Voight’s Darkest Moment: Chapman Breaks Down After Shocking Season 12 Finale!

The much-anticipated Chicago P.D. Season 12 finale has come and gone, and it delivered a cocktail of feelings to the fans.

While much of what was teased in the build-up was delivered, there was a last-minute twist. Chief Reid (Shawn Hatosy), the season’s central antagonist, was finally taken down, thanks to a stealthy outmaneuvering from Hank Voight (Jason Beghe). After initial hesitation, fan-favourite couple Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) and Adam Ruzek (Patrick Flueger) finally tied the knot. However, the final moments left a bitter taste as an emotional conversation between Voight and Chapman (Sara Bues) dashed the hopes fans had nurtured all season for a potential romance between the two. Now, showrunner Gwen Sigan has elaborated on Chapman’s emotional response to her discovery about Voight.

Chapman has, throughout the season, served as the voice of reason for Voight, substituting herself in a role previously played by the departed Detective Upton. Fighting on Voight's side in his battle to vanquish Reid for good, Chapman acted as his moral compass, reassuring him of her help to ensure he fights clean. However, with Voight's attempts at following the ethical route yielding insufficient results, the boss finds himself with his back against the wall. Consequently, Voight inevitably visits his old trick book, orchestrating Reid's murder at the hands of Otero's son. It's an action that leaves Chapman disappointed after she deciphers Voight's involvement, and in their conversation, she makes it clear his methods are a dealbreaker for her. Explaining what this means for their relationship, Sigan tells ScreenRant, "It's not good. It's definitely not good," further adding:

"That last scene, to me, is a lot like a breakup. It's messy. It's definitely not definitive. I don't think that there's nothing still there to play with, but he is setting a boundary. He is basically telling her, "I'm not able to. I'm not capable." He says, "I don't get to have more," but I think it's more so, "I don't know how to do it. I don't think I can do it." Chapman really hears it in that moment. She hears it, understands it, and it's almost like a breakup of something that never really got to come into full fruition anyway. It never really got to be what she would've wanted it to be at some point."

There Might Still Be Hope For Voight To Find Love

Voight's aversion towards romance is more of a coping mechanism. In the aftermath of his wife and son's deaths, the boss has intentionally made himself emotionally inaccessible. This way, he prevents himself from the pain of losing another loved one. "Why doesn't he allow himself to have romantic relationships? Would he ever want one?," Sigan said rhetorically in a previous interview before revealing that the show will instead use romance as a plot device to evolve his character, adding, "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."

Past episodes of Chicago P.D. are available to stream on Peacock. Stay tuned for more.