Chicago P.D. Season 11 Episode 4 Review: Escape
Chicago P.D. Season 11 Episode 4, “Escape,” finally marks the return of Torres to the Intelligence Unit. Once again, the not-so-rookie proves his best trait as a cop is his ability to go undercover.
Even though everyone on the team has gone undercover at one point or another, Torres is the best at it, which is probably why he continues to do it.
And from the looks of it, this case is far from over and Torres is very much involved in it.
One of Them?
Chicago P.D. Season 11 Episode 4, “Escape,” begins with Torres taking care of his mom, the two of them speaking Spanish. This serves as a reminder of who he is and where he comes from.
His background is key to the case since he goes undercover with a drug ring. To get Voight to approve his task, Torres says he knows these guys because he is one of them.
Every time he goes undercover, he uses his background as a Hispanic man who grew up surrounded by gangs to fit in with the targets.
This is what makes him the best on the team to go undercover. Unlike the rest of them who need to do a lot of research before working a case, Torres already knows what he’s getting himself into.
Too Close to Home
However, this time around, the case gets a little too personal for two reasons.
The first is that he sees his mom and stepdad’s relationship reflected in the relationship between the target and his wife. He sees the way this drug lord treats his wife and wants to protect her.
Torres became a cop after having attacked his stepdad for hitting his mom. He became what most people in his neighborhood fear in order to protect the person he loves most.
That’s why it makes him second guess who he is when the woman says, “You seem like something different.” His background prevents him from fully joining the blue wall while his job makes the people he’s known his whole life not trust him.
The perfect representation of this is the fact that he still only wears jeans and a white t-shirt. It’s the outfit that separates him from his team and from his past.
He is Torres, neither this nor that.
The second reason this case gets too personal is the fact that he gets involved with the wife.
At first, it seems he feels bad for her, given his past. He sees a lot of what he has gone through in this woman’s life.
However, he keeps himself from crossing the professional line by not telling her what he did to save his mom. He still understands this is a job, and he shouldn’t let his personal life cloud his judgment.
The moment he kisses this woman, all lines become blurry. There is no longer a separation between his personal and professional lives.
If the history of Anna Avalos and Hank Voight (who also blurred the lines of professionalism by caring too much about Anna) tells us something, it is that this relationship won’t end well. One or both of them will end up getting hurt…or worse, killed.
A POV
Chicago P.D. does great with the transitions between scenes and the different points of view.
On Chicago P.D. Season 11 Episode 4, “Escape,” what’s done so great is the way in which each undercover scene is connected to the rest of the team in nearby cars listening in or watching what’s going on.
This is something to be particularly highlighted when the drug lord’s wife becomes a CI, and they give her a necklace with a camera.
As the team watches what she’s doing, our view is from the necklace’s camera, so we see exactly what she’s seeing. This puts us in her place, and we can understand better why she wanted to get out.
It also helps understand why Torres is so personally invested in the case.
As Chicago P.D. Season 11 Episode 4, “Escape,” comes to an end, it is obvious that the case will go on.
The team has yet to catch one of the biggest drug dealers in Chicago. And the story between his wife and Torres is just getting started.
Hopefully, history won’t repeat itself, and they’ll both make it out alive.
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What did you think of this episode of Chicago P.D.? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Chicago P.D. airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.
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Lara Rosales
By day, Lara Rosales (she/her) is a solo mom by choice and a bilingual writer with a BA in Latin-American Literature known as a Media Relations Expert. By night, she is a TV enjoyer who used to host a podcast (Cats, Milfs & Lesbian Things). You can find her work published on Eulalie Magazine, Geek Girl Authority, W Spotlight, Collider, USA Wire, Mentors Collective, Instelite, Noodle, Dear Movies, Nicki Swift, and Flip Screened.