It wasn't supposed to happen this way. The promo for "Open Casket" suggested that Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) had a concrete plan to take down his crooked superior, Deputy Chief Reid (Shawn Hatosy). In true Chicago PD fashion, though, everything went south, and the IU found itself falling even further under Reid's command. Those who remained, at least.
"Open Casket" packed some truly shocking developments in its final moments. Not only did Reid launch an Internal Affairs investigation into the IU, he fired two of its core members on the spot. He fired Kim Burgess (Marina Squerciati) for misconduct, mere days before her wedding to Adam Ruzek (Patrick John Flueger). We really did not see that coming.
Dante Torres (Benjamin Levy Aguilar) had it even worse. Not only was the officer fired from the IU, but he was arrested for misconduct, and could potentially face jail time. Burgess and Torres' firings both stem from the story arc involving the latter and former CI Gloria Perez (Yara Martinez). Torres had an affair with the CI in season 11, and Burgess subsequently helped to cover up the mess.
Burgess and Torres were fired for misconduct
Unfortunately, they were not able to keep this information from Reid. The Deputy Chief figured out what happened, and rather than penalize them on the spot, he has spent the entirety of season 12 using this information to his advantage. He's effectively blackmailed Burgess and Torres, and given how unified the IU is, this means he has the rest of the team in his back pocket as well.
Kim Burgess has had an extremely rough go in season 12. Her promotion to detective has brought nothing but stress and paranoia due to the Torres situation, and now, on the cusp of her wedding, she finds herself unceremoniously let go. It's difficult not to feel bad for Torres, as well. The character has really internalized the guilt of giving Reid blackmail material on the IU, and he's started to break down on the job.
He's missed time due to insomnia, injured his arm in an off duty accident, and admitted to Voight that the only reason he went back to work was because he was worried he'd be fired if he took more time off. Well, now he doesn't have to worry about it. He does, however, have to worry about charges he'll be hit with if Reid reveals what happened with Perez.
Reid will determine the IU's fate
Did we mention that Reid also put a halt to any further IU activity? The Deputy Chief has so much control over the situation that the unit will not be allowed to operate until its been properly reviewed. And guess who's doing the review? If you guessed Reid, then you are as sharp and as concerned as we are.
We suspected that Chicago PD would escalate things heading into the season finale, but we did not expect to lose two team members or watch the IU be shut down until further notice. The stakes have never been higher, because if Voight doesn't figure out a way to take Reid down in time, then his unit and his career could be over.
Needless to say, we will be seated for the season 12 finale on May 21.