Chicago P.D. Season 13, Episode 20 ‘The Lost Years‘ is proof of how much one character can transform a show for the better. It’s a good, emotional hour, one that’s grounded by the performance of Arienne Mandi as Eva Imani and her relationship with Jason Beghe’s Hank Voight. But it’s not just good in the normal way this show can be good when it focuses on the characters we know and love. No, it’s good in a way that’s often harder to achieve.
It’s emotional in the moment, but it’s also a great building block for the future. Answers don’t mean everything is solved in this case; answers mean we want to know more. We want to see more. Of Imani. Of Imani and Dante. Certainly of Imani and Voight. And we also want to see more of this team together. We want everyone working together, no questions asked, as soon as they find out the why. We want the quiet moment of recognition as Kevin points Imani to interrogation. We want Dante making sure he takes Imani’s gun. We want it all, and we want more.
The show has had plenty of good hours this season, perhaps more than in any season in recent memory. A lot of that has to do with how well Eva Imani has worked, not just as an individual character but as a foil to Hank Voight. For too long, the show has given Voight relationship after relationship where he continued to have the upper hand, or where he was only challenged for a little bit. Imani presents something different.
In all respects, really. This isn’t a romantic relationship, but a partnership built on mutual respect and a recognition of how much they have in common. They’re two sides of the same messed-up coin sometimes, and yet they’re very good at both keeping each other in check and at understanding when that’s just not what the other person needs. Plus, when you understand where the other person is coming from, there’s no judgment.
Has Voight gone off the rails before? Yes, he has. Plenty of times. He’s even done so this season. This hour sees Imani do the same, with about as good a reason as you can have. And yet Voight is there, not to coddle her, not to promise her that things are going to be okay, but to work the case by her side like he said he would do. No matter how it ends. And Dante is there too, the voice in the field saying, “Hey, let’s move,” and the one making sure she’s taking a breath or two every once in a while. It might not seem like a lot, but for Imani, it means something to have someone say, without words, that she’s not alone.
Of course, this was too big to be solved in one episode. In a way, we’re glad that’s the case. We’re glad this story and these dynamics are going to be the focus of the finale. Because they are, without a doubt, the thing we’ve enjoyed the most about this season. They are a big part of the reason why this show has gone from one that we might be excited to see, depending on who they’re focusing on, to one that we always want to check out.
Plus, how could Imani’s sister even remember her? This is just the story that makes sense. It just happens to be the most compelling.
This is the best Voight, the most interesting one. A Voight that isn’t trying to be a hero, but that has found enough humanity in himself to be someone’s partner in a way that feels real. And that’s all because the show finally gave him not just the perfect foil, but a really great character on her own right. One we like. One we’re rooting for. And one we’ll be happy to continue to follow into the next season, and who knows how many more.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Chicago P.D. Season 13, Episode 20 ‘The Lost Years’? 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.
