Chicago Police Season 12, Episode 7, “Contrition” is notable because it improves on the storyline on which it is based. The episode follows a season 11 storyline in which Dante Torres had a romantic relationship with Gloria Perez, while using her as a confidential informant against her husband. This whole storyline was a series of bad decisions, but what happens in season 12 shows how much Torres has grown since then.

“Contrition” confirms Torres’s suspicions that Gloria has become the new drug lord in the area, which naturally puts him and Kim Burgess – who covered for him in Season 11 – in the hot seat. It also provides more valuable screen time for new unit member Kiana Cook and ends with a cliffhanger ending with big story possibilities. Gloria’s plot wasn’t impressive at first, but it got a lot better.

Chicago PD Season 12, Episode 7 Focuses on Torres and Burgess

Their relationship is experiencing great development

One of the strong points of Chicago Police Season 12, Episode 7 doesn’t just focus on Torres trying to solve his problem; it’s also about the dynamic he built with Kim Burgess. Previous seasons of the series have struggled with sticking to the same character pairs over and over again, making the Intelligence Unit seem like a series of duos rather than an entire team. This is an episode that breaks that trend, making it feel like a breath of fresh air. Burgess is always a good foil for Torres, and using her in this way again is great for her too, since this episode happens right after she became a detective. She has even more perspective – and even more reason not to risk her career. This means there are stakes for her too.

And these are issues that Torres recognizes. “Contrition” is not just about Torres clearing his conscience and running away. He is aware of the consequences that his choices have or can have not only on Burgess, but also on the intelligence unit and even on the city of Chicago, due to the accumulation of deaths. Torres has been underwritten in the past, but it’s episodes like this that continue to develop him, both as a police officer and as a person. The hour also shows how well actor Benjamin Levy Aguilar has settled into the role. It conveys all the emotions that Torres has to go through for the episode to connect with the viewers. If the audience doesn’t feel for Torres, that’s just another case, but they care about him every step of the way.

There is no doubt that the characters of Chicago Police are tough heroes. The premise of the series is that the Intelligence Unit takes on crime like no one else can, and they will go to incredible lengths to stop it. But “Contrition” is another episode that bypasses that exterior and focuses on the characters’ vulnerability — and Torres doesn’t have to be hurt, threatened, or otherwise traumatized for that to happen. It’s just an episode where he has to see the consequences of the choices he made and deal with them. The plot points get a little shakier as the story progresses, but the character development is spot on.

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Chicago Police Expand Kiana Cook’s Role

New Intelligence Unit Officer Gets New Opportunities

“Contrition” represents another milestone for Agent Kiana Cook, as Chicago Police gives Toya Turner’s character his first undercover mission. It’s important that the writers continue to show viewers what Kiana can do – and as with Torres, it’s wonderful that the episode shows her learning. She’s not suddenly perfect undercover, and that matters even more when the audience is also reminded that Gloria Perez is a very intelligent and savvy character, who is even more skeptical because of what happened with Torres. It would ruin the credibility of the entire episode if Gloria believed Kiana right away. Kiana must settle into the gig and earn Gloria’s respect, even though Chicago Police cheats a bit by establishing some of this through a montage.

Which brings up the episode’s biggest plot point: Gloria’s apparent kidnapping of Kiana. Kiana makes a major mistake when she asks Gloria to never take the same route home twice, information she shouldn’t have had. This leads Gloria to realize that she is an undercover police officer, and at the end of Season 12, Episode 7, Torres discovers that Gloria’s car is missing with Kiana inside. The absence of visuals leaves a certain margin for interpretation, especially since the final fall promo doesn’t show Kiana at all, so it’s possible she’s unharmed (at least for now). The cliffhanger isn’t a very original choice, but it’s written in a way that makes sense with Kiana’s character arc. Gloria doesn’t blow her cover in a painfully obvious way; This happens because Kiana isn’t an undercover expert yet, and she shouldn’t be.

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Episode 7 Advances Chicago PD Season 12

The Cliffhanger is definitely repetitive, but it still works

It is fair to note that Chicago Police Season 12, episode 7 does not have a very original plot. Several members of the Intelligence Unit were kidnapped; Season 11 just ended with Hank Voight being held hostage by a serial killer. Additionally, the audience knows from the start that Gloria will turn out to be Zibata. There’s no real suspense about it – and it would have been much more surprising if the writers had gone the other way.

Torres doesn’t need to try to “save” Gloria from another drug organization, but the scene in which they talk outside her house shows another possibility where she has made this perfect new start and the two might have even been able to talk to each other again. What if the plot had been that Gloria had been framed by one of her husband’s old rivals, and Torres had thought she was involved only to realize that she had really turned over a new leaf, and that he so could he do it? This would have been a more difficult story to write, but also unique while still being able to use the same themes and ideas. As it stands, Gloria is just one more antagonist than Chicago Police must disassemble.

And it’s also not shocking that Kiana’s cover is blown, because that’s what usually happens in secret storylines. However, this event opens the door for new types of character development in the fall finale. “Contrition” sets the stage for Voight to find out what Torres did, and Torres and Burgess must answer to Voight. He will certainly help them, but that doesn’t mean he won’t suffer consequences. This will also allow the audience to see how Kiana reacts to a situation she didn’t expect to find herself in. The next episode can be much more than a rescue story because of the characters at its center, and Season 12, Episode 7 makes that possible.

Chicago PD airs Wednesdays at 10:00 p.m. on BNC.

Torres is haunted by his previous transgressions as Cook undertakes a tense undercover mission.

Release date

January 8, 2014

Creator(s)

Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, Matt Olmstead

Cast

Jason Beghe, Marina Squerciati, Patrick John Flueger, LaRoyce Hawkins, Amy Morton, Jesse Lee Soffer, Tracy Spiridakos, Jon Seda

Main genre

Crime

Seasons

12

Streaming service(s)

Peacock, Prime Video

Benefits

• The plot gives valuable screen time to Dante Torres and Kiana Cook.
• Exploring the dynamic between Kim Burgess and Torres is worth it.
• The performances from the main cast are solid throughout.

Disadvantages

• The plot misses opportunities for more exciting choices.

Develop