Justin Voight: Wannabe Bad Boy

[SnarkySheep]

While Justin is a side character and seemingly rather unimportant at first glance, he IS in fact quite relevant, simply because of how he drives the actions of two main characters. Both Voight and Lindsay were willing to risk their careers to keep Justin out of trouble...although Justin himself doesn't seem to acknowledge the sacrifice they are making for him. Most people would have learned a lesson from being in prison the first time, yet Justin seems to slip into his old ways almost the minute he's outside.

So far, it's not immediately clear as to what drives him. We know that his mother died and he took her death hard. However, it's not apparent as to whether this was a year ago or when he was a little boy. We know that Justin resents his father's work (as evidenced in his sarcasm at not being surprised only Erin came to pick him up at the prison) and that he also resents or is a bit envious of Erin (as evidenced in his comments over dinner about her once being the problem, and now she's the golden child while he's the prodigal son). Yet at the same time, he plainly loves his father, and Erin as well, kissing her fully when the two are first reunited and indicating jealousy when he believes Halstead to be her boyfriend. 

For some reason, Justin seems to adopt the persona of a tough street punk, trying to talk the talk and walk the walk. Yet it's almost laughable how transparent he is when he does this, and it also makes him vulnerable to people such as his old cell mate, who clearly sees him as a follower. What does this behavior stem from, and why does he utilize it? Was he influenced by the street-tough Erin, brought into his home when he was just a child, causing him to emulate it? Did he fill his unchaperoned free time, with his father off working long hours, with friends who weren't a good influence? 

The real irony - and outright pain, for many viewers - is the way that Voight was willing to hurt Casey, a truly good person, in order to protect Justin, who has yet to show any indication of decency. 

While Justin has now gone away, I presume this isn't the last we will see or hear of him - or his influence upon Voight and Lindsay, good and bad.

 

[MissLucas]

Damn, dude never got a post here - no wonder he's headed off to Star City.

[SnarkySheep]

IMO the real irony of Justin's relationship with his father is that neither man realized how alike they were - in both good and bad ways. Perhaps that's why they couldn't ever really get along. They were basically just an older and younger version of the same person.