The Chicago Code – BRB, I think I’ve become a masochist

I spoke last week of how The Chicago Code made for even more effective drama because it hit home for me. Imagine my surprise when the series delivered an even stronger gut punch this week: not only did “Black Sox” strike another personal chord, but it wrapped up its least interesting subplot in the most compelling fashion.

The ‘case of the week’ was an apparent hate crime, as a prominent gay man was stabbed to death. It’s a sensitive subject, and all too often on television, we see sensitive issues sensationalized for maximum drama. As a victim of a hate crime myself (albeit obviously not the exact one in question), it meant something to me that The Chicago Code didn’t treat the material that way. From a writer’s perspective, I respect that the show finds honest drama within its storylines and characters, rather than trying to manufacture it for the sake of entertainment.

The closest the show has ever gotten to forced drama is the love triangle between Jarek (Jason Clarke), ex-wife Dina (Amy Price-Francis) and new fiancee Elena (Camille Guaty). I’ve always felt the soapy subplot is one of the show’s weakest points, and have been hoping for a resolution. Well, I got what I wished for … and then some, with a conclusion that moved me from hate to sitting in tears over how it all ended. Motivated by having to tell niece Vonda (Devin Kelley) that her father had been having an affair, Jarek finally tried to reconcile with Dina but was soundly rejected, and confessed his indiscretions to Elena, who promptly left him. It was exactly the ending that was called for: messy, but brutally honest.

As much as I loathed this subplot, I salute the way it was concluded. From the moment it was introduced, we knew it could never end well, and it ended about as badly as it possibly could. Both Dina and Elena stood up for themselves and didn’t make things easy for Jarek. This was even more important for Dina, who earlier this season was hurt when Jarek said they weren’t getting back together; tonight she was on a date with someone new. (If only the women on Maury were as sensible and self-respecting.) To his credit, Jarek, who’d been struggling with the blowback all season, knew he was in for punishment and gamely took everything they had to say without trying to save face.

That’s the one aspect that I appreciated about the entire concept: what it showed us about Jarek. It was an ugly side of him, but one that made sense. At this point in the season, I feel like I’m really inside of his head, and that I really care about him. That made the last few minutes of this episode such an experience. I didn’t want to see him suffering since I like him so much, but because I know him so well, I understood that of course dealing with the consequences of his actions wouldn’t be easy. When he came clean to Elena, I knew what he was trying and struggling to get across. I could follow his thought processes to the choice that he made. The show led me to the natural, unforced end of the storyline. I never liked the subplot, but by the end, it earned my understanding.

What pushed me over the edge into needing Kleenex, though, was the superb acting of Jason Clarke. I’ve used plenty of superlatives in the same sentence with his name, but the final few minutes here may be some of his best work all season. As great as it is to see Jarek kicking in doors and busting bad guys, he’s equally as fascinating in his vulnerable moments, because Clarke is just as strong a force at either end of the spectrum. I could see every bit of Jarek’s self-loathing, sadness and frustration in his eyes, on his face and in his body language. He didn’t milk the material for attention, which in turn made it more poignant because it felt so honest. I forgot that I was watching a fictional character for those couple of minutes. I have no shame in admitting that he had me crying well before the credits.

Any show that can hand me something I hate and make me so invested in it that I have an emotional reaction is worthy of commendation. (And from a quick poll of my friends who watch the show afterward, I wasn’t the only one to be moved, either.) That’s the kind of TV I live for and that we don’t have enough of: the program that is so much more than a story, that makes an impact upon its audience. I like The Chicago Code because it’s great entertainment, but I love it because I’m still talking about it hours after it’s over.

Clacked by Brittany Frederick
on May 10, 2011 @ 13:05 EST5EDT