The Chicago Code "The Gold Coin Kid" Review

Heather Mitchell, during a Q&A on Twitter about "The Gold Coin Kid," told one person that TCC wants to bridge the gap between procedural cop dramas and serialized cop dramas. Since the "Pilot," each episode has walked the line between procedural and serialized. So far, it hasn't been so good. The problem with procedurals is the emphasis on the case and the guest star of the week. An audience must be invested in both the character and the case. More often than not, the writers don't successfully tell those case-of-the-week stories. TCC had a great case-of-the-week a few weeks ago but the last few have been poor or bad. Any series will ultimately benefit from emphasis on the core characters rather than disposable, tertiary guest characters that will be forgotten the day after the episode airs.

"The Gold Coin Kid" didn't pull The Chicago Code from the slump they've been in since the second episode, though more things developed in the personal lives of the characters. For instance, the case-of-the-week revolved around a high-class whore house. A rich family with ties to the mayor requested an immediate police investigation regarding the OD of their son because they were convinced it was murder. The case leads Jarek and Caleb to the high-class whore house. As per usual, the various twists and turns of a procedural police case occurred. But the case isn't really worth talking about in the grand narrative of the show.

Jarek and Caleb finally began communicating during their investigation--communicating about their personal lives. Jarek never trusts any of his partners. He illegally looked at Caleb's file and purposely asked questions that would get Caleb to admit that he applied for the FBI. Jarek doesn't want a FBI wanna-be by his side because he questions their dedication and toughness of the Chicago streets. Caleb proves himself during the investigation though. Teresa reminded Jarek that even he considered Caleb a capable and smart partner before he lifted Caleb's file and learned about the FBI. Though Caleb seeks a position in the bureau, his dedications to the streets of Chicago is better than the majority of other cops portrayed on the show thus far. Caleb willingly disobeys Teresa's order when he sees that Jarek's determined to bring down the brothel. The decision costs Caleb two weeks of pay and gives him a black spot on his resume. When Caleb learns that Jarek and Teresa planned the entire thing (suspensions included), he loses it a bit. After all, Caleb proved his mettle to his partner and, in turn, his partner couldn't be honest or truthful. He thinks he deserves more honesty from his partner, the kind of honesty that Jarek's fiancé doesn't get. And that's what sort of sends Jarek over-the-edge--that Caleb knows about the cheating. The two are on equal playing ground though, which is a small theme in the episode as well. It's important for these characters to deepen, especially in a cop drama. It's a decent start for these two.

Meanwhile, Teresa's battled with the corruption in Chicago extends beyond Alderman Gibbons. Her force needs new radios but the mayor continues to tell her that the budget won't allow for new radios. Teresa has to work for the radios, which means bending for what the mayor wants. She removes Jarek and Caleb from the whore house case because of the mayor's ties with the rich patrons of those clubs. Of course, she's sly herself in good way. I argued that she and Gibbons are two sides of the same coin, and I continue to believe that. She goes under the heads of the corrupted to accomplish real good in her city. She uses suave diplomacy as well as Gibbons. Teresa possesses the tools to go toe-to-toe with Gibbons and that's important. Her story is a reminder of that.

Vonda took the hit for Moosekian after he failed to pat down an armed suspect that nearly ended terribly. Vonda only did it so Moosekian would be less eager to throw her off the task force because she's Jarek's niece. Also, she and Isaac seem to have a little something going on between the two. He took her to dinner and she did not tell her uncle who her date is.

I enjoyed the episode. The Chicago Code hasn't won me over completely. I'm eager for the serialized elements to take over, though. The show's sort of boring right now.

Heather Mitchell wrote the episode. Lesli Linka-Glatter directed it.

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