The Chi: Season 7 Episode 12 – Recap and Review

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Episode 12 “Rebirth” Details

• Available On: Showtime
• Public Release Date: August 1, 2025
• Director(s): Deondray Gossfield, Quincy LeNear Gossfield
• Writer(s): Jewel Coronel

Episode 12 “Rebirth” Recap (With Spoilers)

Getting My Lick Back: Reg, Candice, Alicia, Hannibal, Keith

With Alicia setting him up, Reg decides to get his lick back by using Candice to get Alicia out of her house and then to rob her. It was a thought, originally, to keep things close and have it where Keith would be the driver, since he did help identify Alicia, but with the cops clearly on Reg’s tail, he is against it, so Hannibal steps in to maintain his cover.

Due to that, while Candice gets a fur coat and some of the bags Reg stole, Keith and Hannibal are paid well in cash. Now, where was Jackie in all this? Well, your guess is as good as mine.

But, with Candice making it clear to Alicia that she knows Alicia is a predator of women like her, it seems Alicia won’t have to ask herself who robbed her.

Is It The Start Or End Of A Chapter?: Professor Gardner, Lynae, Bakari, Roselyn, Nuck, Alicia, Shaad, Nora, Toussaint, Ezekiel, Carolyn, Kenya

For Ezekiel, it seems his restart is taking him back to his original plan as he and Carolyn agree to live together, but sleep separately. This is all part of them rebuilding their relationship, and he also commits to being a better father and grandfather, especially with Kenya likely only being in the house maybe another year, and between maybe being with Papa or living on her own, moving out.

Speaking of getting together, Shaad and Nora seem to be in bliss, and Bakari joins in the joy, to a point, as he hands Professor Gardner the first draft of his book and begins the editing process. Though what may really make him happy is Lynae talking about getting back together and living together.

But, that is where the good times end as Roselyn returns to The Chi and comes in ready to get revenge for Douda rather than sit back as she originally presented she’d do. Her first stop is Nuck, who she gets to with ease since Bakari wasn’t paying attention. Nuck says Alicia killed Douda, so she turns that direction.

As Roselyn deals with the finger-pointing, Alicia checks in with Toussaint, who may have gotten Reg hit with a charge, but the work isn’t over yet because he made bail. However, Alicia was expecting that by helping Toussaint, she’d have a body delivered to her doorstep, but Toussaint makes clear that isn’t going ot happen. At best, she’ll turn her head, but she isn’t going to participate in taking anyone out for Alicia – especially Nuck.

Goodbye Grandma: Jada, Emmett, Darnell, Keisha, Alicia, Roselyn, Victor, Shaad, Tiff, Nuck

Tiff and Keisha end up going into labor at the same time and, within a hour or so, both delivery their children at the same time. Victor is with Tiff for most of her labor, with Rob’s photo there so he can be there in spirit for the birth of his son, Rob Jr. Keisha? She has Emmett, a doula, and later Jada and Darnell, as Jada wants to see the baby before she dies.

Which, she does within a day of holding her granddaughter, who Emmett names Jada, in his mom’s honor. He also commits to staying in Chicago for, in his mind, all the good ones can’t leave the city. Jada gets this, and to help her son’s family with their goals, she lets Keisha know there is money for her homeschool set aside.

This leaves us with how this episode ends. You’d think with how Alicia has been thus far, she’d race over to the hospital to see her first, and only potential, grandchild. However, Roselyn visits and, after hearing enough from Alicia to collaborate on Nuck’s story, she kills her. With not hearing from Alicia, Tiff asks Nuck to check on her, and he ends up being the first to discover her body. He says nothing.

Following him is Shaad showing up for work, and for some reason, maybe his record, his first thought isn’t that the house looks robbed and Alicia killed, let me call the cops; instead, he calls Victor. He shows up, helps move Alicia to the couch, and the next thing they know, the cops arrive, they are covered in blood, and they are being arrested.

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Review and Commentary

Highlights

Tracy Leaving [80/100]

While the rug got pulled from under us regarding Emmett, it seems Tracy may FINALLY be leaving. Now, let me be clear, we don’t know the actress, so it has nothing to do with her. However, Tracy has been pretty aimless for a long time. Remember how Keith and Charles, at one time, were trying to date her? Where did that go? What about her community center?

The show dropped the ball with Tracy, and that’s why we became so disinvested in her to the point of wondering why she was kept around when clearly, there were no concrete plans for her, beyond being part of the sister circle.

Emmett’s Note That All The Good Ones Can’t Leave [84/100]

If we lost more legacy acts on the show, it wouldn’t be the worst thing. However, Emmett did have a point in that all the good ones can’t go, and for shows like The Chi, there has to be balance. Yes, the drama of what Reg and Nuck do has to remain present, but it can’t be the entire show. Just as much as Ezekiel’s storyline can’t be the entire show, or even Shaad’s life after lock-up.

With that said, however, even though I don’t believe Emmett delivered in terms of his mom’s death, you have to recognize that a lot of storylines have been birthed from his involvement. Papa met Kenya through Emmett, who owns Smokey’s. Keith’s introduction was through Smokey’s. Keisha’s character was given a new chapter through getting back with Emmett, after the rest of her family left, and even Alicia, one of her first major acts was getting Emmett from under Douda’s thumb. This eventually triggered a series of events that led to Rob’s death.

This is all to say, while Emmett is far from the best character on The Chi, there is no denying his role as a supporting character, or that using his veteran status to introduce new characters would make it so; if he did leave, the show would probably struggle to find someone to fill his position.

On The Fence

Alicia’s Death and The Aftermath [73/100]

Admittedly, Alicia’s death was a bit shocking – in a good way. She is what could be considered one of the last members of the old guard, with Q and Douda gone. But, while it is going to be interesting to watch Tiff be handed the reins of Alicia’s kingdom, and hopefully, us finally getting to see how massive it actually is, you can’t deny the wasted potential here.

Alicia, being Q’s sister, this empire she claimed to have had, the present-day network of judges and more – it all went to waste because she, like Tracy and so many others, found herself orbiting a male character – never mind a dead one. But, to make matters worse, the setup given to Victor and Shaad is unfortunate.

Granted, Victor’s fall from grace has been hard to watch, especially seeing him go from politics to just trying to make ends meet has been rough. Then with Shaad, lest we forget, Alicia was his employer, and who knows if Tiff will be so kind to keep him around. So, it could be submitted that the aftermath of Alicia’s death, unlike Douda’s, isn’t leaving opportunity but further destruction.

The Setup For Season 8 [72/100]

I wouldn’t say how things end leads to much in the way of excitement for season 8. Am I happy about the tease that Kenya and Papa may get back together? Yes. But I also know that isn’t going to be a lead storyline. Is Zuri someone I’m looking forward to seeing more? Yeah, but as noted before, it is because I’m a fan of Karrueche Tran and am hoping her character grows on me just like she did as an actress.

As for everyone else? It is a bit of a struggle to get excited. Nuck vs. Reg didn’t live up to expectations, nor the power vacuum expected from Douda’s death. Emmett’s storyline flopped in a way, including Jada’s death. For Darnell, it boosted him a bit, but now, without Jada, what’s going to happen with his character?

I mean, for nearly all characters, there isn’t much to get excited about. Their trajectories seem dry; the potential that’s there, you know, isn’t worth getting hyped about because The Chi has a terrible record regarding characters living up to their potential, or even what you’d expect from the actor playing them. It all just feels like, as much as you have to respect The Chi and the team behind it, making it to 8 seasons, it can feel like it only got this far because there are few, if any, alternatives for predominantly Black dramas with a mix of new and legacy faces.

Overall

Our Overall Rating [77/100]

The season finale of The Chi suffers mainly because The Chi has had seven seasons, it has killed major characters in its season finale before, and has a history of not making those deaths as impactful as they should be. Add in setting up lukewarm storylines for season 8 and lacking any real concrete and undeniable highlight, and it ultimately leaves The Chi in a place where, if OWN stuck to scripted content, if BET+ had the budget, there would be a need to question if The Chi would end up having to step up, or fade out like its peers in Queen Sugar and others.

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