S05.E04: Snitch

[Guest]

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While investigating a drug-related homicide, Intelligence is stonewalled by the 'no-snitch' culture of the neighborhood. And Atwater discovers a personal connection to the case. Meanwhile, the police's own code of silence is put to the test when Upton is asked about Ruzek's rough altercation with a suspect.

[FnkyChkn34]

Wow, Voight really has become just a one trick pony, hasn't he?  At least in previous seasons, he teetered on the edge of good and evil... this season, he just wants to break all the rules and murder everyone. Ugh. 

To make this season better, imo, I need more Atwater, Olinsky, and Halstead; less evil Voight, angry Ruzek, and dirty cops.  This season is going downhill fast, and it didn't even start out that well...

[mommalib]

I hate Voight's crooked ass and he's going to get his one day. Ruzek is exactly the kind of wild off the hook cowboy cop that's out here killing unarmed blacks people. And of course that new chick is gonna be complicit. Atwater is my guy though.

Edited October 19, 2017 by mommalib

[Chas411]

Nice to see Atwater get some screentime 

[FnkyChkn34]

I used to be on the fence about Voight.  I thought that, sure, he "bent" some rules sometimes, but he was always doing it for the greater good.  And he took money from the gang leader and kept him out of jail, but he donated it to people in need and that gang leader wasn't all that bad to begin with.  And he really did just love his children... etc., etc.

After last night's episode, I hate Voight.  He's evil.  He's selfish, arrogant, and has his own form of vigilante justice that I just can't root for anymore.  

Congratulations, new showrunner and writers - you ruined the star of the show.

[MakeMeLaugh]

I actually am thrilled to see the inner Hank Voight coming out (and we certainly have enough Mary Sues on these shows)! I think we are supposed to start hating him.

In the first season of Chicago Fire, the Chicago original show from Dick Wolf, he was so evil that he plotted several murders to keep one of the Fire's main characters from pursuing Voight's son's prosecution for vehicular homicide. Great storyline, Voight ended up in jail himself and Jon Seda's character Antonio Dawson helped put him there. All of a sudden Chicago PD appears on the scene and not only are Voight's criminal activities excused, a fuzzy storyline gets made up that he's actually a good guy. And Antonio has his back? And we're all cheering for his abuse of suspects downstairs in the chainlink cage? Whaaa?

My purely imaginary supposition is that Jason Beghe's performances turned out to be so compelling in the Fire episodes and the early PD ones that the producers needed him to be a bigger character. But I would love Antonio and the other young cops to take over. I think Ruzek is actually being primed to be a baby Voight--Burgess is baby Trudy, Atwater might be baby Olinsky... Yes I do have an active imagination. 

Edited October 19, 2017 by MakeMeLaugh

[FnkyChkn34]

7 minutes ago, MakeMeLaugh said:

My purely imaginary supposition is that Jason Beghe's performances turned out to be so compelling in the Fire episodes and the early PD ones that the producers needed him to be a bigger character. But I would love Antonio and the other young cops to take over. I think Ruzek is actually being primed to be a baby Voight--Burgess is baby Trudy, Atwater might be baby Olinsky... Yes I do have an active imagination. 

I completely agree with that.  I'm not even sure a PD spinoff was an idea when Voight was originally introduced, but he's a dynamic actor so they built something around him.  I am kind of okay with how they retconned his character in the beginning, making him work with IA to "clean up" the Chicago PD as a whole...

But who he's been in the last few episodes?  Yes, I'm beginning to hate him, as you said, but he's also not a character that I love to hate, and that I necessarily want to keep watching.  I guess he's just not very entertaining to me anymore.

As for who the characters are being primed to be - I can see Burgess as Trudy.  Halstead is like Antonio, and Atwater is more like Antonio to me as well.  Olinsky does some shady stuff as Voight's right hand man, and so far, I can't see Atwater going that route.  Ruzek's attitude this season is deplorable, and needs to take a hike.  Bring back the impulsive hothead Ruzek instead, not the racist, violent Ruzek.

[MakeMeLaugh]

Atwater in a few scenes seems to have backed away from rocking the boat when Ruzek has overreacted--which I think Olinsky has done his whole career with Voight's escapades. 

BTW so glad to see Atwater getting so much more air time!

[Xantar]

I actually liked this episode. It doesn't bother me that Voight is a rogue, civil-rights violating, evil cop. He has ALWAYS been that way. There isn't really any grey here. He is objectively a bad cop. If he were a real person, we would find him despicable. It's just that in previous seasons he was very compelling and protective of his people, so we kind of rooted for him anyway. Now that he has nobody left, he's just an asshole who doesn't know how to refrain from brutalizing people.

I always thought that if this show was going to make any sense, then Voight would have to get what's coming to him. This show was conceived as a lighter version of The Shield in which Voight was somehow a good guy. I don't think that was ever sustainable in the long run. Part of what sank Chicago Justice was that it had a squeaky clean upright prosecutor (and the son of Ben Stone, no less!) working in the same system as the Intelligence Unit. It strained credulity too much for me.

What will really sink the season is if Voight gets away with all his shenanigans in the end. In the meantime we will see what happens.

[mommalib]

2 hours ago, Xantar said:

I actually liked this episode. It doesn't bother me that Voight is a rogue, civil-rights violating, evil cop. He has ALWAYS been that way. There isn't really any grey here. He is objectively a bad cop. If he were a real person, we would find him despicable. It's just that in previous seasons he was very compelling and protective of his people, so we kind of rooted for him anyway. Now that he has nobody left, he's just an asshole who doesn't know how to refrain from brutalizing people.

I always thought that if this show was going to make any sense, then Voight would have to get what's coming to him. This show was conceived as a lighter version of The Shield in which Voight was somehow a good guy. I don't think that was ever sustainable in the long run. Part of what sank Chicago Justice was that it had a squeaky clean upright prosecutor (and the son of Ben Stone, no less!) working in the same system as the Intelligence Unit. It strained credulity too much for me.

What will really sink the season is if Voight gets away with all his shenanigans in the end. In the meantime we will see what happens.

That's the thing with me, I want to see Voight get his and I want him looked at as the bad guy that he is.

[doLLish]

I guess I’m the only one who doesn’t hate Voight. I actually love him. He does terrible things to terrible people and protects those he loves fiercely. Sorry if my heart isn’t bleeding for those who face his wrath. 

I hated what he did to Casey and thought he was human waste at the time but I’m pretty much over it.

And is everyone forgetting Olinsky is pretty much just as “bad”?

[jewel21]

I still like Ruzek and find his character compelling.

It was nice to see Atwater get an episode. I felt for him at the diner though. Poor guy, I hope his brother will be okay.

[MakeMeLaugh]

1 hour ago, doLLish said:

I guess I’m the only one who doesn’t hate Voight. I actually love him. He does terrible things to terrible people and protects those he loves fiercely. Sorry if my heart isn’t bleeding for those who face his wrath. 

I hated what he did to Casey and thought he was human waste at the time but I’m pretty much over it.

And is everyone forgetting Olinsky is pretty much just as “bad”?

Lindsey was the perfect foil to Voight—their relationship was proof that he had a heart to balance his pragmatic policing practices. Not sure if that can stand up without her as he doesn’t have anyone to protect now. So he is going to the dark side. Personally, I love it. 

[doLLish]

27 minutes ago, MakeMeLaugh said:

Lindsey was the perfect foil to Voight—their relationship was proof that he had a heart to balance his pragmatic policing practices. Not sure if that can stand up without her as he doesn’t have anyone to protect now. So he is going to the dark side. Personally, I love it. 

This is true. The show is still good but it’s definietly missing something without Lindsay. I liked her in small doses last season but Upton isn’t a suitable replacement.

[CheshireCat]

I liked Voight as what would probably be called an anti-hero. I thought they had done a good job of making him likeable despite the way he acted and I was usually on his side. If they're making him solely a bad guy then I'm glad I have not yet watched an episode. What I'm reading so far certainly doesn't make me want to watch (although this Atwater-centric episode certainly tempts me). It sounds as if the new showrunner either doesn't know the characters at all or thinks he needs to change everything.

[12catcrazy]

I used to like this show - not liking it so much at the moment.  Yeah, they seem to be making Voight a real bad cop but on the other hand you can also see why he does what he does.  The reality is if Atwater would've plugged the bad guy as Voight wanted him to do, it would've saved him a degree of grief.  Now he has to worry about his siblings safety (and probably his own as well).   These neighborhood codes of silence are enforced and maintained through fear.  People who give witness are murdered and it means nothing that the gang leaders are in jail - they still have their people on the outside who do their dirty work.   

[FnkyChkn34]

27 minutes ago, 12catcrazy said:

I used to like this show - not liking it so much at the moment.  Yeah, they seem to be making Voight a real bad cop but on the other hand you can also see why he does what he does.  The reality is if Atwater would've plugged the bad guy as Voight wanted him to do, it would've saved him a degree of grief.  Now he has to worry about his siblings safety (and probably his own as well).   These neighborhood codes of silence are enforced and maintained through fear.  People who give witness are murdered and it means nothing that the gang leaders are in jail - they still have their people on the outside who do their dirty work.   

But Atwater would still have the same worries if he had killed him, probably more - the gang would retaliate for the leader's death and come after Atwater, his family, and probably all the rest of the cops. In that regard, he was screwed either way. But maybe by not pulling the trigger, the guy knows that Atwater isn't a murderer.  

Either way, I don't like who Voight has become in the past 2 or 3 episodes. Even if we're just supposed to hate him and that's what the writers want, he's a cliche that's not entertaining right now. 

[watcher1006]

I wonder what they are doing with Antonio and Brooks' attempt to undermine Voight's squad. I can't imagine Antonio would sell them out.

[SnarkySheep]

On 10/18/2017 at 10:53 PM, FnkyChkn34 said:

Wow, Voight really has become just a one trick pony, hasn't he?  At least in previous seasons, he teetered on the edge of good and evil... this season, he just wants to break all the rules and murder everyone. Ugh. 

IMO that kind of makes sense, considering everything that's happened over the past couple of years...finding out his sick wife might not have died after all; Justin's death; Olive moving away with Daniel; now Erin leaving. This is a man with a lot of anger in him, and he literally has nothing left to lose at this point.

 

On 10/19/2017 at 2:38 PM, FnkyChkn34 said:

My purely imaginary supposition is that Jason Beghe's performances turned out to be so compelling in the Fire episodes and the early PD ones that the producers needed him to be a bigger character.

Not at all imaginary...the Powers That Be have actually said that they made the show because of him. 

 

On 10/20/2017 at 0:53 PM, 12catcrazy said:

The reality is if Atwater would've plugged the bad guy as Voight wanted him to do, it would've saved him a degree of grief.  Now he has to worry about his siblings safety (and probably his own as well). 

The whole storyline begs the question as to what happened to the Atwater parents. No one has ever said, but now I'm wondering if they were the victims of some kind of crime.

[doLLish]

Yes I’m definitely ready for Atwater’s backstory and feel like it’s overdue. There’s clearly a lot there.

 

ETA: I’m watching an episode from season 2 on Oxygen, the one where Atwater and Ruzek go undercover in a prison and Kevin mentions his father did time.

Edited October 25, 2017 by doLLish

[mysticalflute]

I really like Kim and Kevin's dynamic. I know people aren't a fan of Kim's for whatever reason but I really like her relationship with Kevin and his siblings. :)

[CheshireCat]

12 minutes ago, mysticalflute said:

I really like Kim and Kevin's dynamic. I know people aren't a fan of Kim's for whatever reason but I really like her relationship with Kevin and his siblings. :)

I do not not like Burgess. I don't like how they've written her at work/her naked ambitiousness/Mary-Sue-likeness at times. I thought that she and Atwater worked well together, even while they were still on patrol but that was a long time ago and there is far too few of their personal interaction.

I do wonder why they haven't yet said what exactly is going on with Atwater's family. Do they not know? Have they forgotten what they've set up so far? It seems like this big mystery that's not meant to be a mystery.

Edited October 26, 2017 by CheshireCat

[spunky]

On 10/19/2017 at 0:07 PM, FnkyChkn34 said:

I used to be on the fence about Voight.  I thought that, sure, he "bent" some rules sometimes, but he was always doing it for the greater good.  And he took money from the gang leader and kept him out of jail, but he donated it to people in need and that gang leader wasn't all that bad to begin with.  And he really did just love his children... etc., etc.

After last night's episode, I hate Voight.  He's evil.  He's selfish, arrogant, and has his own form of vigilante justice that I just can't root for anymore.  

Congratulations, new showrunner and writers - you ruined the star of the show.

This the original Voight, this was how he was introduced on Fire. It seems as though he's going back to his old ways.

[Raja]

On 10/19/2017 at 2:20 PM, Xantar said:

I actually liked this episode. It doesn't bother me that Voight is a rogue, civil-rights violating, evil cop. He has ALWAYS been that way. There isn't really any grey here. He is objectively a bad cop. If he were a real person, we would find him despicable. It's just that in previous seasons he was very compelling and protective of his people, so we kind of rooted for him anyway. Now that he has nobody left, he's just an asshole who doesn't know how to refrain from brutalizing people.

I always thought that if this show was going to make any sense, then Voight would have to get what's coming to him. This show was conceived as a lighter version of The Shield in which Voight was somehow a good guy. I don't think that was ever sustainable in the long run. Part of what sank Chicago Justice was that it had a squeaky clean upright prosecutor (and the son of Ben Stone, no less!) working in the same system as the Intelligence Unit. It strained credulity too much for me.

What will really sink the season is if Voight gets away with all his shenanigans in the end. In the meantime we will see what happens.

I think the difference is that The Shield being in an easier market place probably had the plan of taking down their Sergeant from the beginning.

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He opened the show murdering a cop after all

Chicago PD however is a network show, it can disappear after two weeks and the reboot from jail back to the Intelligence Squad even out did Third Watch when their over the line Sergeant who played another Vic, in a The Shield lite, was saved

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because out of nowhere she was a FBI informant like that would make a difference

[Gothish520]

On 10/19/2017 at 11:07 PM, doLLish said:

I guess I’m the only one who doesn’t hate Voight. I actually love him. He does terrible things to terrible people and protects those he loves fiercely. Sorry if my heart isn’t bleeding for those who face his wrath. 

I hated what he did to Casey and thought he was human waste at the time but I’m pretty much over it.

And is everyone forgetting Olinsky is pretty much just as “bad”?

 

On 10/19/2017 at 11:19 PM, jewel21 said:

I still like Ruzek and find his character compelling.

This is all pretty much where I'm at too. Sometimes I feel like I'm watching a different show from others here. Voight is a fascinating character. Yes he has done some despicable things, and he's also done some great things. Love him or hate him or both, he makes this show.

Also pretty much like all of the other characters, to varying degrees LOL. Ruzek is interesting and funny and I like him a lot. 

I'm surprised at how much I don't miss Erin. It is nice that the other characters are getting more screen time now. 

On a purely superficial note, can't help but say that one of the things I enjoy about this show is the sweet, sweet eye candy!