Chicago P.D. Season 12, Episode 15 ‘Greater Good‘ is a boring episode that, even though it brings back ADA Chapman, who has been a highlight, does very little to advance the plot, much less keep us engaged. The show has, in many respects, been better this season, delivering entertaining, even emotional episodes, and maintaining a much better balance between the characters and the cases. But every once in a while—particularly when it focuses on Voight, Chicago P.D. ends up reverting to its worst version, a straight-up case-centric procedural.
And not a very entertaining one at that.
The case isn’t even worth discussing. The tension between Deputy Chief Reid and Voight is the most interesting part, especially because Voight isn’t actually facing him alone—he’s got Chapman on his side. Ironically, Chapman has indeed grown on us, although we kinda wish Voight would have found a way to confide in some of the people who have been by his side for twelve years.
But that’s neither here nor there at this point. That’s never been the story this show has been interested in telling with Voight, and at least with Chapman, they have an interesting one. At least with Reid, they have a somewhat intriguing foil, a guy who is a lot like Voight in many ways, and who knows it. It would just be good if they used it in a more interesting way than an episode that’s mostly about a case, sprinkled with some moments of tension between the characters.
In a way, I get it. The Voight and Reid thing is the long game. The setup for the end of the season. The Chapman thing isn’t something the show wants to go away, so they’re not playing that card yet. But if you hold your best cards too close to your chest for too long you might find yourself out of the game before you can actually play them.
Chicago P.D. still has it in itself to be good. Be interesting. To hook us. It just doesn’t always do it, unlike Chicago Fire and Chicago Med, two shows that almost always manage to be engaging, because they always focus on character over cases, not vice-versa. Even when we don’t like what’s happening there, at least we care. At least we want to keep watching.
Here? Well, sometimes it feels like if we missed three episodes and picked it back up on the fourth, we really wouldn’t have missed all that much.
Are you excited for Chicago P.D. Season 12, Episode 15 ‘Greater Good’? Share with us in the comments below! And if you have your own opinion on the show, leave a review/rating on our Chicago P.D. hub!
Chicago P.D. airs on Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.
