“You know what puts you on that ledge? You start to forget who’s who.”
Let’s set the scene, shall we? A brooding (more than usual) Voight leans casually against his office door. Halstead walks out of the break room, and Voight asks, “Hey, how’s it going?”
Atwater and Ruzek are the absolute worst tech guys, and request they find someone else to handle those duties. Halstead volunteers his friend Mouse, asking Voight if he remembers the case Mouse assisted on previously.
“I remember everything, Jay.”
He knows.
As the case comes together for the search of the missing cop, Voight tells everyone to, “Listen…I don’t like saying things twice,” as he looks at Erin and Jay.
He knows.
“Al, I want you partnered up with Erin on this one.”
HE KNOWS! And Jay knows that he knows…his faces throughout the episode say that much, and it’s hilarious. His facial expressions win as comedic relief of the night.
Well, this will make the case a bit more interesting…
The Narcotics unit needs assitance on an eighteen-month long case in which one of their undercovers, Rick Manning, may have been compromised. As luck would have it, Antonio has a connection from way back with one of the crew members, and takes on an undercover assignment with him and the crew.
At Manning’s house, O and Lindsay find a bag of cash hidden in the fireplace – sketchy for a cop undercover with a narcotics crew. Also in the bag? An apartment key, credit cards, and other very suspicious items. It brings into question Manning’s true loyalty. Regardless, the team has to find Manning, as it seems the crew knows he’s a cop.
Meanwhile Antonio and the crew plan on hitting up Fulton Labs, where Oxycodone abounds. Intelligence sets up the heist (as Antonio is wired) and Halstead and Olinsky pose as security guards. Thanks to some quick and smart thinking by Antonio, Olinsky escapes with a nasty cut on his head, as opposed to leaving in a body bag.
Way out in God knows where, the crew takes Antonio to where they are holding Manning. They task Antonio with killing him and Rick begs and pleads for his life, saying he’s with CPD. Intelligence gets there just in time (surprise) and everyone makes it out alive. Well, all the good guys make it out alive.
Even though he makes it out alive, things aren’t looking so great for Manning. He’s definitely sketchy, and when they bring up the hidden money, it’s pretty clear he’s got something else going on. When Erin breaks the news to Manning’s wife, she says, “Can I give you some advice? Marry a dentist.” No, lady. You shut your mouth!
Alas, the dreaded moment we all knew was coming. Erin is alone in the lockeroom and Jay walks in and says, “Voight knows.”
Halstead still has every intention of keeping the relationship going, telling Erin that he’s on his way to talk to Voight. But unfortunately, Erin stops him, and the scene that unfolds is a lot more emotional than I thought it would be. It’s clear these two have some serious feelings for each other, something I didn’t expect, at least on Erin’s end. I know I should be disappointed that they are done (for now), but I’m okay with it. If anything, it reaffirmed my hope for them – these two clearly are not done for good. In fact, I think we’ve only just begun!
Bro moment! I did enjoy the scene between Mouse and Halstead, even though Jay was bummed because of Erin. Mouse asks Jay if he’s seeing anyone, and seeing Jay say, “I guess I was,” was depressing.
Moment slightly ruined – Erin has a drink at Molly’s with Chicago Fire’s Gabriella Dawson. For those of you who watch Fire, you know (or should know) that Gabby is the LAST person who should be giving relationship advice. “Can you date someone you work with?” Erin asks Gabby. Big mistake, Erin! Don’t listen to her! She walked out on Matt Casey, so clearly she’s not right in the head.
I have to commend the writers (I know I praise them a lot, but they deserve it!), they go with chemistry, where the story takes them, what makes sense, etc. instead of forcing what might have been an original plan. While I love Antonio and would never pass up on an opportunity to see him in the spotlight, Halstead has really taken over that lead position this season. Now with the introduction of Mouse, I think it’s fair to say we’ll be seeing even more of Halstead in that position. No complaints on my end! At least for the time being, Halstead is a more interesting, more compelling character.
With all the talent on this show, it’s easy to forget it began with Voight and Antonio, no one else. It was nice to see Antonio back in the spotlight for an episode. The episode’s final scene took as back to where it all began; Voight and Antonio. This show was founded on their good cop vs. bad cop relationship, and this scene made me realize how far we’ve come. These two did not see eye to eye when the show began but now, they have a bond that strengthens and solidifies this unit together.
Elsewhere…
I love Mouse! I know it’s only been an episode, but I want him on board full time. Mouse is an ex-Ranger, which is how he knows Jay. He’s an expert hacker, as he proves within less than a few seconds, he can hack Voight’s phone. Mouse would be an excellent window into Jay’s military past, one that I’ve been dying to see. And with the way the episode ended, Jay could really use a friend right now.
Voight gives Mouse his approval, but sends him to Platt for hers. Through their quick interview, we learn that Mouse did two tours in Afghanistan, and was medically discharged. When Platt presses the issue, Mouse mentions something about a convoy and being in the lead Humvee with Jay, before he’s unable to continue. Seriously writers, I want to know!
Roman and Burgess handle the case of a squatter who won’t leave a couple’s house. I do not understand how a squatter could in any capacity have rights to someone else’s home, it’s unbelievably messed up.
While the full-on crossovers with Chicago Fire haven’t been stellar, I do love the minor character crossovers we get every now and then. This week, Mouch paid a visit (as he is dating Platt) and asked if she wanted to go with him to a Zumba class. Now, if you don’t watch Fire (or even if you do) and you need a little laughter in your life, do a search for Cruz teaching Zumba. I promise, you won’t regret it. I love that they worked that bit into PD, with Platt responding, “Why? Do you think I’m fat?” being the cherry on top.
With Mouch’s assistance, Roman and Burgess are able to get into the couple’s apartment. Mouch does some looking around, and tugs on a suspicious piece of wiring, only to break the wall to reveal the squatter’s dead wife. Now that’s interesting! Very disturbing, but interesting, unlike the main case of the week.
What did you think of the episode? Do you want Mouse to stick around? What happens next with Jay and Erin?