Critic’s Rating: 4.4 / 5.0
4.4
The personal touches that Chicago PD has brought to this season are paying off and are deeply emotional.
Initially, the idea of Disco Bob returning to the series spelled trouble as Ruzek’s father often is in a bind or causing issues.
However, Chicago PD Season 12 Episode 10 flipped the script with a devastating blow to the Ruzek men.
Amid Ruzek’s attempt to solve a horrific serial killer case, he had to process the news that his father was deep in the stages of Alzheimer’s.
It’s a jarring reality check for a certain stage in a person’s life when they’re taking care of their own children and their parents, too.
The sandwich period is one of the most stressful in a person’s life, and adding to that is Ruzek’s intense job, where he sees some of the absolute worst society has to offer.
It doesn’t matter how old we get; we can easily convince ourselves that our parents are infallible and indestructible and that age will never catch up to them.
We tend to take that for granted until life doesn’t allow us to do so anymore.
It was apparent that something was up when Disco Bob showed up at the precinct for a surprise visit, hopping a plane from Florida to see his son and family without giving anyone a heads-up.
Bob’s actions caught Ruzek off guard, but no more than what he came to expect from his father.
But then, these little moments tip us off that something wasn’t right, such as when he recited Mak’s case as one of his own that he recalled from his days on the force.
And then, there was a brief moment when Mak called him grandpa, and he seemed to forget who she was and her relation to him.
But the revelation came after he somehow showed up at the precinct again and made a scene with another cop while attempting to take the cop car as his own.
On the one hand, I hate that Bob had to drop this huge bomb on Ruzek at the station mid-shift while Ruzek was working on one of the darkest and most troubling cases ever.
However, in many ways, you can’t think of a more fitting locale for Bob to drop that kind of news because the station is everything to both of them.
The Ruzek men’s entire lives are often devoted to the job, and Bob, as we know him, has to face losing himself in a place that was like a sanctuary.
It’s the type of news that hurt Ruzek to his heart, but he had to push his pain and processing aside to focus on this complex case with Zoe.
Sadly, he hasn’t worked up enough energy to break the news to Burgess.
Their final scene together, as he learned that Bob was farther along in his decline and already headed to a facility, was heartbreaking.
But it was also heart-achingly beautiful to see Ruzek tenderly shaving his father, probably not unlike what Bob may have done to Ruzek the first time he taught him how to shave.
Ruzek is loyal to a fault and puts family above everything.
His people are his everything, so it wasn’t surprising that he refused to allow Bob to check into a facility and wanted to take care of his dad.
It falls in line with who Ruzek is as a person.
He’s adamant about this, and no one and nothing will change his mind.
However, the concerning part is that he’s jumped into this decision already without properly talking things through with Burgess.
People tend to underestimate how much work and strain it can place on a family to take care of a loved one who is battling Alzheimer’s.
It’s not an easy task, and sometimes, there’s a judgment cast against those who place their loved ones in facilities, but at times, it could be the best for everyone, no matter how hard it is.
Ruzek and Burgess both have high-demanding and intense jobs, and they’re also raising a kid.
It’s a lot to juggle, and based on some of Bob’s incidents, there will need to be measures to ensure that he doesn’t wander off and get himself hurt or pose a threat to others around him.
It’ll be interesting to see how all of this plays out, but whether it was the emotional notes of Ruzek’s personal arc or those with the case, Paddy Flueger was fantastic, as usual, and it’s always a treat to see his range as an actor on display.
The case was horrific.
Chicago PD hasn’t shied away from getting darker and darker with some of its cases, and this one is certainly high up on the list for one of their worst.
A simple wellness check led to Ruzek finding not only the body of a woman but also a two-year-old child violently stabbed.
He could barely stomach the sight, and you couldn’t blame him.
What kind of monster brutally murders a two-year-old?
They even said it was deliberate, as this person went out of their way to do this.
Worse yet, young Zoe was in the next room, coloring at her desk and talking about butterfly clouds.
You could sense this wasn’t something out of the norm for her.
Ruzek connected with Zoe first, which meant he was the best person to get intel from her whenever she was able to give much up.
The gist of it was that her father was some conman who took on many relationships, and then all of those women and their children would “disappear.”
Thomas, as we learned his real identity, would suffocate these women and children and kill them. But it doesn’t explain why the latest victims’ deaths were so violent.
It was a twisty case that led them to the guy who gave Thomas false IDs, revealed his relationship with an underage girl, and a host of other things.
But it wasn’t until the unit donned that badass blackout gear and searched Thomas’ family home that they got the most rattling evidence yet.
The burial plots filled with all the bodies of the women and children he murdered were one of the most eerie and dreadful sights in this series.
My stomach lurched when the cadaver team found all those little bones.
Toddlers and children buried in a mass grave — Thomas is an evil monster who deserves to burn!
Between his personal life and the case, you could see how many times and in ways this took a toll on Ruzek.
It was like the weight of the world was settling on his shoulders, and he was the type of bone-weary tiredness a good night’s sleep couldn’t fix.
Voight noticed the entire time they were working the case.
Ruzek’s voice would crack a few times when he spoke about parts of it.
And now it’s looming over them because they can’t track down Thomas, and Zoe is just there, an enigma all on her own.
Zoe isn’t Thomas’ real daughter; she has no relationship with any of the other people who came up in this case or the dead bodies.
They have no record of her anywhere, and Zoe isn’t even her real name.
Whose child is she?
Is there someone out there missing her? Where did she come from, and does she have family anywhere?
How did Thomas find and abduct her?
How long has he had her, and does this mean she never knew anyone or anything else?
But most importantly, why did Thomas keep her when he killed all the others?
The hour leaves us with a million questions about this case, and they aren’t solving it anytime soon.
But do you know what? I’m okay with that.
We didn’t get much from the other characters during this installment, but thankfully, it featured the entire team, including Trudy.
The team has a cohesiveness and seems to work effortlessly in sync with one another in a way that is noticeable and feels right. The squad works so well this season; even when the series pushes them to the background, it still works.
The hour didn’t exactly carry over any lingering storylines regarding Reid, the strained tension between Torres and Cook, Atwater finding balance in his life, or anything else.
However, it was a strong hour, and the focus on Ruzek felt refreshing and a satisfying character exploration rather than an unwelcome distraction.
Over to you, Chicago PD Fanatics.
Were you shocked by the Bob revelation? What are your theories about this case? Sound off below!
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