Chicago Fire / Chicago P.D. Crossover Review: “Off the Grid” and “Burden of Truth”

It’s always a good time seeing the teams from Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. come together for a seamless crossover, even when the story feels a bit too contrived.

Unfortunately, that’s the case on Chicago Fire Season 8 Episode 15, “Off the Grid,” and Chicago P.D. Season 7 Episode 15, “Burden of Truth.”

The two-hour crossover event centers on the return of Chicago P.D. Sean Roman (Brian Geraghty), a character we haven’t seen or heard from in years. He’s back in Chicago to looks for his missing sister, who is connected to a series of opioid-related deaths.

It’s a premise that would have been better served had it remained housed under Chicago P.D. only, rather than forcing it into a crossover with Chicago Fire.

And that’s precisely the problem. It feels as though making this a crossover is an afterthought. Roman shows up to the firehouse first after hearing that Brett answered a call dealing with opioid overdoses — one that involved his sister’s friend. 

Okay, sure. I’ll buy that. But the fact that he’s in town and hasn’t visited his former precinct or gotten any of his old friends involved doesn’t work, even when you find out his reasoning for keeping them shut out. His sister is a dealer and he doesn’t want to get her in trouble.

Still, it’s hard to believe he would go to the firehouse and spend this time working with Severide, only to actively keep Intelligence shut out. Severide questions this on more than one occasion, and it seems it’s just done that way to give Roman a chance to interact with the folks at Firehouse 51.

That said, it is enjoyable to see Roman and Severide working together because they share some similarities. It’s not out of character in the slightest for Severide to want to jump in and help. He’s known for getting involved in such things, and he’s known for working well with Voight’s team.

From seeing the episode, you’d think these two had experience working together for a long time because they do it really well. It just doesn’t make a whole lot of sense for them to need to.

The story involving Roman is in itself compelling, and it takes a darker turn that feels unexpected. Not only does he find his sister dead, but we come to realize he’s responsible for killing Logan Peters as an act of vengeance.

That offers the chance for some emotional storytelling that works well in the Chicago P.D. hour. All that energy Roman spent hiding things from Intelligence proves to have been misguided since Voight ultimately decides to look the other way, knowing Roman is the killer.

After all these years, Roman’s still part of the family. That matters, and Voight’s never been one to be unwilling to break a few rules when he has good reasons.

Roman’s return also works well in terms of timing with Burgess. The two had a relationship once, his return offers a lens to view her pain from her recent miscarriage.

She reveals to him what happened when he notes something seems different, including the way Ruzek and everyone else is acting around her. It’s a nice chance for us to see her explore that trauma in more detail.

That continues when Burgess sees Ruzek still has the ultrasound photos of the baby up in his locker. It’s a moment that allows Marina Squerciati to give one of the best performances we’ve seen from her in a long time.

She lets it all out, first exclaiming how she wished Ruzek would respond — by being angry with her, but ultimately revealing her own feelings. She’s angry with herself and she feels guilty. 

Roman’s eulogy also reaches her in a significant way, and at that point, it feels like the true purpose of bringing Roman back is for her character to have a new way to reflect, and maybe even to have some closure. That’s not a bad thing at all.

There’s also an entirely separate piece of the story that occurs in the first hour of the crossover: the appearance of Brett’s mother. 

Casey goes with Brett to the address she was given (a sweet gesture that makes me anxious to explore their relationship further), but Brett is baffled to be told her mother doesn’t live there. 

Now she’s left to wonder and worry about something she’d spent so much time forgetting, at least until her mother shows up at the firehouse to see her.

Brett’s nearly speechless, and there’s an openness between the two women pretty quickly. Brett’s mother sounds like she gave her up for the right reasons as a young teen. 

What’s concerning, is that for starters, Brett had actually gone to the right address, but her mother’s husband lied because he’s processing this new information. That’s a red flag if I’ve ever seen one. Something suspicious is going on here.

Secondly, Brett’s mother is pregnant. This timing is definitely not a coincidence, and it seems obvious that Brett’s mother is going to want something from her. 

That storyline doesn’t carry into the P.D.hour for obvious reasons. That’s mainly okay, because not every storyline needs to do so, but it feels so very separate from the core of the crossover that it’s a been disorienting. It’s well done, but the placement definitely doesn’t feel right.

Overall, the crossover offers a good story with Roman’s return, and most everything feels seamless. But this all might have worked a lot better had it not been a crossover at all.  

What did you think of these episodes of Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D.? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC. Chicago P.D. airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.

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