one we get this episode, either.
MORE: What happened in the last episode of Chicago P.D.?
SEE YOU FOR DINNER
This episode gives us the best version of Adam—even if he makes a mistake with the suspect. It’s an easy mistake under the circumstances. It’s one the guy might not forgive him for, but that I have a hard time faulting him for, either. In that situation, it’s better to be safe than sorry, and Adam at least made sure the guy was safe when the ceiling started caving in.
Outside of that, Adam remained calm under pressure, was helpful when Stella needed him, and made sure to keep the people on the train always grounded instead of panicking. He was also the same solid self when he was talking to a Kim that, for a second, almost gave into panic. And I understand her. When the person you love, the one you’ve chosen to spend your life with, is in danger, panic is normal. But what Adam needed was for Kim to work the case. And what Kim needed was for Adam to not lose hope and to remain steady.
They both did that, and that’s partly why Adam got out of that tunnel with only a minor wound. He can now go home to have pizza with his soon-to-be wife and daughter. Just the family life he’s always wanted, the one that, at times, it felt like he wouldn’t get. And maybe, just maybe, he can take Kelly’s message to Stella to heart and get on with that wedding. Life is short, after all.
MORE: How are we doing on the list of things we wanted to see from Season 13 of Chicago Fire?
YOU GOTTA MAKE THE TIME
The crossover starts with Stella and Kelly discussing the possibility of going away together for the upcoming long weekend. Severide is okay with waiting for a better moment—for when they have more time. Stella, meanwhile, tells him that time doesn’t just appear. Sometimes, you gotta make the time. The episode proves her right by throwing her into a very dangerous situation and making her husband worry about her for a good chunk of the crossover.
In the end, it feels like this is an important lesson for everyone, but it especially is for two people like Kelly and Stella. In the first responder business, you’re so used to walking into danger day in and day out, and your job is important. Of course, it is. But they all live in a heightened reality and sometimes it’s hard to come down from that high. Hard to recognize that occasionally, you need to walk away and recharge—and you especially need to walk away and spend time with the people you love.
Perhaps my favorite thing about this episode and Stella’s close call is that it wasn’t about her having an epiphany about wanting to expand their family. Or at least, not an immediate one. It wasn’t even about Kelly considering how short life is and bringing that conversation that they’ve had paused back. It was genuinely about them, and about the realization that sometimes, you gotta make sure you try to spend time with the people you love. You gotta create those special moments. They aren’t flukes or coincidences.
It’s on you to make sure you don’t just say the things, you act upon them. Life cannot just be the job or the moments after. Life is what we make of it, and we need to decide how we’re living them. And if, later, those conversations do end up coming back, that’s a matter for another day.
MORE: Did the things we wanted to see from Season 12 of Chicago P.D. come true?
FUN (BUT UNUSUAL) PAIRING
Would I have chosen Adam and Stella to be the ones trapped on that train? Probably not. Did it work well, nonetheless? The answer is yes. And though with writing as good as these three episodes had and actors as capable as One Chicago has, it feels like a lot of rare pairings might have worked, that doesn’t mean we can celebrate the pairing we did get and the good moments they gave us.
Adam and Stella weren’t just occupying the same space. No, they were partners when the situation needed them to be—and they supported each other through what each of them had to do. And though Adam is a cop, so the medical stuff fell to Stella, he was there to lend a hand and support, just as Stella was there to do the same when it came to the discussion of Adam’s suspect.
It didn’t really start off that way. Adam and Stella are two characters who have been in each other’s orbit before, but who have never had to deal with a situation like this one together before, they never had to be partners. But credit to both, Stella pushed when she needed to and reminded Adam she was there and had his back, and Adam, once she did, recognized that she was indeed right and that the best outcome possible for both and for all the people on that train required him to trust Stella.
This is exactly what makes One Chicago crossovers work—and what can continue to make them work, even without the many connections the shows previously shared. This is still one city and a group of people who are determined to do their best by it. That means they’re all on the same side.
MORE: Are we getting a Burzek wedding this season?
Things I think I think:
- Starting with Stellaride is the right way to make me invested.
- But were they late?!
- Frost being all like “Violet is in charge” made me like him about 50 times more, and I already like him!
- These dudes really thought they were going to get the jump on Kelly Severide. HA.
- My question is, after shooting Trudy, why not just shoot Adam?
- When Severide and Herrmann refused to evacuate without Trudy! When Mouch was desperate to go back to help Stella!
- Like Sharon Goodwin was going to stay away.
- Ripley keeps coming up with the good ideas these past few weeks.
- “It means he’s scared.” I’M GONNA CRY.
- Torres was one of the few characters who only showed up in his designated hour.
- Having Violet and especially Carver and Ritter kinda disappear when Stella was in danger was… eh. I know it’s about actors and how many episodes they’re in, but legitimately didn’t make sense. Truck 81 would have all been there.
- Archer going in was actually a very good call, I liked it.
- Plus, Captain Herrmann? A+.
- Can we talk about how good Frost is with kids? Can we?
- Voight as the “good cop” is, as always, hilarious. No one who’s ever watched P.D. will buy it.
- Not much of Voight and Pascal, but that final shot of the two of them felt like the prelude of things to come.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of ‘In the Trenches Part I, II, II’? Share with us in the comments below!
Chicago Med, Chicago Fire, and Chicago P.D. air Wednesdays on NBC, starting at 8/7c with Chicago Med, followed by Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D.
This crossover event reminded me of the reason I watch the Chicago shows… they’re good entertainment. The writing, acting and production were all top shelf.
Do I hear “Emmy” calling?
Thanks to Dick Wolf and NBC.