TV Review: Chicago PD Season 1 Episode 13 "My Way"

Chicago PD features the return of a familiar face.

Based on a cliffhanger from a previous episode, the man responsible for shooting Antonio's partner and kidnapping his son is released to use as bait. He goes by 'Pulpo'.

The target? A man named Munoz: the loose thread from a previous case who got away. With a pretty packed case, they still fit in some detailed side stories.

Let's talk about Ruzek and Burgess first.

He first tells Burgess he's going to give his marriage with Wendy a shot, only to be given his ring back by Wendy soon after because Ruzek "changed".

Atwater then stuck up for his partner and told Ruzek to chill out.

It seemed a little weirdly coincidental that Wendy would end things because of commonly (dare I say predictable) reasons. One would think Chicago PD sparked up romantic interest between Ruzek and Burgess to have Wendy find out - something that would have hit harder. Not only does Wendy think Ruzek changed, she's got proof! Oh well.

Burgess and Ruzek's forbidden attraction probably won't be dormant for long. The way Platt was eyeing them I was suspecting she was the one who tipped Wendy off. That could have been a cool angle.

Erin is visited by Charlie, who she says is a "guy I used to run with". Later on we learn that he's looking for someone named Annie, who Lindsay is still in touch with.

Charlie was also part of the initial plan to bring Lindsay into the PD - he had to stay out of Chicago.

There isn't much on this yet, but with Lindsay's already established story we knew her past was going to resurface. The question is whether or not she'll let anyone help her.

That's where the Pulpo story kicks in. Through his contacts, he sets up Antonio as a new driver in the elaborate drug running cartel infrastructure. Based on the plan that Munoz will be at the drug site, Antonio successfully goes undercover and drives part of the way before someone else takes over - not before Ruzek places a tracker.

Of course when the crew raids the place, it turns out it was a distraction so Pulpo could kill off a rival.

Pulpo thinks he's won since everyone recovered a lot of drugs, guns, and money - signifying Pulpo was helpful. However, Voight and the crew have a different idea.

While Voight, Olinsky, Ruzek and others were raiding the drug spot, Lindsay and Jay were tracking down a woman who Pulpo had called 144 times.

She lies and says she hasn't spoken to him, but Jay and Lindsay realize she's lying after Pulpo's child walks in.

Jay tells Voight that they dangled a DUI charge in front of her to force her to come in, even insinuating possible jail time. It was an interesting moral grey area for Jay, even if he was semi-joking about it.

It came off like a Voight Jr. move.

Antonio threatens to throw Pulpo's wife in jail in front of him, telling him "You took my son, I have no problem taking yours." This leaves Pulpo no choice but to give up the right information - Munoz will be at a festival looking to kill the last men standing in his way from having full control over the cartel.

The team infiltrates the festival, people get shot. Including Munoz.

Before that happens, some new twists are introduced. Chicago PD was dangerously about to run into an issue with the Voight IA angle. The new IA guy seemed more tough, but there was still this "get me more arrests or you're going to jail" empty threat coming from him.

It's revealed that he's having an affair with the new cop Sumner, further fueling the suspicion that she was the mole.

After she refuses to kiss him back, she tells him to be careful because his soon to be ex-wife will "take you for all you got".

That's when the IA guy proposes a new deal to Voight - 25% of whatever street money he takes. Immediately following that, we find out that it is Jin who is the real mole, feeding the IA guy information in exchange for help for his father. This was a much needed boost in story and tension for this angle of the show.

They found a fresh way to keep this part of the tension going while making it more complicated at the same time. It makes it all that much more ballsy that Jin was helping Jay earlier with that pedophile now that we know Jin had to keep himself as squeaky clean as possible.

Once the audience knows a previously good guy is a rat (for whatever reason), they crave the ultimate scene where the main character finds out. When Voight does find out, it'll be fun to watch.

The IA guy now being dirty while at the same time watching Voight will be an interesting battle too. How will Voight get the IA guy off his back without revealing any wrongdoing? I'm intrigued...

The last scene was a great cliffhanger. Although, I have to say I saw it coming. As part of the "deal" Pulpo got to hug his girlfriend and son.

The way the hug between Pulpo and the girlfriend was shot (lingering on the hands as they stopped embracing) I immediately knew he was passed something. Plus it was just a good story direction.

Pulpo is too good of an antagonist to just reappear in handcuffs as a rat. They needed one more showdown.

I was a little surprised (in a good way) with how far they took his escape. Shooting Antonio has that sort of false cliffhanger. Is he going to die next episode (that isn't the finale)? Highly doubtful. I'd be real shocked.

But it still provides for a more intense following episode. We saw in Chicago Fire when Antonio was shot in front of his sister Dawson.

Now we'll get to see Voight lead the charge to find the guy. Judging from the preview, he's going to break some rules to do it.

All in all, a solid episode from Chicago PD. Returning foes always make for special episodes.

I was impressed with how detailed the Pulpo case was dealing with the drug cartel, yet they were able to pack so many personal stories into the episode without it feeling forced or stuffed.

We're gearing up for the finale. I can't wait.

Photo Credit: NBC.com