B
A quiet finale ends a successful first season of The Chi
After weeks of building momentum that seemed to be leading to a reckoning between The Chi’s sordid characters, “Ease On…
The Chi - Season 1
B
The Chi sets up major conflicts as it heads into a promising finale
“Namaste Muthafucka” is a showcase of a lot of The Chi’s narrative problems in terms of pacing, but it gets a lot done.…
B+
The Chi finds a compelling story in one of its quietest characters
Even at its best, The Chi still feels like four different shows that are forced to exist within the same ecosystem.…
B
The Chi focuses on consequences in an uneven episode
The Chi’s last two episodes slowed down the pace in order to focus on select narratives within the show. It was a…
A-
The Chi successfully juggles tension and levity in a brilliant episode
Last week’s episode felt like the first time The Chi really knew what kind of show it wanted to be. The world within…
A-
A stellar episode of The Chi showcases the best of the series
“Today Was a Good Day” feels like The Chi viewers have been waiting on. Marcus Gardley’s script provides a level of…
C+
The Chi is still unsure of what story it wants to tell in a dense fourth episode
Now that we’re four episodes into the season, there’s a clear pattern developing within The Chi: One small decision can…
C
The Chi fails to cover new ground in its repetitive third episode
“Ghosts” is an odd episode of television. There’s not a lot of action, but it continues to use the same broad…
B+
The Chi explores black masculinity through its central characters in a gripping second episode
In its pilot episode, The Chi missed a few opportunities to really dig into societal and cultural structures that make…
B-
The Chi paints a broad picture of Chicago in a promising pilot
There’s little doubt that The Chi is the most realistic depiction of Chicago that television has to offer right now.…