'Chicago P.D.' Season 7 fall finale: Will messy situation with Halstead and Marcus West be solved without any more casualties?
It has been a messy season of 'Chicago P.D.' after the events of Episode 6 of Season 7, where an innocent man is arrested because of faulty facial recognition software. This arrest then leads to his death. But to save face, the police department frames the man, Marcus West.
At the center of that investigation was Detective Jay Halstead, who found the bodies of two young boys early on in that episode. We can understand why he was determined to get the man to confess, after all, he did not know that the software that promised more than 99% accuracy was actually less accurate when it came to darker-skinned people.
By the time they realize it, it is too late and Halstead, being the boy scout that he is, tries to alleviate that guilt as we see in this week's episode. He helps out Marcus's former girlfriend, Angela, and their son, Bobby, helping them run errands and giving them money. But eventually, the truth comes out as Halstead confesses to Angela.
When the episode ends, Angela shoots Halstead and from the promo for the next episode — which we won't see until January 8, 2020 — Halstead's chances of survival look slim.
But, there are more. Angela, who now knows the truth, tells Voight she plans to tell the whole city the truth about what really happened. Angela is angry, and rightly so, that Marcus was framed. She and her son are facing repercussions of Marcus's supposed crime, but she did just shoot a cop.
But what will the right thing to do be? What Halstead did in Episode 6, though unintended, was still wrong — it only proves the implicit bias that police officers often have towards people of color. The Intelligence Unit, and especially Halstead, did not even consider the possibility that Marcus West was innocent. And if Halstead does not pay for those mistakes, how will officers learn from their mistakes? Are police officers exempted from having to follow the law because they have all the power?
On the other hand, the decision to frame Marcus came from both Hank Voight and Interim Superintendent Jason Crawford — something they did knowingly and therefore made the situation worse. If Halstead is incriminated, the fallout would be arguably worse now than had he been reprimanded earlier. In that case, shouldn't Voight and Crawford pay instead of Halstead?
But even so, how do the writers decide to balance this out? It's a good thing that the writers acknowledged that the events in Episode 6 were harrowing. But again, Jay Halstead has been part of 'Chicago P.D.' since the beginning and has been more moral than any other character currently on 'Chicago P.D.' — except perhaps Kevin Atwater. Side note: we know that Atwater wouldn't have made the same mistake that Halstead did if he were in that position.
While fans may be calling for Angela's head — one, for shooting Halstead, and two, for threatening to publicize the entire debacle — Angela's anger is arguably justified. How can Angela's determination for the truth to come out be criticized? How much is too much for Voight? Will they do the same to Angela to keep saving themselves and keep the cycle going?
One thing is for sure. The situation is very messy, and how the writers choose to handle this going forward could raise a lot of ire, whatever they may choose to do. The wait to find out what that is will be long, but it may be worth it.
'Chicago P.D.' will return for new episodes on January 8, 2020.