The Chicago Code – It’s last call for my best friends (and enemies)

Writing this column isn’t supposed to be difficult. I shouldn’t be blinking tears out of my eyes. I shouldn’t feel an emptiness in my gut. And I shouldn’t be raising a glass to a person who doesn’t even exist. But I am doing all of those things after having seen the last episode (for now?) of The Chicago Code, the kind of show that only comes around once in a while.

Having seen middling to downright horrendous last installments this season, I was at my wits’ end with the concept of the season finale. Especially in recent years, they’ve become TV’s equivalent of a Michael Bay film: flailing for our attention with promises of shocking plot twists, character deaths, romance, explosions — all to entertain us so we don’t notice things like suspect, directionless writing or half-cocked acting. Not so for The Chicago Code: even though it was still very much alive when this episode was written, it was just quietly impressive, the way the series has always conducted itself. It didn’t need to clamor for my attention; the creative team had enough confidence in themselves and their story to know they could get it without needing to roll out a three-ring circus. In fact, with as much as I’ve grown to love these characters, they already had it.

The Chicago Code did a wonderful job all season long of pacing itself, keeping track of all its pieces and moving them into place at the right time, so as the endgame unspooled, there was no filler and no sense of trying to rush to the finish line. Instead, what we saw in the final forty-odd minutes was everything we wanted and needed to see — the payoff that fans deserved and foresight toward a potential season two — with the proper time devoted to every important moment. And boy, were there quite a few. This show set up a lot of things a few months ago, and it cannot be accused of shortchanging any of them.

Of course, the burning question was if Teresa (Jennifer Beals, doing some of her best work) was finally going to topple Alderman Gibbons (Delroy Lindo). Going into the episode, I did not expect a complete answer to the question, if only because it seemed like nailing Gibbons would limit the use of Lindo in season two, and he’s too amazing an actor to give a reduced role. I was legitimately surprised to see Gibbons end up in a jail cell in the final scene, but it was a grand surprise; his arrest was a moment that had me jumping off my couch and cheering. After getting to know all the people who’d fought for that, and experiencing what they had to sacrifice for it to come true, it was important to me as a fan. It was absolutely the right choice.

Particularly because that event means that Chris Collier, whom we’ve known all season as Liam Hennessey (Billy Lush), can finally tell his parents that he’s an undercover cop, and more importantly, can stop being an undercover cop. We heard Chris pine for his family in a previous episode, and the kid nearly died to bust Gibbons; he deserved a happy ending, which is why I’m glad he wasn’t killed off. So many other shows would have bumped him for dramatic effect, but here, we get the conclusion to his story that is best for the character.

The real meat of the finale, for me at least, was Jarek’s (Jason Clarke) pursuit of his brother’s murderer, which played out as perfectly as I could have asked for, while continuing to flaunt convention at least three separate times. The first is that we actually got a fair amount of closure to the situation; while there are questions left unanswered — such as the specific identity of the shooter – I felt like I could drop the storyline and walk away satisfied. Other shows would wring it out for all that it was worth or manipulated it for the easiest outcome. I got a laugh out of Gibbons trying to sell Jarek on Hugh Killian being the killer, only for Jarek to say what I was thinking — that was convenient. It was as if the writers were reading my mind with that line.

The Chicago Code took a different approach to the idea than any other show would’ve; in the end, it wasn’t so much a whodunit as it was another exploration of Jarek’s character, as well as the Wysocki family. When we discovered that Vincent was a dirty cop, I felt like it was a familiar note, but I forgot that because that wasn’t what the reveal was about; it was about what that information meant for Jarek, and him doing what he had to do — following it to any and all conclusions. It was what he’d do if it were any other cop; the fact that it was his brother didn’t change anything for him. That decision fit perfectly with his character, and the resulting journey was wrenching, as it saw him have to deal with Vince’s mistress, his father, Vonda and most importantly, himself. (Besides, the show spared itself that cliche by treating Vincent not as a villain all along, but a cop with good intentions who’d used the wrong means and been destroyed by them; he was a fully developed human being, just like every other character on the show, and was still worthy of Jarek’s love and respect – and by extension, everything we’d invested in Jarek’s quest to avenge his death.)

This is the kind of cracking material actors crave, and Clarke hit a home run with it; he conveyed Jarek’s vulnerability and myriad of emotions perfectly. Little things — the unshed tears in Jarek’s eyes, the way his normally firm grip on his gun was not so steady as he pointed it at the man he believed was Vince’s killer — that underscored palpable emotion in Clarke’s performance. I felt everything that Jarek was going through, and at the same time, I never felt that it was overplayed. Nor did I feel that just because the subplot was brought to a point that it could be ended, that Jarek’s journey was over. He’s always been about so much more than his brother’s open case, and the things he discovered only made him continue to grow and me want to continue to follow him. Were it up to me, I’d hand Jason Clarke the Best Actor in a Drama Series Emmy right now; I haven’t seen an actor this consistently fantastic since Andre Braugher in Homicide: Life on the Street.

Every character had their day, though, no matter how small their actual screen time. Caleb (Matt Lauria) saved Jarek from doing something remarkably stupid, and in so doing, proved that he had stepped out of Jarek’s shadow and become his equal. He had seen enough from Jarek to be willing to lie for him. In turn, I couldn’t help but smile when Jarek later introduced Caleb to his brother’s mistress as “a friend,” signifying that Jarek returned that respect. Vonda (Devin Kelley) and Isaac (Todd Williams) were not forced where they didn’t fit, but we saw Vonda willing to put the right thing above her father’s memory, no matter how hard it was for her emotionally. Teresa accomplished her mission of taking down Gibbons, and had a bittersweet reunion with would-be suitor FBI Agent Cuyler (the always welcome Adam Arkin), before the realization that her own identity would keep her from a personal life led her to pretend to be an out-of-towner in a hotel bar. I’m not really sure how I feel about that, particularly because I liked Jennifer Beals’ chemistry with Arkin, but I do at least understand the reasoning; as she explains to Cuyler, being the Superintendent of Police and trying to date is rife with difficulty.

The only thing amongst it all that I had a quibble with was the return of Jarek’s ex-fiancee Elena (Camille Guaty), who by episode’s end was half-dressed and back in the picture. As I’ve said before, I’ve never felt chemistry between the actors, and I was content to let her leave, especially since her exit was handled so perfectly two episodes earlier. There was no real reason for her to come back. Having said that, if the show had to go there, it did so the right way; we’re told that Jarek and Elena’s split happened a month before, so we know they’ve had time and space, instead of it being another in the long line of times where TV uses a character’s emotional turmoil as an excuse for a senseless hookup. Also, since I’m just so darn attached to Jarek and want to have him have something good after everything, I’m going to concede the point if only for his happiness. I loved how when a drunken Elena tells him she still hates him, he replies, “You should.” Jarek has never tried to make excuses for himself. I’ll sit here and appreciate that he might be on the way to his own happy ending. He certainly deserves it.

In that sense, the conclusion to The Chicago Code was a true delight from a fan’s standpoint. The show did an unbelievable job of getting us emotionally invested in these characters; in short order, I fell in love with each of them, getting into their heads and hearts, wanting the bad guys to go down and the good guys to win. This finale gave me that; I can say that these cops whom I’ve come to care about all get some measure of closure, if not outright happiness. I think that’s worth recognizing.

Unfortunately, that also makes it even harder to come to terms that this may be the last time I see them. These characters have not only become the heroes I was rooting for, but they’ve become as close to real people as fictional characters can get to me; I’ve been through more with them than I have with some people I’d call friends. I want to give Jarek a hug and tell him how proud I am of him, not leave him behind. The idea that wherever he goes next, he’s got to do it without me honestly hurts, because I’ve become attached. I feel that same way about all of these characters. I know they’re not real, but it’s still against my nature to let them go, if only because I know that were they real, they wouldn’t be walking away either.

If this is goodbye, however, it’s the right way to leave. I can feel comfortable knowing that the bad guys fell, and the good guys are in a good place I feel okay with leaving them in. It’s the fact that I’m not going to be able to come back that I’m still having a hard time with. It’s difficult, but it should be; I’m losing a fantastic television series, one of the best I’ve ever seen.

Clacked by Brittany Frederick
on May 24, 2011 @ 09:30 EST5EDT