Chicago P.D. Season 10 Episode 18 Review: You Only Die Twice
Chicago P.D. Season 10 Episode 18, “You Only Die Twice,” feels like a filler episode or a stepping stone for what is to come for Adam Ruzek and his undercover task.
Even though the promo promised an action-packed episode, we are met with little action and a lot more information regarding the Beck family.
However, it is this episode that finally allows Adam to prove his loyalty to Richard, guaranteeing he will be part of whatever is to come.
Even though Adam has been around the Beck family for a while now, it seems like he continues to need to prove himself. Richard doesn’t trust him enough to make him a part of “the cause.”
However, that changes on “You Only Die Twice.” This time around, he is tasked with the biggest job Richard could have asked of him: killing someone.
In order to show he is loyal and will do whatever it takes to help the Becks, he “kills” Dale so Sam doesn’t have to. It is then that he buys Richard’s approval and gives him his loyalty.
Instead of simply being the new guy who tags along with Sam, he becomes the man who handled Richard’s problem. That is the only way in which Adam can grow within the Beck organization and the only way to stay alive while undercover.
After Adam informs his team of what happened the night he had to babysit Dale, the investigation leads to a murder. Once more, this case proves to go beyond drugs.
“The cause” is all about hate crimes and an ideology in which everyone who isn’t white is wrong. Richard continues to try and instill this in his grandchild and daughter, but Sam seems to be losing faith in her father.
This loss of faith and hesitation is what the team will probably have to count on during the upcoming episodes to access Richard and find a weakness. The people who work for him, like Dale, aren’t willing to give him up.
Dale preferred to die than give him up, referencing the title of the episode. The first time he “dies” is when Adam pretends to shoot him in order to help Sam.
The second time comes when he reopens the wound on his arm and takes his own life at the hospital. This makes us wonder how brainwashed he had been by Richard and what significance “the cause” has in this man’s life.
Chicago P.D. combines scenes of Adam’s personal and undercover lives to show us how his work parallels his life.
While he is home, he takes care of Makayla, putting her to sleep and training her on hockey. At the same time, he is helping Sam take care of her son, babysitting him and showing up for some of his afterschool activities.
But how good can this be? How can the similarities between his real and fake life affect him?
When he finds out Sam had followed him, he is afraid his cover is blown. It makes us wonder how much Sam knows about who he is and how much she is relying on him to take down her father.
She may not say it, but Sam doesn’t want her father to succeed. She is afraid of the way he is trying to manipulate her own son. This dilemma may open the door to bring him down.
Chicago P.D. Season 10 Episode 18, “You Only Die Twice,” works within the Becks’ storyline to show how far Adam needs to go in order to get Richard’s approval.
However, the case isn’t close to being wrapped. There’s plenty more the team needs to investigate regarding “the cause.”
Hopefully, now that Richard trusts Adam, he will be able to access his plans and prepare for the unavoidable attack.
Stray Observations
- Makayla calls Adam “dad” for the first time and it seems like a fitting episode for that. After Adam and Kim seem to have finally reconciled, this is the next step for their happy ending.
- It is confusing that Dale is able to escape Kevin and Torres (even if for a few seconds). Couldn’t two cops handle him? It fits the narrative, but it doesn’t fit Kevin and Torres’s dynamic.
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What did you think of this episode of Chicago P.D.? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Chicago P.D. airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.
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Lara Rosales
By day, Lara Rosales (she/her) is a solo mom by choice and a bilingual writer with a BA in Latin-American Literature known as a Media Relations Expert. By night, she is a TV enjoyer who used to host a podcast (Cats, Milfs & Lesbian Things). You can find her work published on Eulalie Magazine, Geek Girl Authority, W Spotlight, Collider, USA Wire, Mentors Collective, Instelite, Noodle, Dear Movies, Nicki Swift, and Flip Screened.