Chicago P.D. Season 13 Episode 17 Review: Partners
We can’t talk about Chicago P.D. Season 13 Episode 17, “Partners,” without talking about how fun the dynamic between Rabbit and Voight feels (until the end).
Rabbit is the complete opposite of Voight. He doesn’t stop talking, carries himself with a fun, joyful demeanor, and sees life from a different perspective. Nevertheless, the way he speaks to Voight and behaves around him makes every interaction fun and exciting. As if we got to see a different side of Voight every time Rabbit was around.
Imani describes it best when she says she noticed that Rabbit seems comfortable around Voight, even though it’s clear that not many people share that feeling. She can see there’s a different relationship there and that, even though he denies it, Voight cares about Rabbit. But she is also letting him in on the fact that she feels comfortable around him, too.
There are two things that Rabbit says on this episode that stand out. The first one comes when he is in the interrogation room with Voight and Imani, and mentions they have the same sense of humor. He remarks that Voight finally found someone like him.
This is something viewers have felt since the moment Imani joined the team. She is a lot like Voight in the way she carries herself, holds on to things, and handles the job. She might have the same sense of humor, but in reality, Rabbit points at their whole demeanor.
His comment stands out because it relates directly to the first scene of the episode in which Voight vouches for Imani to Vice. He is willing to stand by her and say she is good when the Vice sergeant asks about her and why she’s been asking to look at open files. Voight understands why Imani is doing this and would never come between her and this investigation.
This is something he makes clear to her when he repeats that she doesn’t have to protect him and she needs to stay out of his business. He’s not really telling her to stand back, but to respect his feelings and behavior around the subject.
But that is when she understands that he does care about her. That is why she tells him everything she knows about her sister’s sighting in Chicago, and why she accepts his help when he offers it.
Now things are getting good. Now we know the show won’t drop the ball, and this storyline will continue to grow.
The other thing that stands out from Rabbit’s comments is the way in which he might be one of the few characters who ever truly understood Voight. When he says, “You’re not unfeeling,” and that Voight isn’t the person he pretends to be because he has seen him and knows what it’s like to have someone who makes you better, we understand Rabbit gets it.
Not everyone sees Voight beyond his “bad cop” reputation, so it’s great to see it coming from Rabbit. It’s a real description of who Voight is and who he pretends to be.
Sadly, as things usually go with Hank Voight, Rabbit changes his speech the moment he feels betrayed by Voight. From “you’re not unfeeling” we go to “you’re nothing,” a very quick change of pace.
But that is also how Voight has been perceived and treated. Because everyone stops at his reputation and what they have heard from him, he becomes this sort of monster nobody wants to deal with. When in reality, his persona is closer to Rabbit’s first description of him.
While Chicago P.D. Season 13 has done a great job of balancing everyone’s storylines, it has reminded viewers that the show’s existence stems from Hank Voight. Everything always leads back to him.
Even though this might not be everyone’s cup of tea because Voight isn’t the kind of lovable character people want, it is what has made the show so successful at its core. Without him, we wouldn’t get the kind of team we see week after week in the Intelligence Unit.
That doesn’t mean he could be the show on his own. He needs everyone else for the show to be what it is.
What did you think of this episode of Chicago P.D.? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and don’t forget to leave your own rating!
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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.