With gunfire in a barber shop and bombs blowing up around Chicago, the producers of The Chicago Code know how to start off an episode with a bang! The pace set in the first scenes of this (and every other episode) is incredible. It was absolutely riveting.
While the main focus of the department is on a series of bombings, they’re quickly distracted when a report comes in of Alderman Gibbons (Delroy Lindo) being involved in a shooting at his old barber shop.
The writers did a fine job of using “Cabrini-Green” to tell part of Alderman Gibbons’ story. Long before he was a wealthy, powerful politician, he was a young boy growing up in the projects, specifically the Cabrini-Green housing development. After working for years, he would eventually see that nightmare of a place be brought to the ground in a heap of rubble.
Even though I know Gibbons is as corrupt as the day is long, I still appreciate where he came from. There’s something to be said about a person who persevered through everything and wound up a powerful man.
Delroy Lindo as Alderman Gibbons
However, the power doesn’t help everyone. As we would eventually learn, Gibbons has a lot of irons in the fire with the Irish, but he’s completely ignored the black gangs and one of them sought to get some attention. It worked. But the eventual outcome wasn’t quite what he had in mind. Little Monster ended up getting ganked for his troubles while Gibbons gets to live another day.
I may be in the minority on this, but I wasn’t particularly moved by the bomber plot this week. The Chicago Liberation Army plot felt like it’s been done many times before, just with a different name than those in other TV shows.
While I didn’t love the crazed bomber plot, I did like the twist with the imprisoned mother. Holy hell. What a whack job! “Mother of the year” is right. Jarek Wysocki (Jason Clarke) was damn lucky that scene played out like it did because he would have been toast had those sticks of dynamite been set off.
It’s difficult to be patient with a show like The Chicago Code. While I know it’s going to take time for the police to bring down Alderman Gibbons, the break-neck pace of the show has a tendency to get me all amped up. I’m already itching to see Gibbons brought down. I just hope FOX gives Shawn Ryan enough time to do that. The show is on the fence as far as renewal goes.
Do yourself a favor and tune in to The Chicago Code on Monday nights. The use of Chicago as the backdrop is reason alone to watch this show. The great series plot is just the cherry on top.
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