SPOILER ALERT: The following contains spoilers for Chicago PD Season 13, Episode 4. It also contains discussion of suicide.
Chicago PD Season 13, Episode 4 is an episode that serves a bigger purpose. “Root Cause” is not a great case of the week example. The plotline is more bloody than it is memorable. What the NBC show is really doing herein is fleshing out new character Eva Imani, and giving actor Arienne Mandi a chance to spread her wings.
The plot of Episode 4 involves a series of violent robberies, drug use and an abusive household. The end of the episode suggests that this story might come around again, because suspect Gary Bell states that “he made me this way” before choosing to die by suicide. Hank Voight is sure that Gary is referring to his father Raymond, who now has custody of Gary’s daughter Julia, so he issues an investigative alert. But “Root Cause” is more of a vehicle to learn a little more about Voight and a lot more about Eva.
The big revelation from the episode’s trailer actually has nothing to do with the case. The final scene of the episode is Eva asking Voight if he’s the injured child in the photo left on his truck. Voight doesn’t answer her, but the close-up on Jason Beghe‘s tense expression is an answer all on its own. After exploring Voight’s romantic life or lack thereof in Season 12, it seems like Chicago PD Season 13 is going to dig further into his childhood. This idea of showing off more facets of Voight as a person is great, especially this late in series history—and it seems like Eva will also be a part of that.
Voight is at his best when he has a foil, whether it’s Antonio Dawson or Alvin Olinsky or Hailey Upton. There has to be a character to question him and provide a sounding board for him. “Root Cause” shows that Eva is not afraid to ask Voight questions, while he (and the audience) are learning things about her. She reveals that she has a sister whom she hasn’t seen since she was eight, and tells Trudy Platt that she’s moved more than a dozen times. Eva obviously has a messy backstory—and if anyone knows about messy histories, it’s Hank Voight, who has enough skeletons in his closet to form an army.
Arienne Mandi is great in this episode, striking the balance between the toughness that Eva is already known for and moments of vulnerability. There are plenty of tough characters in One Chicago, particularly in Chicago PD. That tough exterior on its own is not interesting. What makes a character stick is when the writers start showing what’s underneath that toughness or that tragic history. Dante Torres is another example (at least until he got stuck with a downward spiral that now resembles the Springfield Mystery Spot). Mandi, who was so good in Season 2 of Netflix’s The Night Agent playing a very different character, has learned the rhythm of Chicago PD very quickly.
There’s not much for the other characters to do. Kevin Atwater gets the week off, while Torres and Kim Burgess have the primary support roles. “Root Cause” is more of a two-hander than a team effort. And the investigation itself is not one of the show’s best. But the real mission seems to be setting up another subplot for Voight, and getting viewers to further embrace Eva Imani. In those two respects, Chicago PD absolutely succeeds.
Chicago PD airs Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
