Chicago PD - Donde Vives - Review

This week’s Chicago PD is all about Dante Torres, but it still packed quite a punch in more ways than one. 

 

Dante is the new kid, being shown the ropes and welcomed into Intelligence with open arms as he should be. He is nota replacement for Jay Halstead, and I feel like that is something that needs to be said. He is his own character, and a good one at that, adding something new to the series that viewers haven’t had in a while. 

When we first met Dante last season, he was quiet, guarded, and not easily trusting of those around him. And while he still is all those things, he’s not on his own now. He’s part of a team that time and time again shows their support and loyalty, and the dynamic of camaraderie amongst that team really shines through all throughout the hour. 

 

No one entirely addresses the elephant in the room that is Jay Halstead being gone though. There are concerned glances and a few quiet words, but you can feel his absence and it hurts. It hurts a lot. And though we don’t see much of Hailey and the aftermath of that departure in this episode, she does give us this: “People are a lot of things. You might not know her as good as you think you do.”

We know she’s talking to Dante about the victim, but I can’t help feeling like it was a sly dig at her husband too in a way, one that stings even if it is true. Her and Jay are still married, and they do love each other, but he did leave her for another job in another country without discussing it with her beforehand. She’s allowed to feel anger and resentment and disagree with his decision while still loving and supporting him at the same time. 

As much as it hurts that Jay isn’t around, I was more than happy to see Dante and Kevin paired up together in this one. Kevin is just as good a mentor as Jay would have been. He has a good head on his shoulders, always has. He keeps things real and will never steer you wrong. He’s also been where Dante is, having to choose between his found family on the job and a real one at home, and sometimes those lines aren’t always as black and white as they should be. There’s a very messy grey area, one that Dante finds himself falling into in this episode, but Kevin is there. Offering advice and having his back, and it’s clear that Dante isn’t used to that at all. Having someone in his corner who gets where he’s coming from, gets where he’s been, who is also a cop just like him. It sets up a solid bond between the two that I really hope will be explored throughout the rest of the season. 

Even though Dante finds himself in that grey area, he handles himself extremely well given the circumstances. He must choose between being the guy from his neighborhood who people know they can go to for help, and the guy who is a cop that has a job to do. He can’t always be both, and when he does make his choice, he does so with a level of integrity that is incredibly refreshing to see on this show again. 

It’s worth mentioning again that Dante is a good addition to the team, and Benjamin Levy Aguilar is to the show too. He is a true powerhouse of an actor that really goes for it in every moment we see him onscreen. He’s brought this new character to life in such a beautiful way. A character with a good heart, who does things with the best intentions, and even though he ended up in a sticky spot, he still did what was right. You can’t help but cheer him on and want the best for him. 

I do worry for him though with how the episode ended. PD has a track record of reopening old wounds, of revisiting things from the past believed to be resolved, and I can’t help but wonder if the beatdown Dante gave at the end of the hour will come back to bite him somehow. I certainly hope not. 

 

This was a strong episode for me overall, one that was done well and one I really enjoyed even if the concern I have for the future of PD and how things have been handled storyline wise is still very much present. As nervous as I am to see what the rest of this season has in store for us, I’m also really excited too, and hopeful for more episodes like this one!

 

Chicago PD airs on Wednesdays on NBC.