Chicago P.D. 9×06 “End of Watch” focuses on Adam Ruzek, but it doesn’t just focus on him, it does a great deal to highlight the man he is, the influences he’s had, and more importantly, the man he wants to become. And though there are sure to be some bumps ahead, the last part seems sort of prophetic considering what we know is coming.
Of all the characters in the Intelligence Unit, Adam has always been positioned as the one that sides with Voight, the one that “gets him.” And though the show has done a great deal to showcase the lack of male authority figures in Adam’s life, it’s never shown as clear a parallel between that void and Adam’s decisions till this episode.
And yet, I think the most important thing this episode does is establish Adam as a person with a choice. Sure, he argued against truth when Kim presented it to him, because deep down he wanted to believe in his friend, but he didn’t waver once the truth was made clear. He made the right choice.
The one his family would be proud of.
Because another thing this episode does is clearly establish Adam as part of a family unit. Burzek as a couple, that’s something the show surely has to revisit. Something fans absolutely deserve to see, and even more importantly than that, something that two people in their position would end up discussing sooner rather than later, if nothing else because the sexual tension is getting unbearable. But whether Adam is part of the family unit Kim and Makayla have formed is no longer a question.
They’re a family, and wherever Kim and Makayla are, that’s Adam’s home. Simple as that.
Now the question is, what does that change for Adam going forward. How can he be the man he wants to be, the man his little girl could be proud of? What decisions will Chicago P.D. throw at him now so he can actually prove he truly is the person she can look up to? Because this is TV, and something is coming his way for sure.
Personally, I hope it’s all coming back to Voight. We presumably don’t know where Jay and Hailey stand, but truly, we know where Hailey and Jay stand, and we also know that, wherever they stand, they stand together. They were moving in sync this episode, and Hailey looked like she’d gotten some good sleep, which presumably she wouldn’t have gotten if she were worried Jay was going to dump her. So, I’m going to assume all is mostly okay there, because that’s what I want to assume, and that’s what makes sense.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, now comes the rest of the unit. And this episode proves that, wherever Kim goes, Adam will follow. Even if, deep down, I think he will understand, or at least think he understands what Voight did. Even if, deep down, I think his respect for the wrong authority figure will have Adam thinking that he’s gotta stick up for Voight, as Voight has done for him.
Let’s set aside that Voight only does things like that when it pleases him. You want to tell yourself he does it because he cares about his people? I have a bridge to sell you. Voight doesn’t truly care about anyone but himself. He treats his unit, the people he’s supposed to see as his family, as his personal lackeys. He doesn’t want to lose them, but that doesn’t mean he loves them.
Boden he is not. And he’s never tried to be.
For Hailey, that’s obvious. For Jay too. There might come a time when everyone in the unit has to reckon with their toxic relationship with the man they’ve covered up for, the man they all see as an ally, a friend, a mentor. Will Adam be able to? It won’t be easy, but I have to believe this episode proves the answer is yes. If not, what would be the point? Tell me, what?
Things I think I think:
- Daddy Adam is the BEST ADAM.
- Voight has never met a rule he’s okay following.
- He’s literally trailed his people to believe rules aren’t things that apply to them, and it’s disgusting.
- Trudy being a mom is A+.
- Adam and Kim are truly like an old married couple.
- Hailey looks like she’s gotten some SLEEP. So, I’m just gonna assume all is well with Upstead.
- This entire episode had me dreading what I knew was coming.
- Adam trusting Kim over anyone kinda ties back to my prediction that, if push came to shove, and Adam was forced to choose between Kim and Voight, the choice was gonna be clear. We’re a long way from that, but …it’s looking more and more clear to me what Adam’s priorities are, what they’ve always truly been.
- Rules must be followed! Except when I say they shouldn’t! – Voight, probably.
- Chicago Fire has all the good parental-type figures. Can one of them come give Adam a hug?
- Mouch, preferably, if Trudy is playing mom.
- If looks could kill, Jay Halstead would have murdered Hank Voight.
- Kinda sad they can’t.
- YOU HAVE ME.
- AND YOU HAVE MAKAYLA.
- LET’S GO HOME.
- I swear, this found family storyline is the best thing this show has done for Burzek. I’m actually invested.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Chicago P.D. 9×06 “End of Watch”? Share with us in the comments below!
Chicago P.D. airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.
I will start by saying I have never liked Adam. From the very first episode when they pulled Adam from the Chicago Police Academy (before his training was complete) because they needed someone to do undercover work, he was a yes man. He was raised in a cop family and taught that it was us (cops) against everyone else (citizens), but it was even more than that. Adam’s dad was a 9 to 5 cop who kept his head down and just did the minimum he needed to do so he could get home each night to his family, Adam wanted to define himself differently. He wanted to be an old-school cop that did whatever he had to get the job done. He wanted to be a “ends justify the means cop” that played by the same rules as the bad guys. The problem is, that kind of thinking makes you a bad guy too, just a bad guy playing for another team. To be a good police officer you have to have integrity and a belief that the rules apply to everyone including cops. You have to understand that it’s much more difficult to be a cop than a bad guy because you have to follow the rules. The bad guys have the advantage, because they don’t have rules they need to follow, so it’s not a level playing field.
Adam has always been a guy who walks the line between cop and bad guy because he patterned himself after his first examples of what he always thought cops should be, Hank & Alvin (his first partner). Thoughout the seasons he has stepped over the line several times to get the job done and he was always a wildcard. You never knew which side of the line he would be on. I think now he has finally turned a corner and chosen the correct side, Kim’s side.
That being said, this means that he is also taking Jay’s side, because as has been made clear in several other episode, Kim and Kevin have always looked to Jay for what to do when they don’t know if Voight is the right guy to follow. Like Jay, Kim and Kevin are wired though the heart and it makes them good people, and as an extension good cops. The three of them put the citizens first when it comes to policing and do the job right. Hailey, hasn’t always done so, but being Jay’s partner and wanting to be with him personally as well as professionally, she has slowly changed. The only real holdout was Adam, he was still firmly in the Voight camp, until this last episode. Having another of his mentors (Ortiz) fall from grace (Alvin already died because of Voight) and Kim coming to the bar to get him and take him “home” was what he needed to finally see the light. Kim and Makayla come first.
Now what needs to happen is Jay needs to get everyone together secretly after shift and have them listen to Hailey tell them what happened the night Roy was killed and how Voight set Hailey up. Kevin who has never crossed the line, even when Voight tried to get him to kill an unarmed man who was threatening Kevin’s family. Kevin will understand how she was manipulated because Voight tried to manipulate Kevin too. Kim will feel relief that Roy is dead, but know that it should have been done the right way instead. She may have resentment towards Hailey for not telling her right away, but she will forgive her. Adam was the only one who would have defended Voight, but I think now that he knows he has Kim, has had a relationship with Hailey, and the fact that he obviously respects Jay and apparently thinks Jay is perfect (reflecting on his question to Hailey from episode 4 of this season) he will see that Voight can’t be trusted.
How this will all get resolved is a big question in my mind because Voight can’t be written off the show. He is the antagonist to Jay’s protagonists and so how the writers will find a peaceful resolution between Jay and Voight is unclear to me. The bottom line is that Voight still has Haley’s bullets and can turn on her to save himself from the FBI investigation. What will Jay do to save his partner? Will he make a deal with the devil to save Hailey? I am very interested to find out, because if there was one thing in the world that could make Jay compromise his ethics, it would be to save Hailey.