How a lot ache can one individual take?
In terms of Hank Voight, Chicago PD pushes the bounds, subjecting the person to a lot ache and heartbreak and dooming him with what seems like a lifetime of loneliness.
There is a darkness to the collection that hasn’t let up, and Chicago PD Season 11 Episode 7 was one of many darkest installments up to now.
Whoever this serial killer is, might he consider in a God that has mercy on his soul as a result of Hank Voight is coming for him.
And the very last thing on Voight’s thoughts is “mercy.”
By the tip of the hour, with that slick closeup of Jason Beghe, with a darkish shadow solid over him and darkness in his eyes, it is evident that Voight has doubtlessly reached some extent of no return.
It felt like we watched this man break in real-time.
A sea of feelings overtook him as he stared down in that oil drum on the physique of a boy that reminded him a lot of his son.
However probably the most dominant one that will make its method to the floor is a stage of fury so deep that there is not any telling what comes subsequent.
For therefore lengthy, viewers have puzzled and speculated about Voight’s evolution and puzzled if there was ever a risk that he would present shadows of his former self, the person with no limits.
As an alternative, through the years, we have seen him present a stage of restraint that’s in contrast to the cop we knew in Chicago PD Season 1 and positively removed from who we met throughout his introduction in Chicago Hearth.
Voight: Each wound the sisters had matched Noah’s.
Hailey: So that you’re saying we have now a serial killer?
However with a lot piling on, Voight is on his method to snapping, and there is little restraint he has left.
I do not foresee a world the place he can pull himself again from the sting after the umpteenth traumatic loss.
And when you consider what this man has endured over time, he is prime to lose his shit fully.
He misplaced the love of his life and hasn’t discovered something near that ever since. Erin left him, his beloved Jason died, and his grandchild is gone as nicely.
Associated: Chicago Hearth Season 12 Episode 7 Overview: Crimson Flag
Voight misplaced his greatest pal, Olinsky, and has great guilt over that. He is additionally had individuals who got here near maintaining from going over the sting, Dawson and Halstead, depart primarily as a result of the job grew to become an excessive amount of for THEM.
Anna’s loss of life was one thing from which he might barely recuperate, and round that point, we noticed him exude extra emotion than traditional relating to his workforce members.
We additionally noticed how the prospect of almost dropping Ruzek haunted him throughout Chicago PD Season 11 Episode 1.
However he fashioned this prompt reference to Noah. He opened his coronary heart and residential to this younger man, taking him in and letting down among the partitions he is had up for so long as we have recognized him.
We noticed the softer aspect to Voight as he tapped into that paternal aspect he hasn’t been in a position to correctly show since his son died.
He opened as much as Noah in a method he hadn’t with anybody in years, and he acknowledged how a lot of Justin he noticed in Noah.
To have another one who mattered to him ripped away in such a violent style is so gutwrenching and heartless there are not any phrases to adequately convey the extent of feelings it stirs up.
It is nasty, nasty work.
The ache of this case won’t go away. Voight was in a position to save Noah, however that wasn’t sufficient; he nonetheless misplaced him anyway to a sadistic creep they weren’t near catching.
If Voight have been every other individual, I might marvel what stored them from curling up in mattress and by no means leaving a room once more whereas drowning in ache, heartbreak, and an intense grief that by no means appears to let up.
If I did not know any higher, I might suppose the writers took some sick pleasure out of piling on the struggling of this character.
What’s alarming is that the collection has a penchant for not correctly exploring how this job impacts the characters mentally and emotionally.
They sometimes contact on it briefly for a single installment and transfer on, however with an ongoing case like this, we’ll have to see the fallout of it and the way this profoundly impacts Voight.
The hour mixed the Felony Minds-level darkness that the collection has taken on just lately with the promise of an prolonged case that will final for the complete season.
There are some benefits to that, and we have counseled each sometimes throughout earlier episodes.
The hour additionally featured your entire workforce, despite the fact that it was primarily centered on Voight. They usually have been working diligently on the case collectively, which was nice.
Noah: I would like to speak to you, do not I?
Voight: Yeah. I need to offer you time. I do know you want time, however Noah, this offender, he is on the market, proper now.
The collection wants extra of the workforce working collectively concurrently, and it balances issues out higher.
The hour additionally launched us to an unofficial profiler, Jo, who might run down her impression of the killer and what his actions imply to make sense of and discover him.
Jo is already a captivating character, and I am intrigued sufficient to need to see extra of her.
She gave the impression to be in her personal world, however as soon as Voight talked about that they had a serial killer, she was all in and did not waste any time breaking issues down.
A lot of what she says is smart, too, and I am intrigued by what she will be able to supply to this case or potential others.
Discovering the our bodies within the oil drums and realizing they have been sisters was the very best indicator that the perpetrator was enjoying some sick sport.
And we must always’ve recognized the second we heard about eyes stapled open that the killer needed his victims to see the ache he was inflicting on the individuals they beloved.
My coronary heart broke for Noah. We opened with a collection of nights the place Voight needed to take heed to this poor younger man scream in his sleep because of nightmares.
Associated: Chicago PD Overview: Survival
And Voight might barely get Noah to speak earlier than Noah would begin hyperventilating and freaking out.
They managed to do plenty of heavy lifting on their very own, particularly when pursuing the intercourse work angle that sadly had them hanging a take care of Tovar and taking down a perverted decide.
However they did not make any progress till Voight lastly received Noah to speak about what occurred to him in an surroundings the place he felt protected.
Once more, I have to commend Bobby Hogan for an distinctive efficiency as Noah.
You already know, typically you remind me of my son. There are such a lot of issues about him I do not like excited about. He died. I do not like excited about it as a result of it hurts. So, typically I attempt not to consider it in any respect, however I do not suppose that is proper. Possibly we owe it to them to consider issues as a result of we’re nonetheless right here.
Voight
His efficiency all through the entire story was phenomenal, however the scene, particularly when he defined what occurred to him and his boyfriend Paul, was positively riveting.
He had you hanging to his each phrase and itching to hug him in what needed to be a bodily and emotionally exhausting monologue stuffed with such heavy and darkish content material that I felt I wanted a break after it.
And that is the consensus for the hour. The complete case and the tone have been so heavy.
Understandably, it will not be everybody’s cup of tea, and the hour definitely will not alleviate these critiquing the collection for the darkish and gritty course it has taken in recent times.
The creep issue was excessive as nicely. From the bluer shading and lighting to the return of the stapled open eyes and (fascinating) digicam angles and photographs of our bodies within the morgue or oil drums, the installment felt eerily paying homage to an episode of The Killing.
It is evident that, in contrast to Torres’ case with the cartel spouse, this serial killer is an ongoing season-long case.
And I do not know the way rather more my coronary heart can take of it.
We solely had Noah for a short time. It was tough to see how a lot ache he was in, be taught of his background, and know that he was so immune to getting the assistance that he deserved.
He cannot keep at your own home endlessly, Hank. It should make issues difficult for the jury.
Chapman
And it was heartbreaking to listen to how decided he was to get to Paul, the one individual he beloved anymore, even after he knew Paul was lifeless the final time he noticed him.
Noah’s loss of life was such a tragedy, and it was the primary in a very long time that initiated that very same intestine punch feeling we had when Voight noticed his personal lifeless son in that trunk.
They have been angling for a similar factor, initiating that feeling for Voight over again.
However once more, one asks: how a lot ache can one man take earlier than he breaks? And what does this imply for Voight transferring ahead?
It is a level of concern, and regardless of how a lot he cares concerning the workforce and the way shut Chapman has gotten to him, nobody can pull him again from the sting after this.
Over to you, Chicago PD Fanatics. How disturbing and stunning was that ending? How do you’re feeling about this ongoing case? Has the collection gone too far with Voight’s ache? Pontificate beneath!
Chicago PD airs on NBC on Wednesdays at 10/9c. You possibly can stream the next day on Peacock.
Jasmine Blu is a senior workers author for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching method too many exhibits and binge-drinking method an excessive amount of tea. Her eclectic style makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for advanced characters, numerous illustration, dynamic duos, compelling tales, and responsible pleasures. You may undoubtedly discover her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.
