Hunting season was in full swing on Anna Pigeon Season 1 Episode 10—and the person being hunted? None other than Anna herself. 

What a surprise, right?

The season finale finally delivered a ruthless showdown between Anna and her nemesis, Jeremiah Paulson, giving audiences a deeper look into his disturbed mentality.

We knew he was evil, as he’s been buying up all the land at the national park and poisoning the river so that no one is around to complain or challenge him, and threatening Anna from time to time, but gathering a group to hunt her like she’s an animal took it to the next level.

Rich men have weird hobbies. 

And it’s truly questionable how much hatred this man must have to go out of his way to concoct a detailed plan to kill. 

Anna’s resourceful, so despite once again getting caught up in a near-death situation while responding to an SOS call, she was able to survive the night on the toughest climb in the park, cut off the tracker ankle monitor, and ambush both of Jeremiah’s lackeys before confronting the landowner with the rifle herself. 

Anna going missing has become a weekly event, and I’m glad the series took a self-aware approach to that tidbit, as everyone bonded over having to execute yet another search mission on her behalf.

But something was missing to really drive this storyline home. While Jeremiah posed a real threat to Anna, his desire to “take care of his Pigeon problem” didn’t make all that much sense. 

Yes, they’ve crossed paths before, including with the whole Bethany situation, but there was nothing concrete leading up to this hunting plan. 

Anna asked him point-blank why he hated her so much, clearly just as confused as the rest of us, despite knowing that they were adversaries, and Jeremiah couldn’t really come up with a solid reason. 

He mentioned prioritizing a legacy for himself and his family, including his nephew JP, which was logical, as Anna’s a witness whose testimony can incriminate them in the case surrounding Kaye’s death.

She’s also the only one who actively investigates all his illegal doings and holds him accountable, refusing to be intimidated by his wealth and power. She’s not someone that Jeremiah can bully into turning the other way, or pay off to keep quiet, so I guess killing her in the woods is his solution? But a man that rich would probably be able to find alternative options to drive her away and out of his business—threatening her sister, tarnishing her reputation, are just a few options to come to mind.

But nope, the man just resorted to straight-up bloody violence. 

With so much wealth and power, he likely assumed that he would be able to weasel his way out of any criminal charges, not realizing that there would be plenty of people looking for Anna and standing in her corner.

In theory, it makes sense, even if it paints Jeremiah as a cartoonish villain archetype, but to the audience, there simply wasn’t enough lead-up to the showdown. 

Jeremiah’s entire arc fell flat due to a classic “show, don’t tell” failure—we never truly saw him severely inconvenienced by Anna, and the two rarely crossed paths in a meaningful way, so the eventual conflict felt rushed.

Also, was anyone else thrown off and slightly cringed out by the way he kept calling her “girl”?

There’s also the fact that it’s a rather quick resolution. Jeremiah has put Anna through the wringer and tested her, but it feels like his story was only just beginning—at the very least, that he’d finally be forced to face the consequences of his actions and see his whole little dynasty fall—but instead, he just succumbed to the gunshot wound. The stage manager has good aim.

He was so laser-focused on Anna, he didn’t even see her pointing a gun at him. It feels like a missed opportunity for a true Jeremiah and Anna showdown; the kind where everyone sees who he is and he gets what’s coming and has to live with it.

Moving On

Of course, I’m looking at this as a long-play, while the series is seemingly following the trajectory of the Anna Pigeon books, which find her solving crimes across different U.S. National parks, marking an end of this chapter. 

Anna isn’t sticking around anywhere for too long, it seems, so we likely won’t see many of the Glacier National Park rangers in the next season. It felt like Anna was leaving that life behind, and admittedly, that’s probably why we didn’t get too many chances to get invested in the secondary characters. The biggest ones we’ll miss are Jessee and Zoe, and one could make an argument that they’d drop everything to join Anna wherever she goes—she just has to make the call.  Everyone else was largely forgettable. 

Anna learned a lot about herself at Glacier National Park, which was necessary for her healing and grieving, but considering the number of times she nearly died there, I don’t blame her for wanting to reset and leave it in the rearview. 

She’s preferred solitude since day one, and while she’s opened up and welcomed others into her life throughout the season, in the end, she chose to be alone, as it was what she was used to—aside from her furry companion Piedmont.

And she left her legacy, keeping the park safe from Jeremiah; his death ensured that they got their land back and took down his property expansion.

Yet, I don’t think the Jeremiah storyline is totally over, as Bethany Paulson seemed to inherit her father’s “dynasty,” and honestly, it doesn’t seem like the apple fell far from the tree. Will she blame Anna for killing her father? Will she seek revenge? Or is she just happy to finally have all of it to herself? I couldn’t really figure her out, especially when she revealed that she was coerced into attacking Anna cause Jeremiah threatened to kill her, assuring that she has the utmost respect for her. Obviously, we’ve seen what he’s capable of, so I believe it, but we also saw what Bethany was capable of, and how she manipulated everyone around her, including Manny, so I don’t think there’s any ounce of truth or credibility to what she’s saying.

There was a lot of potential for Bethany and Jeremiah’s storyline, so it’s a bummer we won’t see their relationship evolve. Surely, it would’ve been a rollercoaster. After all, she took his last name (not her mothers) even after he threatened to kill her, so in some twisted way, she still wants to earn her father’s love. 

A Breakthrough in Zach’s Murder 

I don’t believe that Jeremiah just hates Anna cause she’s a pain in the ass for him—I think it goes deeper and connects to Zach’s death. 

He knew so much about the case, even giving Anna the piece she was missing to trigger her memories from that deadly night, and I think it goes beyond simply having friends in his place.

When he suggests that Anna may be the one behind Zach’s murder and knows she’s being considered a suspect as part of a “break in the case,” pieces of that evening begin rushing back—not in order, of course—but it’s enough for her to know that she didn’t do it (we never doubted you for a minute—it’s not in your nature). She was, however, framed by someone who wanted people to think she did it. 

Though why no one has acted on that yet is also beyond me. Wouldn’t they have arrested her already, especially if her alibi wasn’t airtight?

We see a clear picture of the woman in the red jacket, whom a drunken Anna sees kissing Zach the night of the party, which was undoubtedly planned to force them into an argument that evening. We then see the same woman placing the murder weapon—the knife—in Anna’s hand. Which begs the question—who wanted Zach dead? And why?

And why did they want to frame Anna for it? We don’t know enough about Anna and Zach’s past life—aside from she was a stage manager and he was an actor—to put those pieces together just yet, but I’d bet my money Jeremiah had something to do with it. 

They seemed pretty well off for artists living in New York, which also raises suspicions about what was really going on. 

The Real Suspect in Zach’s Death

And to make matters worse, the suspect is hiding in plain sight, as she’s a patient of Anna’s sister, arriving wearing a red shirt, which honestly should’ve jogged her memory! Does she know more than she’s letting on? Does she know the woman attended the party that night? Was Zach really having an affair? Did Anna know and block it out?

Leading into Anna Pigeon Season 2, this hook is extremely enticing, especially because, yes, the series has been renewed already. Frederick got a promotion, which means that with Anna’s newfound memories, they’ll likely be working on the case even closer together in the future. And he made it very clear when he cuffed Jesse (cuffing season takes on a whole new meaning here) that he wants to be the one Anna chooses. 

What did you think of Anna Pigeon Season 1? Did you like the finale? Will she leave Jesse behind? Where will her adventures take her next? 

Chicago P.D. Season 14 is officially back in action, introducing a new challenge for the detectives of the Intelligence Unit.

While audiences may find them vital to the safety of Chicago, the sentiment isn’t shared by everyone, as the final moments of the episode introduce a new challenger for Voight, who has, up until this point, run his unit the way that he sees fit. Sure, he’s had to change up his methods a bit over the course of 14 seasons, but now, he’s been tasked with proving the unit’s an “efficient use of resources.”

And the FBI agent assigned to his team is already someone Voight has crossed paths with—and did not leave a good impression on.

Voight was understandably frustrated with how overrun and chaotic the precinct had gotten while becoming a temporary hub for hundreds of officers and agents relocated from the OCD headquarters, which was getting demolished, but he also took it out on them, including an agent that he didn’t even realize would be the one determining the fate of his unit.

Of course, maybe Voight and the rest of the squad will end up growing on him and proving that they’re essential.

After 14 seasons, the series has to find ways to keep things fresh, with characters evolving and growing with the times while keeping audiences on their feet.

This isn’t the first time Voight has butted heads with someone who could destroy his career, but he’s also never one to back down from a fight. That quality has remained consistent with the character. 

As has his “look the other way” approach, an option he offered to Imani once she found out her sister murdered someone. 

The moment at the beginning reminded viewers how Season 13 ended, as Imani finally found her younger sister, whom she’s been searching for for years.

Unfortunately, it was far from a joyful reunion.

Imani had a tough choice to make—she could bury what her sister did and let her walk free, though she’d always be looking over her shoulder.

And truthfully, it would’ve been a terrible decision that would put everyone in Intelligence in the crossfire, even though they’d surely have her back (in the same way Torres told her he’d have her back no matter what, which I believe is hinting at a possible romance between Imani and Torres. Lord knows he’s into her!). 

We’ve seen detectives who walk a similar path as Voight before, so it was refreshing to see Imani choose the “correct” path, even if it didn’t feel right at all.

Daily, Imani upholds the law, so she didn’t let Shari get a pass, instead, helping her get a solid plea deal and believing that this was the best way forward—the one that would help Shari rehabilitate after everything she’d been through. 

Because, unfortunately, Shari was a product of her kidnapping. She was doing whatever she could to survive in the only life she’d ever known. 

She didn’t have those memories of Imani and her family to hold onto, and therefore, she didn’t reciprocate the level of care and love that Imani showed for her. It was heartbreaking to see unfold, knowing how much of her life Imani gave up, fighting to find her sister. 

She did everything she could to help her, but sometimes, the best thing you can do is offer space and take a step back. Shari wasn’t used to the kind of love that Imani had for her, and it was suffocating.

In time, I imagine they’ll find a new normal that makes sense for them, as this will be the overarching storyline this season, but it’ll also come with a bit of a wake-up call for Imani that good intentions aren’t always enough. 

CHICAGO P.D. — “Demolition” Episode 1401 — Pictured: (l-r) LaRoyce Hawkins as Officer Kevin Atwater, , Marina Squerciati as Officer Kim Burgess — (Photo by: Lori Allen/NBC)

Chicago P.D. Season 14 Episode 1 Case of the Week

The procedural case pulling us back into Intelligence’s orbit paralleled Imani’s own journey and put into question whether a person could change.

The answer? Yes. But it has to come from within. And still, the world has a way of knocking out all hope from people who are doing their best to follow the straight and narrow, a reality that Chris experienced firsthand when he was accused of shooting his parole officer, Lindell, and killing another woman who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. 

All signs pointed to Chris, so everyone just assumed it was him, except for Imani, who approached it with a little more logic and compassion. She didn’t just accept what was being fed to her—she questioned the narrative at every turn. 

Chris had a clean rap sheet ever since he was paroled, so there’s no reason for him to shoot Lindell. And there were no witnesses who saw him take the shot. 

The case deepened when Chris’ friend, Fritzy, who was also Lindell’s parolee, ended up overdosing in Voight’s arms from heroin laced with a lethal amount of rat poison. Imani made the point that Chris had no reason to kill his friend, and everything became clear when they found blood and semen on the bedsheets at Fritzy’s house. 

In a heartbreaking twist, Chris confirmed that Lindell found out Fritzy was using again and promised to keep it a secret in exchange for sex; when she told him she was done, he raped her instead. Fritzy took matters into her own hands and shot Lindell while in Chris’ car, which is why it was placed at the scene, while Lindell drugged her at home to keep the truth from getting out. 

Except Imani was persistent, hoping to find justice for someone she believed in, and once they cornered Lindell, he confessed to everything before asking Voight and his officers to shoot him because he wouldn’t make it in prison.

Voight informed him he won’t be “getting the easy way out,” promising that he’ll feel “everyday” of his charges. 

The saying don’t do the crime if you can’t do the time comes to mind because Lindell was so good at manipulating in the shadows, but couldn’t stand his own when confronted with his ugly decisions. 

Atwater’s Baby Is Coming

Enough time has passed between seasons that the moment has arrived—Tasha is in labor, and Atwater is about to become a daddy.

And it’s bittersweet. For 14 seasons, fans have been asking for Atwater to get more personal storylines, specifically, a love interest. He’s had a few romances here and there, but never anything serious, and they finally nailed down the right girl for him with Tasha. She’s vibrant, electric, and she challenges him, making her an incredible addition to the team.

So what does that mean? LaRoyce Hawkins is exiting the series. 

I’m personally upset that Atwater is leaving the series before we can really dive into Kevin’s new journey or even see how fatherhood will change him, becuse I’m sure it will. 

Hopefully, the sendoff gives us at least a glimpse of what could have been so we can hold onto the good moments. Atwater has gone through so much as a detective; in this new chapter, he deserves to focus on the good in the world versus constantly finding himself carrying the weight of his community.

It was fitting that Ruzek was the one to drive him to the hospital before he earned the title, but admittedly, I’ll cry my eyes out when it’s time for Atwater to say goodbye to the OG crew and move on with his life. 

Losing a core character is never easy—and fans of the One Chicago shows have been hit with many losses these past few years. It seems to be the curse and blessing of a show being around for so many seasons. 

What did you think of the premiere? Let us know in the comments! 

Chicago Med returned for its 12th season with major changes on the horizon for all of the doctors at Gaffney. 

And it wasted absolutely no time throwing us all back into the chaos of the E.D. with a mass shooting situation at a wedding that initially seemed random, before the bride revealed her jealous ex-boyfriend, Henry, was responsible.

The victims began overwhelming the E.D., which was already understaffed thanks to Sharon Goodwin’s (hopefully temporary) replacement, Ms. Sloane, who cut plenty of the staff due to budget constraints. 

Since Goodwin was the heart and soul of Gaffney, it’s no surprise that not a single soul has taken kindly to Sloane’s arrival.

Audiences learn that Goodwin willingly stepped down after being accused of leaking Dr. Rabari’s medical records, though she’s not pleased about any of it, as a fight between her and Miranda heats up. Goodwin is encouraged to take a sizable payout with the promise that the hospital won’t press charges, but she assures them she’s not guilty, despite Miranda claiming to have evidence. We don’t know what that evidence is just yet, but she seems pretty confident that it’ll incriminate Goodwin, who also seems kind of nervous about everything. At first, I thought maybe that was an admission of guilt, but I think it’s just that everything she’s ever worked for is on the line, and she doesn’t have anyone from leadership in her corner. 

The final few moments of the episode reveal Doris showing up at Sharon’s door and admitting that she was the one who leaked the records, which is a plot twist I didn’t see coming. Sweet Doris?! Of course, we know Sharon will always protect her own, so it’s possible she’ll take the plea deal to prevent this going to trial—or she’ll find another way out of it, since she, of all people, knows how to work the system in her favor. I know Sharon will not go down without a fight, and Miranda is absolutely naive to think otherwise.

And obviously, the hospital functions more smoothly when she’s in charge.

The mass shooting event ensured that it was an all-hands-on-deck situation, with Hannah even coming out of her maternity leave early to help the bride, who was 23 weeks pregnant and had a bullet lodged in her uterus. Thankfully, she was able to successfully remove it without having to deliver the baby early. 

We also got to see Hannah and Archer’s baby girl, Mabel, as Doris asked the question we all wanted to know—are they “co-parents with benefits?” Obviously, new parents are extremely tired, but that is the elephant in the room after Archer declared his love for Hannah after Mabel was born. By the way they look at each other, there’s clearly something more there, even if she hasn’t admitted it yet. 

The bride’s situation was taken straight out of a soap opera, as it was revealed that her fiancé, Dexter, didn’t know about the baby. And they couldn’t find him after the shooting, leaving her to believe the worst. On top of all of that, her ex was responsible for this disaster, and her soon-to-be mother-in-law was adamant that she was only marrying her son for money, which prompted Dexter to get cold feet and not even show up to the church where the tragedy occurred, ultimately saving his life but potentially putting his marriage in jeopardy. 

When he finally got wind of what happened, he arrived at the hospital full of regret. Dr. Charles told him the best course of action was to apologize and come clean to Tamar. Dexter realized the root of all his problems was his mother, so he finally did the right thing and put his family—along with the unborn child he just found out about—ahead of whatever it is his mother was trying to do. 

Their wedding day didn’t pan out as they expected it to, and came with plenty of hurt and loss, but the couple still managed to find a semblance of a happy ending.

The most heartbreaking plot, however, was with the flower girl, Dakota, who came to the hospital with a head wound after her mother pushed her under the pews when the shooting erupted. She couldn’t find her mom in the aftermath, but the wedding’s guitar player, Bruno, stayed by her side to make sure she was okay, and they formed a sweet little bond. The trauma of the day led to Dakota losing her eyesight temporarily, while everyone else searched for her mother, Edith. 

Dr. Frost’s reaction to learning that both Edith and Bruno were dead mirrored mine because how could they put this little girl through so much pain? The nerve!

Not only do they have to tell her that her mom died, but Bruno, who survived a mass shooting event and walked away barely unscathed, was then killed while he was being discharged by the shooter as he drove his car through the reception area?

And this whole time, the shooter survived? Ripley was in sheer disbelief as Bruno’s body flew through the air on impact. And honestly, same. 

CHICAGO MED — “Shots Fired” Episode 1201 — Pictured: (l-r) Luke Mitchell as Dr. Mitch Ripley, Michael Alix as Bruno — (Photo by: George Burns Jr/NBC)

It’s a reminder that not only is life super fragile and unexpected, but it’s also completely unfair. Thankfully, Mitch Ripley later revealed that they got their wires crossed and Edith was actually alive, so at least the little girl didn’t have to grow up without a mother, and this tragic day didn’t put a permanent stain on her life. And she’ll always have Bruno as her guardian angel! 

Ripley had a tough day, no doubt, as he also had to lay down the law with a new 4th-year resident, Anna Wu, who Archer described as “smart, cocky and a pain in the ass.” Sound familiar?

Why do I feel like those are the personality traits they give every single new character? There have been so many Wus throughout the years.

Ripley was pissed that she undermined his call with a patient, accusing her of deliberately making the shooter suffer, which she said wasn’t the case, as she did what she had to do to keep the patient alive. However, she then made another bold move and called Ripley out for projecting onto her, suggesting that maybe he enjoyed seeing him suffer after all the pain he’d caused. 

Either way—it seems like Ripley and Wu are off to a rocky start, which may set a precedent for their working environment moving forward. 

As for Caitlin Lennox’s absence, she’s on a “3-month sabbatical” for a drug trial for her prion disease, which will hopefully buy her some extra time, though, as Ripley noted, nothing is ever guaranteed, even with a clean bill of health. 

What did you think of the premiere episode? Do you think Chicago Med has started veering too much into soap territory, or do you enjoy the overly dramatic storylines?