S05.E01: Reform

[Guest]

Quote

Season 5 Premiere

[MakeMeLaugh]

Well, hello, Antonio, and welcome home.

[spunky]

Thank you to the writers for showing different sides to a complex issue. I liked Kevin's level headed handling of the situation between the man and Ruzek. I also like that he explained to a clueless Adam why it seemed like the man was being difficult. CPD please don't try to become blue bloods with making it seem as though every community activist is just plain dirty.

[FnkyChkn34]

I could definitely tell that the show has a new showrunner and writers. It had a much different feel to it. 

I wouldn't mind seeing Halstead spiral a bit. But 6 months passed and he only left 1 message?  He was very good in this episode though, well acted. 

Atwater was great, and Voight too. Maybe Burgess just needs a few weeks to get back in the groove...

[rhys]

It looked as tho Ruzek (big buff blond guy--sorry, stink with names), was wearing eye make up under his eyes. Sorta like fake eyelashes & a bit of a smoky eye but not on the lid. It was distracting but oddly looked good. I realize I am making no sense!

[Chas411]

Welcome back sans Sophia show ?

[quesera1]

Honestly this was harder to watch than I had ever anticipated. I like Upton a lot, but it's so incredibly strange to not have Lindsay there. It's going to take me a long time to get used to that.

And seeing Jay dealing with so much just broke my heart. He deserves everything good. UGH this isn't how it was supposed to be.

I am SOOOOOO happy to have Antonio back, but did they explain his reason for wanting to leave the state's attorney's office because it was boring?? That seems odd to me, but whatever, as long as it brings Antonio back I'm fine with it.

There seem to be so many inconsistencies though already. Like I read there's a six month time jump, but they never indicated on-screen when that was... I assume right from the beginning? But then why was Jay at Erin's apartment six months later? I'm so confused. (Also PS her apartment number used to be 410, what is this, Friends?)

[FnkyChkn34]

1 hour ago, quesera1 said:

There seem to be so many inconsistencies though already. Like I read there's a six month time jump, but they never indicated on-screen when that was... I assume right from the beginning? But then why was Jay at Erin's apartment six months later? I'm so confused. (Also PS her apartment number used to be 410, what is this, Friends?)

I think the major inconsistency started last year - where was Jay living?  So he moved in with Erin, presumably giving up his place, right?  But then he moves out of Erin's and in with Will.  Will was living with his girlfriend though, the blonde woman whose name I can't remember, and then they broke up.  The joke on social media was, where were both Will and Jay living after that?  Neither show said.  (The actress joked that Jay could stay, just Will had to go.)  And, Erin owned her condo, didn't just rent it... So did Jay move back in after Erin moved out?  Did it take her 6 months to sell it?  Did it take him 6 months to sell it?  Why did they take all of their clothes but not the hangers??  So many questions!  (Also, I didn't catch the number on the door last night, but Erin's condo has always been 310.)

Voight said Antonio had been unhappy at the state's attorney's office for awhile.  That's all I caught on that part.  But I agree, whatever brings Antonio back is fine with me.

[watcher1006]

The question is whether they will utilize Jon Seda's Antonio character better than they were doing at the time he left. With Erin and (presumably) Bunny gone there should be more screen time for the rest of the cast, at least one would hope so. I'm still not sure if I want to stick with this show another season.

[preeya]

Did not like Wendell Pierce portraying the Chicago version of Al Sharpton

Edited September 28, 2017 by preeya

[Xantar]

I didn't know that Sophia Bush is really gone for good. I realize that it would have been ridiculous to bring her back, but all the same I really felt the hole in Voight's heart. He simply doesn't have anybody in his life any more. If we had to lose somebody, why couldn't it have been Ruzek and his ridiculous abuse of authority?

And while we're at it, I wouldn't mind a little more Reiko Aylesworth. How about it writers?

I'm leery of TV shows tackling race issues. On the other hand, Chicago Justice wasn't afraid to take on hot button topics, and I think they were mostly handled with sensitivity. If any of the same people are involved in this show, then there's reason to hope. I agree with spunky that what we've seen is more promising than Blue Bloods. But time will have to tell whether Voight's unconstitutional tactics are ever truly reformed.

Edited September 28, 2017 by Xantar

[FnkyChkn34]

33 minutes ago, Xantar said:

I didn't know that Sophia Bush is really gone for good. I realize that it would have been ridiculous to bring her back, but all the same I really felt the hole in Voight's heart. He simply doesn't have anybody in his life any more. If we had to lose somebody, why couldn't it have been Ruzek and his ridiculous abuse of authority?

And while we're at it, I wouldn't mind a little more Reiko Aylesworth. How about it writers?

I'm leery of TV shows tackling race issues. On the other hand, Chicago Justice wasn't afraid to take on hot button topics, and I think they were mostly handled with sensitivity. If any of the same people are involved in this show, then there's reason to hope. I agree with spunky that what we've seen is more promising than Blue Bloods. But time will have to tell whether Voight's unconstitutional tactics are ever truly reformed.

Re: Ruzek - I don't hate him, but I don't love him, so I agree that he is the most expendable.  He's always been arrogant, but last night was a change in character.  I have no interest in watching a racist Ruzek.

Re: Voight - I'd say no.  He somehow bought off the mastermind guy, right?  To save Halstead?  He walked away from the alderman smirking, so something is definitely up, something that isn't entirely legit.

[Guildford]

I am hoping that things will smooth out with this new showrunner because it was a little jarring and choppy with the writing. I think a storyline with Ruzek and Atwater having issues could have been done over a longer period, there was zero buildup or reason for that last night. It made zero sense imo because that was completely out of character for Ruzek. Let's hope that all settles down because for me he is the most enjoyable character & I love him & Atwater together.

Let's just hope that 'meaningful' claptrap about Lindsay means that everyone can just move on now. Voight in therapy, I didn't think this show was a comedy? His son gets murdered, yet he is in therapy now because Erin took a job in another city....please.

[greyhorse]

Only 12 replies and it's over 24 hours later?  

Sad that Sophia Bush is gone.  The Greek actress sure fills the pretty role, hoping her character will develop to keep it interesting.  Going to guess that she and Halstead are going to become a thing.

Burgess has a new guy?  Since when?

Who is this black arbitrator riding Voight?  Has he been on the show before?  I can't remember him.  I think I'm confusing him with the crooked Chicago ex-partner of Grover on Hawaii 5-0 who pushed his wife off a cliff.

[CheshireCat]

6 hours ago, Guildford said:

Let's just hope that 'meaningful' claptrap about Lindsay means that everyone can just move on now. Voight in therapy, I didn't think this show was a comedy? His son gets murdered, yet he is in therapy now because Erin took a job in another city....please.

I doubt he's in therapy because Lindsay left but because she left as well. He lost his wife, he lost his son, his former daughter-in-law took his grandson away (and we don't know if she's keeping in touch, maybe he's getting updates) and while I'm pretty sure that Lindsay will get back in touch when she can (she's supposed to be on a long undercover sting, isn't she?), she isn't there now anymore either. That is a lot of loss to deal with and we all have a breaking point. Voight's breaking point seems to have been Lindsay leaving and if I look at the list, understandably so, I'd say.

[dreamcatcher]

Soo it was pretty underwhelming. Once again there is 'tension' in a black community. Once again somebody targets Intelligence. Once again one of them screws up, but everything is cool at the end of the episode. How original. It was good enough as an episode, but not good enough as a premiere.

I think I might binge watch all the episodes during christmas, as it does seem they will make Jay and the new one an item and if that happens, I'm out.

And as much as I like Ruzek and Atwater as partners, why would they partner up two officers and two detectives instead of mixing them? And I really wanted Antonio with Jay, they make the perfect team.

[CheshireCat]

4 hours ago, dreamcatcher said:

And as much as I like Ruzek and Atwater as partners, why would they partner up two officers and two detectives instead of mixing them? And I really wanted Antonio with Jay, they make the perfect team.

What, you don't think partnering the most inexperienced officer with someone else who's fairly inexperienced is a smart move? ;-)

They have Jay, Antonio and Olinsky, so each of them could be partnered with an officer. The "new girl" could either be rotating or partner with Voight when they roll out.

[FnkyChkn34]

1 hour ago, CheshireCat said:

What, you don't think partnering the most inexperienced officer with someone else who's fairly inexperienced is a smart move? ;-)

They have Jay, Antonio and Olinsky, so each of them could be partnered with an officer. The "new girl" could either be rotating or partner with Voight when they roll out.

Well, the "new girl" is also a detective.  I think I would like the pairings of Jay and Atwater, Antonio and Burgess, Upton/Ruzek/Olinsky.  After this episode, it's clear that Ruzek needs the most supervision and guidance.  

[Elliebab]

15 hours ago, dreamcatcher said:

Soo it was pretty underwhelming. Once again there is 'tension' in a black community. Once again somebody targets Intelligence. Once again one of them screws up, but everything is cool at the end of the episode. How original. It was good enough as an episode, but not good enough as a premiere.

I think I might binge watch all the episodes during christmas, as it does seem they will make Jay and the new one an item and if that happens, I'm out.

And as much as I like Ruzek and Atwater as partners, why would they partner up two officers and two detectives instead of mixing them? And I really wanted Antonio with Jay, they make the perfect team.

No, everything wasn't cool. The little girl is still dead and the mother lost her child and Jay still lost Erin. Jay went to see a grieving mother just to give her back her daughter's necklace. It wasn't a "happy ending" for Jay at all.

[dreamcatcher]

4 hours ago, Elliebab said:

No, everything wasn't cool. The little girl is still dead and the mother lost her child and Jay still lost Erin. Jay went to see a grieving mother just to give her back her daughter's necklace. It wasn't a "happy ending" for Jay at all.

Of course it isn't, but they can't bring the girl back. I mean that the storyline was all about Jay losing his job/intelligence being under fire and once again that was pointless. Jay has another reason to go crazy but no worries, he will forget it just like he always forgets everything else. They never show him actually deal with his pain so again, giving him another storyline like this was pointless.

Then again, Jesse totally delivered so continuity or not, I think Jesse is getting better with each episode.

[Raja]

On ‎9‎/‎29‎/‎2017 at 0:54 PM, FnkyChkn34 said:

Well, the "new girl" is also a detective.  I think I would like the pairings of Jay and Atwater, Antonio and Burgess, Upton/Ruzek/Olinsky.  After this episode, it's clear that Ruzek needs the most supervision and guidance.  

Not just a detective but a super homicide detective working cases all by herself when she decided that she wanted Intelligence as her next step

[Kel Varnsen]

On 9/28/2017 at 8:46 AM, quesera1 said:

I am SOOOOOO happy to have Antonio back, but did they explain his reason for wanting to leave the state's attorney's office because it was boring?? That seems odd to me, but whatever, as long as it brings Antonio back I'm fine with it.

Which is an annoying reason since didn't he say last season that he wanted to be a SA investigator, so he could have a boring 9-5 job and be able to focus more on his kids? So sorry Antonio's kids I guess you aren't that important.

On 9/28/2017 at 4:03 PM, preeya said:

Did not like Wendell Pierce portraying the Chicago version of Al Sharpton

It is just too bad they couldn't have brought back The Bunk and have him be a cop. Maybe he could have been Erin's replacement. Either way wonder if it is a reoccurring role?

As for Atwater and Ruzek, their scene with the guy and his kid would have made a bit more sense if they had given us any kind of tiny reason to show why Ruzek suspected him. Because it sure seemed like the only reason Ruzek suspected the guy was because he was black and the guy they were looking for was also black. Which is some super shitty police work there Ruzek ya dumbass.

[NYCFree]

3 hours ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Which is an annoying reason since didn't he say last season that he wanted to be a SA investigator, so he could have a boring 9-5 job and be able to focus more on his kids? So sorry Antonio's kids I guess you aren't that important.

It is just too bad they couldn't have brought back The Bunk and have him be a cop. Maybe he could have been Erin's replacement. Either way wonder if it is a reoccurring role?

As for Atwater and Ruzek, their scene with the guy and his kid would have made a bit more sense if they had given us any kind of tiny reason to show why Ruzek suspected him. Because it sure seemed like the only reason Ruzek suspected the guy was because he was black and the guy they were looking for was also black. Which is some super shitty police work there Ruzek ya dumbass.

I thought that when they saw the dad walking away, he appeared to be walking with an odd gait, and they knew that the suspect had a gunshot wound. Ruzek said something to Atwater, after they saw the guy walking it was something along the lines of "you thinking what I'm thinking?" Then they hustled after the guy.

[SnarkySheep]

On 9/28/2017 at 10:31 AM, FnkyChkn34 said:

The joke on social media was, where were both Will and Jay living after that?  Neither show said. 

I presumed that both had moved in with their father, at least temporarily...we know that Jay was there, at least right after leaving Erin. And Will doesn't have a dollar to his name, which is essentially why he had moved in with Nina in the first place. 

On 9/29/2017 at 1:45 AM, CheshireCat said:

I doubt he's in therapy because Lindsay left but because she left as well. He lost his wife, he lost his son, his former daughter-in-law took his grandson away (and we don't know if she's keeping in touch, maybe he's getting updates) and while I'm pretty sure that Lindsay will get back in touch when she can (she's supposed to be on a long undercover sting, isn't she?), she isn't there now anymore either. That is a lot of loss to deal with and we all have a breaking point. Voight's breaking point seems to have been Lindsay leaving and if I look at the list, understandably so, I'd say.

Perfectly put! I agree...Lindsay's leaving was the proverbial last straw, so to speak. Voight has no one now. 

That said, I don't buy that she would have left him (and Halstead) like she did. I understand that Sophia Bush's leaving left the writers little options, but storywise it's hard to swallow. Erin and Jay were a solid couple, who literally never had any issues with one another from the day they met; then all of a sudden there are major problems. Erin knows precisely where Voight is, emotionally. She would never have taken a job clear across the country (and even that's a bit hard to swallow, considering she was on the verge of being fired from the CPD...but the FBI wants a person like that?) But IMO they really couldn't explain Sophia's departure any better, so I'm willing to roll right on by and just pretend it didn't happen.