Chicago P.D. Season 12, Episode 1 “Ten Ninety-Nine” is a Voight-centric hour and an episode about what’s still there for a character who has lost so much. What makes him get up in the morning and keep trying? Why is Hank Voight still doing the work? The answer, as he tells ASA Nina Chapman in this hour, is because he is still alive to do it.
It’s also an hour about how Intelligence works (or doesn’t work) around him, and what the dynamics are or can be going forward, particularly considering this show can apparently introduce a new character, make her bond with Adam, and kill her off for his manpain all in one episode!
all I do is work, work, work
Voight almost died in the Chicago P.D. Season 11 finale. But he didn’t. And though he is Voight and that means the near-death experience didn’t really cause all that much of a change in him, it does seem to have hit him harder than normal. Or, at least, it seems to have spurred something in him. Because the thing is, he didn’t die. He claims he wouldn’t have minded dying, and a part of me believes him. It’s not like he has all that much to live for. But, again, he didn’t die. And when you don’t, that brings up the question of what now?
Now, we see Voight grasp not only with that question, but with the fact that as he was dying, he saw his former partner, Alvin Olinsky, and Al told him he didn’t get to die yet. So that means there’s gotta be a reason he’s alive. There’s gotta be something he’s gotta do. There’s gotta be a purpose. But Voight has nothing other than work. So that’s what he’s doing. He’s working. Because that’s really all he’s got. That’s his entire purpose. It might be an interesting storyline if it weren’t the exact same one we’ve gotten with Voight for *checks notes* most of his time on the show.
Voight putting the job first isn’t groundbreaking. Voight doing otherwise is. That’s why when we seemed to be exploring an emotional side of him in Season 11, that felt like it could go somewhere. This? Meh. Burying himself in work and clashing or not clashing with the new Chief? That’s not at all interesting. It’s just more of the same.
another woman dead to further a man’s plot
Emily Martel, we hardly knew ye. And yet, we got an entire episode of you being there, working well with the team, joking around with Atwater, having nicknames for Adam, saving his life, and then …you were just unceremoniously killed to further his plot! Because, of course, the show had to bring in a woman he already knew and had a connection with to kill off, they couldn’t kill off the woman he was closest to — we absolutely cannot lose Kim. And hey, the only way to advance storylines for men is to kill off women they’re close to! It is known.
To say it’s infuriating is an understatement. And I shouldn’t even need to say that the show bringing in another female character in Kiana Cook doesn’t make up for them killing off Emily Martel. Female characters aren’t interchangeable. You can’t just replace one WOC with another and call it a day. And the fact that this is clearly about Adam is what makes it all the more infuriating. This was never about Emily Martel’s character at all. She doesn’t matter. She never did. And we wanted her to, we truly did.
But that’s a recurring issue with Chicago P.D. No one really matters on this show, only Hank Voight and nothing really matters to Hank Voight but the job. Doesn’t exactly make for a very interesting show, what can I say?
Things I think I think:
- This was a really big episode for Jason Beghe stans, because we saw shirtless Hank Voight about fifty gazillion times.
- Is Voight showering? Eating?
- Am I the only one concerned about the fact that not one of the people who have worked with Voight for years seem capable of calling him out or doing anything remotely resembling pushing back?
- I was worried about Adam for a minute when he had a gun trained on him, not gonna lie.
- For a minute there, I let myself entertain the possibility of a Latina on this team. Joke’s on me.
- ASA Chapman suddenly turned interesting this hour.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Chicago P.D. Season 12 Episode 1 “Ten Ninety-Nine”? Share with us in the comments below!
Chicago P.D. airs on Wednesday at 10/9c on NBC.
I think that there have been changes to Voight over time. In the beginning of the series he had Justin and Erin. After Justin’s death and Erin’s departure, he has been all about his unit and the work, so it’s been a very long time since he has focused on anything else. I like Chapman. I am hoping that Voight can have a relationship with her that is similar to Dr. Archer and Dr. Asher’s relationship on Med. Hopefully, she can be the relationship he needs to be something more than just his unit. The fact that she is not a part of his unit but works with his unit is encouraging in this regard.
The Emily Martel part of this is what it is. I wished she lasted longer. We got more out of her personality in 1 episode than we have the entire time Torres has been with the unit.
What’s up with all the shirt changes? Voight kept undressing. 😆