Chicago PD Season 12, Episode 18 Finally Gave Voight The Lesson He Long Needed

If Sergeant Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) had his own way in Chicago PD, he wouldn’t tell anyone about the threat that Deputy Chief Supervisor Charlie Reid (Shawn Hatosy) had become. This is something we’ve seen from the very beginning of the series, with Voight needing to know what everyone else is suffering with but never leaning on his team to help him. While it’s admirable to support the team, Chicago PD season 12, episode 18 made it clear that this sort of support works both ways.

It may have taken 12 seasons of the One Chicago series, but Voight has finally realized that he doesn’t need to handle everything alone. His biggest lesson arrived when Reid put one of Voight’s own at risk, leading to everyone else ambushing him. Hopefully, this will lead to a permanent change for the Intelligence leader in Chicago PD season 13, assuming the series is renewed.

Voight's Conflict With Reid In Chicago PD Season 12 Explained

Deputy Chief Reid Has Dirt On Intelligence

Reid standing in the squad room in Chicago PD

When Reid first appeared in Chicago PD season 12, we could tell that he was going to be a threat. He immediately supported the idea of Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) getting the detective promotion, but didn’t want her leaving Intelligence. Burgess wanted to gain experience elsewhere, but Reid used his influence to keep Burgess with Voight’s team, making it clear that he had something planned.

It didn’t take too long for Reid to show some of his cards and involve the rest of the Chicago PD cast. Knowing that Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar) had broken the rules and law by having a relationship with a criminal informant and Burgess had lied to cover for him, Reid suggested that he and Voight become “friends.” Voight quickly found himself doing questionable things to help Reid gain power and influence throughout Chicago.

As the pressure continued to weigh on Voight’s mind, he needed to turn to someone to get dirt on Reid. While he could trust his team, he didn’t want to put the pressure on them by knowing the political issues affecting them. Instead, he turned to Assistant State Attorney Nina Chapman (Sarah Bues), and the two have pushed to find a way to bring Reid down. That has all changed in Chicago PD season 12, episode 18, with Voight finally learning a lesson we had been waiting for.

Intelligence Demanded Voight Include The Team In His Plans In Chicago PD Season 12, Episode 18

Burgess Led The Charge To Get Answers From Voight

When Reid turned to Voight with a criminal situation, the Intelligence sergeant attempted to deal with the entire situation alone. The car from the carjacking included hundreds of thousands of dollars in drugs, so naturally, Reid wanted to get it, but Voight knew there was some sort of ulterior motive. Rather than pull his whole team into the potentially career-ending situation, Voight only told them the basics to help track down the carjackers.

That wasn’t enough for Reid, who decided to involve the rest of the team as much as possible. After Torres was involved in a fender-bender despite being benched by Voight due to a shoulder injury, Reid paid him a visit to get him to follow a lead. Fortunately, Torres had the good sense to call Voight, admitting that he’s dealing with insomnia, but that he felt like he couldn’t say no to Reid.

Not only did they need to know all the information to crack the case, but they also needed to understand why there was extra pressure on Intelligence from someone higher up, as this was the only way to keep all of them safe and sane.

Torres did the right thing, and it helped Voight get some answers that he needed to get to the bottom of the case. However, the rest of Intelligence knew that something else was going on, and they demanded answers. It was time for Voight to lean on his team the way that they have leaned on him in the past. Not only did they need to know all the information to crack the case, but they also needed to understand why there was extra pressure on Intelligence from someone higher up, as this was the only way to keep all of them safe and sane.

Voight Has Always Refused To Involve Intelligence In Political Conflicts, But That Has To Change

It’s Time For Voight To Follow His Own Rules

As much as Voight has always tried to protect his team, there are times when they need to be involved. It’s admirable that Voight doesn’t want to involve others in the political conflicts that can affect the team. They are then able to focus on the cases at hand without worrying about their jobs or even their freedom. However, by working in the dark, Voight takes on a lot of extra stress, and he needs to show that he trusts the other members of his team in the Dick Wolf universe.

Reid has been working against the entire unit from the beginning. We saw in Chicago PD season 12, episode 16 that the Deputy Chief was putting extra pressure on Burgess, forcing her to work all hours to be able to get reports done. She had no idea at the time that this was some sort of retaliatory tactic, but by knowing what was going on politically, she could have leaned on Adam Ruzek (John Patrick Flueger) or even spoken to Voight about this extra work. While it wouldn’t have stopped Reid, others would have understood what was going on for Burgess.

Voight has always had the rule for others to tell him their secrets so that he can lie for them, and this sort of relationship works both ways. He’s commanded the respect and loyalty of his team, and they would happily jump into the fire with him to protect the entire unit. By not telling them, it gives off the impression that he doesn’t trust them, and this needs to change in the One Chicago series.