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Chicago PD - The Song Of Gregory Williams Yates - Review

Feb 16, 2016

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“I’ve been thinking a lot about Cain and Abel, you know, if they were the only descendants of Adam and Eve. And Cain killed Abel…well, you know what that means, don’t you? We’re all descendants of a murderer.”

In case you didn’t catch the first hour of the crossover with SVU, here’s what you missed…

Remember Greg Yates? That name should ring a bell, as he was the serial killer last season who killed Nadia. He starts the SVU hour of the crossover in a New York prison, but soon escapes with another convict. Chicago PD’s Lindsay and Dawson join Olivia Benson and Co. in New York to track them down. While they do find one of the men, Yates remains at large. Erin almost had him, but is instead left with a note that says, “See you back home, Erin.” So now the hunt for Greg Yates continues in Chicago…

While it’s clear Yates is trying to taunt Erin and possibly get her alone, Erin refuses to believe it. It’s not long before Yates begins his killing spree again, claiming four victims (all nurses) within the first few minutes of the hour. The strange thing is, the four victims don’t match his MO. After hearing about the triple homicide, Olivia and Fin are on the next flight out.

Yates soon kidnaps another girl, a redheaded woman in her forties. This is yet another deviation from his MO, further frustrating and confusing the team. He also continues to taunt Erin and sends a mysterious package (a severed hand with a note) for her. He’s tracking her, and their video chat reveals his kidnapped victim Nellie Carr to still be alive. Yates filmed their chat in Erin’s apartment, and the team (minus Erin) finds Nellie in the closet, alive, when they search it.

Olivia and Erin talk with Nellie and discover Yates is obsessed with “home”. When she hears Nellie’s maiden was Williams, making her given name Penelope Williams, she makes a connection. That name was searched by Yates. Ruzek soon finds, “Nellie grew up Penelope Williams to parents Susan and Michael Williams here in Chicago…they also had a son by the name of Gregory.”

Antonio and Halstead talk with Susan, who tells them that Greg as a child was just as disturbing as Greg as an adult. Out of fear for their yet-to-be-born daughter Nellie, Susan and Michael gave Greg up for adoption. Susan is who Greg keeps “killing” when he kills each of his victims: a mid-twenties brunette.

While the team makes the connection and prepares to go to Susan’s house, Yates finds his birth father, Michael, and kidnaps him. Everyone except for Erin heads out to Susan’s house, but just after they do, Erin and Nellie get another video chat from Yates back at the district. He has his dad at their childhood home, obviously. This was weird to me, because for these detectives who are usually on point, I didn’t understand why going to the childhood home wasn’t their first thought. It’s the place tied to Yates, unlike Susan’s current home. Of course, this misdirection allows Erin to go out and meet Yates on her own, exactly what she wanted.


So naturally, Erin goes alone against Voight’s orders. Her confrontation with Yates is a tense one as Michael’s life literally hangs in the balance. He confesses to her that the pregnant fiancĂ© he had who was murdered was not the trigger for him to begin killing, but rather his first kill. Yates extremely intelligent and never confessed until now. Much like Benson said earlier in the hour, that makes me think he doesn’t plan on making it out alive. Sure enough, Yates lets Michael fall, which kills him, and he approaches Erin, taunting her.
“You, my lovely, you get to tell this story. You write my name down in a police report. You talk to the press, you testify in court. You are my balladeer singing the song of Gregory Williams Yates over, and over, and over.”
From just outside the room, Voight hears the gunshot and enters to see Yates dead on the floor.

Later, Olivia and Erin close out the night at Molly’s. “Is it wrong that I’m kind of relieved that I’m the one who killed him?” Erin asks. Olivia tells Erin about a former case, apparently similar to what Erin is going through now. She basically says it’s not something you get over, but rather something you just continue to deal with. It’s too bad these two aren’t on the same show, I think they would be an excellent pair. They are very similar, it seems, (I’m not as familiar with SVU as I would like), and Olivia would be the perfect role model and mentor for Erin.

I was thrilled when I first heard they were bringing back Greg Yates. One of my biggest (and only) complaints regarding this show is that cases and storylines are typically wrapped up within one episode. I love when cases aren’t closed perfectly, when they last a few episodes, or like this week, when a past case comes back. And out of all the criminals to make a reappearance, I’m glad they chose Yates. He’s terrifying and one of the worst they’ve dealt with, but he sure is fascinating. Props to Dallas Roberts and the fantastic job he did bringing this character to life.

The most interesting part of the case this week for me was the dynamic between Voight and Lindsay. It’s no secret they have a father/daughter relationship, but we typically see that outside of work. This was the first time we saw Voight treat her like a daughter to this extent on the job. He doesn’t leave her side in the field, and it doesn’t take long for him to restrict her to the district.

Is it just me or are things a little chilly between Halstead and Lindsay? Several times, he tries to check in with her and the tension is definitely there. We haven’t had any romantic updates with these two since they agreed to be a couple (but maybe not?) leaving Molly’s that one night. And in case you’re curious, I went back and looked, that episode aired at the end of October. How have we not had any updates?!


What did you think of the episode? Did you enjoy revisiting a past case? How will this affect Erin? Share your thoughts below!


About the Author - Meghan Reynolds
A Colorado native, Meghan was born a raised a Denver Broncos fan. Aside from football, she loves television and some might say watches too much of it. Some of her favorite shows of the past and present include Galavant, The Blacklist, The Office, Veronica Mars, The 100, and Gilmore Girls. She reviews Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med for SpoilerTV.