Chicago P.D. Season 10 Episode 22 Review: A Better Place

Chicago P.D. Season 10 Episode 22, “A Better Place,” does not feel like the ending we were expecting for the Beck family’s case.

Even though Richard is gone, it doesn’t feel as if the team and the audience get the closure we deserve after a season-long case. Particularly, when the episode ends in a cliffhanger.

Now, the audience will spend the hiatus wondering whether Adam makes it out alive or not.

“A Better Place” spends the first few minutes showing us how exhausted Adam is. Rubbing his eyes, talking to Kim about his frustration with the case, and falling asleep at the computer.

This exhaustion is definitely a sign that something will go wrong. It doesn’t necessarily say Adam will make a mistake, but it’s a clue that something may happen to him.

It is definitely his exhausted and erratic behavior that pushes him to arrest Samantha on the spot without thinking through how this will affect the case. But on top of that, he is too close to the case and desperately wants to protect her and her son.

His closeness to the case leads him to have a disagreement with the team who believes Samantha does not deserve immunity. But what other choice do they have? She will only speak if Cal is safe.

Once again, it is this behavior that ends up putting Adam in danger.

From the moment Cal begins asking too many questions about their “camping trip” and wondering if his grandpa will join them, we begin to suspect he will be the downfall of the case.

Lo and behold he ends up being Adam’s downfall. However, this seems a bit too disappointing for those of us who have been following the case from the beginning.

As the audience, we were expecting Richard to be the most dangerous one and for him to try and take one of the team members down. It falls short to our expectations that Cal is the one shooting Adam.

Still, it seems to fit Adam perfectly. He was too close to the case because Cal reminded him of his daughter. In the end, his good heart is what ends up putting his life at risk.

Sadly, Chicago P.D. Season 10 ends up without confirmation of whether Adam will make it out alive or not.

Even though Adam’s shooter is disappointing, there are a few things the Chicago P.D. Season 10 finale gets right.

For starters, Adam’s blurry vision the moment he gets shot. Every time we see through his eyes, his vision gets worse and we comprehend how bad his situation is.

This editing choice helps our desperation match Kim’s as we all wonder what’s going to happen after the OR. Adam’s blood is everywhere, including Kim’s hands, and this only makes matters worse.

The next big thing is Kim’s promise to get to Samantha and her son first. In the beginning, she refuses to leave the hospital, but it is Trudy who reminds her it is more important to keep her promise to Adam.

True to her word, Kim makes it to the scene before the rest of the team and is able to convince Samantha to hand herself in.

“A Better Place” has a feeling that everything is rushing. Every scene moves faster than usual as the team speeds to find out what Richard’s plan is.

Chicago P.D. is able to transmit this particularly through the search scenes. The Intelligence Unit is on the lead of every team that hits the spots where Richard may be hiding.

As one action moves to the next extremely fast, we fear for Kevin’s life one second and immediately begin to fear for Adam’s the next. Every single one of them is at risk when such a dangerous man is on the loose.

When Kevin discovers that Richard was planning on hitting elementary schools in a Black community, it makes even more sense why he never wanted Samantha to receive immunity. But it also reminds us that the target Richard is after looks exactly like Adam’s daughter.

So in the end, even though it doesn’t feel like the case is over, it gives us a sense of full-circle to see Kevin shooting Richard. It is the ending he deserved for the hateful crimes he had committed.

Sadly, Chicago P.D. Season 10 Episode 22, “A Better Place,”  ends in a cliffhanger and doesn’t deliver the kind of ending we were expecting.

Usually, season-long cases wrap up with the season finale, but this is the exception. What could this mean for the future of the unit?

What does this mean for Adam’s life?

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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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