Chicago P.D.' season 7 episode 1 review: Voight gets a clean chit, but the rift between him and Halstead may have widened
'Chicago P.D.' is back for its newest season and the action began right away. To recap what happened in season 6: Superintendent Brian Kelton who was running for mayor was the major villain of the season. Initially, Voight is roped in to help him win but realizes Kelton's corrupt ways. This put the two at odds with each other and with Antonio's drug problems (which led to him accidentally killing a suspect), Kelton looked like he could create a serious dent in the Intelligence Unit. Ruzek takes the fall for the suspect's death, to protect Voight (who was protecting Antonio) from Kelton and gets arrested in the season finale. Halstead is told by Voight that he could take over the team someday, but Halstead is beginning to doubt Voight's ways. Voight goes to see Kelton after the latter wins the mayoral race "to do what needs to be done". Later, Halstead, Atwater, and Burgess get a call from Kelton's home and find him dead.
The season 7 premiere picks up right from the end of the previous season finale. Homicide and Intelligence team up to investigate Kelton's murder. Right from the beginning, Halstead suspects Voight but remains loyal to him. When Homicide tries to build a case with Voight as the suspect and tries to get Halstead to help them, Halstead goes to tell Vought what's happening. Meanwhile, Burgess is concerned about Antonio who hasn't responded to calls or texts since the previous night. Halstead and Upton work together to find out who the murderer could be and they get a suspect. Ruzek is bailed out of jail by Voight and picked up by Atwater and we find out that Ruzek is off P.D. while he is under investigation by Internal Affairs. Atwater got a really nice moment when Intelligence and Homicide officers were trying to apprehend the suspect, a young black man.
While the Homicide detectives look trigger-ready, Atwater speaks to the man while also asking Homicide to stand down and they are able to catch him without shooting him. Intelligence finds out Kelton was even dirtier than expected, paying people on the streets to help him win the election. Halstead's suspicions grow over the episode and even talks to Atwater, Upton, and Burgess about it. But eventually, they learn the real killer is Katherine Brennan (Anne Heche). Voight says he will give her time to deal with things, but Halstead and Upton, who even after knowing that Voight is innocent (as far as Kelton's murder is concerned) bust into Katherine's house while Katherine holds a gun to her hand, preparing to kill herself. They manage to subdue and arrest her, making Voight furious. It is eventually revealed that Voight helped Antonio check into an off-the-books rehab to help the latter get himself clean.
'Chicago P.D.' had the strongest return of all three shows of the 'Chicago' franchise when it comes to intrigue and plot. The writers have nicely set up a scenario where discord could be growing within the Intelligence Unit with Halstead and Voight on two sides. The only person who might stand for Voight could be Ruzek at this point, but Ruzek has things to deal with on his own. For one, until his trial, Ruzek is going to have a lot of time on his hands and we could see him deal with his night in jail, according to showrunner Rick Eid. With Antonio and Ruzek (for now) out of the team, this could give Atwater the chance to take a more central role in investigations on each episode. Jesse Lee Soffer has come a long way in his portrayal of Halstead and it is exciting to see where the character might head in this season.
'Chicago P.D.' airs on NBC on Wednesday nights.
