While the season has been somewhat underwhelming overall, it shouldn't be surprising that, as it nears its conclusion, they're pulling out all the stops.
Could Chicago PD Season 11 Episode 12 be the best installment of the season thus far? It's a likely possibility!
For starters, despite some focus on Hailey, as we see a lot of things from her perspective, the hour actually featured the entire freaking team, and they were all put to use.
It's been so long since the show squad were in an installment together!
Ruzek finally emerged from the wormhole into which he had disappeared, and he was a beautiful sight for sore eyes.
So damn beautiful. Yum.
We understand the budget constraints that have contributed to this problematic cast shift and sidelining that we can't stand.
However, an installment like this is a perfect example of why the series is much stronger when all the characters are featured and get to work as the unit that they're supposed to be.
We had so many delicious shots of them being badass, enacting effective police work, and bouncing details and theories off one another.
That moment when they finally figured out who the killer was and everything clicked into place was so exciting.
It had a girl pumping her fist like she surely will be doing once the Olympics air.
It was shot well, with everyone having their moment and the shifting camera; it worked and came together.
It was one of many sublime shots, and credit goes to Chicago PD alum Jesse Lee Soffer, who took another spin in the director's chair and reminded us that maybe he has more than one calling.
Seriously, he killed it. It was a wonderfully crafted and shot installment.
One of the best things about an actor choosing to direct, especially one familiar with the source material after years of spending time on the opposite end of the camera, is that they know how to make things organic -- all the little nuances that bring things together, highlight the characters well, and make things work.
But alas, back to the action, and there was so much of it.
He knew we were going to be there! Can we trace his radio?
Voight
It started off a bit slow as we were pulled back into Hailey and Petrovic's vortex and their unusual yet vulnerable dynamic.
Petrovic isn't a bad character. She has compelling moments.
And I love what Bojana Novakovic brings to the role. It's a different energy than what we're accustomed to in the series.
But we've had too much Petrovic. We've spent more time with her than some of the primary characters.
We've certainly had more time with her than Trudy and Ruzek.
Are we leading into something happening to her in the finale, or does this mean that she'll have a more prominent role when Hailey leaves?
It's hard to say, but we've certainly gotten a lot of character development for this recurring character, and I still don't know what to do with it.
Petrovic has served as a mirror for Hailey and is one of the only people who has succeeded at doing that.
It has given us more insight into Hailey, and it's been the primary way they've set up Hailey's Departure.
It's through Petrovic that we learn about Hailey's mental state and follow along with how she's still struggling with demons that won't go away.
And shockingly, a woman who keeps most at a distance has allowed this woman in.
I think I get it. Small changes. You have a family here. Voight...
Petrovic
She's since had to face some things, like how her punishing herself through running in attempts to sleep is right up there with Petrovic's alcoholism and addiction or her father's.
Petrovic pointed out that the job is Hailey's family, which is why she's been so committed to it this long, but also, Voight.
We started the season with the series leaning heavily into Voight and Hailey's connection, and we'll end it that way as well.
The parallels it has to Halstead's departure aren't lost, either.
Halstead left, in part, because of his relationship with Voight and what it has made him into.
I'm at Voight's house. Voight's not here. Something's wrong. I think he was taken.
Hailey
It's safe to say that Hailey will do the same without Jay's negative connotations.
They're not even hiding how Hailey has imprinted on Voight as this father figure.
She's the one who checks in with him and vice versa.
They understand one another more deeply because of how similar they are.
She's the one who knows that something is wrong when he doesn't answer his phone and goes searching for him at his home.
And when our serial killer goes through his routine and asks Voight to call a person he loves, well, all signs point to Hailey being that person.
After all, he doesn't have anyone else, right?
His people keep leaving or getting taken from him, and this season has shown us more glimpses of his loneliness, isolation, and longing.
It's why losing Noah has him so buried in this case; he hasn't been able to come up for air.
Voight has been alone, and so has Hailey in many ways, but they've been together in that loneliness.
The serial killer case has consumed them, so it's great that we got the forward movement we needed for it.
Naturally, we knew the season finale would come down to this.
The most significant break in their case after months was the poor soul that was Kiki.
She had all the information there was to have, and she knew how to negotiate what she needed out of it.
The second she said that the serial killer was a cop and shared details not released to the public, it all made sense.
For Frank to elude notice as well as he managed to do, he either had to be a cop or adjacent to one.
But the second she said that, it put her in grave danger.
From the moment she announced that while in an interrogation room, her time was up.
I now his name! You take away my charges; I'll give you his name. Hey! The serial killer is a cop. He's a goddamned cop!
Keke
Worsening matters were her running from them when they caught up to her and Hailey stating she was an offender over an open line as she did.
If Kiki thought that a cop was a serial killer, running away from the police was sensible.
Then she ended up in an apartment having an incredibly long back and forth with Hailey in front of a freaking window.
Nothing good would come from her position, and it wasn't even a question of if she'd get shot but when.
It took a long time for it to happen, but it did.
Kristin Dodson did a fantastic job during the scene leading up to Kiki's death.
Her pleas for witness protection tugged at the heartstrings because you could sense that she was a young woman who longed to escape a crappy life where she became a victim of circumstance.
She longed for things many people take for granted, and her whole face lit up at the prospect of getting something as simple as a nice house somewhere far away from the city and violence.
It made her death all the more heartbreaking because it felt like she never stood a chance.
A rose growing out of the concrete, stamped on too soon.
Her death was heartbreaking, and you could see how it affected Hailey.
It's evident the job is catching up to her, and I don't know if she has the emotional fortitude to continue doing it.
Spiridakos does some great work in those little moments.
The prospect of the killer being one of their own was chilling for them. And every second was intense.
Burgess scoping the apartment building alone in search of the sniper was nerve-wracking.
Anytime that woman is alone, it's enough to give a person anxiety.
And Ruzek bumping into that cop was enough to make you hold your breath because even in knowing that their suspect was possibly a cop, Ruzek instinctively trusts fellow cops and doesn't take the appropriate caution the situaton calls for.
Meanwhile, Voight sitting in a cop bar while poring over a file and fixating on this case when he knew their perpetrator was a cop (or cop adjacent) was a choice.
It led to the scene where he looked at those around him and felt as if they were all staring at him.
He felt like any one of them could've been the person they were looking to nab.
The fact that Frank was a watchkeeper was a nice twist, though not as twisted as the man himself.
It's disturbing what people will put up with, from John hearing this man say creepy things about torture to Frank's wife being so naive about her husband.
But he's lowkey enough to fly under the radar, making him the perfect killer.
At some point at the bar, he must have drugged Voight.
This part felt a bit contrived because it never made sense that Voight would go there in the first place.
Then, things got more nerve-wracking when Voight stumbled into his home, clearly drugged, tossing his keys near that photo of him and Olinksy and collapsing to the floor.
Our fearless leader is now a victim, which is a change of pace for this series.
We're so used to everyone else catching hell and Voight walking around in a leather jacket encased in plot armor.
It never resonates that Voight could one day be a victim, too.
And that sets us up for an epic season finale.
The group's chronic loner and paternal figure will realize that his squad will do everything in their power to save him before it's too late!
I'm at Voight's house. Voight's not here. Something's wrong. I think he was taken.
Hailey
Over to you, Chicago PD Fanatics.
Was this the best episode of the season so far? How do you think Hailey will exit the series?
Will they get to Voight in time? Sound off below!
Chicago PD's season finale airs Wednesday at 10/9c on NBC. You can stream on Peacock.