Well, that’s truly a disappointment.
Chicago PD Season 11 Episode 7 focused on Voight’s quest to find the serial killer in Chicago who targeted Noah Gorman, the teen who was now staying with him and working through his trauma.
But despite Voight’s best efforts, he couldn’t keep Noah safe—and he was no closer to finding the killer in question.
There was some momentum on the case when a beat cop found a barrel floating by the lake with two bodies inside, both of their eyes pried open just like Noah’s when Voight found him.
The victims, two sisters named Izzy and Maria, led the team to a “john,” who admitted to seeing Izzy’s abduction happen in realtime. In fact, he even filmed it as a security measure, however, nothing about the person in question was distinguishable, just like in the video of Noah’s violent kidnapping.
CHICAGO P.D. — “The Living and The Dead” Episode 11007 — Pictured: Tracy Spiridakos as Hailey Upton — (Photo by: Lori Allen/NBC)
The serial killer’s meticulous nature, knowledge of avoiding cameras, and clean crime scenes make this investigation even harder to crack, though everyone—including Detective Petrovic (SVU detective played by Bojana Novakovic, who, spoiler alert, Hailey Upton is rather suspicious of in the next episode)—feels confident that they’ve made some headway when they find a nexus between Noah’s partner, Paul, and Izzy. Both were sex workers whose case came across Judge Balen’s desk.
Judge Balen definitely wasn’t clean as they found questionable photos of minors in his home during a raid, but he wasn’t the head honcho that Voight hoped he would be. It was, unfortunately, a false lead, and as they pursued it, the real perpetrator was luring Noah to his death.
I don’t think there’s a person watching who doesn’t feel sorry for Noah for all that he’s been through. His abduction was the stuff of nightmares, especially when he revealed that the kidnapper forced him to call the person he loved most in the world, Paul, and when he arrived, tortured him until he died. Noah’s been carrying around the guilt of essentially luring Paul to his death and then leaving him behind, despite not having another choice.
But I think we can all agree that it’s incredibly frustrating to see Noah then turn around and get lured into a death trap in the same exact way that he was forced to lure in Paul. Noah should’ve known better, but he was blinded by his trauma and his grief, paired with a hope that maybe this was a silver lining and Paul was able to break free and they could be reunited again.
Sadly, their reunion came as they were both dumped into a body of water in an oil barrel. The disappointment and heartache of seeing Noah dead in that barrel is one that will stick with viewers for a long time—and it will likely do a number on Voight, who grew attached to the boy and wanted so badly to help him and bring justice. Voight couldn’t babysit Noah 24/7, but it’s especially upsetting that Noah used the phone Voight gave him to reach out to Paul, thus giving the serial killer a direct line of contact to him.
The killer didn’t hesitate as he benefitted from tying up loose ends. Paul admitted that he never saw the perps face, but he was, as far as we know, the only person who ever escaped from him and could’ve been the source of his demise. After all, his escape triggered a massive police search, with Voight showing no intention of stopping, particularly in light of Noah’s death. Rumors are floating that we’ll see Voight go back to his old form of classic, ruthless, Voight, and personally, with the way the world is now, I don’t think that’s such a bad thing.
While watching the episode, I was desperately wishing for Noah’s story to have a different ending, but alas, the survivor’s guilt was too strong and it got the best of him.
It seemed as though the cops pulled out a few other oil barrels, likely filled with bodies of lovers, as the serial killer was targeting those with a close connection and then forcing the soulmates to watch each other die a slow death. It’s incredibly deranged, and as far as Chicago PD storylines go, it may be one of the darkest ever.
However, additional victims mean additional information that they can use to cross-reference and get closer to their suspect. Maybe the Judge is also able to help as he’s connected to two of the victims thus far—it’s possible he knows more or saw something.
As for the new detective, it’s unclear why she raised any suspicion within Upton, but I’d hate to think that she had anything to do with Noah’s case. That being said, it’s been underscored that the serial killer knows a lot about the law and is likely someone who is organized, has a good job, and above average intelligence, so the net is wide open.
What did you think about the episode? Are you liking the continuation of storylines from one episode to another?