Chicago P.D. is building towards a momentous Season 12 finale, with Voight (Jason Beghe) staring down the barrel as Reid (Shawn Hatosy) seems to have finally succeeded in decimating the Intelligence unit, or has he?
The promo for the finale "Vows" makes it clear that Voight won't go down without a fight, and is ready to go the lengths. The unit's future might currently seem bleak, but with the finale promising to end on a festive note with the much-anticipated Burzek wedding, it raises hopes that Voight and his men will have the last laugh. One character who's fought on Voight's side in this season-long war has been ASA Nina Chapman (Sara Bues), and showrunner Gwen Sigan has recently shared more insights into the dynamic between their characters.
Season 12 has seen a subtle evolution in the Voight-Chapman dynamic, with Chapman confessing her feelings to him at some point. Her feelings remain unrequited, with the hardshelled Voight still emotionally unavailable following the devastating loss of his wife, Camille. Sigan, in her recent interview with CBR, explained Voight's state of mind. According to her, this wall that Voight has put up comes from a place of deep fear of having to endure the pain of losing another loved one. "I think Voight has always represented this individual whose love is the city and his job," said Sigan, adding:
"But [it's] baked into his character that he had this love of his life, Camille, that he married and had a child with. And I think that if you take both of those things to be true, you know there's such a discrepancy between who he once was and who he is now. He's kind of shoved all that aside, because he never wants to lose it again. And in my head, I believe he doesn't think he's really worthy of it again."
Voight's Journey To Romance Will Be A Slow Burn
Image by: Lori Allen/NBC Image via NBC
Though fans are itching to see the hard-edged Intelligence Unit boss soften and find romance, Sigan wisely points out that rushing this development will be out of character. Rather than a mawkish approach to Voight's personal life, Sigan explains that the show intends to treat romance as a plot device to explore his growth and evolution one chapter at a time.
"The reason to tell a story like this is just to get into his character and things we haven't explored yet. Why doesn't he allow himself to have romantic relationships? Would he ever want one?" continued Sigan. "We're playing this thing as slow as possible, because I think that's just our show. And I don't ever really fully imagine him to just be like a normal kind of relationship guy, but it's been really interesting to write, and I think it just brings up so many different facets. However, Sigan concluded by admitting that there's indeed chemistry between Voight and Chapman, adding, "Even if it never goes fully there, it still brings up a different version of Hank Voight. And Chapman's sort of the perfect person to do it, because I just love their chemistry and the way that Sara [Bues] plays it."
Tune in for the Season 12 Finale airing on NBC next Wednesday, May 21, and stay tuned for our recap and reviews.