SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers from Chicago Fire Season 14, Episode 11 as well as Chicago Med Season 11, Episode 13 and Chicago PD Season 13, Episode 13.

The annual One Chicago event is as massive a spectacle as fans of Chicago Med, Chicago Fire and Chicago PD have come to expect. As usual, the NBC franchise weaves together a huge disaster movie-level story that seamlessly blends together all three shows. But the major plot beats of “Reckoning,” while entertaining, are also incredibly easy to predict—an unfortunate side effect of this becoming an annual tradition.

That means every season, the combined One Chicago creative teams have to come up with an event gigantic enough to require all of the first responders and three hours of plot. At this point, they’ve already done nearly everything on the disaster movie checklist, from a serial bomber to biological warfare. There just aren’t that many ideas with the size and scope to sustain a crossover. “Reckoning,” in dealing with chemical exposure started on board an airplane, is well-cast and well-acted, yet the plot twists are everything viewers now know to expect.

On a purely procedural level, at least one member of the main cast will be put in a life-threatening situation to keep fans guessing. This time it’s several Chicago Fire characters—but primarily Lizzie Novak and Joe Cruz—and Chicago Med‘s Dr. Hannah Asher. The choices of Asher and Novak are logical; the former because it adds suspense to Asher’s subplot about her pregnancy, and the latter playing with the trope of a serious incident affecting a romantic relationship, in this case Novak’s recent breakup with Dr. John Frost. One Chicago fans won’t be surprised that Frost ends up treating Novak. The only thing missing is one of them professing they still have feelings for the other.

Elsewhere, other guest characters will die, because it’s nonsensical to have an event that’s supposed to be incredibly serious without having some kind of cost. The victim in “Reckoning” is Macy Vesia, one of Stella Kidd’s Girls on Fire graduates, who accompanies Cruz inside the plane. Her connection to Stella is what gives the death its impact. And there will be a personal subplot, which is the highly publicized returns of exes Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) and Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer).

All of this predictability doesn’t necessarily blunt the entertainment value of the three episodes. Like all the other One Chicago crossover events, there are some massive set pieces, from the airplane landing to an exploding apartment that viewers will have seen in promos. It’s clear watching the three hours how much of a well-oiled machine this is by now; it feels cinematic throughout, including the trick of presenting it as one long program with only one title sequence. The casts and crews continue to turn out their best work when it matters most.

One of the particularly unique scenes is actually the opening, which feels reminiscent of the underrated disaster film Ground Control with how it takes place inside a bare-bones set meant to represent a Chicago air traffic control center. It generates a lot of suspense with a minimum of distraction. CSI alum Wallace Langham has a brief role as the ATC supervisor, which is one of two connections between the two franchises; CSI: Vegas actor Daniel di Tomasso returns to his Chicago Fire role as Hazmat specialist Zach.

Plus, there’s the annual fun of seeing characters in places that they wouldn’t ordinarily be. One of the MVPs is Chicago Med star Sarah Ramos, as “Reckoning” utilizes Dr. Caitlin Lenox’s military experience to take Lenox all over the place, from Firehouse 51 to the Intelligence Unit bullpen. Ramos is one of the actors who holds the crossover together, and it’s nice to see scenes for her that are different from Med‘s emphasis on Lenox’s personal life. And in their returns, Spiridakos and Soffer fit right back into the rhythms of the One Chicago universe. It’s as if they never left.

Plus, 12 Monkeys and Nikita star Aaron Stanford is a great choice to play the crossover’s villain Thomas Marr. He’s almost unrecognizable under makeup, but he nails his obligatory bad guy monologue. It’s a shame for him to be underused; though Stanford is credited for all three hours, he only gets significant screen time during the Chicago PD portion. One wonders how much more he could have done.

That sentiment could be applied to various other parts of the One Chicago crossover, though, which is what keeps it from being truly epic. There’s so much that’s familiar, whether it’s from the franchise itself or just typical TV concepts—like the stereotypical FBI agents who come in and try to push the main characters around. Or something once again being Hank Voight’s fault; it’s revealed that Marr wants revenge for his family dying in a fire that Voight feels responsible for, since he asked for the building’s inspection to be delayed.

“Reckoning” also reinforces just how badly Spiridakos and Soffer’s exits from Chicago PD were written, because despite its best efforts, this event isn’t able to fix what was broken. Halstead’s attempt to explain to Upton how he “lost himself” doesn’t make much more sense than when he decided to go to Bolivia in the first place. Upton’s departure was set up for her to have a fresh start, yet she only went as far as Detroit and taking a job with the FBI (which interestingly is also where her predecessor Erin Lindsay ended up, albeit in New York). The crossover dangles out hope for Upstead by having them get a drink together at the end—yet it’s hard to get too excited about that knowing that they aren’t coming back.

Their presence also creates an unintentional catch-22. Halstead and Upton become lead characters in the crossover, which makes sense as fans want to see as much of them as possible, and the writers want to make the best use of Soffer and Spiridakos. Yet by doing so, the current Chicago PD characters (other than Voight) have much less to do. They essentially just help move the plot along. In contrast, the Chicago Fire and Chicago Med ensembles feel more fully utilized, although some of the players get less screen time than others. But that’s a forgiveable sin, because the alternative would be viewers saddened that Upton and Halstead didn’t get their due.

“Reckoning” is an entertaining three hours packed full of all the elements that have made the One Chicago franchise successful, from chases to big stunts to emotional moments. It’s not the best Chicago crossover, but that’s almost certainly because this has been done so many times. The novelty hasn’t worn off but there’s a familiarity that comes with climbing the proverbial mountain year after year. There’s room to take more risks and try new things the next time around. But no one will look back on this and regret watching it; events like these are why franchises have become so popular on TV. And One Chicago still does them better than anyone else.

Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT, Chicago Fire airs Wednesdays at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT and Chicago PD airs Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC. Photo Credit: Courtesy of NBC.

Article content is (c)2020-2026 Brittany Frederick and may not be excerpted or reproduced without express written permission by the author. Follow me on Twitter at @BFTVTwtr and on Instagram at @BFTVGram. For story pitches, contact me at tvbrittanyf@yahoo.com.