Season 12 Episode 2 of Chicago PD Proved that the aging police procedural still has life in it. The One Chicago Police drama is originally popular because of Hank Voight’s (Jason Beghe) willingness to break the rules to close cases and get justice for victims and the blend of police and personal drama. However, in recent years, the focus of the series has changed, Eliminating most patrol officers and toning down Voight’s behavior. So he was left with stories that seemed repetitive, and moreover, she was plagued by some Chicago PD Cast members leaving, which left large holes in the canvas.
In the first years of Chicago PDThe series was much more of an ensemble show. Once the other shows in the One Chicago Universe are established, it has Frequent crossovers and visits with characters from Chicago Med And Chicago Fire. The aspects of Chicago PD Made it more interesting than other police procedurals. Unfortunately, these have gradually faded away with time. in Chicago PD Season 12, Episode 2, “Blood Bleeds Blue,” however, NBC Restored some of the things that made the series a fan favorite in earlier years.
Chicago PD has been in decline for a couple of years
Changes in stories and characters led to lower ratings
Although Chicago PD Was once considered one of the best One Chicago Shows, in recent years its quality has gone down. The problems stemmed in part from high levels of cast turnover that were often accompanied by disappointing exit stories, including Jay Halstead’s insulting send-off. Additionally, cultural changes that included less tolerance for police violence in fiction meant that the series had to tone down Voight’s violent tendencies to avoid harsh criticism. These changes led to boring and repetitive plots about violent and dangerous perps kidnapping and threatening police officers, with the behavior of the offenders becoming more and more scandalous.
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Budgetary concerns also made it more difficult to create ensemble stories, vi Chicago PD Adopted a policy of using different characters in each episode rather than allowing the entire cast to appear in the same episode. Additionally, Trudy Platt (Amy Morton) often had little or nothing to do because she was no longer training or supervising patrol officers, and her reduced involvement changed the tone of the series. The series also over-focused on personal relationships, including the confusing back-and-forth between Ruzek and Burgess, which distracted from its police procedural elements.
The problems are reflected in the ratings. During his first season, Chicago PD has an average rating of 8 million viewers per episode; In season 11, it averaged just below that, making it the lowest-rated year for the procedural. Despite its declining ratings, Chicago PD was still one of NBC’s most popular shows, easily scoring a renewal for season 12. However, more high-quality episodes like episode 2 of season 12 could reverse the trends.
Chicago PD ratings by season |
|
Time |
Average viewers (millions) |
1 |
8.03 |
2 |
8.74 |
3 |
8.71 |
4 |
8.48 |
5 |
10.32 |
6 |
11.18 |
7 |
11.23 |
8 |
9.73 |
9 |
9.15 |
10 |
8.27 |
11 |
7.96 |
Chicago PD Season 12, Episode 2 is reminiscent of its peak years
This episode was classic Chicago PD
Chicago PD Season 12, Episode 2 delivered the kind of high-quality entertainment that has been lacking in recent years. The story was high stakes without relying on overused tropes. Instead, the whole team has to work together to find the person who killed Emily Martel and kidnapped a two-year-old child. The story raised the stakes, delivering tense scenes in which witnesses refused to cooperate or were physically unable to provide much information while a toddler’s life hung in the balance.
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The revelation that Roy Darrow planned to kill his sons and then himself was a chilling reminder of what would happen if the cops failed, which made the story much more compelling than other recent plots. The tension was compounded by other police constantly asking if there were any updates on Martel that Voight didn’t have time to answer and Ruzek working with a patrol officer who was on the scene at the time of the shooting but whose abilities and intentions were Unknown.
Platt had to help resolve a crisis situation and was instrumental in searching for Darrow and conveying information to keep the officers safe and lead to Darrow and his sons being found alive.
The ensemble nature of this episode also made it more compelling than past stories, especially since Platt had an actual role. Rather than functioning only as a receptionist, she had to help resolve a crisis and was instrumental in the search for Darrow. The episode also introduced newcomer Kiana Cook (Toya Turner). Chicago PD In an organic, interesting manner, offered two exciting confrontations in the climax, and moved the story at a faster pace than usual.
Chicago PD Season 12 shows that it can return to its glory days despite many changes
“Blood Bleeds Blue” was high quality despite workshop changes
It was more difficult for Chicago PD To offer compelling stories because of the number of actors do not return to the One Chicago show every year. However, season 12, episode 2 proved that even with a smaller, newer cast, it is possible to write deep, collaborative and original stories. Every character was involved in this investigation Except Burgesswho was still gone, but the story was never connected by the number of characters who participated in it.
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Chicago PD Can still be saved if it continues to deliver high-quality stories like this. The series has demonstrated that if it returns to its roots with tense, high-stakes stories that utilize its existing cast, it can continue to offer the type of compelling police drama that has made it a cult favorite over the past 12 years. The more it relies on innovative stories like this instead of gimmicks, the more likely it is to regain an audience excited to tune in to each new episode.