Critic’s Rating: 4.1 / 5.0
4.1
And we’re back to one of the more intriguing arcs of the season.
It’s a habit we’ve grown accustomed to, but it doesn’t make it any easier when we have to wait a while before we revisit an interesting arc, and Chicago PD Season 13 Episode 10 finally picked up the Morgan/Torres conspiracy arc that left us scratching our heads.
This time, it marked a refreshing team-up between Torres and Imani and a satisfying resolution.
( Lori Allen/NBC)
Torres has had renewed focus ever since his chance encounter with Morgan during Chicago PD Season 13 Episode 6. Morgan had this incredible way of getting under Torres’ skin at a time when he needed it the most.
It was divinely ordered that they’d cross paths, fate in its truest form, and since then, Torres has taken that to heart even if it lingered in the background.
We’ve had fewer spirals and descents into darkness and more of a sharp focus on solving a cold case and getting justice for Simone, Morgan, and their daughter, Dominique.
The latter is who Torres has gotten incredibly close with in a way that’s rare for most cops but special when it happens.
Some could easily speculate that there’s the potential for something more there, but I’d like to think it’s something else entirely.
There are some people whom you can’t shake, and Dominique is someone whom Torres felt duty-bound to do right by — an avenging angel of sorts to grant her the peace that she needed and the redemption and sense of purpose that he lost but deserved to find again.
(Lori Allen/NBC)
I loved how he’s kept her in the loop throughout everything, how she’s been at the station, got to see the man who murdered her mother get cuffed, look out into a church full of people at a memorial service for her parents, and see the man who brought them justice looking back at her.
Those are little touches that move you a bit, even something as simple as Torres cooking for her as they talked. There’s an intimacy there that we don’t see often or much for someone like Torres — and that means something.
Because as much as he lights up when Voight gives him paternal approval and praise, there’s still this hesitancy he carries where he still has the guilt of previous actions looming over him.
But Dominique doesn’t see the flawed man who made mistakes.
She says the man who got her and her family justice, who had faith when no one else did, and who reignited the love she had for her father and gave her peace. It’s something Torres needed—to be seen through that lens.
(Lori Allen/NBC)
It feels like the last thing he needed to be fully free of the demons that have dragged him down recently. And ultimately, this chance encounter with Morgan, keeping his promise, being the soldier God sent — it has restored his faith.
Torres, without faith,h is a man without purpose, and he finally has the pieces of this falling into place. Torres has never looked quite as unbudened as when he walked into that church.
You could see on his face that it was the first time in a long time that he felt God there. It didn’t have to be his church for him to feel him again.
Essentially, it’s like the final reward he gets for keeping his word, keeping the faith, and solving this case.
And Torres was steadfast on this one. He was relentless in a way you could only admire, and this time, it led him to partner up with Imani.
(Lori Allen/NBC)
I’ve been waiting for this for two reasons: obviously, one of the biggest criticisms thus far is that the season has only chained Imani to Voight.
But also, knowing that Mandi and Aguilar are such close friends in real life, many have been itching to see them play off each other in the show. After all, isn’t that half the fun of working with a friend on a project?
Imani and Torres were a strong pair. We got to see another side of Imani, too, which was nice, because by only having her interact with Voight, we wouldn’t be able to see layers to her or how certain traits present with others.
She had Torres’ back, eager to throw her full support into figuring something out with him and seeing the case through to the end. Imani trusted every hunch, brainstormed every bit with him, and got in on all the action.
One of the most endearing moments was the simple squeezing of his shoulder as the unspoken job well done.
(Lori Allen/NBC)
Ultimately, the case played out as we likely expected. Given how Carter was executed and how Morgan was set up, it was apparent that someone major was behind everything.
The dirty cop angle made the most sense. Was it shocking when Darrell told them that it was Foster? Not exactly.
If there were any doubts that law enforcement was behind it, Darrell’s panicked, urgent cries that they get him off the streets all but confirmed it.
Foster was so sleazy, and he gave off suspicious vibes when Imani and Torres first approached him at a crime scene. He didn’t seem remotely interested in helping them with this cold case.
By the time they had to circle back to him, he was a right smug bastard, wasn’t he?
(Lori Allen/NBC)
Imani standing behind his SUV and Torres knocking on his window again was a great moment, though.
So, basically, Torres couldn’t move forward with this case with the team until he had something big, and what he figured out was that Simone had witnessed a murder on her way home from work.
Sadly, Simone saw Foster shoot one of the drug-dealing types he was working with, and because she saw it and him, he murdered her, too. Then he had Carter pin it on Morgan, and Carter killed him.
It was sickening. But I loved how the hour showcased just how strong an investigator Torres is.
Typically, they use him in particular roles. He’s great at undercover work, and he has a fundamental understanding of the streets and how they work.
We’ve also seen how great he is with victims, especially with sex crimes.
(Lori Allen/NBC)
But here, we get to really see the detective skills at work, and it’s something worth appreciating. It means they’re not sticking him in a box anymore, and he’s getting more range.
He pored over every detail until he pieced together that Simone witnessed a murder, and it seemed the team was unsure about his theory, but his determination won them over.
But his display at Morgan’s home, redoing the crime scene until he figured things out about the rug, was a great scene.
He was also smart to figure out that Foster had to use a different vehicle and that he likely took advantage of his access to junked vehicles from investigations.
But I could not roll my eyes hard enough at a dirty cop in Chicago buying freaking sports cars. How did no one figure out something was shady sooner?
(Elizabeth Sisson/NBC)
Nevertheless, it was a genuinely satisfying moment, albeit bittersweet, when, after searching all night, they found the truck in the water. There were so many gorgeous shots during this hour, as they made full use of the location.
And as weird as it sounds, I enjoyed those scenes by the water, Torres kneeling as the water lapped at him, reflecting, and maybe, just maybe, even praying as Morgan’s words echoed in his head — lifting the truck out and knowing that, finally, they did it.
They were just great moments.
Of course, this hour marks the conclusion of the season’s second ongoing arc.
I’m curious to see if we’ll have more one-off cases for the remainder of the season, or if they’ll pull something else out of their bag of tricks, like Imani’s sister, maybe?
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