One Chicago questions of the week: Week of March 13

1. Could Voight be referring to himself, not Olinsky, with his loyalty speech?

While the case of the week in the Chicago PD episode “Breaking Point” was about the murder of a city alderman, the real focus was the efforts of Denny Woods (Mykelti Williamson) and Internal Affairs to drive a wedge between Detective Alvin Olinsky (Elias Koteas) and Voight.

Even with solid evidence implicating him and Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush) in the murder of the man who killed Voight’s son, Olinsky remained silent, refusing to take Woods’ bait or his deal to flip on Voight. But One Chicago fans were led to believe that Voight may not be as loyal to Olinsky, and that he was becoming deeply suspicious of just how much Olinsky could be trusted to stay silent.

During the interrogation of Keon Walters, Voight delivered a speech about the price he would pay for his misguided loyalty while Olinsky was witnessing the whole thing from the other side of the glass facing a similar decision to stay loyal or save himself. Voight honed in on the fact that life in prison is no joke. It’s a soul-crushing price one pays every day and no one was worth that kind of dedication.

Later in the episode, after Olinsky assured Voight that he was not going to break, he added that they should probably contact Erin and all get their stories lined up. But surprisingly, Voight responded that he wasn’t so sure about that and just claimed that they’d get through it. When Olinsky pointed out that Voight’s breaking point was Erin, Voight asked Olinsky what his was – a question that went unanswered.

One Chicago viewers were left to think that Voight was suspicious as to whether or not Olinsky would hold out, and wonder if he might start making plans to get himself and Lindsay free and clear, leaving Olinsky to take the fall. But what if that wasn’t the real purpose of Voight’s speech? What if he was not referring to Olinsky but to himself, really thinking that he’s the one who needs to finally show some loyalty and take responsibility for the murder, thus freeing Olinsky and
Lindsay from the burden of their involvement in his vendetta?

What if that speech was really Voight convincing himself that allowing his only true and loyal friends to pay a lifelong price for him was too much to ask? What if he was trying to tell Olinsky that he knew he couldn’t keep his secrets forever and that was okay? One Chicago viewers know that his breaking point is his care for Lindsay, but the only real way to save her is for him to take responsibility. Even turning on Olinsky wouldn’t entirely protect Erin.

As always it’s hard to tell just what Voight’s thoughts or motivations are, but the idea that he could be owning up to responsibility instead of finding ways to bend and break the law would be an interesting way to end Chicago PD season 5. We’ll find out what choice he makes soon, as obviously Woods isn’t going to let go.

Next: This week's One Chicago winners and losers

These are few of the the lingering questions that remain for us after the most recent One Chicago episodes on NBC. Did you notice any of these or have similar reactions? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and check back in next week to see what our new crop of queries will be.