While Chapman is the only one who calls Voight out directly, the looks on everyone’s faces upon hearing the news of Reid’s death suggest virtually everybody on the team is silently aware of Voight’s role in his murder. That could create problems in Chicago PD season 13. However, things could have gone much differently if Reid remained on top.
Reid’s Death Effectively Reinstates Intelligence For Chicago PD Season 12
The Disciplinary Hearing Couldn’t Commence With A Dead Body Outside
If there’s one upside to Charlie Reid’s death in Chicago PD, it’s that the Intelligence Unit is able to continue operations as if they’d never been disbanded. Hank, Kim, and Dante have their badges back, while the rest of the team can return from their temporary patrol reassignments. Reid, after all, was the only one pushing for a disciplinary hearing.
Unfortunately, shortcuts can often do more harm than good. And nothing makes that clearer than Nina’s discussion with Voight at Kim and Adam’s wedding. Chapman knows that Voight released Renny and likely gave him Reid’s location on the day of the shooting, allowing Renny to get revenge on Reid for his father’s murder. Hank killed Reid without pulling the trigger.
Deputy Charlie Reid’s death won’t exactly go down in history as one of Chicago PD’s saddest character exits, but Chapman’s role as ASA prevents her from letting her personal feelings toward Voight stand in the way of justice. While Voight hasn’t technically confessed to Nina about what he did, his silence in the wake of her accusation speaks volumes.
Chapman can’t take silence as a confession, but she can offer Renny a deal with the state attorney’s office in exchange for his deposition. Running the Intelligence Unit while under investigation for conspiracy to commit murder can’t be the victory Hank wanted. And this hefty price for ending Reid’s corruption could have been avoided in a much more thrilling way.
How Intelligence Being Dissolved In Chicago PD Season 13 Brings Back The Old School Team
Voight’s Crew Would Have Gone Back To Vigilante Justice
Hank Voight might have a strong distaste for Reid’s particular brand of corruption, but that doesn’t mean he’s always been the biggest fan of going by the book. In the Chicago PD season 12 finale, Voight commands his team to dress in blackout gear and rob a drug den at gunpoint as part of their plan to lure out Reid.
Members of Intelligence have gone undercover in the same neighborhoods throughout Chicago PD, and now there are questions about how they’ve succeeded.
Aside from the fact that the Intelligence Unit could only conceivably get away with that method of doing things for so long, Chicago PD ultimately had to reassess Voight’s methods thanks to real-world concerns about police conduct. Anyone who really wants to hate the police would consider good TV policework unbelievable, but the old method was problematic across the board.
In clarifying why Chicago PD killed off Reid, showrunner Gwen Sigan explains that Reid had to die in part because the creative team didn’t feel like his character could be redeemed. Had he lived, however, there’s very little chance that Voight would have stood idly by to watch him turn Chicago into a lawless wasteland. And that could’ve proven exciting.
Mellowing down the Intelligence Unit in response to real claims of police brutality was sensible, but watching Voight’s team make morally questionable choices in the name of justice is a lot more compelling. Having Reid successfully disband the unit would have forced them to walk that angst-ridden path to awesome righteousness yet again if they wanted to bring Reid down.
It also makes a lot more sense from a storytelling perspective. Ending Chicago PD season 12 with the Intelligence Unit seemingly dismantled for good would have raised the stakes going into season 13, to the point that everything would have felt like rising action until Reid was finally brought to justice. The ethical implications would be even more intensely thought-provoking.
Reid dying before the hearing leaves room for the possibility that Intelligence might have come out of things just fine without resorting to having Reid murdered. By contrast, Reid winning at the end of Chicago PD season 12 would have cast fewer doubts on the team’s next moves. And this would have been the case whether they resorted to vigilantism or not.
Voight & Intelligence Losing Is A More Interesting Launching Pad For Chicago PD Season 13
We Could Have Watched Them Work Harder For Their Badges
Ruzek and Burgess could have had one of the best One Chicago weddings ever. But, were she not potentially set up to replace Reid as Voight’s next antagonist, Chapman could have been a useful ally in helping the Intelligence Unit regain their reputation lawfully.
Chicago PD season 12, episode 22 sets up a villain for season 13 who is far more dangerous to Voight and his team than Deputy Chief Reid was.
Regardless of whether they went outside the law, Voight’s team being forced to fight for their unit would have left no doubt they truly earned their victory. And forcing them to find a way of doing that without losing Chapman’s support could have raised the tension significantly. It’s always more compelling to see characters win when the odds seem insurmountable.
With Voight and Chapman potentially facing off on the issue of what constitutes true justice, there’s still a chance for Chicago PD to pit the unit against seemingly impossible odds. Nonetheless, it’s a shame the series passed up the opportunity to let us see them climb back to their feet after the monumental fall Reid had in store for them.
