Chicago PD season 5 has Hank Voight on the hot seat, so if he goes down will any of his team members go with him – or even consider turning him in?
The theme of Chicago PD this season has been “get Hank Voight.” Voight has been hounded all season by his obsessive ex-partner Denny Woods (Mykelti Williamson), who wants to see him brought down at any cost—and now it appears Woods might actually have the means to do it.
Woods has found the body of the man who killed Voight’s (Jason Beghe) son, and he’s squeezing Alvin Olinsky (Elias Koteas) for the crime. In the most recent Chicago PD episode “Ghosts” Voight told Olinsky that he’ll turn himself in for the murder first—but will he? And if Voight goes down, whether it’s by choice or chance, there’s no way that the entire Intelligence Unit isn’t brought into question with him.
Since tonight’s Chicago PD rerun is the episode “Snitch” we’re taking a look at what would happen to every member of Intelligence if this season ultimately ends with Voight in trouble. Would any of them ever snitch on Voight—whether they’d be pressured into it by Woods or because they would think it was the right thing to do? Could any of them wind up going down with him? After all, none of them are innocent.
Click through the below slideshow for our thoughts on how each member of Chicago PD would fare or react if Chicago PD season 5 brings the hammer down on Voight.
Trudy Platt and Alvin Olinsky
Trudy Platt (Amy Morton) and Alvin Olinsky (Elias Koteas) have the longest histories with Voight and so they know more about him than anyone else. But both of them are also very similar to him in the way they think—they don’t mind going outside the lines to get a job done.
Platt would be the least likely Chicago PD character to say anything about Voight; no one could make her say anything she didn’t want to, and anyone who tried would likely be scared by her in the process.
Woods and company probably couldn’t lean on her as hard as other characters either, considering Platt was a very high-profile survivor of the serial bomber in Chicago PD‘s 100th episode. It’s not a good look to go after someone who’s been in the public eye almost getting blown up and trying to save other people’s lives afterward.
Plus, if push came to shove, with all her years in the Chicago Police Department, Platt could likely say “screw it” and retire instead of turning on her old friend—more time for her to spend with her husband Mouch (Christian Stolte) and keep him in shape!
Olinsky, however, is a different story. There’s no doubt that hiding a body for your best friend is definitely loyalty. But Chicago PD‘s episode “Breaking Point” wants the audience to think that Al could find his limit with Voight.
And frankly, Olinsky’s kind of at the end of his rope. He lost his daughter last season, he doesn’t have much of a life outside of the team (that we know of), and now he’s going to take the fall for Voight and potentially spend his life behind bars if he’s convicted? Olinsky has held the line so far, but if he eventually decides he’d rather not go on trial for murder we wouldn’t blame him either. When does he start looking out for himself?
Adam Ruzek and Kevin Atwater
Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger) is the second least likely candidate to turn on Voight, because the show has already done that. If Chicago PD had him decide to sell out his boss again, it would have no impact—not to mention make no sense since fans saw him tell Woods to take a hike (in much more colorful language) episodes ago.
And considering that before that, Ruzek thought that Voight might kill him, why would he cross him a second time?
It’s possible Woods could follow through on his threat to go after Ruzek’s sister, but if he was going to do that, he should’ve done it after Ruzek stopped following his marching orders. At this point, there’s nothing gained from upending Ruzek’s character for whatever reason.
One character who hasn’t really expressed an opinion either way is Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins). Atwater is the most level of all the Chicago PD characters, and he’s never one to pick a side of most arguments; he’s the guy who mediates them. But that makes it all the more difficult to get a bead on what might happen to him if things go south.
There’s not a ton to impugn Atwater on, except perhaps for that shooting brought up in “Captive” but that seemed to be awhile ago. He would probably escape any destruction of the unit relatively unscathed.
Would he turn sides if he was asked? That’s harder to deduce. Atwater is a loyal guy, but the people he’s the most loyal to are his family. Woods or somebody else could try to get at him that way, but it seems more likely that if Atwater’s family becomes a huge concern, he’d just transfer to another, safer unit and walk away rather than actively take down his work family.
Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton
Here are two Chicago PD characters with something to lose. Both Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) and Hailey Upton (Tracy Spiridakos) went too far in Chicago PD season 5, and that makes both of them vulnerable if Denny Woods is looking for someone else he can push—which seems to be the one way he knows how to do things.
Halstead screwed up royally this season. He got needlessly involved with Camila, who wound up being a drug dealer—and while he ultimately landed her behind bars, that subplot is the kind of thing Internal Affairs would just love to seize on. It’s the very epitome of what not to do as a cop.
Not only that, but remember how previously in Chicago PD history, Halstead already had his badge taken away by Voight after the death of Lonnie Rodiger? He’s already been in a spot not far from where Hank Voight is now. If things start hitting the fan, Halstead’s credibility is shot. That doesn’t mean he’d sell out his boss, but there’s a good chance he winds up as example number one of how the Intelligence Unit is out of control.
Then there’s Upton. She was called in by the brass last season to testify when they were looking to punish Lindsay (Sophia Bush). Although she didn’t talk, that moment shows the CPD higher-ups like Upton, and so they might reach back out to her again. But Hailey Upton now is not the same person we met in Chicago PD season 4; not by a mile. She’s coming off her own questionable acts in “Ghosts.”
Upton’s moral compass is what makes her character interesting, so if she turned on Voight once she learned the full extent of his history, it would be the most in-character for her. But that also makes it one of the least interesting choices for the writers. The new girl turns tail? Predictable, and it’s not going to endear Upton to fans after she’s spent all year earning their respect. This could go either way for her, but we’re hoping it doesn’t.
Kim Burgess and Antonio Dawson
This partnership is the most interesting when it comes to the question of loyalty, because these two characters are completely on other ends of this argument. Chicago PD could have a lot of fun if it decides to mess with Burgess and Antonio as far as their future with the team, or with Voight.
Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) is pretty much ride or die with Intelligence at this point. Voight gave her a position on his team, and she spent years trying to impress him before that. All she’s wanted is his approval.
And if she were going to go against him, you’d think she would have done that earlier this season when she had to choose between their case and her relationship in “Politics.” Being loyal to the team, and to Voight, directly caused Burgess’s breakup with Matt Miller (guest star Zach Appelman)—someone she liked enough to be heartbroken over it.
It doesn’t look like anything would make Burgess bail, though that same loyalty could also have her wind up on trial again if the murder trial turns into a “let’s see what we can dig up on Voight and his whole squad” trial.
Antonio Dawson (Jon Seda), on the other hand, came back to Chicago PD from Chicago Justice and a spell at the State’s Attorney’s Office. You’d think that would color the way he looks at Intelligence, but we haven’t seen Chicago PD season 5 really use that.
He was incredibly enraged when he found out Voight had enabled murder at the end of “Promise”, though, so there’s a breaking point inside Antonio somewhere. We just haven’t found it yet. His breaking the line would be the most dramatic and moving for fans to see—but tonight’s episode “Snitch” included the idea of Antonio turning sides and proved it to be false, so Chicago PD may have already nixed its best opportunity to make this storyline end with a bang.
No matter who’s involved or to what extent, if Hank Voight does end Chicago PD season 5 in the clutches of Internal Affairs or in handcuffs, there’s going to be collateral damage. The Intelligence Unit is too close-knit and has too many sins for there not to be. The question is just who will wind up going down with him?
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Do you think Chicago PD season 5 will end with Voight in trouble? What do you think will happen to the other characters if it does? Leave us your thoughts on the future in the comments.