Chicago PD - A War Zone - Review

“You take your chances, we’ll take ours.”

Missed opportunity. That’s what this episode felt like for me. I’ve said it a million times now, but I really think this show would benefit from stretching cases out over a few episodes. This episode had so much good in it, but unfortunately, not enough time to do each bit justice. Each storyline this episode was excellent, but left me feeling as if we didn’t get quite enough of each piece. So before we get into each character’s bit, here’s what’s happening with the case this week…

Erin and Jay pay a visit to Chicago Med where Will lets them know there’s been quite a few patients admitted because of fentanyl overdoses. Shortly after, a badly-beaten body washes up on shore, though the deceased doesn’t have fentanyl in his system. Mouse IDs the body as Tyler Clarendon, and Olinsky and Antonio are tasked with the burden of telling his mom (who already lost her daughter a few years before). What’s worse is they have to tell Tyler’s mom that he was involved in something shady, which is likely what led to his death.

Ruzek and Atwater track down Tony Chin, who has a connection to Tyler. He’s a “normal” college kid with a lawyer on retainer, so he’s definitely hiding something. The team is soon led to Walter Ng, a major crime boss they’ve been unable to touch for years. Tony happens to be Ng’s nephew, and ends up taking the fall for everything. Voight does have a confrontation with Ng, and I’d expect to see him again soon.

This was an interesting case that if spread out across a few episodes, could have been incredible. Instead, we were given too many moving parts in a short amount of time. Instead of establishing a dominant crime boss, Ng’s introduction felt rushed and underwhelming. Seriously, how do we suggest this to the writers?

A nice side product of the otherwise convoluted case was Olinsky’s sympathy with Tyler’s mom. She already buried one child, which is one child too many. To have to bury another, especially knowing he was caught up with unseemly things, is tragic. It was touching to see the typical stoic Olinsky give the money to Tyler’s mom for his burial.

Elsewhere…

“I think he’s carrying around a lot of guilt that we made it home safe and friends of ours didn’t.”

Mouse is still determined to go back to the Rangers, but needs that felony on his record wiped to do so. Surprisingly, Voight hasn’t agreed to do him that favor. In return, Mouse has an icy attitude, which actually leads to Mouse ignoring an order from Voight. Gutsy! Jay is against Mouse’s return to the war, but mostly because he doesn’t understand the desire.

This was a goldmine of a storyline, one that definitely didn’t receive the time it deserved. Honestly, this could (and should) have been the majority of an episode. Instead, it was given a background spot and felt incredibly rushed. Mouse’s icy attitude, whatever its intention, came off as petulant and made me mad. I get that he wants to go back and serve his country, but not doing your current job, one that saves lives, is unacceptable. Perhaps if this story was given a bit more time, we (or maybe just I) would have been more sympathetic to Mouse’s demeanor.

Mouse’s desire to return to the war was also the perfect opportunity to explore Jay’s past in the military. But was that explored? Not even a little. We learned nothing that we didn’t already know. What a waste. We’ve known for quite some time that there’s tragedy in Jay’s military past, but we’ve yet to learn what that is. The confrontation between Jay and Mouse was easily the best scene of the episode, and resulted in Mouse yelling, “I was born to be a soldier…when it comes down to it, I’ll die one!” Chills. Just, chills. Incredible performances by both Samuel Hunt and Jesse Lee Soffer.

In the end, it’s actually Platt who wipes Mouse’s record, not Voight. And thanks to Erin, Jay comes around to Mouse’s side of things and gives him his blessing. So long, Mouse! Please don’t die.

“Be ready.”

Burgess and Tay nearly hit a young boy (Chase) who wanders into the street, covered in blood. He’s not hurt, but the officers follow the boy into his house where his dad as a knife sticking out of his neck. He claims his ex-wife is crazy and stabbed him, but something tells me that’s not the whole story. While Burgess and Tay sort things out, Chase waits at the station with Platt, who proves yet again how awesome she is. It’s a good thing the officers continue to investigate, because the crazy ex-wife isn’t so crazy. She didn’t stab her ex-husband, he stabbed himself.

Well, at least for the time being, Officer Tay is no longer partners with Burgess. Despite Platt’s best efforts, Tay was reassigned to her previous post. I hope this story doesn’t end here, because Tay deserves better. I can’t be the only one who wants to see that Captain get what’s coming to him, right? I also loved the partnership between Burgess and Tay. They make a great team! But even if Tay does manage to come back to 21, Burgess’ move up to Intelligence is on the horizon. Which brings me to, why? Yes, Burgess’ move to Intelligence has been coming since the start of the show. And with Antonio’s move to Justice just around the corner, there will be a spot open. But having her on patrol brings a great dynamic to the show. I think she’ll do great in Intelligence, but I’m not happy about her going there.

Line of the night: Ruzek and Atwater meet Tony
“Don’t act as stupid as that haircut makes you look.”

What did you think of the episode? Will we see Ng or Mouse again? When will we find out about Jay’s military background, if ever? How will Burgess’ move up to Intelligence change the show’s dynamic? 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, Blindspot, The Office, Veronica Mars, The 100, and Gilmore Girls. She reviews Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, and Chicago Med for SpoilerTV.

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