Chicago PD Season 4 Episode 10 Review: Don't Read the News
Brittany Frederick
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Two episodes of Chicago PD in one week? Aren't we lucky. Chicago PD Season 4 Episode 10 throws us right back into the action with the Intelligence Unit looking for a serial killer responsible for the murders of young women going back to 2008. And Adam Ruzek ships off to someplace else, replaced by Jack Porter from Revenge...I mean, Nick Wechsler.
"Don't Read The News" (which, is anyone else bemused by how the title is so similar to that of the episode right before it?) gives the CPD Intelligence Unit almost more than it can chew with its long list of victims. But for such a big case it's really not that complicated a plot.
As soon as The Powers That Be said that prime suspect Ricky Barnes was a DNA match it was obvious that his father Franklin was the real perpetrator. That's simple logic, as well as a device that's been used on other crime shows before.
At least that plot device did give us a shoutout to Antonio Dawson:
We spoke to Antonio. He had a great idea. You widen the DNA search to include familial match.
Halstead
But what the episode lacks in suspense it makes up for with emotional moments. It's hard not to get a little choked up when Voight tells surviving victim Sienna Brody that it's not her fault the killings continued after she escaped.
That's a nice change of pace from the badass Voight who goes around snarking at suspects, though there's a little bit more of that here too when he interrogates would-be player Vincent:
It's time to get on the bus or get under it, kid.
Voight
Then there's watching Lindsay and Halstead tell Ricky that his father's a serial killer whose last victim was the love of his life. It's tough, between Lindsay trying to be sympathetic and Halstead basically unloading with both barrels.
You can only imagine how difficult it would be for someone to be falsely accused of the murder of his ex-girlfriend and then find out that not only did his dad kill her, but a dozen other girls as well. The scene really brings that home, particularly in Ricky's anguished then angry reaction.
One can argue this case really isn't about CPD. It's the relative of one of the victims that breaks the case. It's about Ricky and Ricky's mother having to cope with the realization that they were living with true evil. It's about the community getting a chance to heal at last after almost a decade of pain.
That in itself is a breath of fresh air. We've seen several episodes so far in Season 4 that are about how much the community hates the cops and doesn't want to work with them. Now we have an episode where the community takes the first steps toward closing the case and helps CPD get it to the finish line.
I need you to take your friend and walk away...or you'll be sleeping in lockup.
Burgess
The bigger news for Chicago PD fans is that Adam Ruzek is being temporarily written out, sent off to an undercover assignment. Why that's the case isn't entirely clear (both on screen and off), and Patrick John Flueger will absolutely be missed but this might be more of a positive than a negative.
With Ruzek gone the show can focus on Burgess's development as part of the team rather than Burzek angst. It may still go there, but what's most important for Burgess now is becoming a better officer and earning her spot in Intelligence.
And this means we get to enjoy Nick Wechsler as Kenny Rixton. Wechsler is a great actor going back to when he was on Roswell, and more recently on Revenge and even his recurring role last fall on The Player. He's going to do something interesting with Rixton and he already fits right in.
Let's just hope that when he leaves, the show doesn't kill him off so that nobody says, "Oh my God, they killed Kenny!"
Voight: That's Kenny Rixton, he's Ruzek's replacement.
Burgess: What?
Voight: Ruzek's replacement. I'll fill you in later.
Then there's Lindsay finally getting a chance to meet her father. This has been being teased for episodes now so it's good we finally get to it. From an emotional point of view hopefully Jimmy really is as reformed as he appears to be, because how heartbreaking would it be for Lindsay if he wasn't?
Yet because this is Chicago PD there will probably be a wrench thrown in somewhere. It'll either be something that Jimmy is after by trying to get back into his daughter's life, or maybe something to do with that past between Voight and Jimmy that Voight just forgot to bring up until Chicago PD Season 4 Episode 9.
I wasn't there for you then but I'd like to be now. If you'll let me.
Jimmy
Or maybe Halstead will go a little too far in checking him out. You have to love Jay for always looking out for Erin even when she hasn't been great at letting him in (like, for example, last episode).
Hopefully it won't be too terrible because after all this build-up it would just be so sad for Lindsay to let this guy in against all her better judgment and get hurt for the umpteenth time.
But hey. We got to see baby Erin with a bunny.
"Don't Read The News" is a solid if unremarkable episode, but it does introduce a bunch of new pieces that should be fun to watch over the rest of Season 5. Everything has to start somewhere. Plus, did I mention the bunny?
Chicago PD goes back to just one episode next week, returning next Wednesday at 10/9c with the episode "You Wish." Rixton continues to integrate with the team while Voight takes on a private police force gone awry. Sounds like the fireworks are only just beginning.
If you want to re-watch "Don't Read The News" again or catch up on all of Season 4 so far, you can watch Chicago PD online. Don't forget to tell us what you thought of the episode below. Did you guess the twist before it happened? What do you think about Rixton filling in for Ruzek? Let us know and tune back in next week.
Brittany Frederick is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.
