TV REVIEW: Erin Goes Dark Trying to “Push the Pain Away” in Chicago PD

Erin goes dark, really, really dark in what is arguably Sophia Bush’s finest performance on Chicago PD. She tries to “Push the Pain Away” not dealing with Nadia’s death, but almost relishing in the pain as if she feels she deserves it. This one is hard to watch as our favorite detective begins a spiral down a Bunny-dug rabbit hole, one that is sure to lead to more pain and more tragedy.

A Bad Bunny Influence

The opening scene is Erin waking up in a bunk bed at Bunny’s. This cannot be good, perhaps showing Erin reverting back to her old ways, figuratively and literally. Bunny acts all motherly concern, even whipping up a breakfast for her girl. Is there anything that does not read “act” when it comes to Erin’s mom? Markie Post, well played. We really don’t like you at all which is a major accomplishment considering you’re one of the cutest women to grace the small screen, Miss Night Courter.

Bunny’s beefed up role means bad things for Erin as she seems to encourage the downward spiral. Misery loves company? It seems that is the case with bad Bunny encouraging Erin’s bad choices and even suggesting new ones.

Burgess Joining the Big Boys

Kim gets her dream job back (temporarily) as she fills in for Atwater in Intelligence. She heads upstairs with Ruzek offering some “keep your head down and don’t get noticed” advice. I think she’s got this, buddy. There’s been a shootout, so the team’s rushing down. as Burgess asks if she should go with or go upstairs.

“There’s nobody shot upstairs,” Voight tells her. You gotta love Hank.

Kim holds her own throughout the big case of the night, even admitting this is the job she wants. She turned it down first time around but now seems determined to carve out a spot for herself.

Pictured: Marina Squerciati as Kim Burgess — (Photo by: Elizabeth Sisson/NBC)

Killing for a Cause

The case of the night are those shooters who are now holding hostages at a fancy gym. The team enters, long guns at the ready. They grab one gunman, but three others get away. Voight is not amused as he questions the one they captured. The bad guy’s a smug little criminal, “I’m not gonna fall for your cop tricks.” No tricks buddy, just a foot stomp to the thigh. So, apparently the stomp has replaced the slap? He’s still not talking. Further investigation at the scene shows four dead bodies, not random. Four lawyers were the targets. They all worked on some case called Lancaster Chemical.

The cage is back! Foot stomp was less than effective, so Voight takes their shooter to his favorite information sucking area. The guy’s still not talking.

Mouse and Ruzek discover that the shooters are the father and uncle to a dead 8-year-old girl who was “made sick” by the chemical company. So, they’re shooters with a purpose? They are targeting those who helped the chemical company get away with what they consider murder.

I Pity those Foolish Shooters

Later, the shooters take more hostages, this time making demands. Hank takes matters into his badass hands by going in as a hostage to work a little Voight magic with those shooters. Who thinks it will take more than ten minutes before he has the bad guys on their knees begging for mercy?

Halstead’s on a nearby roof as American Skinny Jean Sniper while Voight rasps out some negotiations. The shooters lose the upper hand pretty quick as Hank demands to see the hostages. They comply dragging out one sobbing lady. Calm down! Voight’s on it, you should be free sooner rather than later.

Things get heated when one of the shooters loses it, screaming in the sergeant’s face. Hank tries to diffuse the situation by saying, “tell your story” reminding the man that he can blow the whistle on the polluting company. Voight even has a shout out to the whole Casey/Hallie/Justin debacle admitting he’s done things below and beyond to help his son.

Things escalate to the breaking, or dying point, with the gunman punching Voight. Halstead shoots to kill, one down, one to go. Voight and the second shooter slug it out with Hank brandishing a knife and you can tell he’s a real whiz with that Thanksgiving turkey, slicing, dicing, and carving. They arrest the shooter but are still down one bad guy. Our cops realize that the missing man is one of the dead girl’s cousins; he was a witness at the gym that Kim interviewed!

A New Dream Team is Born – Ratwater

Roman and Atwater team up tonight and it strangely works. Atwater borrows a fellow cop’s car to pursue a suspect.
When Platt questions Roman and Atwater (Ratwater?) about their shenanigans, Roman takes the heat for the Atwater carjacking, saying it was all him. Could we love this guy any more? Nah! Now let’s get him a proper romance. One he actually remembers, since he completely forgot about the Brett hook-up of last night.

“Okay save it, Braveheart. It was the right call,” Platt teases Roman.

Pictured: Jason Beghe as Hank Voight — (Photo by: Elizabeth Sisson/NBC)

Shoot Me!

It turns out he CEO of the chemical company is the target, one of shooters is still on the loose gunning for him. Intelligence busts into a meeting to warn the guy, but Lindsay inexplicably takes off alone, creeping down hallways looking for the shooter. He finds her instead, putting a gun to her head. What kind of guy puts a gun to that gorgeous Erin head?

They face each other in the best scene of the night that practically spits raw emotion. The young man, Nick, is devastated over the loss of his cousin, his eyes mirroring that Erin pain. She recognizes it and reveals more of her grief to this stranger than she has to Voight, Halstead, or Platt.

“Sometimes people we love get hurt and there’s nothing we can do about it. It makes you so angry that you’ll do anything to push the pain away, right?” Sophia Bush is a force tonight, one that bowls us over with the honest and authentic torment she conveys.

Nick responds, “She was like my little sister. I was supposed to look out for her.” It’s a tearjerker of a scene evoking pure emotion as Erin shows how broken she is.

“Then do it already. Then shoot me, c’mon… shoot me!” She yells it over and over and you know she means it. After some painful, heart wrenching seconds, he lowers the gun handing it over to the detective.

Erin takes off heading back to dear old mom. Noooo! Bunny’s tending bar (is that all she ever does?) and chatting about running into the “scrawny kid” down the street, Landon, who bit Erin once. Who saunters in the bar? Scrawny bean all grown up. Next scene… Erin and Landon are going at it, getting naked, with Lindsay biting him. “Now, we’re even.” Oh, I can hear those Linstead lover screams through my television and Twitter feed all at once.

A concerned Voight covers/protects/worries over Erin all episode. He does what he can, but Erin’s not taking it, not a bit of it. She is determined to face, or not face, her grief all alone. Platt also offers her two cents, at one point trying to get Erin to go home. Lindsay pretty much tells her where to stick it.

It was hard to see the tough but tender detective reach a new low that will surely go darker in the season finale next week. We knew Nadia’s death would hit Erin hard, but had no idea it would hit her “random sex with a biter” hard. And that promo for next week! Lindsay looks like hell (sort of) and shoots a fellow cop? How is she ever coming back from that? Let’s hope she can pull herself back up or let her family give a hand soon. We’re missing our gal and those amazing dimples.

Random Notes

We’d be remiss if we didn’t address one glaring issue with tonight’s episode. One Chicago isn’t that united. The supposed Chicago Fire/Chicago PD world that co-exists “seamlessly” hit a major time space continuum snafu. The whole Casey is missing from just last night was MIA. What the what? Kind of ridiculous and hard to overlook, but we’ll try to forgive it for now (only because of Sophia Bush totally bringing it on screen). It will be interesting to see how the writers deal with the months apart starting dates of the two shows next season.

Mouse nerds it up with his mad techie skills. He’s been a welcome addition this season, cute, quirky, and best of all Samuel Caleb Hunt can act! Can you say “more screen time?”

Chicago PD’s Season Finale is next Wednesday at 10 p.m. on NBC.