Chicago P.D. 10×13 “The Ghost in You” is exactly the episode we thought it was going to be, a Voight episode that tries to reframe the character we know Hank Voight to be while showcasing what he’s lost. It’s not the first time the show has tried this — and it’s as effective as it was the last time, that is to say not at all. The point of the episode is, presumably, to use ASA Nina Chapman to send the message that sometimes people do wrong things, yes, but that doesn’t necessarily make them villains. No, people make mistakes. It’s human nature. And when people do that, there’s always a way to try to make things better.
It’s just a hypocritical message to take with Hank Voight, of all people. First, because this show has spent ten seasons pretending Voight does nothing wrong. We just don’t understand him. He’s doing what he’s doing for the good of the city! To his own eyes, Voigth has always been entirely justified. He’s never needed anyone’s permission or forgiveness, not even the audience’s. So ten seasons in, there’s no reason to ask for it or to try to sell us a different Voight than the one we know.
Second, because, of all the wrong things Voight has done, to remind us of Alvin Olinsky just as the show is trying to send this message is just adding insult to injury. If there’s one Voight got wrong, if there’s one he is to blame for, it’s Olinksy. The friend who was always there, who never questioned him, who always had his back. The friend he basically got killed. And the one he hasn’t really honored in any way.
One of the biggest issues with Chicago P.D. is that it’s always been unwilling to let Voight be the character they actually created. They didn’t set him up as the hero, but they’ve tried everything to make him one — except giving him an actual redemption arc. Instead, the show has always pretended there was some moral high ground Voight existed on, where they could have just played it straight and given us a dirty cop who was always willing to do anything and everything, not for real justice, but for his own definition of it.
Because justice isn’t, cannot be a thing Hank Voight decides. Not just because of the world we live in (though that they continue to try, in the year of our Lord 2023, and after instance after instance of police brutality says a lot), but because it’s just a really bad, boring story to tell. And if they continue to try to tell it, to the exclusion of everything else, sooner or later they’re going to lose the people that are still hanging on, not for Voight, but for the other characters around him.
No one wants this show to be the Voight hour, and nothing else. Well, maybe I’m wrong. I’m sure there are people who do and they will be ready to tell me so. But you know what they aren’t? The majority. And when you’re trying to write a successful TV show you gotta take those things into account.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Chicago P.D. 10×13 “The Ghost in You”? Share with us in the comments below!
Chicago P.D. airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.
I was disappointed in this episode. I differ from you in that I do enjoy Voight centered episodes and have no problem seeing more of them. I did like Torres in this episode. The calm cool collected “ice in his veins” undercover work he did I enjoyed. I like that he is a “closed book” that will take time to open.
What I didn’t like, for starters, if you are going to invoke the memory of Al, you have to do more than this. I also think you need to include Adam in this as Al was his mentor. I also did not like the angle with the DA in that it was not fleshed out nearly enough. The only scandal seems to be that she had a relationship with a witness. (Which though problematic is not an ethics violation per se, he wasn’t a client.) They did not flesh out how she was in the Morales’ pocket as stated, which seems in retrospect to be a throwaway line. The worst part of this is, it is a reminder of what we lost. If this story was written somewhat differently and Jay was still here, it could have been a really great episode. At present, there is no one who has taken on the role of the white knight to challenge Voight. Hank and Jay debating what to do and even having Jay back off in this situation would have been better than what we had in this episode. Hailey seemed to know that there was more going on but decided not to confront Voight or even ask any questions. Is this a case of her deciding to pick her battles with Voight or a decision to not confront Voight going forward, hard to say. The other members of Intelligence were completely oblivious that anything was going on.
Actually you might be surprised to find out there are many of us who wish it would go back to the way it used to be when it was more Voight centric. That’s how it started and how it lasted all these seasons. I’ve read your posts and face it- you just don’t like the character and can’t be objective period. Maybe you should go back and re watch from the beginning and you’ll understand why even though it’s a terrific ensemble cast, many of us only watch for him. he’s the interesting one. No Voight, No PD.