Chicago PD - Debts Of The Past - Review

Fifteen years ago, Voight falsified evidence to put a man, James Beckett, in prison. Beckett wasn’t innocent by any means, but thanks to Bunny spilling the beans about the falsified evidence, Beckett is now a free man. Not long after his release, Voight’s car blows up just as he, Justin, Olive, and Baby Voight are about to get in…


We pick up right after the explosion and thankfully, everyone is okay. Did anyone else notice the wedding ring on Justin’s finger?! They are married? Did I just forget? Or is this new information? Anyway, Voight is understandably furious.

Olinsky and Voight are called to the scene of an exploded car. The victim, unrecognizable in the front seat, is Jacob Logan, retired CPD and member of the team (along with Voight and Olinsky) that took down Beckett years ago. So obviously, the unit that originally caught Beckett is being targeted. Beckett is clearly lacking in intelligence—you get out of prison and start targeting the people who put you away? Way to make yourself prime suspect #1 and earn a one-way ticket back to prison, man.

It’s not easy for the team to track down Beckett, and his lawyer is certainly no help (because he’s probably helping Beckett). I envision a scene between the two similar to Sirius and Remus in the Shrieking Shack about waiting years for revenge. Unfortunately for Beckett though, he’s not a wizard and he’s not innocent. (Sorry guys, I’ve been reading Harry Potter again. Can you guess which book I recently finished?) Anyway, leave it to Halstead to use his smile and some cash to persuade the secretary to give them information. They aren’t able to hold Beckett long, as he has an alibi (okay, so he’s a just a hair smarter than I originally thought).

Voight and Olinsky are a bit at odds this episode, as Beckett reveals that a cop in the unit (from 15 years ago) stole one million dollars from him. Voight didn’t take it, and is quick to suspect Olinsky. Why was Voight so quick to suspect Olinsky? The other guy in the unit (the other living guy, anyway) seems shady so why not suspect him first? While I didn’t enjoy seeing Voight and Olinsky at odds, I loved Voight and Antonio working as partners. These two are so interesting together, I wish we saw more of it.

A guy named Nathan Whitcomb, who used to work for Beckett, is found to have stolen the money. The team uses Whitcomb to catch Beckett who was, in fact, having the team that caught him targeted. What an idiot. There have only been a few times throughout the series when I thought Voight might lose it and kill someone. This was one of those times. But once again, Olinsky is able to talk Voight off the ledge (literally).

Elsewhere…

Look at Mouse trying to revolutionize the Intelligence Unit! He introduces the Intelliboard, a smartboard of sorts that will make finding, organizing, and reviewing evidence, GPS tracking, and database searching of all kinds a whole lot easier. It’s a nifty thing, no doubt, but it’s not how the unit is used to doing things. You know the saying about teaching an old dog new tricks? Yeah, Voight tapes a picture of Beckett on the Intelliboard. Nice try, Mouse.

Red flag! Ruzek’s on his third engagement. I understand there could be perfectly reasonable explanations for these, but not likely for someone as young as Ruzek. Burgess seems to be feeling the same way. Roman isn’t helping things, with his “Just think of it like the Olympics. Bronze is nothing to sneeze at.” Wow, Roman. You sure know how to make a woman feel good about herself. I did think his push test was interesting. Apparently, if you suggest to your fiancé that it’s best to push the wedding back and he agrees, he’s not all gung-ho about getting married. And Ruzek? Yeah, he fails the test. I’m thinking a split before Christmas is likely.

Michelle, Olinsky’s daughter, is a decent boxer. It probably helps that Antonio is her teacher (in case you’ve forgotten, he was an Olympic boxer). But things aren’t going well for Olinsky; his wife demands he get a paternity test. Olinsky wrestles with it throughout the episode, and I was surprised that he mailed in the test. The results do take a few weeks, so I’d be willing to bet that when the results come, he doesn’t look at them.

I’m surprised that Erin has bounced back so quickly. I am glad that we saw Dr. Charles again this episode and I hope Erin continues to talk with him. While she seems to be back on the straight and narrow, I don’t think she’s quite ready for a relationship. Speaking of, the will they/won’t they for Halstead and Lindsay continues. There was some serious flirty eyes happening near the end of the episode and Voight is letting Erin move back into her apartment. Guys, it’s going to happen. If you don’t believe me, check out the promo for next week. Sure, it could be a tease, but I’m choosing to believe!


What did you think of the episode? Will Burgess break things off with Ruzek? How soon will we see Halstead and Lindsay together? Will Bunny try to find another way to take down Voight? Share your thoughts below and don’t miss the two-hour episode on Wednesday!

About the Author - Meghan Reynolds

A Colorado native, Meghan was born a raised a Denver Broncos fan. Aside from football, she loves storytelling, whether it be movies, television, books, or music. Some of her favorite shows of the past and present include LOST, Friends, The Office, Scandal, Chicago PD, and Chicago Fire. She is excited to be reviewing two of those shows for SpoilerTV, Chicago PD and Chicago Fire.