New year, new format? Seems to be the case (pun totally intended) for Chicago PD. In the three episodes we’ve seen since the new year began, there’s been a shift in the narrative, and I couldn’t be happier. Sure, it stems from the loss of Antonio, Burgess on patrol, and Ruzek (for the time being), but it’s a much needed adjustment that is already a huge improvement. There was a hefty chunk of personal matters this episode, but before we get into that…
The unit takes a case when a dead man (Sandford Greg), missing his penis (yikes), is found. Tracing his footsteps, the team is led to Emily, the girl who severed Greg’s penis. She’s not the most upstanding citizen, but she also doesn’t seem like a killer. And even though she lies repeatedly in the interrogation room, her assault on Greg is completely justified—he attempted to rape her. You can’t find anyone who has a nice thing to say about Greg, so the fact that he ended up dead isn’t really surprising.
Jay and Rixton are led to the special police, a group hired out to serve as cops on private property. That sounds sketchy, right? What kind of laws do they have to follow? I need to know more. There’s suggestions that the special police might not be operating within the law, and the case shifts to take a closer look at them. Sure enough, one of their new recruits is responsible for Greg’s death, and tries to hang himself as the unit closes in on the truth.
Atwater and Rixton are my MVPs this week. They were hilarious! Atwater, specifically, struggles with the particular appendage the victim lost, and I laughed out loud at almost all of his lines. Don’t get me wrong, I miss Ruzek. His partnership with Atwater is always a bright spot. But Atwater and Rixton also have great chemistry and though I don’t want Adam gone permanently, I think I’d like to see Rixton stick around.
While Atwater and Rixton shined, Burgess flopped. I’m trying hard to be okay with her being in Intelligence, but everything I disliked about her at the start of the series seems to be coming back. I can’t tell if she’s overcompensating to prove herself or if she’s just arrogant and thinks she deserves to be treated like everyone else in the unit. Either way, she drove me crazy this episode, specifically when she was visibly offended when Voight had Olinsky take over interrogating Emily. Burgess, you are new to this! She may have shined as a patrolwoman, but this is a whole new battlefield. The fact is, she has to pay her dues. Like Voight said when she first got upstairs, she has to start with the seemingly smaller things. She’s a great cop, and one day she’ll be a great detective. But those things take time and experience. I will say that I do appreciate her compassion. She earns Emily’s trust and genuinely cares for her. It’s a great quality to have, but I also worry it will be her downfall. She will see some truly horrendous things on the job and come across some of humanity’s worst, and I hope it doesn’t break her.
Elsewhere…
Say what you will about Erin, but the woman’s had a rough life. Things don’t normally go her way, especially where her parents are concerned. In the previous episode, Erin met her father, Jimmy, for the first time. Not only was he not the deadbeat she always thought, but he’s a decent man wanting to get to know his daughter. Jay has wanted to run Jimmy’s DNA pretty much since they first met, but Erin wanted to let it go, even if she was living in a fantasy. But this time, Jay’s insisting not because he doesn’t trust Jimmy, but because he doesn’t trust Bunny. That seems to make Erin agree, so Jay expedites Jimmy’s DNA at the lab. And wouldn’t you know, he’s not her father.
This poor girl. I feel for Erin, I really do. Her cold, “Are you happy?” comment to Jay was completely uncalled for, but it was likely misplaced anger. Erin then directs her anger at Bunny, but it seems Bunny honestly thought Jimmy was Erin’s father too. Did she, though? Or is this Bunny being Bunny? I can’t tell. Whether she knew or not, the anger Erin unleashes on her was a long time coming. But this isn’t about Erin and Bunny, who haven’t really ever gotten along. It isn’t about Erin and Jay, who have their first serious argument since starting their relationship. Somehow, everything comes back to Voight.
I loved Jay and Voight’s interaction this episode. This was the first time since Jay started dating Erin that the two had a conversation about it, and it didn’t feel like a guy approaching his boss, it felt like a guy approaching his girlfriend’s father. “What am I signing up for, in terms of her mom?” Jay asks. Well Jay, Voight knows more than you realize. Bunny’s ranting, as she thinks Voight tested Jimmy’s DNA, leads to her shouting, “You know, I think maybe Erin should run a DNA test on you!” It took me a second, and then my jaw dropped. HOLD. UP. Voight and Bunny? While Voight and Bunny hooking up years ago might be a shock, I don’t think that will lead to the big reveal that Voight is Erin’s dad. There’s just no way, right? That would be to soapy.
We can speculate about the future all we want, but currently, Jimmy thinks Erin was in on a con with Bunny to convince him he had a daughter. That and the events in general understandably get to Erin, and I’m worried. She ignored Jay’s calls and texts all hour and when she does reply, it’s an “I’m fine” text when things are clearly not fine. In the closing moments of the hour, Erin’s friend encourages her to leave Chicago and asks, “What’s stopping you?” Erin doesn’t really answer, but I will. Jay! Voight! She’s not going to leave, there’s no way. But she’s not going to just get over this either.
Line of the night: Atwater needs to brush up on his 80s music
“It’s two ‘Duran’s? I thought that was a misprint.”
What did you think of the episode? Will Burgess thrive in Intelligence? How long will Rixton stay around? How will this latest bombshell affect Erin? Share your thoughts below!
