Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0
4
Chicago PD strips things down with a cerebral, quietly devastating hour that ends in tragedy.
Much of Chicago PD Season 13 Episode 19 serves as a showcase for Patrick John Flueger’s talents—and, as always, he delivers.
The hour takes bold creative swings, stepping outside the show’s usual formula to close out a heartbreaking chapter.
(Elizabeth Sisson/NBC)
There’s been a clear pattern with the Ruzek and Burgess-centric episodes this season, as the series experiments more with structure and storytelling.
This time, Ruzek stumbles onto a cold case while watching old VHS tapes as he and Kim pack up their home. It’s a setup that immediately gives the hour a more introspective, almost haunting tone.
The episode leans into that feeling, blurring memory and reality as Ruzek struggles with a concussion that impacts his short-term recall. But it’s also something deeper: a reflection of everything Disco Bob endured while battling Alzheimer’s.
Memories are everything. They’re our life, literally, our lives saved up in a vault in our mind, playing out like a film.
They spend a great deal of the hour intercutting moments with flashes of Ruzek’s memories, be it from his childhood or more recent times.
(Elizabeth Sisson/NBC)
The initial flashes operated as a foreshadowing of what was to come — Ruzek experiencing a concussion and struggling to recall his short-term memories that led up to his injury.
But they also served as a peek inside the mind of Ruzek as he fights to hold his memories dear and close.
Alzheimers is such a horrific disease. A slow, painful death in and of itself is terrible, but adding to it is the loss of everything you know and love.
But the hour quietly positions Ruzek as the keeper of his and Bob’s memories.
He’s Disco Bob’s legacy, the one who will keep his memories alive and well long after Bob forgot, and now, well after Bob departed this world.
(Elizabeth Sisson/NBC)
Memories are precious, and in its own unique way, Chicago PD reminds us of this.
Ruzek doesn’t have to express his fears about forgetting outright for us to feel still how it weighs on him, and maybe how diligent he is in ensuring he doesn’t become susceptible to a fate similar to his father’s.
You can’t really control that, but you fight how you can.
Every moment with Bob was gutwrenching. Bob tells Ruzek that he reminds him of his son, not realizing that he is, in fact, his son. The upset over Ruzek selling his childhood home, probably one of the only things Bob remembered.
And then there was this case. Bob couldn’t even remember it, but Ruzek figured that he kept that VHS for a reason. It was something he likely was trying to solve once upon a time.
(Elizabeth Sisson/NBC)
And Ruzek took up that mantle of doing the same. It served as a final gift to his father, an ode to everything that Bob Ruzek was, and a great way to honor him through something that connected them deeply.
It sets Ruzek on what amounts to a side quest that has him operating almost entirely alone for half an hour.
And there’s some frustration in that. This hour was probably the most noticeable bare of them all. The vice-like grip on the purse strings, which has resulted in smaller casts per episode, was felt heavily.
Trudy barely registers, Atwater gets almost nothing, and Voight’s absence feels glaring, particularly when one of his own is injured.
(Elizabeth Sisson/NBC)
On paper, a contained, character-driven hour makes sense. But after a season already lacking balance, the minimal ensemble only amplifies that ongoing issue.
It also doesn’t help that the hour is peppered with questionable decisions to move the plot along.
Ruzek taking on this case by himself without running it past anyone is odd. And he’s going to a nearly decade-old crime scene at that motel, and searching around is just reckless.
It made little sense that he’d go at it alone, endanger himself by raising suspicions and making the owner paranoid, or tipping anyone off.
Ruzzek chasing after Carlos was incredibly reckless and shortsighted. And he had ample time to call things in, but he kept topping mid-call.
Chasing Carlos in that alley and attempting to jump a fence rather than letting him go and tracking him down later was contrived.
(Elizabeth Sisson/NBC)
It made little sense for them to go to any other hospital, but Chicago Med‘s Gaffney and Burgess’ actions, from leaving her laptop with the police database up twice in public to her not assigning a detail to Ruzek. It was ridiculous.
Ruzek’s desire to see the case through, while noble, was also frustrating when he was on scene for the arrest despite his concussion and inability to stand on his own.
These were all little things that detracted from the episode because of how much it took to pull these plot points off.
And I’m still fascinated by the psych-out they pulled on us. They did, in fact, show us that someone knocked Ruzek out, so it was jarring when it suddenly turned out to be him having a nasty fall.
Nevertheless, the hour is just a twisty ride that explores Ruzek, his psyche, and his love for Disco Bob.
(Elizabeth Sisson/NBC)
The strongest moments of the hour are those final ones, as Ruzek tells Bob that it’s okay to let go. It’s powerful, poignant, devastating to watch him give his father permission to die.
He knew that Bob was only hanging on for him, but it was too much.
Jack Coleman and Paddy Flueger are dynamic together. They’ve knocked this entire arc out of the park. Those final scenes are devastating, and it’s scenes like that where the risks the show takes pay off.
Ruzek’s final act of love for his father is emotional, and those beats are what make an hour that feels like an acquired taste, worth it.
Reflections:
(Elizabeth Sisson/NBC)
- The direction during this hour was spectacular. Loved so many of the shots, too. It was another hour that felt like the technical crew got to really swing from the fences.
- It’s always nice to see Mack.
- Burzek‘s ability to joke about how many times he’s proposed made me smile.
- The baby Ruzek flashes were so cute. And all the flashbacks and memories playing out like VHS was such a great artistic choice and touch.
- I’m really angry about this peeeping tom and how much he got away with because he knew cops, I guess.
- Bob helped out Carlos. I love that Ruzek got to feel that swell of pride in his father and how great a cop and person he was during this case.
- No, but seriously, 2019 wasn’t that long ago, so why was the VHS tape resolution so horrid? What was that, 360p? Jeebus!
- Patrick. John. Flueger. That’s it.
Over to you, Chicago PD Fanatics. Do you like these unique episodes? How are you feeling about losing Bob? Let’s discuss!
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