The following contains major spoilers from Chicago PD Season 12, Episode 15, “Greater Good,” which debuted Wednesday, March 5 on NBC.
Chicago PD Season 12, Episode 15, “Greater Good” is the episode fans likely knew was coming. It’s also the episode that’s still trying to answer the question the NBC show has never been able to answer: can anyone be on the same level as Hank Voight? The script by Gavin Harris and showrunner Gwen Sigan argues that Voight has two matches in his life — one professional and one personal — but audiences will have to decide for themselves if that’s true.
“Greater Good” is really a Voight-centric episode that the case of the week bends around. Deputy Chief Charlie Reid, played by Animal Kingdom alum Shawn Hatosy, assigns Intelligence to the Lawndale area… but has ulterior motives for doing so. When a shooting happens on their watch, Voight realizes just what Reid is up to. That won’t come as a surprise to Chicago PD fans, who will feel like they’ve heard this song and dance before.
Chicago PD Confirms Chief Reid Is Season 12’s Big Bad
Shawn Hatosy’s Character Spells Out His Reason for Existing
The primary purpose of “Greater Good” is to make official that Deputy Chief Charlie Reid is Chicago PD Season 12’s primary antagonist. This revelation doesn’t have a ton of shock value, because viewers had already guessed it from the time Reid told Voight that he wanted them to be “friends.” Several episodes later, the only new information is just how bad Reid is. Viewers learn that he’s in bed with drug dealer Jesus Otero, as well as keeping a network of other officials in his pocket. Voight is just the latest on a not-so-short list. But this will likely remind the audience of a certain Superintendent Brian Kelton. The only difference is Kelton didn’t try to buddy up with Voight as much as Reid is.
But what will Chicago PD show fans with Reid that they didn’t already get with Kelton? Reid is another corrupt superior whom Voight has to take down. He did it with Kelton and to a lesser extent with his ex-partner Denny Woods, who wasn’t his direct boss. And the message that the show wants to send with Reid is clear, thanks to a monologue where Reid literally tells Voight (and those watching at home) what he thinks. He believes that he and Voight are two peas in the same pod. The writers obviously want Reid to act as a mirror to Voight, to see how Voight’s “ends justify the means” approach looks when it’s reflected back at him and then some.
Charlie Reid (to Voight): I know exactly who you are. Whatever guilt you’re feeling right now, I promise you it’s a flicker of fog over your true self. You and me, we are exactly the same.
But how effective will that be? Voight’s methods have never really changed that much in 12 seasons. Plus, audiences are almost always seeing him in conflict with his superior officers, with the notable exception of Samantha Miller. It would actually be more shocking if Chicago PD gave Voight a boss who wasn’t somehow evil or self-centered, and with whom he could legitimately be friends. The casting of Shawn Hatosy is such a pleasure, because he’s an underrated actor, yet the character of Reid seems like he’s just walking a familiar path.
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Chicago PD Makes Voight and Chapman Shippers Happy
ASA Chapman Is Back in the Picture
On a much more positive note, “Greater Good” circles back around to a plot point from Chicago PD Season 12, Episode 4, “The After.” In that episode, viewers learned ASA Chapman was romantically interested in Voight — just as the show shipped her off to Colorado. Almost a dozen installments later, she finally comes back. The two don’t discuss their feelings, so it’s too early to see if Sigan and the writers will dare to give Voight a love interest or not. But just Chapman’s mere presence is welcome, and a counterbalance to Reid’s return in a couple different ways. She provides something good in the episode compared to Reid’s scheming, and she also serves as a second foil to Voight in an equal but opposite manner, as a partner — literally, since the story ends with Voight telling her that he’s going to take down the Deputy Chief “with you.”
Voight hasn’t had someone on even ground with him since the controversial decision to kill off Alvin Olinsky years ago. Chicago PD subsequently tried to position Detective Jay Halstead as a contrast to Voight, to the point where Voight was the main factor in Halstead quitting Intelligence. But that didn’t quite work, because Olinsky didn’t just temper Voight ideologically; they had so much history between them that there was that personal connection. Chapman has a different kind of personal connection to Voight, where she can see through him. If the writers really want to start asking more questions about who Voight is and what makes him tick, she’s the best character to do that with. Plus, the show needs a regular ASA anyway, having rotated through quite a few of them. Voight and Chapman do not have to become a couple for her to be important to his story, but there’s also no reason they can’t, either.
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Chicago PD Season 12, Episode 15 Misses a Few Steps
Some Meaningful Story Points Get Skipped Over
Because “Greater Good” is really structured more around what Chicago PD wants to say about Voight than its case of the week, there are some moments where the story skips ahead or around when it shouldn’t. The biggest example is in the first act, when Voight tries and fails to save bus driver Walter James, shot in the neck by a stray bullet. He insists that he wants to make the death notification to Walter’s loved ones himself… but that’s never shown on screen. That’s disappointing from a dramatic standpoint, but it gets worse from a character standpoint later on, because Reid cites Voight making the death notification as an example of why Voight should see things the way he does. If that’s such an important moment — a moment that’s going to show Voight’s upset and why he might be tempted to agree with Reid’s methods — it should be on screen.
The sort of turning point in the episode comes when the key witness, who refuses to talk all episode, suddenly turns into a crying, terrified wreck after five minutes with his magically appearing “lawyer.” Voight and Chapman are already suspicious of the lawyer, but the witness’ behavior is very clearly that of someone under duress. Yet nobody asks questions until much later, when Voight actually looks at the plea agreement and only then does he decide to look into the lawyer. He could have done that due diligence much earlier, since he was already certain something was off. But Voight doesn’t get to trust his instincts, because if he did, the show would have wrapped up too early.
Chicago PD Season 12, Episode 13 is entertaining and sets the stage for the big Reid vs. Voight confrontation that viewers have been waiting for. However, it’s also a reminder of how much the show orbits around Voight, and how hard it is to find characters who can believably go toe-to-toe with him. Mostly, this one will be remembered as the one where Reid spelled out his corrupt philosophy and Chapman came back into the picture, instead of being memorable for its individual story.
Chicago PD airs Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. on NBC.
- The returns of Shawn Hatosy and Sara Bues add some spark to the show.
- Jason Beghe gets to show a little more range as Hank Voight.
- The development of the Reid storyline isn’t unique enough yet.
- Patrick John Flueger is completely missing from the episode.
