TV REVIEW : Chicago PD’s “Different Mistakes” Is Darn Near Perfect

“Different Mistakes” doesn’t take a misstep in moving Chicago PD closer to a conclusion in this excellent freshman season.  Every episode reveals a little more about the cops we’ve grown to care about in a way that so few shows are capable of handling.  The talented ensemble cast is a task in itself.  We need to care about each character and CPD makes us feel for each and every one. Let’s begin with Sergeant Hank Voight (the amazing Jason Beghe).

The opening scene shows Erica Gradishar (Robin Weigert) packing up.  Yeah, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.  You’ve been Voightified, lady.  She’s down for the count, but a new Internal Affairs weasel is in town, Stillwell (guest star Ian Bohen).  He creeps up on Voight in the street letting him know he wants a partnership and not just lip service.  It’s a meeting of the alpha dogs. My money’s on Voight.

We learn more about the soft side of Detective Erin Lindsay (Sophia Bush).  She’s shuffling through a crack house, waking up a strung out girl. It’s Nadia, the addict Erin tried so desperately to help a few episodes ago, obviously seeing some of her past self in the girl.  She tells Nadia she’s getting her in a facility, but it will take a few days.  She’ll stay with Detective Lindsay in the meantime.  We love you as a badass brandishing a big gun, but you had us at the caring way you take this girl under your wing, Erin.

Jay Halstead (Jesse Lee Soffer) has more to him than meets the eye.  He’s a man on a mission, this time enlisting the help of resident computer nerd, Jin (Archi Kao), to track down the credit card transactions of pervy Lonnie Rodiger.  Remember, this is the guy Halstead’s sure killed the brother of his high school girlfriend.  The creepy guy’s been buying toys.  Okay his creep level just escalated ten fold. C’mon, Jay, get him!

Pictured: (l-r) Sophia Bush as Erin Lindsay, Jason Beghe as Hank Voight, Jesse Lee Soffer as Jay Halstead — (Photo by: Matt Dinerstein/NBC)

Onto the crime of the night. Our cops are called to a Vegas fun night gone wrong, complete with several dead guys, all shot up. It’s really a gambling ring and looking at surveillance video shows they’re probably military, definitely pros. Jin tracks down a location, so our super cops are ready to bust some gambling skulls.

Jay goes in first looking like a ten-year-old.  No one notices him because they think it’s bring your kid to your illegal job day.  He sees someone getting beat up and just stares in amazement at dad’s cool job  until there’s a gun to his head.  He makes some lame excuse about wanting to “score some coke” and for a second I think he’s talking Coca Cola.  The gun guy is really a cop and cuts him loose.

Jay ID’s one of the guys as Voight’s former partner Jimmy Shi (guest star Mark Dacascos), and immediately we know there’s a huge history between the two.  Maybe they were both on Iron Chef together or something. Erin knows that the guy looks familiar and she’s determined to discover the Voight/Jimmy story by episode’s end.

Meanwhile, Ruzek (Patrick Flueger) is feeling like super cop, sporting some cool sunglasses and an ego as huge as the city itself.  Olinsky ((Elias Koteas), looking and sounding like a skinny Robert De Niro, takes it upon himself to bring his partner back down to earth.  He enlists the always sunshiny Sergeant Platt (fan favorite Amy Morton) to assign Ruzek to crossing guard duty with Burgess (Marina Squerciati) for the day.  Aw, Platt’s kind of the unwitting matchmaker of the show because after their day together, is there anyone who doesn’t think there’s going to be a Burgess/Ruzek hook up?  I think they may have even eloped by day’s end.

Who’s filling in for Ruzek? Atwater (LaRoyce Hawkins), of course.  He does an excellent job, and you can’t help but feel for him when his temp job is done, and he’ll have to go back on patrol.

Voight and crew bust in on Jimmy seemingly robbing one of the gambling sites.  Turns out his former partner’s been working on a six month operation to take down the gambling ring.  He’s not dirty after all.

Erin continues her detective work trying to find out the real story of Voight and Jimmy.  She asks Voight who returns the favor by asking about what’s going on with Jay.  She says nothing, and they both shut up.  She hits up Olinsky next who tells her to let sleeping dogs lie.  Antonio Dawson (Jon Seda) is the only one talking.  He says that Voight and Jimmy led away a suspect accused of killing Olinsky’s former partner.  The guy never made it to jail. Would we expect anything less?

The final take down of the bad guys involved the big guns at first then a huge chase scene with Jimmy ramming an SUV with his SUV.  Bad guys arrested.  Gambling ring gone.

In a surprising twist, a new hottie shows up. “I’ve been assigned to your intelligence team. I’m Detective Sumner (guest star Sydney Tamiia Poitier).”  Voight responds with the warm welcome, “Like hell you have.”  This is the work of Stillwell who lets Hank know that hottie is staying.  Period.  She’s taller than Voight, so I’m calling foul too.  He introduces her, saying she’s “temporarily joining intelligence.”  He promptly assigns Jin to babysitting duty so he can show her all his nerd stuff.

Erin is left disappointed again.  Nadia bails on her for the second time saying she can’t do it.  Detective Lindsay says she can, but Nadia chooses the alley she’s in and drugs over a chance at sobriety. Erin heads to Molly’s to join the guys and hear Antonio say, “The first rule of a gun fight is bring a gun.  The second rule is bring friends with guns.”  Cheesy but cute.  We’ll let it slide CPD because the officers and their interactions are so cute.

Pictured: LaRoyce Hawkins as Kevin Atwater — (Photo by: Matt Dinerstein/NBC)

The final scene is anything but cute.  Voight is meeting a semi-bad guy he was supposed to bust weeks ago.  The guy says he needs some clearance and is ready to pay.  As he hands Voight a wad of money, cops roll in with lights flashing.  Uh oh.  Stillwell arrests Hank saying, “You’re finished.”

I’m not losing sleep over the bust because the last one to threaten Voight like that got served an exit slip.  Also, the promo for next week shows Hank back in action.  We’ve got another seven episodes left and I can’t wait to see where the show goes and what else will be revealed about our cops with huge hearts, souls, and pasts.

A huge crossover involving Chicago Fire is coming soon involving terrorists, bombs, hunky firefighters mixing with the police, and Voight trying to bring the bad guys to justice. Who would’ve thought that Chicago would become the scene of so much must see TV for so many?  Windy City, with your flawed but riveting characters, I’ll see you back in my living room next week, and I can’t wait.