In the Chicago P.D. finale, titled ‘Born or Made’, Eva Imani finally comes face to face with her sister, the very one who was taken from her home as a child. But in a heartbreaking turn, Shari does not remember her sister. How could she? It’s been so long.
The show’s penultimate episode, ‘The Lost Years’ set the stage for not just the return of Shari, but the team finally closing the case of her kidnapping. But will Shari be able to help? Will she want to?
Chicago P.D. showrunner Gwen Sigan and Eva Imani herself, Arienne Mandi, previewed what we could expect from the finale, the relationship between Eva and Shari, and also, building the relationship between Imani and Voight.
To a comment about how having Shari not remember Eva was a more interesting turn of the story, Sigan said, “We knew we wanted, just like you said… It’s more interesting and kind of complicated, and we wanted her to find her sister, but that was kind of only the start, right? That there’s this whole other thing, that her sister’s not somebody who recognizes her. I think it’s heartbreaking, but it also begs the question of what their relationship is going to look like. I think we knew we wanted something that had that much story in it, and it felt like that was the proper way to take it.”
But with that decision comes a lot of emotional fallout, for Imani and for Voight, who has been her partner in this search. And that relationship has been something the show has really focused on this season. But it’s also something that, according to Sigan, might have been in the plans, but often things turn out better than you expect.
“We knew that there would be a kinship, right? We knew that they would be so similar and sort of cut of the same cloth, born with those attributes. We knew that going in. I think there are some things that Ari [Mandi] brings to it and Jason [Beghe] as well.”
In fact, Sigan pointed out that Mandi was very “comfortable” with Beghe right away, and “I don’t think that’s an easy thing to do with someone like Jason. He can be very intimidating for actors.”
That made the rest easy to write.
“It sort of allowed us to make the pair of them a bit more peers and a bit more like she gets to f*ck with him. She gets to sort of joke with him. And that naturally came from the way that the two of them [Mandi and Beghe] were playing it, and then we were able to go in that direction more, which has been really lovely because we don’t get to see him like that.”
Mandi agreed, “It was like that from day one. I remember like just sitting in the car with him between takes, and we were just talking sh*t to each other. You know, there was such ease between us, and the jokes just feel so natural and so just comfortable. As you said, it was really fun to step into that.”
Now, we get to see how that connection is played at a moment of heightened emotion for Imani. And trust us, you don’t want to miss this finale.
Are you excited for Chicago Med Season 13, Episode 21 ‘Born or Made? Share with us in the comments below!
The Chicago P.D. Season 13 finale airs Wednesday, May 12, on NBC.
