Goldberg74

I don't mean to steal DJariya's thunder, but the thread wasn't started yet...


By djariya at 2011-01-01

Synopsis:



Episode 13 of 13

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Sad to see this show end. But it has been a great ride!

Goldberg74

I have no idea who Mike Royko is or was, so I looked it up:

DJariya

No worries man. Looking forward to tonight.

Groucho

I used to read Mike Royko all the time. John Belushi even played a character based on him in Continental Divide. Not sure what he has to do with this episode, though?

Geofferson

The titles for all episodes have been Chicago references -- some more specific than others. Curious to see how tonight's factors in. Will miss this show

Rypro 525

from Shawn Ryan's twitter
ShawnRyanTV

Season Finale of #TheChicagoCode is on tonight. A final big ratings number is our only hope of luring someone else to pick up a 2nd Seadon.

majorjoe23

Let's hold out hope for that second seadon.

I think this will be the first episode I watch, mostly because a band I know is having one of their songs featured.

rfduncan

Series finale.... Grrrrr.

Geofferson

Well, a fine hour of television. Loved the closing shot of Gibbons behind bars and the song that was playing in the background.

kstublen

This show started out a little rough, but turned into one hell of a show. I'm really going to miss it. I know the chances are slim to none, but I really hope it someone finds life on another network. Also, you've really got to hand it to Shawn Ryan; he managed to deliver two one-season shows (Terriers and The Chicago Code) with definitive beginnings, middles, and ends but that still left open the possibility for future storylines in a second season. That takes a lot of skill and he should be commended for it; everyone's storyline was wrapped up or at least given a satisfying-enough conclusion.

Wysocki was great. The scene in the hotel room was really intense and I thought he was going to lose it. I wonder what would have happened if Kilian had killed his brother. Not sure he would have been able to stop himself, but I hope he would have. I loved Caleb's quick thinking and having Wysocki's back.

It was pretty crazy that Gibbons's assistant/lover killed Kilian. Obviously Gibbons didn't tell her to do it, but you could sort of sense how there was a sort of casting her out with the expectation that she might do something crazy. I imagine Gibbons wasn't totally surprised when he heard she killed Kilian.

I also really liked Wysocki standing up to his father and not covering up crimes to preserve his brother's memory. It's nice that despite his misdeeds, the brother was able to come through when it really counted and I like that the niece didn't hold it against her uncle, something a lesser show surely would have done to stir up some drama.

The scene with Gibbons being arrested was great. I loved the pleasure Colvin took in arresting him and how he was already playing to the media.

The final scene, seeing Gibbons sitting in a single jail cell in his prison garb, was very satisfying. But at the same time, thanks to the tremendous writing of the show and the amazing performance of Delroy Lindo (who deserves at least an Emmy nomination) you felt a little bad for him. This was a man that had done a lot of bad things, but had also done a lot of good for the community. And as he sat in that cell I didn't get the feeling that he was upset that he had been caught and would spend the rest of his life in prison, but that he had let down the people and wouldn't be able to help. I imagine he also felt as though he deserved some of what he got in the end; he justified it during the season as the cost of doing business, but I think he knew better.

I'm honestly surprised Liam made it through the season. If there was one person I thought was going to die, it would have been him. I imagine after this season, if there was a second season, he might have returned to the force not as an undercover. Loved the scene where Colvins and Wysocki arrested the guy that outed him to Kilian and Gibbons. He was easily my favorite character on the show (although I grew to like all of them) and I hope the actor gets more work in the future. His final scene with his family finally appreciating him and not thinking he was a screw-up was great. It makes you realize that we didn't even realize he had a life outside of being an undercover and a family that he gave up. Says a lot about him and I really appreciated Wysocki congratulating him.

All around great two-part finale to a great, albeit short, season. I know it's not coming back, but I'll hold out a little hope.

EDIT: Oh, and while we still don't know who killed Wysocki's brother, it was cool to see him not giving up the search there at the end. And I guess he's going to get back with his fiance?

auto

It's Chicago. Do you really think Gibbons would have stayed in jail?

superfro

I'm definitely happy with the ending we got, but super sad to see it go. I could easily take another 13-22 episodes worth of Wysocki/Colvin/Gibbons battles. Really great show and I'll be sad to see all that awesome on location stuff go. The city itself was an amazing character.

MikahC

I've saved the whole season, but not watched an episode yet. Even knowing it got cancelled, I'm going to watch it.

Mike Royko (the columnist) rocked. I'd say he was the cornerstone of the papers in town along with Ann Landers and Siskel & Ebert. Hmm. Only Ebert is left alive now. :-(

JTH182

Did I misinterpret Colvin's final scene, or was she really just role-playing to get some ass? Either that or she left the job in Chicago, which makes me wonder how they would have had a second season?

Dragon Tattoo

You had it right the first time. She made it clear earlier in the episode that she doesn't believe in mixing work with pleasure, or risking her career. So she lies for sex, so no one can get close.

Derrich

But that makes no sense. It would be much easier to get caught into a scandal having random sex with guys in hotels that it would be to go on a date. No one in the bar recognizes her? She wouldnt be able to keep random hookups secret for long.

I thought Colvin's final scene destroyed her character.

superfro

IMO one night stands with dudes from out of town make a lot more sense than with guys that'll be sticking around. (Since clearly she's not looking for an actual relationship.) As for local people not recognizing her in the bar....good point, but I assume it's the least potential for collateral damage.

Deftones

Since this is likely not coming back, that was pretty decent closure. Not the best of the season's episodes, but good, nonetheless.

Geofferson

Hotel bars are pretty anonymous since everyone is from out of town except for the bartender. I suppose the only risk Colvin has if her face shows up on TV behind the bar (unlikely). It was a good final scene with her -- as was the precursor with Adam Arkin (forgot his name on the show).

I was surprised to see that Wysocki got back together with his fiance.

devilshalo

There was a lot going on and it made me wish this was a 2hr finale. Decent ending for the Gibbons storyline.

Does this mean Killian's daughter won't have a deal and will be tried for the attempted murder of Liam, since Wysocki has his brother's evidence, or would she still be needed to corroborate?

Geofferson

^ Yeah, not sure about the daughter. Sounds like Colven/Wysocki were only using the old evidence agains Gibbons and not the current stuff that Liam's work with Killian surfaced. Unfortunate...

superfro

Well I think the issue was there wasn't enough to tie him to any criminal activities with just his appearance in their ledger. Building a history of corruption and behavior from years ago may lend credibility to his still committing wrong doings thus making his name being in Killian's books a stronger offense.

SiberianLlama

Great final episode. Sad to see this show go (although hopefully it'll get picked up somewhere else).

Delroy Lindo was absolutely amazing as Alderman Gibbons.

Not sure how I feel about the final scene with Colvin, but that's a minor quibble.

wirefan

I wonder if that was the original ending they had mapped out or whether Gibbons was going to be a multiseason story arc (if the show had looked like it was going to be picked up while the season was progressing). Does anyone know if this was how Ryan had originally planned on the first season ending?

I also wonder whether the UC was supposed to survive or not... with the show being canceled, it gives us a bit of a happier ending, but it probably wasn't needed plot-wise... Unless they were planning on him returning for the 2nd season (as a detective or something), I would have thought he'd have been killed off.

I liked the twist about his brother being dirty and how they played it (including how Wysocki decided to use the evidence before talking to his family about his brother), but getting the evidence to nail Gibbons just seemed too convenient.

Fist of Doom

Really good ending to the series. I like that they didn't make Gibbons a cut-and-dried villain.