Well, this took longer than I thought. I ended up having to take a break from binging right after Fire‘s emotional opening, which I mention below. But I’m back at it and happily can say that I finally finished both seasons.
Both shows has somewhat of a rocky season, which is fine and all, but it didn’t always work. But on the bright side, we got three different crossovers (two with SVU, see below) and the backdoor pilot for Chicago Med! So, let’s break down both series, as well as the crossover
Once again, spoilers ahead!
Chicago Fire Season Three
This season begins with grief and people not knowing how to act post tragedy. Paramedic Leslie Shay dies in the the first few minutes of episode one. While I felt that the series had really hit a rut with her character, killing her off just doesn’t sit will with me. It also is used more as a plot device for Kelly Severide to have another emotional storyline. It does get resolved by mid-season, but I’m very much not comfortable with the first main character to be killed on Chicago Fire to be an out lesbian. (As for Severide, during his mental crisis, he ended marrying some woman he met in Vegas, but that storyline ended in four episodes. As it should.)
Also in this season is the writers kinda dancing around the rules of reality when it comes with firefighters and romance. Having a lieutenant and a paramedic date and get engaged while in the same House is problematic enough, though it apparently is possible in the real world. Having a lieutenant and a firefighter candidate one the same shift and truck is not, regardless of the Chief’s permission. This ended up being one of the more unrealistic storylines throughout the season, with Dawson and Casey constantly in a spiral of on and off. I’d honestly be much happier if Dawson returned to ambulance.
With Shay gone too soon, new paramedic Sylvie Brett steps into the role of blonde paramedic. While seeming timid, she seems like she has a heart of gold and she’s willing to go the extra mile to help. She also managed to gel almost immediately with the team, which was good. I was worried she was only going to be around for a few episodes, as one of the first things we see is that she looks like Shay, but she has really grown into her own character. I’m cool with her. She ends up having a few different partners throughout the season, starting with Dawson, then Mills once he finds out he can no longer be a firefighter due to health reasons, and then ending with Jessica “Chili” Chilton.
As for Mills, since I’ve singled out his character in the past, he has a series of storylines that didn’t click with me, mostly relating to his father. And honestly, he still didn’t impress me. By the time we reach his last episode, I was more than happy to see the back of him. I know he has his fans, but I really felt that this just wasn’t a show for him. I haven’t looked up the actor lately, but I wish him luck in his future endeavors.
The back half of the season (barring the crossover episode) were more rough compared to other episodes. Some of the plotlines just didn’t really work for me. The Truck vs. Squad argument during the final few episodes is the main one that comes to mind, as it really was a he-said, he-said situation to could have been solved by a few grown men talking together, instead of behind each others’ backs. I was happy to see the exit of the character in the center of it. He won’t be missed.
All in all, it was a rocky season, but I’m really starting to see why people enjoy this show so much. My rating for this season? 7/10.
Chicago P.D. Season Two
I ended up enjoying this season so much more than last season! The team and characters have come together much better, and the storylines seem more polished.
I actually have started to like Sgt. Voight. This season gave us the more human side of him, the more venerable side that we were really deprived of in previous seasons. From his handling of his son and pregnant girlfriend, to Erin Lindsey and her choices this season (more on that later), to even him dealing with his team during their cases and off hours. He steps up more this season to protect them, while also following his personal code. In particular, his reaction to Nadia’s death (later) proves that he truly is human.
As for Erin Lindsey, it’s been a while since I’ve been so hot and cold on a character. Lindsey doesn’t have the easiest year. She starts the season helping a teenage prostitute get off drugs and break the habit, including getting her a job answering phones for the Intelligence Department while studying to become a cop (more on this in a bit). Lindsey also strikes up a romance with fellow detective Jay Halstead, while simultaneously taking a position on an FBI task force… that lasts for like two episodes. And then, after the final crossover, she spirals and quits again. So, she has reason for having issues. I honestly just wasn’t convinced due to her character’s writing… and her portrayal.
As for other characters, Halstead gets some time to shine this season, dealing with a bounty being put on his head early on, as well as some family time in the form of his brother, Dr. Will Halstead, new at Chicago Med. Antonio Dawson deals with the aftermath of his divorce as well as a second job that goes just a bit sideways. Even our beat cops have major storylines, with Officer Kim Burgess being shot in the line of duty, and her new partner Officer Sean Roman having to deal with the aftermath. They both handle everything just fine, no issues, none at all.
The only issue I have with this season is that, once again, the episodic nature of the cases. Most are solved in the hour, that’s it, probably no call backs later on. There were a few instances that things went over to a second episode, but that was mostly for cliffhanger purposes, and was quickly solved. But if that’s my only real complaint, can I really complain?
I absolutely rate this season a solid 9/10. SOLID.
Crossovers and Character Appearances
This season continues the tradition of having characters appear in the opposite show. It gives the franchise a feeling of togetherness, as the two teams work together, or pass information to one another, or just end a shift at Molly’s. It’s feels real.
There were three major crossover “events” this season, two of which tied into Law and Order: SVU. Thankfully, I was able to find SVU over on Hulu, so I was able to actually get what was happening when those crossovers happened!
Our first triple crossover aired in November 2014. “Nobody Touches Anything/Chicago Crossover/ They’ll Have to Go Through Me” deals with the discovery of a pedophile ring and the aftermath. Honestly, if they hadn’t used the last five minutes of the Fire episode to tie in, this could have easily been just a two-parter. The case itself was handled with respect, considering the topic. The SVU characters actually clicked for me a bit this time around, though I still couldn’t say that I was a fan. I was happy with the conclusion of this crossover, as both the SVU and PD characters got their chance to shine.
The second crossover is just between Fire and PD. “Three Bells/A Little Devil Complex” has the difficult task of solving the death of Leslie Shay. After Severide is tipped off by former firefighter/arsonist Hadley that the fire that killed Shay wasn’t an accident, he and Dawson go to investigate. Though they find a potential suspect, the Arson Department can’t pursue without direct evidence. As a favor, Intelligence steps in and is able to connect the arsonist to that fire, as well as many others. In the end, the arsonist is shot dead right before setting Dawson on fire. This crossover worked well, to the point that I blew through both episodes… and then watched them again, because I couldn’t believe that two hours had passed. I was very impressed.
The third and final crossover was another triple. “We Called Her Jellybean/The Number of Rats/Daydream Believer” will be sticking with me for awhile. While attending to a raging apartment fire, a woman who had been raped is rescued from the building, badly burned. The Intelligence Department takes over, trying to find the person who is doing this. Unfortunately, they are too late. Their suspect flees back to New York (SVU) with Nadia, where he kills her like his other victims. The Chicago team and the SVU team do successfully arrest the rapist, and he is sent to prison for his crimes.
I want to take a quick second to acknowledge Nadia’s character here. Here’s a girl that is bettering herself. Gets clean, goes back to school, has a steady job. Makes some dreams. Only to have that cut short. While I did love these episodes, I really feel that they did a disservice to Nadia and girls in her position. I know that hope is just a fickle thing, but I was really hoping for a happier ending for her character, not something so tragic.
As for Fire, they had one more important job this season: letting one of their episodes become a backdoor pilot. “I Am The Apocalypse” sets up Chicago Med in a big way, with someone exploding a bomb in the ER. The episode is actually a good one, with a great mix of both Fire characters, and who I assume will be main characters on Chicago Med, which starts in the next season. There’s just one little thing… while the backdoor pilot was absolutely needed, I have to give the writers of both shows credit, as they’ve been setting up Med all throughout the season. They had characters go to Chicago Med, they introduced Dr. Halstead before the backdoor pilot, to actual great success, they namedropped it like twenty times… It was handled well, and I for one was impressed.
So. All in all, a pretty solid Year 3. 107 episodes. I’m hoping to have finished at least most of Year 4 before September 22, when One Chicago begins with new episodes. I’m absolutely not going to finish the series by the time that rolls around, but I’m really hoping to make some headway.
Until next time!
