SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Chicago PD Season 13, Episode 3. It also contains discussion of sexual assault.
The world of Chicago PD is a very dark place, particularly for Kim Burgess. Season 13, Episode 3, “Canaryville” is a reminder of both those things. The intentions of the episode are clear—it wants to be a story about family—but it struggles in its execution. Viewers will leave feeling like they’ve seen this one before, because they have to some extent.
“Canaryville” is very similar in concept to the previous episode, except now the crime is taking place in Burgess and Adam Ruzek’s neighborhood, instead of Dante Torres’ neighborhood. But the victim is someone that the main character knows and the crime happens just a stone’s throw away from where they live. In this situation, Sasha Grey is found dead in a neighbor’s storm shelter. Two suspects quickly emerge: Sasha’s best friend’s brother Tommy, or the equally shady donor to the gubernational campaign Sasha was working on. To find the perpetrator, Ruzek and Burgess have to explore Sasha’s life—which is illustrated by her providing narration throughout the hour.
The actual case of the week is relatively easy to untangle. The two prime suspects are so on the nose that anyone who’s watched Chicago PD long enough can guess that a third one is going to emerge. It turns out that Tommy’s sister Lily fought with her best friend over Sasha wanting to leave, and Sasha was accidentally injured during their fight. A panicked Lily staged the scene as a murder to try and save herself. The only extra twist is that Lily’s father is a fellow police officer, and Ruzek has to stop the man from destroying evidence.
Where “Canaryville” becomes problematic is when it ventures into the other part of its story, involving political donor Alex Feldman. Alex is revealed to be part of disturbing “afterparties” where women are drugged through a hand stamp and then assaulted. That’s sleazy enough, but the fact that Chicago PD has Burgess go undercover at the party makes this part of the episode that much more uncomfortable. Burgess discovers how the women are drugged when it happens to her—and nearly gets assaulted by another partygoer. There are two things terribly wrong with this: audiences know that Burgess’ sister Nicole was already the victim of sexual assault in the episode “Last Minute Resistance,” and they definitely know that Burgess has been through more than enough trauma. To have her put in this position is both repetitive and overkill.
Burgess being able to knock out her attacker before Ruzek arrives might provide some drama, but the show doesn’t have to prove how tough she is. Viewers are well aware given everything that she’s been through, from her miscarriage to being shot and being abducted. And toughness isn’t just survival; it’s also in how she carries herself. Kim Burgess is one of the toughest characters on TV. “Canaryville” doesn’t do anything to develop her character or move her forward; it’s actually a step back, between being assaulted and then the doubts that she expresses to Ruzek about what’s best for Makayla. Marina Squerciati gives another strong performance, as she always does, but that’s the only real takeaway.
“Canaryville” doesn’t have much for the other characters to do other than support Burgess and Ruzek’s investigation. Chicago PD does show Torres back on the job, helping Voight in an interrogation scene, so it’s good to know that he’s not languishing after being put through the wringer himself last time. But as a whole, this episode doesn’t differ much from other stories that have been told, on this show and otherwise. And with both the Burzek wedding and Kim’s long-overdue promotion in the books, there are much better stories out there for Burgess.
Chicago PD airs Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Photo Credit: Courtesy of NBC.
