Chicago PD season 7 character review: Hank Voight

What Chicago PD season 7 means for Hank Voight

Voight took more of a supporting role in this Chicago PD season than he did in any other season. Instead of the focus being on something he did or was about to do, like we saw in seasons 5 and 6, many of his scenes this season involved him reacting to someone else’s behavior. He was mad at Halstead, Upton, and Vanessa Rojas (Lisseth Chavez) for different reasons, and he had a very serious talk with Kevin Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins) in the season finale.

It was a different way to look at Voight—as more of a leader and a mentor than the person who was driving the action and/or whose behavior brought some kind of trouble onto the team. Even though he was telling Halstead that his way was law, he was also telling Upton not to turn into him, which felt like a bit of a catch-22. His concern for her felt pretty surprising, but at the same time, it was nice to see him argue against following in his footsteps. There was a self-awareness in that, that he doesn’t always have.

Viewers haven’t seen that since he told Antonio Dawson (Jon Seda) why he wanted Antonio to be in the unit, or any serious vulnerability since Alvin Olinsky (Elias Koteas) died.

That being said, when he did come front and center, what he did has to be one of the most frustrating things Voight has done in the history of Chicago PD. To knowingly make an innocent man a scapegoat for two child murders, strictly to save face, was not only morally offensive but also selfish, unprofessional, and a reminder that Voight will stop at nothing to get what he wants. He certainly doesn’t want to be questioned based on his confrontations with Upton and Halstead either. So how much has he really changed?