TV Review: Chicago PD Season 1 Episode 5 "Thirty Balloons"

I liked Thirty Balloons.

The main case this week revolved around Burgess and Atwater finding a woman in psychosis after ingesting 30 balloons of cocaine coming back from Mexico.

Soon the case became a race against the clock as the team was tasked with tracking down the three friends the woman recruited.

The side story with Atwater and Burgess again involved Platt. They were awarded a new cruiser for their work on the hoarder case last episode. Immediately the woman with psychosis smashes into it, causing damage. In order to not piss off Platt, Burgess and Atwater pay out of pocket at a separate shop to fix the damages, only to have a concrete block fall on it from a construction site at the end of the episode.

In terms of the story - getting a nice shiny new car from Platt - this was the correct (and funny) trajectory the story should take. However, I'm approaching being worn out from always getting Burgess and Atwater through Platt.

Platt is of course comic relief, but I would like to either see why Platt is that way, or get Burgess and Atwater stories that don't involve her.

As great a character as she can be, Burgess and Atwater are bigger characters with the most chance of promotion, and we need to get to know them as cops and people, not cops trying to please their boss.

The case turns serious when it is revealed the girls have been kidnapped - presumably to get the drugs back that they have ingested. Olinsky and Ruzek spend the bulk of their time together in this episode staking out the tattoo place where they're all supposed to meet. It provides nice opportunities for Olinsky to teach Ruzek who is fresh out of the academy.

However things didn't end well with Ruzek charging the place before backup arrived.

They saved the one girl, but ultimately could have gotten both of them shot.

It'll be interesting how deep Chicago PD will go with this issue between Olinsky and Ruzek, or if Ruzek will get back into Olinsky's good graces somehow.

Justin is up to the same old nonsense staying past his curfew and hanging with people he shouldn't. Voight tracks him and Lindsay threatens to plant drugs on the friend unless he leaves Justin alone.

It was a pretty badass scene, but one I hope she doesn't do it because I want Justin to mess up and go away forever.

One thing I liked about the case was that it was slimmed down. After Voight threatened the guy with the pool stick to give up the location of the stash house, there was a smashcut on "3!" to a door being broken down.

Great editing and tight writing there - no need for him to tell Voight the location, and then Voight radios in the same location we just heard.

That would be lazy and uninspired. I'm glad it was the opposite of that, and firing on all cylinders.

This was an interesting episode for Jay, Voight, and Lindsay. First, Jay played up the joke that Justin doesn't like him because he thinks that Jay is Lindsay's boyfriend, to which they both joke with each other "you wish". Somehow Voight sniffs this out, and warns Jay that Lindsay is off limits.

Lindsay is mad and confronts him, and Voight actually flips the conventional answer and says because Lindsay leaves a trail of broken hearts, and he needs Jay on his 'A' game.

This obviously makes Lindsay pissed, so I don't doubt we will see a Jay/Lindsay romance in the future.

It provides a nice out for the couple if the show decides they aren't the couple that is going to last - realizing they did it to spite Voight.

I think they could have shown they were dating in this episode, however. After Voight goes to Lindsay's apartment to tell her about Justin's friend, Lindsay goes back inside after and we reveal Jay is there. The show explains that he is there just for emotional support because of the tough case, but it would be interesting if during their "you're always there for me" speeches to each other they just kiss once. It would indicate the relationship developed off the screen.

It would have made the "you wish I was your boyfriend" playful jabs earlier that much funnier, and been a great opportunity to reveal a romance they are keeping to themselves. The majority of romances on this show (and others) will tend to show every aspect that brought them together, I would love to see a relationship go this way, where we see them just together.

So obviously the kiss would have had to come off as two people having been dating (for an undisclosed amount of time), not a first kiss.

Oh well though. I've liked Chicago PD's choices so far, so I am confident I'll like where they take this relationship. I just thought that would have been a cool choice.

All in all, cool episode. More character stuff - which I always like.

Chicago PD is on break like Chicago Fire, but returns next episode with a Chicago PD/Law and Order SVU crossover with two SVU characters (Ice-T !) coming to Chicago to track a serial killer.

I can only describe it with the word I said to myself when I saw the promo:

Awesome.

Photo Credit: erinlindsay-cpd.tumblr.com