Chicago P.D. Season 13, Episode 21 ‘Born or Made’ is an emotionally heavy hour that’s carried by Arienne Mandi’s impeccable acting and a sense that this show has stumbled upon the perfect dynamic to make Voight shine. We mostly stay with Imani as she struggles to convince her sister Shari that she is who Eva is saying she is, even if that means accepting that makes her a victim. It’s not the resolution we expected of this storyline, and yet it hits as hard as it does because it feels real. Black and white isn’t invited to this finale. Shades of grey are in.
For all Shari wants to argue about it, she is indeed a victim. But there’s something so horrible about accepting that role when you’ve deluded yourself into thinking that you have control over your life and circumstances, even if they suck. Imani continues to try even as she finds herself colliding against Shari’s wall of self-righteousness, because what else is she gonna do? That’s her sister. Giving up isn’t an option.
It’s hard not to relate to what Imani is doing, just as it’s hard to truly look at Shari as anything but someone who was pushed to a breaking point by the life she’s lived. But as hard to digest as every second of what happened to Shari, and what she’s willing to do for the man who kidnapped her and robbed her of her childhood is, the silver lining in the storytelling is that it gives us some of the most grounded, emotional moments for the team, for Imani, and for Voight. A show like Chicago P.D. doesn’t have to give us a happy ending. It just has to give us an interesting story. And this is just that.
Kim, Kevin, and Adam stay a little bit in the periphery of this episode, but they add to the gravitas of this situation. Because this isn’t just something that’s happening to someone else. No, this is something that’s happening to Imani, and therefore something that’s happening to the team. You see that with the three of them, and you especially see it with Dante, who in this episode, Dante ends up being the person outside of Voight who tries to stand between Eva Imani and the abyss.
It’s an interesting position for Dante, because he does it at Voight’s urging, but there’s also a real sense of kinship between him and Imani that cannot be forced. Arienne Mandi and Benjamin Levy Aguilar are real-life friends, and their easy chemistry translates to their characters in a way that makes Dante the one person outside of Voight to really see what’s going on, feel real.
But it all comes back to Imani and Voight, at every point in the episode. When we see Voight trying to protect Eva and her sister in the best way he knows how. As we see him offering comfort in the little moments, even if it’s just with a cup of coffee. When we see the way they push each other forward and even pull each other back. And when we realize that their relationship has progressed beyond that initial recognition that they are two sides of the same coin and into a familial relationship that neither of them is shying away from.
Sure, Imani lost her parents a while ago, and she’s spent the last few years focused on finding her sister to the point that she hasn’t bothered to invest in any other relationship. And Voight has lost or pushed away everyone he has ever cared about, to the point that he’s now very much alone in the day-to-day. But somehow, without meaning to, these two have found themselves not just seeing eye to eye, but often looking forward in the same direction.
It’s hard sometimes to find a partner. To find someone who fits into your family, whatever that might look like. It’s harder for two people who’ve had to deal with so much loss. But when you find that, well… it’s like lightning in a bottle. And you don’t want to let go.
Now the question going into next season is, what does this relationship mean for Voight? Does it mean he’d be willing to cross a line or five to help Imani? Or does it mean he’s willing to follow the rules for once, just to protect her? It’s an interesting question for a character we’ve always been able to kind of predict. And it certainly makes us even more excited about what’s to come.
Agree? Disagree? What did you think of Chicago P.D. Season 13, Episode 21 ‘Born or Made’? 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. aired on Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC. It will return to NBC this fall.
