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Critic’s Rating: 4.6 / 5.0
4.6
We have a new Intelligence member, and she’s the perfect fit!
Keeping up with the darker tone Chicago PD has taken over recent years, Chicago PD Season 12 Episode 5 was a perfectly creepy, dark, and atmospheric hour that coincided with a Halloween theme without playing it straightforwardly.
The Torres-centric not only put the former rookie of the unit at the center, but it allowed him to partner up with the endearing and impressive Kiana Cook and essentially pass the torch by the episode’s end.
One thing is for sure: Chicago PD Season 12 hasn’t missed with its collection of fantastically written and executed episodes that have propelled the season so far.
No, it hasn’t been perfect all around. Still, every installment has provided that perfect balance of character insight and development, along with action-oriented cases that have left us on the edge of our seats.
And “Water and Honey” was no exception.
It was such a heavily case-centered episode that it didn’t allow much room for carrying over certain storylines.
We have no idea what’s going on with Atwater and his relationship with the therapist he’s likely been seeing.
It’s hard to know how Voight feels about Chapman’s bombshell admission at the end of Chicago PD Season 12 Episode 4.
Martel’s death still lingers in these subtle ways, particularly at the top of the hour, but we don’t have much insight into where Ruzek’s head has been since that pulse-pounding Chicago PD Season 12 Episode 2.
And Burgess has returned but mostly flown under the radar in her own way recently.
Typically, these would be legitimate grievances about the show’s issues with continuity, and it would be frustrating if many episodes came across as standalone with no cohesive tissue.
But that isn’t the case this season.
It’s frustrating at times, but only minorly so. Overall, every installment thus far has been strong, and the flow still works mostly because of the subtlety and restraint with some things.
It took three episodes before we revisited Kiana Cook, but in the end, it was worth it, and the hour delivered that tenfold as the character brings this burst of energy from the second she appears on the screen.
This quiet restraint that Toya Turner delivers with this character makes her interesting, refreshing, and somehow, in some way, completely different than other characters we’ve seen over the years.
It’s a feat to successfully introduce someone with such a markedly different vibe yet gels effortlessly with the team and other characters.
The setup here, with Kiana working with Torres with such ease, was a great one.
She’s a character who easily proved herself and her capabilities in the immediate aftermath of Martel’s death, which meant she already garnered respect from the unit for that alone.
That’s likely why it was easy for her to wander over to Intelligence in search of Ruzek, whom she went through the trenches with to capture Martel’s killer and seek help.
When two people have experienced what they did in that harrowing, relentless episode, they have a mutual bond for life and a deep trust that was only forged through the trenches.
Kiana had no way of realizing that it extended to the entire team.
Torres didn’t hesitate to help her precisely because of what she had done for one of their own before.
It wasn’t lost that she appeared mere moments after Torres stared at Martel’s desk.
Torres is a cop who also follows his instinct, so he is all in on helping her and doing what Kiana’s boss didn’t.
And that’s where the hour picked up instantly, particularly with the rainstorm.
Initially, I wondered if they opted to film during a crappy weather day and just kept it up the whole way through.
But it was a deliberate choice—goodness, it was such a great one, setting the tone for the full hour.
Seriously, it was as if the Rain was a paid actor co-starring during this installment, and it was putting on an Oscar-worthy performance.
One of many things that’s been enjoyable this season is all the technical things that maybe viewers don’t always give much thought to, but they’re going out of their way to make sure we do this time around.
The cinematography has been out of this world this season: the direction, shading and coloring, blocking, camera and film effects, sharp editing, and, yes, things like setting a full episode to pouring rain.
There is such creativity and fun behind the camera that’s instrumental in bringing the stories to life in front of it, and it’s been so great to experience.
But back to Torres and Cook.
I find myself squinting through the opening moments of the two following footsteps to the river, gasping when Torres pulled Lucy’s body out.
Kiana catching a glimpse of Jess from a distance and then losing her was thrilling, and the fact that she was able to capture and identify her from the body cam was shocking.
One can only wonder how things could’ve ended if Kiana hadn’t trusted her instincts and followed her boss’ orders. Fortunately, she didn’t, which led to what felt like an audition for Intelligence.
It doesn’t even feel right to say she was auditioning to be on the Intelligence Unit.
If anything, it felt like they had already planned for her to be there, and they were simply waiting for the right moment to welcome her in.
It was such an easy, warm welcome; it was actually enough to make you emotional.
We don’t have many overt moments that showcase how much of a family the unit is and how much closer they’ve gotten, but it’s all the little things that confirm it.
Voight casually calling some of them by their first name instead of their last indicates his warmth for them now more than ever.
Torres sending Burgess home and wishing her safe travels so she can be with her daughter.
It’s the shoulder pats, the constant check-ins to ensure everyone is well when things get dicey out in the field, and all those little touches that provide that intimacy and team, no, family cohesion that just feels nice.
With Kiana, they bypassed the traditional stage of “Don’t sit at that person’s desk” or the emotional distance from a new person entering their space.
Ruzek, who naturally considers her “his people” after their excursion, reassured her about which desk to take. Burgess offered up her clothes to borrow, and Voight, we all heard that grunt of approval.
It felt like they were waiting for her to click into place with them and that if anyone could feel that slot and void that remained, it was her.
I love that we bypassed all the awkwardness and growing pains that come with a new person, and the team welcomed this woman into the unit with open arms as if she belonged there the whole time.
And it all feels so natural.
It’s also genuinely refreshing to have another female member on the team, and Chicago PD may correct its previous error by actually having the women interact, be friendly, and be cool together.
Kiana fits in well with the whole team, as we got to see such an easy chemistry and connection with nearly everyone.
It’s a refreshing change of pace than just having a character tied to one or two other characters.
The case was a wild ride, and they put much thought into it.
It was a tangled web of a case that had the hour feeling like a cross between Criminal Minds and SVU.
The “strangers on a train” vibe to it all centered on three girls who met in juvie and, after commiserating, agreed to kill the men in their lives who caused them harm and abused them.
It was disheartening to learn that these three trauma survivors were in such a bad place that they felt their only freedom was to murder the men who abused them and flee to California.
While the dead teen’s mother was a horrid woman who brought a parade of men into her home and didn’t seem to care that they sexually abused her daughter, the way she described the teens was so literary.
She referred to them as having black hearts and conjured up this image of these wild, feral teen girls set on making the world around them pay.
And when we met Jess, she had this feral quality, like a wounded animal backed into a corner and lashing out.
In many ways, Kiana was the perfect person to communicate with this girl when they finally caught her.
Based on some tidbits she shared about her youth, Kiana seems to have been delightfully weird growing up.
She also knows that the world is an unfair place because of her experiences, not just as a Black woman in law enforcement, but because of how easily she got blackballed and demoted for daring to criticize how poorly a fellow cop was doing his job.
The interview process was a tipping point for the episode and Kiana, solidifying that Intelligence was the perfect place for her.
She knocked it out of the park, getting precisely what she needed from Jess, pushing all the right buttons while also offering some empathy.
These three girls were all victims, but they also did something heinous.
I didn’t think anything could ever top the creepiness of the cut-off eyelids during Chicago PD Season 11’s serial killer case.
However, the uncle who was waterboarded with honey is a crime scene of nightmares.
All the bugs, the eyes, the wide-open mouth, it was horrific and certainly felt like something pulled from a horror flick.
Clearly, it was an act that was fueled by hatred and rage, and the fact that three teen girls were part of that is chilling even when you know their reasoning for it.
But the murder aside, they still endangered themselves, which is how poor Lucy was found in the river with her head bashed in and clumps of hair coming out of her scalp.
And the third girl nearly drowned in the flooded basement of her father.
It’s where the water again added so much to the hour because the scene of Kiana fighting off the perpetrator in waist-deep water in a basement was one of the most nerve-wracking scenes in some time.
With all the thrashing around and the dark lighting, you could barely see what was happening.
Usually, that would be frustrating, but in this instance, it added to the intensity of the situation and damn near had me gasping for air as if I was immersed in the water myself.
The series enjoys giving Cook some incredibly intense, physical, and action-packed scenes.
The poor woman can’t catch a break, whether she’s getting hit by a car, shot at, beaten down, or nearly drowned in a basement.
But she takes all of it like a champ.
There were so many little moments throughout the hour where it was clear that Cook impressed Voight.
You could see it all over his face: He liked how she followed her instincts, and she had good ones. He also liked how she worked well with the others and could jump into action.
His fondness was prominent throughout, and it’s enough that I look forward to the day when they work closer together on a case.
Unsurprisingly, he approved her for the unit and probably did it the second he allowed her to run with the case.
But it was such a nice moment to have Torres be the one to extend the invitation.
They were both needling at each other when they weren’t battling the elements, teens, and perpetrators.
Torres is an intensely observant person, and his queries were interesting because it felt more like he wanted to give her the opportunity to fully express what happened to her so he could let her know that he sees and understands her.
She didn’t flinch at the mention that he was in juvie and didn’t seem judgmental, but she was defensive when explaining her issue with Sergeant Montgomery, the jerk who ignored her signals at the homeless encampment.
It took her a while to finally come out with it, but when she did, it felt as if it was because she had developed trust with Torres.
The pair would be fascinating partners who already have such great chemistry.
But Torres extending that invitation felt like the passing of the torch, and I loved it.
It both marked how far he’s come in the unit, where it genuinely feels like his home now (he’s no longer as guarded as he used to be), and it passes the role of “newbie” to Kiana.
Chicago PD trusted that we’d love Kiana’s addition to Intelligence like we did Torres, and they were right.
I can’t wait to see more.
Thinky-Thoughts:
- Black Tee Torres was not on my Bingo Card, but given that the entire episode was dousing him in the rain, I’m going to assume they didn’t want to give us heart attacks by leaving that man in a wet white tee-shirt the entire episode. Boo! Hiss! We would’ve been good … mostly.
- Every time we see Kiana she’s having the LONGEST SHIFT EVER. I hope that woman goes home after shifts, soaks in Epson salt, and relaxes because, damn!
- We didn’t see much of Ruzek and Atwater, but like Torres, they looked mighty fine in this episode.
- Burgess has been giving off detective energy, which I love for her.
Over to you, Chicago PD Fanatics!
Are you happy about Kiana officially joining the squad? What were your thoughts on the case? Sound off below.
Chicago PD returns with all-new episodes on November 6.
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