“Don’t you threaten me Hugh. It’s not productive. And it’s not polite.” -Gibbons
When this episode first got going, I thought we were in for another episode that was a chess match between Superintendent Colvin and Wysocki versus the rest of the force. That would have been just fine. Inter department politics are always interesting to me. I personally would have liked to see a little of the Jonesy tow truck scam. This is why police dramas will never get old. There’s always material. Anytime they want, they can go off a tangent that will still keep us interested. But what the episode ultimately delivered was even better. We now know just what type of villain the Chicago PD is up against in Alderman Gibbons.
Finally we get to see the evil side of Alderman Gibbons, and the brilliance of actor Delroy Lindo. Up until this point it was all speculation and what the show told us, but now we see just what he is capable of doing. He was able to get both the Irish mob and the police force under his thumb in swift set of maneuvers. One of my favorite scenes of the episode was where Gibbons and Hugh discussed leverage. Hugh put all his cards on the table whereas Gibbons remained deathly calm. I was told growing up that if you get into a fight with someone and they talk all your best punches and never flinch, yet still come after you, it’s time to flee because you’re dealing with someone that’s not on your level. He will beat you. This is my view of Gibbons. He’s so insulated. The criminals need his protection and the police department needs the money he controls. Gibbons uses both of these groups against each other to further his agenda. The question is, what is his agenda? He’s rich and appears to be happy, but what else does he want? Surely he can retire at this point. Is the crime life that addicting? Is he trying to build an empire of sorts? Does he want to be elected mayor? At this point he’s only made moves to clean up messes. Things could get really ugly when he starts making his own moves to get more of what he’s after. Until we know just what his end game is, I don’t think we know the extent of what he will do to get it.
The other dynamic we have working is Wysocki’s professional relationships. It’s clear both he and Colvin share a mutual trust and respect, but it is that very relationship that endangers the life of him and his partner. Allegiances will be tested inside the department. Wysocki can’t be a successful cop if the rest of the cops freeze him out, yet because he hasn’t done anything to warrant their hate, he isn’t going to submit to them. This puts Caleb Evers in an interesting position. In his voice over in the previous episode, he stated that a successful stint riding with Wysocki will lead you straight to the top. But Evers is seeing the cost of doing business this way. In this episode he asks, “Is it worth it? I want to do my job, but if we can’t even trust other cops to have our backs, this job gets dangerous.” That answer to his question will surely be answered and constantly redefined.
Te struggle between Wysocki and the rest of the cops will be ongoing. As we saw with Moose, Wysocki can’t just take an apology and everything is ok. Moose put his and his partner’s life in danger by freezing them out. This lead to them not catching the criminal and having to resort to Wysocki shooting and killing him. Rather than take Moose’s apology, he punched him in the face further alienating himself. Wysocki’s rigid sense of justice is what makes him a great cop. However, it may be his undoing inside the force.
Delroy Lindo owned that episode. I can't believe I even hesitated to question how much of a badass he'd prove to be. I hope the ratings are looking good enough.
ReplyDelete