‘Chicago P.D.’ 10×09 Review “Proof of Burden”

Chicago P.D. 10×09 “Proof of Burden” is both a decent episode that closes a huge storyline and attempts to unpack a little bit of the trauma that has shaped Hailey Upton, and an utterly confounding hour that tries to make these characters three-dimensional, and instead just makes them fickle, at best. When characters are forced to behave in ways that fit the plot, and there’s no overall plan for that plot, we end up where Chicago P.D. is. And it’s not pretty.

The good part of the hour is, of course, Tracy Spiridakos’ Hailey Upton. For Hailey, this case has been personal from the beginning, and it’s not because of Sean as much as it is because of the girls. Hailey has always seen herself in his victims, because in many ways, she has also been a victim, she has also felt lonely and lost. And just because Hailey was lucky enough not to end up where these girls did, that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t recognize that place.

But that’s not all of it – and it shouldn’t be. Hailey also wants justice because that’s who she is. She’s a good person who believes in justice, and her hesitation at the end doesn’t take away from that. In fact, her hesitation at the end is inherently human and yet framed in a way that feels like the show doesn’t really understand the character they have created. We are not black and white, we are all shades of grey, and the exploration of those shades of grey is infinitely interesting. But just as there’s an internal logic to people, there must be one to fictional characters — and that’s what the show is missing.

Unprocessed trauma

The thing we gotta remember about Hailey is that we have never really seen her deal with much of her trauma. We saw her find a partner, someone who could help her shoulder her burdens. But that didn’t mean she dealt with her past, much less the scars left because of it. It meant she could breathe again, perhaps push it aside and feel stronger, but she never truly dealt with it. And with Jay now gone, even momentarily, all that baggage she could easily carry before feels way heavier. 

In many ways, Sean is a way of dealing with some things. Of looking at them in the face. Of doing something for others that she feels she didn’t do for herself. And that’s why, in the end, everything in Hailey rebels against the idea of saving Sean, a man who doesn’t deserve her compassion or her help. In the end, she snaps out of it and helps. But it’s hard to blame her for not doing so right away. Would we in her position? It’s easy to say yes, but that’s a very black-and-white way of seeing things and life, and people, rarely are. 

Of course, there are good stories to come out of that hesitation, stories of Hailey having to face not just the fact that she saved Sean, but how that ties to the guilt she carries about her father, and perhaps even about Jay. Stories of Hailey realizing she’s not responsible for someone else’s absolution, just hers. Will Chicago P.D. be able to tell that story? Do they even want to? I’m not quite sure. I guess it depends on how painful they can make it, because they sure do love to put these characters in the most gut-wrenching situations, even if there’s no real follow-through. 

An unearned moral high ground

Chicago P.D. 10×09 “Proof of Burden” puts Hank Voight, albeit momentarily, on the moral high ground, and it’s as absurd as it is unnecessary. Clearly, the people who love Voight don’t love him because he’s a conventional good guy, as he has never been that. So that the show decides every so often that he is – can be – the moral guy who does things by the book, is as baffling as the fact that only he (and since he’s fictional, that basically means no one) understands what cases are worth going off the reservation and what cases aren’t.

There’s a real feeling to Voight pleading with his friend to see who his son truly is, and it’s not even that surprising that he moves to save Sean at the end – it is the right thing to do at the moment, even if Sean isn’t exactly the guy you want to save. There’s just no logic whatsoever to who Voight thinks deserves to be saved and who doesn’t. Hell, some people even deserve to die by his hand! But only he, Hank Voight, gets to make that decision. The moment someone else tries to, that’s wrong.

For Voight, there is no moral high ground. Ever. There’s no reality where this show turns him into something resembling a hero. There’s no way this story ever gets to a point where we truly believe he means well all the time, even when he makes mistakes. We’re in Season 10. That ship long ago sailed. And the show would do well to stop trying to bring it back.

Things I think I think:

• It’s truly hard to know who to root for when it’s Voight and Not-Red-John boss.
• But the HYPOCRISY of Hank Voight is a lot to deal with.
• This isn’t a graphic episode, but it’s still hard to watch. Hats off to Tracy Spiridakos, because her acting is what takes the episode to that uncomfortable level. And honestly, this subject should make us uncomfortable.
• “Do you think this is going to save you? Do you think this might stop the pain”?
• It can’t hurt, honestly. 
• This show is sometimes a poster child for what’s wrong with policing.
• LOOK I’m going to say it …Sean wasn’t even an entertaining character.
• “Who deems them broken?”/”I do”
• Ah, playing God, are we Sean?
• “We are responsible for the people we love” is a lie. We are not responsible for others. We can help, and we can support, but we cannot take on the burden of someone else’s decisions. We should not.
• Me, perking up every time the word “husband” is uttered around Hailey.
• “You, me and the team” is riiiiiiiiiiich.
• But, what was the point of this storyline? What was the lesson? Who learned it? What did you gain?
• The real question, truly.
• I truly don’t believe we get to make decisions on who gets to live, but Sean didn’t really deserve to live.

Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Chicago P.D. 10×09 “Proof of Burden”? Share with us in the comments below

Chicago P.D.. airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.