Chicago P.D. Season 12 Episode 18 Review: Demons

While Reid believes he has all the power, he continues to fail to see that Voight’s power lies within his team. Reid tries to claim Voight’s team is actually his on Chicago P.D. Season 12 Episode 18, “Demons,” because he is blackmailing him.

What he doesn’t understand is that the Intelligence Unit is untouchable as long as Voight is around. He would take the blame for whatever Reid brings their way before risking their careers and lives. Reid believes one simple secret could change that, but it is because he doesn’t see the full scope of who Voight is.

However, Voight doesn’t realize until the secret is forced into the light that his team will have his back as much as he has theirs. They all make this very clear to him, but it becomes particularly true when Atwater says Voight’s words back to him: “Tell us the truth and we will lie for you.” He’s been doing it for over a decade, and now they’re repaying him the favor.

The strength of Chicago P.D. lies above everything in the fact that the unit is a solid team that relies on one another and always has each other’s backs. Without the support they have provided for one another over the past decade, they would not have survived all the threats that have come their way.

The first line of protection has always been Voight’s behavior and his attitude. He has always put the team first, willing to jump in and take the blame when needed. He has raised them to be a team that trusts him without realizing they could one day do for him what he has always done for them.

While Voight wants to keep the team in the dark regarding Reid’s blackmail and why he has asked them to look into the carjacking, Burgess is the first one to realize there might be more to what he is saying. She proves, again, why she is one of the best detectives on the show, putting the pieces of the puzzle together before Voight has a chance to tell them.

The truth is that he should have been honest with the team because his behavior made no sense to them. If he had told them the truth, they would have worked the case differently, helping gather the evidence they needed against Reid.

Voight should have told them about the blackmail the moment Reid started using it against him. After all, he is carrying that burden because Torres made a mistake and Burgess covered for him. This is one of the few times that the unit is in danger, and it’s not because of something Voight did.

Reid proves he is failing to see how the unit works when he turns to Torres. He sees Torres as the current weak link in the unit because he is struggling. However, he doesn’t see how much the team cares about him.

Kiana notices immediately that something is wrong with Torres. She was the one to ask about him when he took the week off, and is the one to ask him if he is okay now. Even though he is trying to hide it, his friends can see he isn’t doing okay.

Torres opens up to Voight about his struggle, but isn’t completely honest with him until he has to call him because Reid came to see him. While it isn’t good that he first decides to follow Reid’s instructions, his loyalty ends up winning when he stays in his car and calls Voight.

Reid pretends to care about Torres and be his friend, believing he is the only support the officer has. He doesn’t understand how deep the roots of the Intelligence Unit run.

Ultimately, Voight listens to Torres and promises to come up with a plan to help him. Once again, he is showing he cares more about his team than anything.

While it’s great to see that Chapman is working alongside Voight, it stands out that she asks him not to forget who they are. This is quite surprising considering everything Voight has done so far aligns with who he has always been.

She claims to be surprised that Voight threatened a suspect and delivered him to the precinct with a set statement. This doesn’t surprise the viewers who have seen Voight beat up suspects in his cage before. The Voight we see now is tame compared to who he used to be.

Voight stays true to himself by telling her that he has always done whatever is necessary to achieve his goal. That is the kind of man we have always known and the kind of behavior we expect from him going after a man like Reid.

It’ll be interesting to see if Chapman can continue to work with this behavior and if her feelings for him will have any repercussions on what happens next.

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Chicago P.D. airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.

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