I'm planning to do an entire series rewatch of Chicago PD, paying special attention to how the titles of each episode play into either the episode itself, the character who says the title, the theme of the season, or any combination of those things!
It's always been fun for me to get to the "aha moment" of hearing the title spoken in the episode, and I think tracking it and analyzing it will be interesting.
I'll be using the tags #CPDtitletracker and #Gabbywatches (the second one is more for me) so if you're interested in following along, or want to throw in your own thoughts, feel free!
I'll be starting July 1st, aiming to post 2 episodes per week.
As of right now, I don't have any plans to do this with Fire or Med, but who knows! I'm really excited to get into this and hope whoever stumbles upon my little ramblings enjoys it.
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So, it's been a while since I actually sat down and gave this episode my full attention. It's usually just running in the background and has regular commercial breaks (which don't help with the focusing), and I forgot how packed this episode was.
Overall, this is a really great series opener and I'm going to put everything under a read more since it got kind of long. Let me know what you think!
(Just a side note, I haven't made a detailed text post in like, 5+ years, so I apologize if the formatting is a little wacky.. I promise I'll get better at it!)
Right away, this pilot episode is different than most; it actually has a title. Most pilots are named just that, "Pilot".
A "stepping stone" is generally used when referring to a means to an end; something you use to get you somewhere else. That phrase fits this episode perfectly.
While this episode does have a clear case-based plot, there is a lot of information about the main characters that gets stuffed in there.
We learn that Voight has recently been released from prison, and has been running a new unit, Intelligence, for just two months. We are introduced to Sergeant Platt, to patrol officers Burgess (who was previously a flight attendant) and Atwater, and to the tech guy, Jin.
We go a bit deeper into the Intelligence members. Erin has known Voight for 13 years, he gave her his card when she was a teenager, and according to her, "saved her life". Jay was brought in only a month ago by Antonio (which I know gets a pretty detailed story line in the corresponding Chicago Fire episodes), is partnered with Erin, and spent time in the military. Antonio is partnered with Jules, and along with Al Olinsky, appear to be the more seasoned members of the team.
A brand new member of the unit even gets introduced! We meet Adam Ruzek, handpicked by Olinsky right out of the academy. We are told that Adam's dad is also a cop, and has history with both Al and Voight. He grew up in Canaryville with his dad and Beverly with his mom. Voight tells Adam he should bring the Canaryville version of himself to the unit.
We even get a main criminal (aka the villain), who for now, seems to be sticking around for more than one episode. Pulpo, a Colombian drug cartel leader who has unknown history with Antonio from a case he worked on before he came to Intelligence.
I included all that introductory information to highlight how much was actually given here, when it may not have seemed necessary. Little details, like Burgess' previous job, Jay's military background, and the neighborhoods where Adam was raised, are not integral to this episode. As the season and even the series goes on though, these details set up the reasoning for the decisions that the characters go on to make.
This episode ends with the team going after a suspected target of Pulpo's, resulting in Jules being shot in the neck through the door. Unfortunately, she does not make it. As if that wasn't enough, the episode really ends with Antonio's son, Diego, being kidnapped.
Now, you are probably wondering where/who/why the words "stepping stone" came in this episode... as that is the whole point of this series... and so was I! I even found a script online from the episode, but no one actually says these words in any combination, individually, or together.
I believe that this is intentional. These 43 minutes are the stepping stone. This entire episode serves as the "Stepping Stone". This episode is our establisher, it's where we need to be in order to move forward both character and plot wise throughout the season.
i accepted a new job starting in mid september which will still take up most of my day BUT i really wanna get back on here and get back to interacting with everyone and especially, to pick up the title tracker project for chicago pd.
anyway im just really excited to have some time again to scroll through all the little shows and corners of different fandoms that mean so much to me 🥲
also if anyone is waiting on the next part(s) of CPD Title Tracker....... it's coming i promise!! i'm going to try today to get two episodes at least outlined and then going forward have at least one ep ready to be posted.
