While the season was somewhat disappointing overall, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that as it nears its end, they are pulling out all the stops.
Could Chicago PD Season 11 Episode 12 be the best episode of the season so far? This is a likely possibility!
For starters, despite some focus on Hailey, as we see a lot of things from her point of view, the hour actually featured the entire team, and they were all used.
It’s been so long since the show’s team was together in an episode!
Ruzek finally emerged from the wormhole he had disappeared into, and it was a magnificent sight for sore eyes.
So beautiful. Yum.
We understand the budgetary constraints that contributed to this problematic casting change and sidelining that we cannot support.
However, an episode like this is a perfect example of why the show is much stronger when all the characters are introduced and get to work as the unit they are meant to be.
We got so many delicious shots of them being badass, doing effective police work, and bouncing details and theories off each other.
That moment when they finally figured out who the killer was and everything came together was so exciting.
There was a girl pumping her fist as she surely will once the Olympics air.
The film was well shot, everyone having their moment and the camera changing; it worked and fell into place.
It was one of many sublime shots, and credit goes to Chicago PD alumnus Jesse Lee Soffer, who took another turn in the director’s chair and reminded us that perhaps he had more ‘a vocation.
Seriously, he killed it. This was a wonderfully designed and shot episode.
One of the best things about an actor who chooses to direct, especially one who is familiar with the source material after years on the other end of the camera, is that they know how to make things organic – all the little nuances that bring things together. together, showcasing the characters well and making things work.
But alas, back to the action, and there was so much of it.
He knew we would be there! Can we find his radio?
Voight
It started off a little slow as we were drawn back into the vortex of Hailey and Petrovic and their unusual but vulnerable dynamic.
Petrovic is not a bad character. She has some fascinating moments.
And I love what Bojana Novakovic brings to the role. It’s a different energy than we’re used to on the show.
But we had too many Petrovics. We spent more time with her than we did with some of the main characters.
We definitely spent more time with her than we did with Trudy and Ruzek.
Are we leading up to something happening to her in the finale, or does this mean she’ll have a bigger role when Hailey leaves?
It’s hard to say, but we’ve definitely done a lot of character development for this recurring character, and I still don’t know what to do with it.
Petrovic served as a mirror for Hailey and is one of the only people who managed to achieve this.
This gave us more information about Hailey, and was the main way they arranged for Hailey to leave.
It’s through Petrovic that we learn more about Hailey’s mental state and follow how she still struggles with demons that won’t go away.
And the shocking thing is that a woman who keeps the most distance allowed this woman to enter.
I think I understand. Small changes. You have a family here. Voight…
Petrovich
Since then, she’s had to deal with some things, like the fact that punishing herself by running around trying to sleep is on par with Petrovic’s or her father’s alcoholism and addiction.
Petrovic pointed out that the job falls on Hailey’s family, which is why she has been so attached to it for so long, but also Voight’s.
We started the season with a series heavily focused on the connection between Voight and Hailey, and we will end it that way too.
The parallels with Halstead’s departure aren’t lost either.
Halstead left, in part because of his relationship with Voight and what she did to him.
I’m at Voight’s. Voight isn’t here. Something is wrong. I think he was taken away.
Hailey
It’s safe to say Hailey will do the same without Jay’s negative connotations.
They don’t even hide how much Hailey has imprinted this father figure on Voight.
She is the one who checks in with him and vice versa.
They understand each other more deeply because of their similarity.
She’s the one who knows something is wrong when he doesn’t answer the phone and goes looking for her at his house.
And when our serial killer goes through his routine and asks Voight to call someone he likes, well, all signs point to Hailey being that person.
After all, he doesn’t have anyone else, does he?
His people continue to leave him or be taken from him, and this season has shown us more glimpses of his loneliness, isolation, and longing.
This is why Noah’s loss buried him so deeply in this matter; he couldn’t get some air.
Voight has been alone, as has Hailey in many ways, but they have been together in that loneliness.
The serial killer case consumed them, so it’s great that we got the breakthrough we needed for that.
Naturally, we knew the season finale would come down to this.
The most significant break in their case after months was the poor soul that was Kiki.
She had all the information she needed and knew how to negotiate what she needed.
The second she said the serial killer was a cop and shared undisclosed details to the public, it all made sense.
For Frank to escape attention as well as he managed to do, he had to be either a cop or a neighbor.
But the second she said that, it put her in grave danger.
From the moment she announced that while she was in an interrogation room, her time was up.
I now have his name! You remove my burdens; I’ll give you his name. Hey! The serial killer is a cop. He’s a fucking cop!
Keke
Worse yet, she ran away from them when they caught up with her and Hailey said she was a delinquent on an open line like she did.
If Kiki thought a cop was a serial killer, it made sense to run from the police.
Then she found herself in an apartment with an incredibly long back and forth with Hailey in front of a damn window.
Nothing good would come of her position, and it wasn’t even a question of if she would get shot, but when.
It took a long time for this to happen, but it happened.
Kristin Dodson did a fantastic job during the scene leading up to Kiki’s death.
Her pleas for witness protection touched the heart because you could sense that she was a young woman who yearned to escape a shitty life where she had become a victim of circumstance.
She yearned for things that many people take for granted, and her whole face lit up at the prospect of getting something as simple as a nice house somewhere far from the city and the violence.
This made her death all the more heartbreaking because she felt like she didn’t stand a chance.
A rose out of the concrete, trampled too soon.
His death was heartbreaking and you could see how much it affected Hailey.
It’s obvious that work is catching up with her, and I don’t know if she has the emotional fortitude to keep doing it.
Spiridakos does a good job in these small moments.
The prospect of the killer being one of their own chilled them. And every second was intense.
Burgess exploring the building alone for the sniper was nerve-wracking.
Anytime this woman is alone, it’s enough to make a person worry.
And Ruzek passing this cop was enough to make you hold your breath, because even knowing that their suspect may have been a cop, Ruzek instinctively trusts his fellow cops and doesn’t take the caution the situation demands.
Meanwhile, Voight sitting in a police bar while reviewing a file and focusing on this case despite knowing their attacker was a cop (or cop-adjacent) was a choice.
This led to the scene where he looked at those around him and felt like they were all looking at him.
He felt like any of them could have been the person they were trying to catch.
Frank being a shift guard was a nice twist, but not as twisted as the man himself.
It’s disturbing to see what people will put up with, from John hearing this man say scary things about torture to Frank’s wife being so naive about her husband.
But it’s discreet enough to go unnoticed, making it the perfect killer.
At one point at the bar, he must have drugged Voight.
This part seemed a bit contrived because it never made sense for Voight to go there in the first place.
Then things got even scarier when Voight stumbled into his house, clearly drugged, throwing his keys near that photo of him and Olinksy and collapsing to the floor.
Our fearless leader is now a victim, which is a change of pace for this series.
We’re so used to everyone catching hell and Voight walking around in a leather jacket wrapped in plot armor.
It is never implied that Voight might one day be a victim as well.
And that sets us up for an epic season finale.
The group’s chronic loner and father figure will realize that his team will do everything in their power to save him before it’s too late!
I’m at Voight’s. Voight isn’t here. Something is wrong. I think he was taken away.
Hailey
Over to you, Chicago PD Fanatics.
Was this the best episode of the season so far? How do you think Hailey will leave the show?
Will they get to Voight in time? Sound off below!
The season finale of Chicago PD airs Wednesday at 10/9c on NBC. You can stream on Peacock.
Blue Jasmine is a senior writer for TV Fanatic. She’s an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings watching way too many shows and drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer who appreciates complex characters, diverse portrayals, dynamic duos, captivating stories and guilty pleasures. You’ll definitely find her live-tweeting obsessively, waxing poetic, and chatting with other fanatics and readers. Follow her on.
