Chicago P.D. – The Silos

By: Alex Steele

We left “Chicago P.D.” last season mourning the loss of Justin Voight, farewelling Roman and wondering whether or not Voight (Jason Beghe) went through with killing the man responsible for Justin’s murder. So, when the new season premiered this week, the audiences were hoping for (at least) a couple of answers. And I think they got some.

Entitled The Silos the episodes opens on Voight standing over Justin’s grave as flashbacks occur we’re transported back to the trauma and pain of last season. As the flashbacks continue, they come to halt when Erin (Sophia Bush) wakes up with a fright. With a concerned (and shirtless) Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) in bed next to her, Erin assures him she’s okay quickly before checking her phone and leaving abruptly. Erin’s nightmares are to be expected, a symptom of mild PTSD after losing the closest individual she had to a brother. We soon find out the reason she was in such a rush as she had a meeting with Commander Crowley (Barbara Eve Harris) who seems to know a lot of details about the night Voight presumably killed the man responsible for Justin’s death.

Commander Crowley informs Erin that she had their phones traced, with both hers and Voight’s pinging from right there near the silos. Lindsay does a fairly smooth of throwing her off the scent, but when Crowley questions if she “agrees with what Voight did” we see Erin’s resolve shake. And when I say shake, I mean in the subtlest of ways. She continues to be a brick wall, not giving any information up, even when the Commander encourages Erin think for herself for once. She has a point, but Commander we all know Erin Lindsay and Hank Voight are connected in ways even the audience are yet to understand. Soon after, Erin arrives late to the crime scene – Voight noticing and the two sharing a knowing look – where an unknown individual has been burnt inside his vehicle.

The individual, we soon learn, is a young man who had borrowed the car from this father. When the father turns up at the crime scene, having traced his son’s phone, the anguish of the reality hits. If there ever was a case that would have Voight feeling the pinch, it’s this one. Back at the station, Antonio (Jon Seda) and Halstead take the lead questioning the father. He’s unable to offer any information that helps with the case, understandably heartbroken over the death of his son. Meanwhile, next door, Voight and Lindsay have their first verbal exchange and it’s a tiny bit awkward. Erin is stand-offish, doing all she can to avoid eye contact while only responding with one word answers. Downstairs, Burgess (Marina Squerciati) is eager to meet her new partner now that Roman is no longer there. Successfully, stopping Platt (Amy Morton) in her place, she’s about to get the story on her new partner when long behold she arrives. Julie Tay (played by “Quantico” alum Li Jun Li) is Burgess’ new partner having worked before downtown writing parking tickets.

As the team start investigating, Ruzek (Patrick Flueger) and Olinsky (Elias Koteas) are looking through Evan Burner’s (the victim) room when joined by his sister and father. The sister isn’t too receptive to the questions they ask, passionately stating that the CPD is crooked. Olinsky with this adept intuition seems to pick up on the hostility she has towards them and leaves soon after. Out on the streets, Burgess and Tay receive their first call as partners when a woman is heard screaming from a car. They approach on foot, and when they arrive see a man attacking a woman in the back. Burgess pauses a little too long while Tay jumps onto the side of the moving SUV attempting to stop him from getting away. Her attempt should be applauded; however, the driver speeds off throwing Tay to the road. She’s fine and as she and Burgess give chase by car, they find the beaten woman lying on the road. She informs them that he was posing as an Uber driver. Luckily Tay has all that experience writing parking tickets, it may come in handy trying to catch this guy.

It seems as though Lindsay’s attempt to avoid Voight at all costs isn’t happening, especially when he lurks around the corner, scaring her half to death. Avoidance may not be working, but the silent treatment seems to be even when Voight assures her that she can talk to him about anything. The dynamic between these two is one of the greatest parts of the show, with both actors having developed a chemistry that heightens these characters in vulnerability and strength. Re-joining the squad, all sharing a knowing look, Voight tasks them with developing a work-up on Evan’s sister, during which both he and Lindsay receive a calls from Crowley that they refuse to take. In the meantime, Olinsky and Ruzek return to the Burners’ home to take another run at questioning the sister and this time around they discover she was involved in some drug activity. The detective who arrested her – Officer Richie – had said if she cooperated with an undercover drug opportunity she’d not be sent to jail. She took this information to her brother, who insisted he go in her place, but never did she think it would turn out like this.

Working this lead, Lindsay and Halstead arrive to question Officer Richie; initially she’s shocked and apologetic. But when Erin unleashes a whole load of resting bitch face and a passionate monologue, the officer becomes defensive. Halstead, diffusing the situation, eventually gets a name – Connor Wix. He was the target that Evan was with when he died. As Voight continues to struggle, it’s seemingly about to get harder when he arrives home to find Olive packed. She’s leaving for Scottsdale, Arizona, she just can’t be around the house with all the bad memories. Keeping with the theme of moving, Halstead (after reassuring Erin that he is there for her) asks her to move in with him. His offer is equal parts genuine and completely endearing, how can she say no to that? At the hospital, Tay and Burgess continue getting to know one another. Burgess apologizes for her apprehension when firing her weapon after the events of last season and Tay reveals her history with a disrespectful higher ranking commander from her past. I’ve got to say, these two already are my new favorite partnership.

Lindsay is missing in action as the team comes back together to see how the case is progressing, seen at the silos in what was a breathtaking shot. Utilizing a drone to shoot it, we watch as Lindsay stands silently over the place where Voight was seen last season. Eventually, the camera lands on her face, tormented and challenged by her current situation – pulled between head and heart. Back with the team, who have arrested the girlfriend of murder suspect Connnor Wix, we watch as they organize an undercover operation with Nikki to take Connor down. She’s nervous, hilarious at times when insisting on using the word “bananas” and not “crazy.” Nonetheless, she’s ready and the team is in place. She gets in a heated argument with Connor, which helps the squad to get the evidence they need. Unfortunately, though, he makes a run for it but we all know he won’t get far. And he doesn’t, Halstead is there to tackle him to the ground.

With only minutes in the episode left and his team having just apprehended Connor Wix for the murder of Evan, Voight is arrested by Commander Crowley and taken to the silos. As we’ve just seen Lindsay standing in that same spot, the audience would assume that she turned Voight in, right? Well, as Crowley gives Voight the opportunity to come clean, he refuses to budge. Elsewhere, Tay and Burgess finish their shift by giving the assault victim good news but as they leave Tay comes face to face with the Commander who has given her all the bad assignments. He’s overpowering and the stand-off is quietly heated with him offering Tay “good luck” in a way that makes us question his sincerity. He’s creepy and she’s uncomfortable, as a concerned Burgess looks on. Could this be the start of the drama that befalls this new partnership? Checking back in with Voight, Crowley and her team have dug up the ground to find no trace of any body. Disappointment is an understatement as she returns Voight’s gun and is left at a dead end. So where’s the body? Did Voight actually kill him? These are still questions the audience grapples with, that is until he shows up on Lindsay’s doorstep. No words are required in relationships such as this one, where they both know the other intimately. Voight utters the words “thank you” – does this mean Erin helped Voight out somehow? Regardless, she responds by saying that Voight saved her life and that she’s always looked forward to saving his. And with that, Jason Beghe continues to break out hearts as he dissolves into tears, admitting that Erin is all he has left.