When two gang victims, Darius and Andre, are found dead outside a heroin-carrying truck, the Intelligence Unit is on the scene. The team is thrown for a loop when Halstead and Lindsay recover one of Voight’s business cards at the home of one of the deceased.
There was a third man involved in the incident, a Charles Gray. As it turns out, Voight gave his card to Charles mom, Michelle, years before. We see a different side of Voight in this episode; for someone who generally assumes the worst (and will beat the snot out of you to prove himself right or wrong), he stands behind Charles and his innocence completely. So naturally, Halstead’s losing his mind about it.
“How do we know that?” Jay quickly responds.
“His friends are gang-bangers, he isn’t. We can’t even place him at the scene…” Voight continues.
“That’s cool, but what I asked was, how do we know Charles isn’t caught up?” Jay retorts.
“Because I said so.”
I shivered. Literally shivered. Watch your back, Jay. If looks could kill…
Still fuming from his conversation with Voight, Halstead decides to investigate a possible lead without Voight’s knowledge. When Halstead, Ruzek, Atwater, and Lindsay show up and an abandoned warehouse, they find two guys quickly trying to escape. The door locks, and the team turns to see a fire rapidly growing. Lindsay finds a way to get Halstead out, who goes around and unlocks the door. Not that I was worried, they obviously wouldn’t kill them.
Back at the District, Jay doesn’t hesitate to admit to Voight that the call he made was stupid. I guess an admittance of stupidity means something to Voight, because he tells Jay the story of Charles and Michelle and how they ended up with his card.
When the team catches the driver, he IDs Charles as the third person involved. Not too long after, Charles turns up at home with two bullets near his shoulder. They can’t take him to a hospital because that would put him in the system. Hmmm…know of anyone with a connection to a doctor?Enter, the Halstead brothers. I’m liking Will, he shows a lot of promise. I still don’t know about leading man material, but I’m willing to give him a chance. He shines in this episode; the scenes in Charles and Michelle’s house were among the best.
The gang shows up to finish what they started, but of course, Charles is mid-surgery on his dining room table. They manage to get him downstairs while Voight and Jay fend off the gang.
It’s a messy ending to the case, but an ending nonetheless.
Tensions have never been higher between Voight and Halstead. Voight knows something’s up between Halstead and Lindsay, and he’s not happy about it. Halstead is also the only unit member who consistently challenges his morality and authority. Then we have Halstead, who (though it hasn’t been said outright) harbors some sort of resentment towards Voight because of his pseudo-father/daughter relationship with Lindsay and how that has affected his own relationship with her, and his all-around distrust of Voight. So, best of friends.
I find their relationship to be so intriguing, more so in this episode than ever before. It makes sense too; from what we learned about Jay’s family history and what we already knew. Jay is without a doubt the moral compass of the show. He was a soldier, he fights for the truth, and he wants to do it within the law. Voight is a man of the city. He doesn’t work within the law, but instead what is best for Chicago.
I’m sure we will see plenty more of their relationship, and I can’t wait! It never fails to intrigue me.
Elsewhere…
Sergeant Platt is one of my favorite characters on television period. We all know and love her sarcastic, sassy demeanor, but at her core, Trudy Platt has one of the biggest and truest hearts. This week, we saw that softer side come out while she cared for Denise, the sister to the deceased gang member Darius. They eat Belgian waffles together and it’s adorable! When Denise’s aunt is late to pick her up, Denise tells Platt that her aunt is on drugs. Denise’s aunt finally shows up, it’s clear she’s on something. Platt stands up for Denise and tells off the aunt, which was bittersweet. It would have been nice for Denise to be able to go with family, if only her family had been nicer.
Nadia is going on a ride-along! I’m so excited and so proud of her. Is that weird? Whatever. She’s fantastic and I love how we are getting to see veteran detectives who have been on the job for years, up-and-coming detectives who show a lot of promise, rookie Intelligence officers, patrolmen, and now someone just getting started with their police career all on the same show. Kudos, Chicago PD writers. While Burgess and Roman answer a “noisy dog” call, Nadia sees two men escape out a back window. Instinct takes over and Nadia jumps in the front seat of the squad car and chases after the men. I was cheering, but with caution (if that’s a thing…I made it a thing). I was so excited she stopped them! But also worried her career as an officer was over before it started.
Nadia of course gets a few stern talkings to, But then she has a heart to heart with Erin and commits wholeheartedly to becoming an officer. Love it!
Later, Will tells Jay he’s thinking about sticking around. Well, seeing as how you’ve been cast on Chicago Med, I bet you are, Will! In all seriousness, I’m loving having Will around. Not so much because of Will, but because of the window into Jay’s past he provides. We learn that Jay’s mom died, and Papa Halstead isn’t exactly close with Jay.“I saw dad. He said you haven’t spoken in a year,” says Will.
“Probably two,” replies Jay.
What did you think of the episode? Will the tension between Voight and Jay continue? Will we see Nadia in uniform any time soon?
