Chicago PD - Some Friend - Review

“We’ve all got skin in the game.”

In the penultimate episode before the fall finale, Olinsky finally got the spotlight! This was one of the strongest episodes of the season, so hopefully that’s a sign of things to come. Let’s get into the case…

While responding to a disturbance call, Burgess and her new partner, Sorenson, find the body of a girl in the mansion of a former baseball player, Jake McCoy. There’s no sign of forced entry, but the place was robbed. Jake’s not home, but Intelligence does find a framed picture of Jake with a good friend…one Alvin Olinsky. There are immediately a few red flags raised regarding Jake, like a history of questionable activities with underage girls, the fact that his lawyer knew he was out of town, and that his daughter lied about Jake’s time of arrival at her apartment the night of the murder.

And yet, you want to believe Jake is innocent. He’s reformed his image and genuinely seems to care about helping others, specifically girls stuck in a life of prostitution. He did know the deceased, a girl named Maya, who he was counseling. Olinsky also vouches for Jake, but can we trust his word? That’s certainly the question this episode frames, and we see that specifically play out through Antonio. He’s immediately skeptical of Olinsky’s involvement in the case and his ability to maintain an unbiased position. Rightfully so, as we’ve seen that Olinsky toes the line between legal and illegal just as much as Voight.

Jake is convincing with his argument that Maya’s pimp should be the primary suspect, but that just seems to easy. Things start to fall apart for Jake when his alibi doesn’t check out and his former employee, Freddie, tells a few lies. Jake found out that Maya had been stealing from him and gave her a shove, one that ended with her death. It wasn’t intentional, but it was his fault. He enlisted Freddie to help with the cover-up, and while Jake went to his daughter’s, Freddie made it all look like a robbery.

The real story though is Olinsky. This case has him fired up, more than we’ve ever seen him. Is it because he’s wondering if he was really a friend of Jake’s, or was he just the cop in a rich guy’s pocket? Or maybe he’s on edge because of the DUI he should have given Jake a while back, one that would’ve had Jake behind bars and consequently, Maya alive? Perhaps it’s both, and it’s that even after doing the job for longer than most, you’ll still find yourself faced with mistakes and regrets.

Elsewhere…

“I was like a dog on a bone, I never let go…I was gonna chase him to the ends of the Earth.”

Platt sends Burgess and Sorenson to check out a sandwich burglar (and assaulter, allegedly). Between Tay and now Sorenson, Burgess is getting some great partners! While I miss Tay and hope we haven’t seen the last of her, I like Sorenson. You know who else does? Platt. They already have a fist bump thing going. Near the scene, Burgess and Sorenson find a woman in an alley, eating the stolen sandwich. She’s spritely, which makes sense when Burgess finds out she’s a former cop. Vicki used to live in St Louis, and inadvertently caused the death of a mother and children while going after a suspect in a car chase. It’s easy to forget that while cops do catch the bad guys, they have a high-risk job. With great risk comes great reward, but also great loss. Though Vicki didn’t intentionally cause those deaths, it’s something she’ll live with forever. I love the camaraderie Burgess feels with fellow cops, as she shows solidarity by spending the night in lock-up with Vicki.

“I swear to god I didn’t send these. Damn sure gonna find out who did, though.”

Halstead was motivated to do a bit of investigating on his own this hour. When Erin receives a bouquet of daisies from an unknown sender, Jay resolves to find out who they came from. What I love is that his desire to find the sender didn’t seem to come from a place of jealousy, but concern. He has no reason to be jealous, as his relationship with Erin has never been better. But concern? That’s definitely allowed. Especially when your girlfriend receives flowers and a blank card. Erin later receives a call from someone who quickly hangs up, but sees the number comes from a city in Kansas. It happens to be the same city Jay traced the florist to, and we have a potential stalker! Oh, but perhaps not. Jay finds the “creeper” has been caught and send to Leavenworth, which happens to be where Erin’s father did time. It looks like we’ll meet him soon! While it will be interesting to see that reunion, I think I’m more excited to see the meeting with Voight.

If you’re thinking ahead, you’ve probably realized that Antonio’s time in the Intelligence unit is just about up. The fall finale, a two-hour episode, would be the perfect time to explore his transition. So, what will be the proverbial straw to break the camel’s back? The seed was planted several weeks ago, when Antonio casually mentioned he’d seen enough of the doom and gloom of their job. Add that with his skepticism this week regarding Olinsky and I think we’re nearly there. From the very beginning, Antonio was the “good cop” to Voight’s “bad cop” and the moral compass of the show. I’ve said it before, but that role has been occupied by Halstead for a while now. It was interesting to see Antonio question Olinsky’s integrity for nearly the entire episode while Halstead was quick to position himself on Olinsky’s side. Moving forward, especially without Antonio, Halstead will likely find himself in the moral position often.

Line of the night: Platt mixes business with pleasure
“If after a proper investigation of this crime you were to bring back a pastrami on rye with honey mustard, I’d leave that to your discretion.”


What did you think of the episode? How long will Olinsky be absent from the unit? What will spark Antonio to leave? When will we meet Erin’s dad? Share your thoughts below!