‘Chicago P.D.’ Tackles Racial Tension In Intense Season 5 Premiere
The premiere of ‘Chicago P.D.’ jumped right back into action — and didn’t hold back when taking on issues making headlines today. Plus, what’s intelligence like without Lindsay?
Chicago P.D. didn’t waste anytime approaching the elephant in the room — Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush) was no longer in Chicago. So of course, everyone was effected. Jay was clearly heartbroken; the episode began with him walking through her empty apartment, finding a photo of them on the floor. Voight also had to handle her departure; for him, it was like he had pushed his daughter to take the next step in her life, but he didn’t realize how much he’d miss her. He actually was seeing a counselor to deal with it, which says a lot if you know Voight.
“She’s not coming back is she?” Jay asked him at one point in the episode, and as usual, Voight was straight with him. “It was time for her to move on from this place,” he said. “You need to make peace with it.”
Jay had a bit more to deal with in this week’s episode, though, when he fired at a suspect, and the bullet hit him, then hit and killed an innocent young African American girl. On top of the guilt he felt, Halstead also began being harassed online, when people dug up dirt from his past — like a time he punched an African American man who was stalking Lindsay. These online bullies demanded the “racist cop” be fired from intelligence.
The tone was definitely set. At one point during the case, Ruzek (Patrick Flueger) and Atwater (Laroyce Hawkins) approached an innocent man — while Ruzek was quick to pull his gun, which has always been the way he polices, Atwater was more hesitant, and understood that in today’s climate, things may need to be done differently. “Bottom line: it’s not easy for a black man to get on his knees for a white cop,” Atwater tried to explain to Ruzek, who stood by his ways.
Another one who wasn’t going to change his ways? Voight. After Lindsay’s too aggressive questioning last season, cameras were placed inside the questioning room. Those cameras forced him to avoid any physical punishment that we’ve grown to see nearly every episode.
“We’re addressing things that are happening in Chicago right now. They will be brought into the show,” newcomer Tracy Spiradakos told HollywoodLife.com exclusively ahead of the premiere. “One of the things is illegal immigration, which is something that’s talked about early on. There’s also reform. Basically, the way things were done for a long time in intelligence, just aren’t possible anymore, so we’ll see how the characters have to change.”
HollywoodLifers, what did you think about the premiere?