Spoilers ahead for the One Chicago finales for the 2024-2025 season.
Another season of One Chicago action has come to an end on NBC, with Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., and Chicago Med fortunately all scoring renewals ahead of their finales in the spring 2025 TV schedule. Now, one week after the three series aired their final ventures of the 2024-2025 season, every finale is available streaming with a Peacock subscription and I’ve had time to settle on my ranking for the episodes. Whether it’s here on CinemaBlend or just via social media, ranking Fire, P.D., and Med finales has become something of a tradition for me, but it was harder than usual this year.
The three finales were so different that I just couldn’t decide on an order of best to worst overall. I debated ranking by which gave me the biggest jump scares, which would have had P.D. at #1 for Deputy Chief Reid’s sudden murder, Med at #2 for the non-murderous but still surprising Hannah reveal, and Fire at #3 since those cast departures had already been announced and Stella’s pregnancy was always a possibility.
Or should I rank by which would have me most excited for next season? That might have flipped the order to Fire, Med, then P.D. Or perhaps the level of stress per cliffhanger? None were particularly stressful this time around. No, I eventually settled on how much the finales made me cry, because it’s not every week that a procedural TV show will trigger the waterworks from me. So, read on for the order in which the One Chicago finales had me shedding some rare tears, starting with the least emotional.
#3: Chicago P.D.’s Season 12 Finale
Showrunner Gwen Sigan built anticipation for the Season 12 finale, called “Vows,” by previewing Voight questioning his own “mortality” with everyone “in so much trouble” after how the penultimate episode ended. The team had to go rogue after Deputy Chief Reid dissolved the Intelligence Unit, and Voight had to either fall back into old habits or show his true colors – depending on where you fall on Hank Voight’s moral code – to take down Reid.
Reid being shot by Rennie was shocking enough to me that my very dignified One Chicago finale live-blog reaction was “Holy Jump Scare, Batman!” and his final line of “You’re worse than me” to Voight was pretty chilling, but I wasn’t attached enough to Shawn Hatosy’s villainous character to shed a tear for him.
Likewise, while ASA Chapman seemed on the verge of tears after Voight crossed some serious lines to arrange Reid’s bloody downfall, I have to suspect that’s because she hasn’t known him terribly long in the grand scheme of Chicago P.D.’s 243 episodes so far. No tears from me over Voight falling off the moral wagon, because I certainly saw it coming.
What did nearly get me reaching for the tissues in “Vows” was the scene between Ruzek and Burgess in their car, when she was running down the reasons why it didn’t feel right to get married when so many things were going so very wrong. Ruzek saying that they could just put the wedding off was awfully sweet, and I have to credit Marina Squerciati and Patrick John Flueger for delivering.
The Burzek wedding didn’t have a full guest list or even vows spoken aloud when it ultimately happened, but that was a pretty great scene between P.D.’s longest-running couple. Would I have cried if the One Chicago finales that aired before P.D. on May 21 hadn’t already had me in an emotional fictional place? That’s hard to say, but it’s a good place to jump from Chicago P.D. to…
#2: Chicago Fire’s Season 13 Finale
Chicago Fire is generally the One Chicago show most likely to deliver a life-or-death cliffhanger at the end of a season, and also one of the rare network TV dramas that might actually deliver a permanent death on the other side in the fall. (R.I.P. forever, Otis.) So, I tend to steel myself for Fire more than any of the others. Throw in how Jake Lockett and Daniel Kyri’s exits had already been confirmed and what felt like pretty good odds that the good ship Stellaride would be getting a new passenger, and I was ready.
I thought so, anyway. Then Herrmann and Mouch came out of nowhere to pluck at my heartstrings! The big problem toward the end of Season 13 was the fact that there were three officers looking for two slots at Firehouse 51. Pascal showed no indication of wanting to leave as Battalion Chief even if Herrmann passed the Chief’s exam, and Mouch couldn’t move up to Engine 51 lieutenant if Herrmann was still captain of the rig, right?
Not right, as it turned out! Herrmann decided that a job behind a desk wasn’t for him, and since he and Mouch were likely in their twilight years at the CFD, he could still give his best friend the chance to be an acting lieutenant at their beloved firehouse. Herrmann stepped down for Mouch to take over as leader of Engine, despite Mouch emotionally arguing that Herrmann couldn’t just do that. I have to give it up to David Eigenberg and especially Christian Stolte, because that was a standout scene between two characters who are often more comic relief than serious players.
And would this #2 ranking be complete if I didn’t acknowledge the scene that not only had me tearing up, but – according to showrunner Andrea Newman – had “everybody behind the monitor…crying” as well? The baby bombshell that I was kind of expecting did indeed come before the end of the Season 13 finale, but it wasn’t Stella and Severide learning that they’d be adoptive parents soon.
No, Stella was pregnant, and Severide’s overjoyed reaction to the news was pretty delightful. Never before had I been so glad for Fire not to end on a cliffhanger, because Stellaride celebrating their pregnancy was a perfect way to end Season 13. Will there be dramatic twists to the pregnancy in Season 14? I’d be very surprised if not, but for the next few months, we can enjoy the memory of a very happy pair of parents-to-be.
#1: Chicago Med’s Season 10 Finale
A special congratulations Chicago Med this year, because I don’t think the medical drama has ever landed the #1 spot on one of my finale rankings. Perhaps it shouldn’t have been a surprise after Med’s fall finale was also my favorite of the three. Season 10 has felt a bit different under new showrunner Allen MacDonald, and cast member Steven Weber praised the “down and dirty” writing.
It was nothing “down and dirty” that had me crying in the Season 10 finale, but rather some loaded emotional moments. One of them didn’t come as a huge surprise after MacDonald previewed a “powerhouse” performance from Oliver Platt as part of the “Charles Trilogy” revisiting his family history. The final scene between Dr. Charles and Anna definitely had me reaching for the tissues. In fact, when I admitted as much to the showrunner, Allen MacDonald shared that it “makes me cry every time I see it” as well.
Chicago Med didn’t earn the #1 slot by just hitting one heart-wrenching note, though! I have to give special mention to Brooklyn Shuck, the young guest actress who played the terminally-ill Alea. Her storyline was of course tragic from the start, as she was doomed eventually whether she got the new set of lungs or not. The moment that really hit was when she addressed the father of the boy whose life she was saving, passing on a message for Noah to “use those lungs as much as he can” in case she dies before she could tell him herself.
The final emotional moment that ultimately ranked Med over Fire was the very last of the finale, with the reveal that Goodwin was pouring her heart out after a difficult day to none other than ex-husband Bert, whose dementia had advanced to the point that he was very kind to her but had no idea who she was. S. Epatha Merkerson more than earned that final moment of Season 10, and it was a lovely but sad beat for Goodwin.
And that’s that for One Chicago in the 2024-2025 TV season! All three shows will be back in the fall, presumably with more crises for fans to follow along with on NBC’s Wednesday nights. For now, you can always revisit earlier episodes of Chicago Fire, Chicago P.D., and Chicago Med streaming on Peacock.
