S07.E20: Silence of the Night

[jewel21]

Atwater goes under cover to take down a gun trafficking ring, but discovers an officer from his past is under cover in the same organization.

Airdate: 04/15/2020

[UNOSEZ]

I'm glad Kevin stepped up and spoke  the truth.. If it wasn't the plan for the unit to beef with the doyle's I woulda loved Kevin speaking the truth to poppa Doyle... I kinda feel if we ran a simulation based on the characters character up to this point that's something Atwater woulda done... That said.. Once again he had to carry this all alone?... No support from his "bestie" Burgess was she busy... Nothing from Rojas.. Who should at least have a more personal and visceral reaction to all of this... Kinda expected Jay to sit this out as he was in a daze thinking about deep dish pizza and what not... Just sad that this so called family so rarely actually speak to one another

[mommalib]

So glad that Atwater told the truth. He continues ot be my favorite character by far. It's a damn shame that being black and a cop makes it so you have to walk such a tight rope because some of your fellow boys in blue are racist and crooked as hell. If some of these so called "good cops" in real life displayed the courage and the bravery Atwater did in this episode things might be better.

[mommalib]

2 minutes ago, UNOSEZ said:

I'm glad Kevin stepped up and spoke  the truth.. If it wasn't the plan for the unit to beef with the doyle's I woulda loved Kevin speaking the truth to poppa Doyle... I kinda feel if we ran a simulation based on the characters character up to this point that's something Atwater woulda done... That said.. Once again he had to carry this all alone?... No support from his "bestie" Burgess was she busy... Nothing from Rojas.. Who should at least have a more personal and visceral reaction to all of this... Kinda expected Jay to sit this out as he was in a daze thinking about deep dish pizza and what not... Just sad that this so called family so rarely actually speak to one another

Voight had his back in the end but through most of the episode it seemed like he might be on the other side. That makes sense considering there isn't that much difference between Voight and somebody like Doyle.

[spunky]

Bye Doyle, too bad you didn’t take your equally racist partner with you. Because of Doyle’s racism a child no longer has a father. I’m happy that Kevin did not allow fear to silence him but spoke up knowing the consequences. Those fools showing up outside of Kevin’s house proved that they’re nothing more than bullies in uniform. Voight already made it known that he would not tolerate anyone coming for Kevin. I hope that other Sargent is ready to take a ride to the silos some time in the near future.

[SuzieQ]

Wow!! That was a tough episode to even watch! Interesting since it wasn't originally meant to be a season finale, but turned out to be a good end to the season.  Was good to see Price!  I always liked him, even when I didn't.

I originally held out some hope for Doyle, when he asked Kevin out for a beer, but damn if he didn't just cement who he really was.  He learned absolutely nothing from his original situation with Atwater. Nada!  Was not sorry to see him die.

Will be interesting to see what the early episodes next season are and what the fallout for Kevin is, since this was not originally meant to be the end of the season.  Hope there's some follow thru with this.  No way they are not out to burn Atwater now.

Edited April 16, 2020 by SuzieQ

[UNOSEZ]

29 minutes ago, spunky said:

too bad you didn’t take your equally racist partner with you

To be fair.. We don't know if that's how the partner is... I'd prefer if they didn't go there and just made the partner upset and ignorant, just for the storytelling... I don't need another Uber bad guy.. Just a jerk with a badge is real enough.. 

[spunky]

12 hours ago, UNOSEZ said:

To be fair.. We don't know if that's how the partner is... I'd prefer if they didn't go there and just made the partner upset and ignorant, just for the storytelling... I don't need another Uber bad guy.. Just a jerk with a badge is real enough.. 

That's true. I also wish they didn't do the whole trying to intimidate Kevin thing.

[SuzieQ]

3 hours ago, spunky said:

That's true. I also wish they didn't do the whole trying to intimidate Kevin thing.

That really bothered me!  I have lived in Chicago my whole life and try to keep an open mind about some of this stuff, but that was just awful!

[spunky]

5 hours ago, SuzieQ said:

That really bothered me!  I have lived in Chicago my whole life and try to keep an open mind about some of this stuff, but that was just awful!

It was too much 

[Guildford]

I'm not even going to pretend I understand how it must feel to live in an environment like what was portrayed in this episode and it is horrifying that this is still a reality for many.

As always Atwater focussed episodes are among the strongest episodes, even if I do wish they break the mould every now and then and give him something different to do.

I am glad they switched this episode with last weeks because this was a much stronger finish, even if I do think the past two episodes were more like PD of old. They finished a pretty plodding season off strongly (albeit they didn't know this would be the end). Hopefully they pick up this thread and give it much more focus next season.

One disappointment was that the rest of the team was barely sighted, despite how much I enjoyed Atwater & Voight's journey through the episode. I hate how Atwater goes through so much shit and nobody bats an eyelid. Apart from the brief moment with Ruzek & Voight at the end you would have never guessed anyone gave two hoots about what was going on.

They also did this last time if I recall, Ruzek is the only one who ever sympathises with Kevin's predicament. And for all the shit Ruzek gets he is loyal to a fault to the team and particularly Atwater.

The past two weeks did prove one thing....Upton was not missed at all and I feel sorry for Halstead's character because he's been reduced to being a lapdog and nothing more. Did he actually do anything other than report into his captor?

[The Ringo Kidd]

Another very creative episode that featured white supremacy and crooked cops.

Where do they get all of these fresh creative ideas?

[UNOSEZ]

8 minutes ago, The Ringo Kidd said:

Another very creative episode that featured white supremacy and crooked cops.

Where do they get all of these fresh creative ideas?

Same place they get all the ideas about black/ latin drug dealers..  And I'm still not sure exactly where on the scale the rest of the Doyle crew fall vis a vis race... Sure the boy who got dropped had.. At best some heavy biases.. And I for sure wouldn't want his ass patrolling my Brooklyn streets.. But all we can tell from his partner and fam are they don't like his name getting tarnished... Now maybe its grief + ignorance.. Or its something more heinous when the show returns we'll see how they play it... I hope they aren't too cartoony racist... Those dudes are easy to point to and say look at those bad guys.. Don't be like them.. Or for others to say.. See I'm not like that so I can't have any racial blindspots ... I'd much rather something a bit more muddled.. More like real life so when folks turn off the episode they actually think about how they're moving in the world instead of patting themselves on the back because they ain't "those kinda guys"

[The Ringo Kidd]

Well at least the dudes with the kilo of heroin and the illegal guns get off scot free. That at least is realistic in our new normal.

 

[UNOSEZ]

1 hour ago, The Ringo Kidd said:

Well at least the dudes with the kilo of heroin and the illegal guns get off scot free. That at least is realistic in our new normal.

 

They explained why tho didn't they.. Cops had no PC so it was all fruit of the poisonous tree... Plus one civilian was killed and someone else was shot without cause... 

[The Ringo Kidd]

So that makes the drugs and the illegal guns used to shoot someone just fine. Okey dokey.

 

[UNOSEZ]

42 minutes ago, The Ringo Kidd said:

So that makes the drugs and the illegal guns used to shoot someone just fine. Okey dokey.

 

Just fine.. Cant say... But them shooting was justifiable and the cops can't press the drugs cuz they had no business being in there in the first place... That said I doubt the dudes got either the drugs or guns back.. They probably just vanished.. And I doubt the guys who's stuff that was were really stressing it.. as the alternative to just letting it be, is to say they had drugs and illegal guns ( was it said the guns were illegal or are we just assuming) and were responsible for the death of a policeman.. 

[The Ringo Kidd]

Wait you want to give them the drugs and the guns back?

How did the writers miss that angle. That’s right up their alley.

[cameron]

22 hours ago, spunky said:

It was too much 

Also lived in infamous Cook County for over 10 years before we left.  Actually felt that this was a true representation of the system.

[Arcey]

Where's Upton supposed to be? Why wasn't she in the last 2 eps? (except for that pizza minute - I deduced from that that she's in NY, but don't remember anything about her going there in the season).

Of course, I probably wouldn't be able to tell you anything that happened this whole season. I only half-watch each ep while I doing stuff on my tablet, since I find the seasons post Erin and Alvin kind of awful. Antonio too. I hate watched the past few seasons, and didn't think I'd watch S7, but once I put all that time into a show, I feel like I'll be missing something if I don't continue. Doubt I'll be back for S8 (but that's what I thought for S7, so who knows).

[Arcey]

Atwater has always gotten short shrift on meaty story lines, and I was hoping that he'd stick with the truth in the end, and leave the PD and the city and the state. He deserves better. And they so often cut someone from the cast at the end of the season, so that made sense to me.

[spunky]

3 hours ago, cameron said:

Also lived in infamous Cook County for over 10 years before we left.  Actually felt that this was a true representation of the system.

That’s sad. I heard that corruption is the reason why Chicago was nicknamed “The Windy City”.

[cameron]

7 hours ago, spunky said:

That’s sad. I heard that corruption is the reason why Chicago was nicknamed “The Windy City”.

Actually, I think it's what is called reality in life.  Wouldn't call it corruption.  They do what they have to do to get the job done.

[spunky]

7 hours ago, cameron said:

Actually, I think it's what is called reality in life.  Wouldn't call it corruption.  They do what they have to do to get the job done.

True

[DonnaMae]

Having lived through two winters in Chicago years ago, I'm pretty sure it's called "The Windy City" because the winter winds whipping off of Lake Michigan can be fierce and very cold. 😮

[SoapDoc]

18 hours ago, Arcey said:

Where's Upton supposed to be? Why wasn't she in the last 2 eps? (except for that pizza minute - I deduced from that that she's in NY, but don't remember anything about her going there in the season).

She is on the FBI show on CBS. They are doing some kind of offier swap with the Feds. She is supposed to be there for a few weeks although I don't know how they are going to play it since the season got cut short.

 

2 hours ago, DonnaMae said:

Having lived through two winters in Chicago years ago, I'm pretty sure it's called "The Windy City" because the winter winds whipping off of Lake Michigan can be fierce and very cold. 😮

I think my Dad said they used to call those winds the Hawk! LOL

[SuzieQ]

7 hours ago, DonnaMae said:

Having lived through t thought because of the weather, but it actually goeswo winters in Chicago years ago, I'm pretty sure it's called "The Windy City" because the winter winds whipping off of Lake Michigan can be fierce and very cold. 😮

That is what is widely thought because of the weather, but I've also heard it's because of the politicians were "windbags" and totally corrupt.  Goes back to when it first became a city.  That is the accepted legend locally.

[spunky]

On 4/17/2020 at 3:33 PM, The Ringo Kidd said:

So that makes the drugs and the illegal guns used to shoot someone just fine. Okey dokey.

 

There was no probable cause for the stop in the first place! Doyle saw a YOUNG BLACK MAN and profiled him for walking/breathing while black. This crap happens in real life, there are unarmed black men in graves right now because they were profiled. A doctor in Florida was handcuffed for putting medical supplies in his van while black. Botham Jean was killed while sitting in his apartment eating ice cream. Another young lady was killed while playing in her home with her nephew. Tamir Rice was killed at the age of 12 because he was profiled while playing. I sure as hell wouldn’t want someone like Doyle and his racist friends and family patrolling the Black neighborhoods in Brooklyn. BEING BLACK IS NOT A CRIME!!! Police brutality won’t stop unless our blackness is no longer seen as a weapon by certain cops and certain groups of people.

[crowsworks]

It was strange that Doyle seemed better than before. But he just saw Kevin as Blue. Regular black people were potential crooks until they proved otherwise. As always - reverse the characters race and.....

On 4/15/2020 at 11:41 PM, SuzieQ said:

 

I originally held out some hope for Doyle, when he asked Kevin out for a beer, but damn if he didn't just cement who he really was.  He learned absolutely nothing from his original situation with Atwater. Nada!  Was not sorry to see him die.

 

 

 

[Donder]

Doyle dying is passive eugenics. Only a fool would give a shit about some dude holding a bag. It's not like you won't run into them later on. I am sure that was what Kevin was thinking. Doyle clearly was trying for a promotion, to his end.

[SG11]

On 4/17/2020 at 10:19 PM, Arcey said:

Where's Upton supposed to be? Why wasn't she in the last 2 eps? (except for that pizza minute - I deduced from that that she's in NY, but don't remember anything about her going there in the season).

Of course, I probably wouldn't be able to tell you anything that happened this whole season. I only half-watch each ep while I doing stuff on my tablet, since I find the seasons post Erin and Alvin kind of awful. Antonio too. I hate watched the past few seasons, and didn't think I'd watch S7, but once I put all that time into a show, I feel like I'll be missing something if I don't continue. Doubt I'll be back for S8 (but that's what I thought for S7, so who knows).

A few weeks ago, Upton reached the bottom of the barrel by planting drugs on a suspect that was getting away with something. Final scene had Voight dressing her down for acting like him and he lent her to the FBI for a set period, to get her head on straight. She’s made some appearances on that show.

[SG11]

On 4/15/2020 at 10:21 PM, mommalib said:

So glad that Atwater told the truth. He continues ot be my favorite character by far. It's a damn shame that being black and a cop makes it so you have to walk such a tight rope because some of your fellow boys in blue are racist and crooked as hell. If some of these so called "good cops" in real life displayed the courage and the bravery Atwater did in this episode things might be better.

On 4/15/2020 at 10:20 PM, UNOSEZ said:

I'm glad Kevin stepped up and spoke  the truth.. If it wasn't the plan for the unit to beef with the doyle's I woulda loved Kevin speaking the truth to poppa Doyle... I kinda feel if we ran a simulation based on the characters character up to this point that's something Atwater woulda done... That said.. Once again he had to carry this all alone?... No support from his "bestie" Burgess was she busy... Nothing from Rojas.. Who should at least have a more personal and visceral reaction to all of this... Kinda expected Jay to sit this out as he was in a daze thinking about deep dish pizza and what not... Just sad that this so called family so rarely actually speak to one another

Not to sound obtuse, but are we absolutely sure Kevin actually spoke the truth? I mean, everyone seemed to act like they thought he did, but I wondered if that was just an assumption they made? Wish the next episode was next week. It seemed too fast for anyone to actually know what he said in my mind.

Either way, that show of intimidation with the lights on the cars as they drove away together was quite a scene. Over the years, PD has had some real money shot final scenes.

I was also thinking that Atwater would be facing blowback from Doyle’s friends and family in the Dept whether he decided to bury him or not.

Side note: Trudys character is now relegated to driving Atwater across town in one scene, and Burgess is barely doing computer work in the background of another. What are these writers thinking? I was glad to see Atwater get a nice episode of his own, but it’s too bad they feel like they only use him for the big racism stories.

On 4/15/2020 at 10:21 PM, mommalib said:

If some of these so called "good cops" in real life displayed the courage and the bravery Atwater did in this episode things might be better.

Real life good cops display courage for the good of the public every single day but the biased media isn’t interested in such stories with the cop hating climate that’s been fostered so carefully in recent years.

[mommalib]

4 hours ago, SG11 said:

Not to sound obtuse, but are we absolutely sure Kevin actually spoke the truth? I mean, everyone seemed to act like they thought he did, but I wondered if that was just an assumption they made? Wish the next episode was next week. It seemed too fast for anyone to actually know what he said in my mind.

Either way, that show of intimidation with the lights on the cars as they drove away together was quite a scene. Over the years, PD has had some real money shot final scenes.

I was also thinking that Atwater would be facing blowback from Doyle’s friends and family in the Dept whether he decided to bury him or not.

Side note: Trudys character is now relegated to driving Atwater across town in one scene, and Burgess is barely doing computer work in the background of another. What are these writers thinking? I was glad to see Atwater get a nice episode of his own, but it’s too bad they feel like they only use him for the big racism stories.

Real life good cops display courage for the good of the public every single day but the biased media isn’t interested in such stories with the cop hating climate that’s been fostered so carefully in recent years.

Right it's all the media's fault, gimme a break. I guess the racist, bias and sometimes strait up crooked cops that black people have been screaming from the rooftops about doesn't and has never existed. 

On 4/18/2020 at 11:55 PM, spunky said:

There was no probable cause for the stop in the first place! Doyle saw a YOUNG BLACK MAN and profiled him for walking/breathing while black. This crap happens in real life, there are unarmed black men in graves right now because they were profiled. A doctor in Florida was handcuffed for putting medical supplies in his van while black. Botham Jean was killed while sitting in his apartment eating ice cream. Another young lady was killed while playing in her home with her nephew. Tamir Rice was killed at the age of 12 because he was profiled while playing. I sure as hell wouldn’t want someone like Doyle and his racist friends and family patrolling the Black neighborhoods in Brooklyn. BEING BLACK IS NOT A CRIME!!! Police brutality won’t stop unless our blackness is no longer seen as a weapon by certain cops and certain groups of people.

An unamred black man just recently got shot in the back over a bag of chips.

[spunky]

3 hours ago, mommalib said:

Right it's all the media's fault, gimme a break. I guess the racist, bias and sometimes strait up crooked cops that black people have been screaming from the rooftops about doesn't and has never existed. 

An unamred black man just recently got shot in the back over a bag of chips.

This is ridiculous.  What was he going to do with a bag of chips? Salt them to death?! It's situations like these that make me as a black woman be weary of any officer who isn't my bestfriend.  If you're not him I'm asking you questions from 6 feet away until I feel safe enough to approach you. And this is coming from someone who has to work with law enforcement some times.

[UNOSEZ]

40 minutes ago, spunky said:

This is ridiculous.  What was he going to do with a bag of chips? Salt them to death?! It's situations like these that make me as a black woman be weary of any officer who isn't my bestfriend.  If you're not him I'm asking you questions from 6 feet away until I feel safe enough to approach you. And this is coming from someone who has to work with law enforcement some times.

I'm still weary every time I drive by.. As I've gotten the drive past U-turn treatment more than once..  See me in my car.. Make eye contact... U-turn... Whoop whoop.. Lights... "How we doing today sir? "... Smh

[spunky]

Just now, UNOSEZ said:

I'm still weary every time I drive by.. As I've gotten the drive past U-turn treatment more than once..  See me in my car.. Make eye contact... U-turn... Whoop whoop.. Lights... "How we doing today sir? "... Smh

I got yelled at while at the scene of a car accident I was involved in. Keep in mind I was in shock and in pain. He got upset because when he asked for my documents,  I asked if he would like me to get it or if he wanted to. Thank God for the Hispanic cop who took control of the situation and got everything out of my car. 

[SuzieQ]

10 hours ago, SG11 said:

 

 I was glad to see Atwater get a nice episode of his own, but it’s too bad they feel like they only use him for the big racism stories.

 

This^^

Why can't we get a good Atwater story about something besides him being black??

[Aethera]

Folks let's remember to talk about the episode in the episode topics, and take discussion of our own experiences to Small Talk. 

[WinJet0819]

Finally got around to watching the last episode, and this one, unlike Fire, could definitely pass as decent season finale.

When they give Atwater storylines, LaRoyce Hawkins continuously knocks them out of the park with his acting. The only issue is that the only storylines the character seems to get deal with racial issues. And I really think that's stereotyping his character. He's basically the token black man on the team, used for undercover buys and the race issues. He could do so much more if given decent storylines that just have to do with cases, regardless of race. It's a real waste of the character.

Doyle got what was coming to him. No tears shed for him. Live by racial profiling, you die by racial profiling. Not sure why Kevin didn't tell the full story of what happened to the officer at the beginning. It took until after they caught the guys and he heard their accounts of what happened that he finally had to give the truth. So glad that Atwater still went through with telling COPA the full story, even after learning of what the blowback would be. I actually thought he might lose his nerve after Price told him he isn't MLK, and he'd be crazy to take this on. But he stuck to his guns. It was probably because he went with the party line to clear Doyle of the shooting last season, and didn't want to make that mistake again.

And that last scene was straight gold. All those cops sitting in hiding on Atwater's home and Kevin ready to take them all on. That looked like an entire precinct of cops, or heck of a lot of cops loyal to Doyle and his family. It's going to be interesting to see how Kevin and Intelligence handle this next season.

I wish real cops had the guts to call out the racist cops amongst them and not let them slide. I've heard of so many cops that shoot unarmed victims that had prior history of profiling or racism, and they were never dealt with. Or worse yet, other officers cover up evidence of an officer's wrongful shooting, like we saw with Jason Van Dyke.

[Guildford]

55 minutes ago, WinJet0819 said:

When they give Atwater storylines, LaRoyce Hawkins continuously knocks them out of the park with his acting. The only issue is that the only storylines the character seems to get deal with racial issues. And I really think that's stereotyping his character. He's basically the token black man on the team, used for undercover buys and the race issues. He could do so much more if given decent storylines that just have to do with cases, regardless of race. It's a real waste of the character.

 

☝️This is one of my biggest issues with this show, while I appreciate that when they give Atwater an episode they are fantastic and those storylines do need highlighting but they do not give him anything else to do, at all.

They have all these great characters that have been there from the start and they are all pigeonholed. Atwater - the token black guy for the racist cop storylines, undercover buys and that's it - why are his parents not around, his old man is in jail...why?

Burgess is trotted out to show her tragic love life...when has she not had a storyline that didn't involve her latest squeeze dumping her, dying or some variation of. When she's not being kicked around by her latest beau, she sticks a couple of photos on a board.

Halstead...whenever he gets to do anything usually gets too invested and then fucks up and we are supposed to feel sorry for him because he has such a 'big heart'. His other main purpose these days is to follow around his master like a good little puppy dog.

Ruzek....well he just fucks up...oh and he has a Dad, and that random sister that we didn't know about for 4 years. That's it for him.

Rojas, was basically bought in to prop up Upton and make it seem like she actually has friends and drop the enormous Anvils the writers seem to think we need with regards to the two dumb blondes bumping uglies in the near future.

It's paint by numbers and all these characters are pretty one-dimensional and they've all been dumbed down to make Eid's love child shine. And don't we get to hear about her tragic (Erin-esque) past every other week. Even trotted off to the FBI for a bit....hmmmm where have I seen that before?

[Gothish520]

On 4/17/2020 at 3:25 AM, Guildford said:

They also did this last time if I recall, Ruzek is the only one who ever sympathises with Kevin's predicament. And for all the shit Ruzek gets he is loyal to a fault to the team and particularly Atwater.

Ruzek is the team's ride or die, that's for sure. 

[Ailianna]

Loyalty is certainly a very fine quality, but blind loyalty is just that--blind to everything else, including injustice, prejudice, and evil.  Atwater clearly did the right thing (and since we saw what happened, I'm not sure where the viewer question of is that what happened came from).  His team mates know him to be a man of integrity and honor, and believe him.  No one ever hesitated to believe him; it was only concern for the consequences that they raised.  But the problem is, you only get to be the good guys if you act like the good guys.  That means following the rules, even when they are inconvenient.  Even when the bad guys win sometimes.  So while Atwater is absolutely a good guy, Doyle, at least in this incident, was absolutely a bad guy.  Even if the man on the street turned out to be a bun toting, warrant having, drug dealing murderer, it wouldn't matter, since he was harassed by Doyle for his race, not for his actions.  It's of course, much clearer and much worse that he wasn't.  He was a regular guy, to use Atwater's phrase, doing regular guy things.  And the fact the other guys were in fact doing bad things doesn't excuse Doyle's behavior.  He was entirely wrong, and had no business being where he was, doing what he did.

So, no, those guys aren't legally guilty of any crime, and while they won't get the contraband back, they also won't be charged, because under the law, the police have no information that they were doing anything wrong.  And that's how it should be, since again, the way to know if you're the good guys is if you're doing the right thing.  Doyle wasn't, and he caused all of what happened.  In fact, if he had lived, I would have wanted him charged for murder.

[The Ringo Kidd]

All the cops are criminals and all the sinners saints.

At least in Dick Wolf shows.