Chicago PD Season 7 Episode 1 Review: Doubt
Lizzy Buczak
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Intelligence is back in action on Chicago PD Season 7 Episode 1, and they wasted no time answering the "who-dun-it" cliffhanger after picking up just mere moments after Kelton was found murdered in his apartment.
From there, the episode went through the motions of finding out who killed the newly-elected Mayor.
There's a pretty extensive list of suspects considering not a single soul in the city liked Kelton, but the formula for getting to the truth has become slightly humdrum.
It's a rinse-and-repeat process that finds Intelligence going after thugs and criminals that fit the profile before eventually realizing that someone on the inside is responsible.
Kelton was corrupt, in debt, and had a lot of enemies on the streets, but he had even more enemies on the inside.
Brennan: We both know this city is better without this two-faced son of a bitch.
Voight: There's no doubt about that.
Brennan: He was going to ruin Chicago. I did what I had to do.
Though Hank Voight was the top suspect, and admittedly, looked pretty guilty even to his team, the chances of him being guilt were slim.
Voight's capable of murder, we know that, and he had every reason to kill Kelton, but he doesn't make such careless mistakes anymore.
The death of a Mayor is a high profile case and you're bound to get caught.
Which is why when everyone, including Halstead, considered the possibility that he was guilty, Voight shrugged it off and continued with his business. He knew his truth.
But while it wasn't Voight, it was someone very close to Kelton.
Atwater: Doesn't matter to me how much info I got. Ain't no way I'm siding with Homicide over Voight, guilty or not.
Halstead: Yeah, neither am I.
Upton: Me too.
Burgess: I'm with you guys.
Isn't it ironic that Chicago's biggest problem isn't criminals or thugs but rather law enforcment and high ranking officials turning on themselves?
Politicians have always been corrupt in Chicago, but that corruption has begun spilling over into police work as well.
They internally commit crimes and then try to use their inside connections to cover it up or pay each other off.
When it was revealed that someone in blue was responsible for the death, Kate Brennan immediately came to mind solely because of the comment she made to Voight earlier in the episode.
Atwater: You're welcome, by the way.
Officer: Excuse me?
Atwater: You and your boy came pretty damn close to shooting a black man that didn't have anything to do with that murder. Way I see it, I saved your career.
There was something very off about her assuring Voight to keep her informed because despite political differences "she still loved the man."
Who was she trying to convince? Voight or herself?
It was Brennan's way of making sure Voight kept her updated on how much he knew and how close they were getting.
Brennan always had motive -- she sacrificed everything for Kelton and he turned his back on her.
But it wasn't a shocking twist by any means. In fact, it was pretty stupid of her to believe that Voight's talented team wouldn't get to the truth.
Related: 27 Damn Fine Cops & Detectives Who Can Arrest Us Any Day
If I'm being honsest, it was hard to care about Kelton's murder at all.
Kelton was a bad man who got what was coming to him so it was difficult to feign interest.
Nothing was upsetting about it because, as Brennan said after confessing, she did Chicago a favor.
No one can argue with that.
The only way his death would have been riveting is if it had personally affected one of the core cast members.
Otherwise, Kelton was always as disposable as Brennan, who despite being a recurring character, hadn't made much of an impact.
If you're going to take me down for murder, you better have more than a theory.
Brennan
Still, murder is murder and must be punished.
Voight may not be as corrupt as the others -- he has moments of clarity where he's a good guy -- but he's still part of the problem for turning a blind eye.
Instead of bringing Brennan in when he found out she was responsible, Voight agreed to give her an hour to get her affairs in order.
We've seen this play out before in a previous episode with another colleague -- "getting affairs in order" translates to offing yourself so you don't suffer in jail or become a disgraced cop.
Halstead: I had to ask you.
Voight: No, you didn't.
Voight argued that it was her right, but don't they always try to prevent criminals and suspects from killing themselves in these kinds of situations so that they can bring them to justice?
It's scenes like these where Voight's actions have become almost too predictable.
Halstead may have overstepped because he didn't "know the plan," but he saved a life.
If it hadn't been for him, Brennan would have killed herself.
While the secondary characters didn't offer up a compelling mystery, the unwavering dedication the Intelligence unit has for each other is what makes this series so special.
Halstead: What do you think?
Upton: I think we keep digging like we said. If he did it, he wouldn't have us out there risking our lives. Voight's a lot of things but selfish isn't one fo them.
When it was plausible that Voight was guilty, neither of them turned on him to save themselves.
Instead, they banded together and supported him regardless of the outcome.
And that's a good thing because Voight was only withholding his whereabouts about where he was the night of Kelton's murder to protect Antonio.
Everyone was concerned about Antonio because they hadn't heard from him in awhile.
Knowing that Jon Seda is being written off, I was also concerned.
For a bit, it seemed like Voight was possibly protecting Antonio, who also had motive to kill Kelton, but alas, it wasn't the case.
Voight admitted he helped Antonio get to an off-the-books clinic to get clean.
Is that how they're going to write him off?
Are we just accepting that we might not get a proper goodbye to a beloved character who's been part of the show since day one?
And are we fine with our last impression of him being that of an addict when there was so much more than Antonio could and should be remembered for?
Voight had a lot going on with his shrunken team.
Halstead was questioning his character, Antonio was away, and Ruzek was in jail.
He bailed Ruzek out, but this is only the beginning of his problems.
Upton: We have a warrant to search the premises.
Owner: Search for what?
Upton: Weapons of mass destruction.
Owner: What?
Upton: Just kidding. Drugs and guns. We're gonna go in.
If Ruzek pays the ultimate price for covering for Antonio, I fear he's not going to survive prison. He didn't look too hot in there.
Being with the general public is dangerous for cops, but Ruzek wasn't exactly enjoying his time in isolation either.
And it was even more heartbreaking to see him sit on the sidelines as all of his friends worked together on one of the biggest murder cases in Chicago.
Related: Chicago PD Season 6 Episode 22 Review: Reckoning
If we're losing Anotnio, we need to get Ruzek back his police powers stat!
Be sure to watch Chicago PD online and share your thoughts on the premiere in the comments below!
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Lizzy Buczak was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in June 2021..
