Chicago Fire, Chicago PD and Chicago Med all feature parents who could do better, so who needs the most work? Here are One Chicago’s 5 worst parents.
Parents are supposed to be important and influential figures in our lives, who shape us and support us—unless they’re in the One Chicago franchise.
Many of the parents featured in Chicago Fire and Chicago PD and Chicago Med are, quite frankly, really bad at it. One needs only to look at the most recent Chicago Med episode, where Dr. Sarah Reese (Rachel DiPillo) visited her father on his possible deathbed—only for him to still insult her and suggest she had a personality disorder. He’s the kind of parent we wouldn’t wish on anyone.
But he’s not the only one who has a lot of room for improvement. From parents who love their kids but can’t seem to get it together, like Chicago Fire‘s Ramon Dawson, to those who just are completely self-centered, every One Chicago series has at least one mother or father who has a difficult relationship with their child or brings trouble with them every time they show up. They have done everything from caused headaches to flat-out put their own lives in jeopardy.
So in honor of this week’s Chicago Med, we’re finally adding up their various miscues and asking ourselves who have been One Chicago’s most problematic parents.
Click through the below slideshow as we count down the 5 worst parents in the One Chicago franchise, and let us know who you think needs the most parenting advice in the comments.
5. Ramon Dawson
Chicago Fire took several years to introduce One Chicago fans to Ramon Dawson (guest star Daniel Zacapa), father to Gabriela (Monica Raymund) and Antonio (Jon Seda). It wasn’t that hard to see why. After spending so long getting to know his kids, it was exciting to see what their father was like, but from the get-go, he was a bit of a let-down.
Audiences didn’t meet Ramon until last season’s “Lift Each Other”, when he made the shocking announcement that he and his wife were getting a divorce. That wasn’t the best introduction, but things went from bad to worse after Ramon was understandably kicked out of his home by his soon-to-be ex-wife. Looking for somewhere to stay, he approached Gabby and her husband Matt Casey (Jesse Spencer), who agreed to take him in, but with the belief that he would only be staying for a short period of time.
Several weeks later, Ramon was still living on their sofa, which was not only annoying but also cramping Dawsey’s relationship. Neither Gabby nor Matt wanted to ask him to leave, but things eventually reached a boiling point with Ramon’s new job. After getting put on probation for being rather pushy with his boss, Ramon dropped Casey’s name as a way of helping him get out of trouble—which promptly caused Gabby to put him in his place.
Although Ramon was shown to be a pain towards his daughter, we did get to see a sweet side to him when he fought off an attacker and ended up being stabbed earlier this season. After his act of heroism, Ramon moved out of Gabby and Matt’s place, and found a way to get his life back on track and we hope he will keep it that way. Maybe Chicago Fire season 6 will be the turning point where he starts being the great father he clearly wants to be.
4. Benjamin “Benny” Severide
One of the first parents we ever met in the One Chicago franchise was Kelly Severide’s (Taylor Kinney) father, Benjamin “Benny” Severide (recurring guest star Treat Williams). Back in Chicago Fire season 1, when Kelly was debating between staying in Chicago or moving to Madrid with Renee Royce, he turned to his father for advice. Based on that interaction, we thought that Benny might be better than expected.
However, just a few episodes later, Benny revealed his true colours when he clashed with Chief Boden (Eamonn Walker) in the episode “Better To Lie.” Both Benny and Chief Boden had served with Peter Mills’ (Charlie Barnett) father, who’d died on the job. Chief Boden referred to his deceased colleague as a hero, but Benny didn’t see it that way and wanted to tell Mills the truth about his father’s death. He was willing to ruin the relationship between a deceased colleague and his son, not really thinking about whether or not that would be best for Mills. He wasn’t just a pain to his own son, but to someone else’s, too.
Benny has also continued to be a thorn in Kelly’s side consistently. We found out in Chicago Fire season 2 that Benny had fathered a child with someone other than Severide’s mom. Kelly was introduced to his half-sister Katie Nolan (guest star Brittany Curran) after having no idea she existed before that point—in fact, he was convinced she was sleeping with Benny!
Not only did Benny fail to tell Kelly about his half-sister, not only has he been portrayed as an utter womanizer who was last seen getting his ex-wife back into bed, but this is also the guy who once sided with Gail McLeod (Michelle Forbes) to possibly take down Boden. Benny has not only hurt his son, but he’s also crossed others at Firehouse 51. Still, his problems have started to look minor compared to other parents on this list.
3. Robert Haywood
We only met Dr. Sarah Reese’s father Robert Haywood in this season of Chicago Med, but we are wishing we’d never met him. In fact, we’re wishing he’d have passed away already, which is sad to say but speaks volumes of how terrible a father he is.
Robert (guest star Michel Gill) was established as having abandoned Sarah and her mother in a contentious split when she was still a child. Then out of the blue, he reappeared and immediately started saying everything Reese wanted to hear. He claimed he had been trying to contact her for years and wanted to rekindle a relationship with her. In reality, he was just trying to see how much he could get out of her.
Dr. Daniel Charles (Oliver Platt) quickly diagnosed Robert with a personality disorder to go with his life-threatening heart condition. Robert was downright smug about Charles’ inability to tell Reese the truth, while he talked about wanting his daughter to support him, at one point even asking her to co-sign a loan. Though thankfully she didn’t, she did mistakenly lash out at Charles when her father told her that Charles was manipulating her, which couldn’t have been further from the truth.
Things came to a head in “The Parent Trap” when, even though he was facing down death, Robert still found time to taunt both Charles and Reese. He said a whole list of terrible things to his daughter, including preying on her fear that she, too, had a personality disorder. He was practically laughing in her face even though it might be the last things they ever said to each other. Why One Chicago is still inflicting him on her (and us), we have no idea.
2. Cornelius Rhodes
Right off the bat in Chicago Med history, one of the first things we learned about Dr. Connor Rhodes (Colin Donnell) is that he went to medical school in Mexico to get away from his father. When that is your introduction into the One Chicago universe, you know you’re not a good parent.
The first time we were introduced to Cornelius Rhodes (D.W. Moffett), he was attempting to convince Connor to return to the family department store and put everything that had happened behind them. But as it turned out, that was a long list. Not only did Connor leave the country to escape his father’s long shadow, but he was also convinced that Cornelius pushed his mother Elizabeth into taking her own life. Not only did he bully his son, but also the woman he supposedly loved.
The conflict between father and son got worse in the very next episode, “Fallback.” Cornelius returned to the hospital with Connor’s sister Claire (guest star Christina Brucato) in tow after one of his employees is injured by a falling chandelier. Connor asked if the medical bills for the man, a childhood friend and Claire’s fiancee, would be paid for by the company; Claire says yes, but Cornelius later denies this. He’s only concerned about how much his company might lose, and so concerned about it that he makes two different attempts to get Connor removed from the case.
Cornelius seems to openly delight in screwing with his son at every opportunity. He does throw out the rare compliment, but it always comes after he’s done something terrible. This One Chicago season has taken his behavior to a whole new level, as well; when Connor’s then-girlfriend Dr. Robin Charles (Mekia Cox) is busted for shoplifting at his department store, Cornelius isn’t shy about belittling her right to Connor’s face. Robin overhears him, and his words only add to the damage that ultimately prompts her to end their relationship.
But Connor’s dad went from rude to creepy this week, when he made a romantic advance toward Connor’s colleague Dr. Ava Bekker (Norma Kuhling). After flattering her the first time they met, he sent flowers to the hospital and then asked her on a dinner date—not caring about how improper it would be, the obvious age difference between them, or the fact that she worked with his son. In fact, he straight-up told her that making Connor crazy would be a side benefit. Luckily Ava turned him down, but now we really don’t like Cornelius Rhodes.
1. Barbara “Bunny” Fletcher
The worst parent across the entire One Chicago franchise is the infamous Bunny Fletcher (recurring guest star Markie Post). Erin Lindsay’s (Sophia Bush) questionable mother was introduced in Chicago PD season 2 and was nothing but trouble every time she showed up. It had been well established that Bunny was problematic way before we ever saw her on screen, and her arrival only made things worse for Erin.
We all know that Lindsay moved in with Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) as a teenager after her life spiraled out of control due to her mother’s antics. She joined the police force and things looked as though they were going great for a while—until her mother came back into the picture. We first saw Bunny in the second season premiere “Call It Macaroni” and there was near-immediate acrimony between her and her estranged daughter.
When Lindsay fell off the wagon later on in the season after Nadia’s (recurring guest star Stella Maeve) death, her mother was there, but not to help her. Bunny encouraged Lindsay’s binge drinking, despite telling her she had left that life behind her. If it hadn’t been for Voight giving Lindsay an ultimatum, Bunny may have taken total control of Erin’s life and managed to ruin it all over again.
In what would be her final appearances (for now) in Chicago PD season 4, Bunny was messing with more lives than Lindsay’s. She had convinced Jimmy Sanguinetti that he was Erin’s father, but it turned out that he wasn’t—which broke Erin’s heart and caused Jimmy to explode at her, accusing both her and Bunny of trying to con him. Bunny also taunted Voight with the idea that he could be Erin’s dad, although that’s not the case.
By the end of last season, Bunny’s adventures took a turn for the worst when she is linked to a series of overdoses throughout Chicago. She’s caught with drugs and on the hook for what could be some serious charges, and Lindsay has to come to her rescue. Even in what would be Erin’s last episode of Chicago PD, she was still having to deal with her mother’s problems.
That consistently screwing with her daughter’s life, from her youth until she left Chicago, is what puts Bunny Fletcher at the top of our list. None of these parents are great, but she’s been bad all along.
Next: Sophia Bush guest stars in ABC sitcom
Who do you think is One Chicago’s worst parent? Do you think any of them could ever improve and become the parents their children would like them to be? Give us your opinions in the comments.