Chicago P.D. Season 14, Episode 5 ‘Dark Imaginings‘ is a pretty good Kim (Marina Squerciati) episode, one that balances work and home life in a very satisfactory manner. Often, this show uses the case or the lessons learned in the case as a way into what our characters are feeling. This episode isn’t like that, even though it is. If anything, in this hour, the case is Kim’s escape, a way to feel in control of her life.
Kim isn’t struggling; in fact, on the surface, everything is not just okay, but good. She and Adam just moved to a place that’s much better for Makayla (Ramona Edith Williams). And while the new surroundings and new school seem to be working out perfectly for her, Kim can’t sleep. Part of it is the change, of course, and the feeling that she’s leaving in a stranger’s house. Part of it is that Kim isn’t used to, well… silence.
The episode embraces what Kim is feeling through the phrase “dark imaginings,” which comes from Max Ehrmann’s famous poem Desiderata (“Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune. But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings. Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness“). It’s a pretty fun way to explain a Kim who’s doubting not just herself, but her gut, even if there’s really no reasoning behind it.
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Kim Burgess hasn’t had an easy life, even if right now things seem to be in as stable a place as she’s ever been. She’s a detective; she’s working with a team she knows and trusts, and she’s got her husband and her daughter. But sometimes, the brain can trick you and give you problems that don’t exist. Like a leak in your new house that you wanted to move into. Because the brain isn’t used to things just being okay; it’s used to having something to fix.
This doesn’t mean Kim doesn’t want to be there with Adam (Patrick Flueger) and Makayla. Doesn’t mean she’s not happy, or that she’s looking for an escape. It just means that she’s gotta remind herself that she doesn’t have to be in fight-or-flight mode all the time. Sometimes Kim Burgess gets to stop. Stop being strong, stop being a cop. Stop being the one who knows everything and has all the answers.
Of course, the case doesn’t help, because it presents a real danger. And Kim gets lucky; she does. Things could have gone so much worse, for her and for Makayla and Adam. But in the kind of job she has, sometimes lucky is what you get. And before she can rest, spend some time with her husband and her kid, be a mom and a wife, she’s gotta be a cop. Get the job done. The balance with the new house and all parts of her life, that’s something she’ll have to work on. Something she wants to work on. That’s life. A little messy, even when things are going well.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Chicago P.D. Season 14, Episode 5 ‘Dark Imaginings’? Share with us in the comments below!
Chicago P.D. airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.
