Chicago PD Season 9 Episode 13 Review: Still Water
Jasmine Blu
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The hour was nothing short of intense.
It was one of the most hyped installments of the season thus far, which sets a high bar. As a standalone hour, Chicago PD Season 9 Episode 13 catapulted us into a harrowing case with a serial rapist that felt like something inspired by cousin series Law & Order: SVU.
And I mean that in the best possible way.
Contrary to popular belief, just because someone is critical of something doesn't mean they hate it, and it sure as hell doesn't render them incapable of giving credit when it's due. But, hey, what do I know?
One of the most exciting parts of this season is how often they've given us these cool action sequences out in the field.
D-do you know if they got her out? D-did they get the woman out? I tried to g-get to her, but I couldn't g-get to her. So they need to g-go right now.
Hailey [hypothermic]
The hour opening with Hailey headed about her night only to get sucked into something out of the blue had similar shades to Ruzek happening across a robbery and shootout on his way home with Makayla's stuffy on Chicago PD Season 9 Episode 6.
It's like the work never truly stops for the squad, and while it can get redundant at times, it's those moments when they catch a case off the clock and become thoroughly invested in it that endear you most as a viewer.
You become instantly invested in what's transpiring, too, and you want them to close it and get that win -- if nothing else, so that our protagonists can find some peace and sleep at night.
Interestingly, sometimes there is no real "peace." I appreciate the series exploring that here; as satisfactory as it was that they tracked down Blake and got to throw him behind bars, it didn't exactly feel any better.
It still haunts Hailey that she saved a serial rapist over his victim, even though there was literally nothing she did wrong, and she had no way of knowing.
She kept her promise to Addie, and Frank got some form of closure knowing that his wife's rapist was getting the book thrown at him, but as he said, it doesn't bring her back or change anything.
It's such a grim but honest depiction of what that's like for all parties. One night has irrevocably changed these strangers' lives, and there's nothing they can do about that going forward.
The opening moments with the car careening into the water after narrowly avoiding Hailey and her diving in were intense. All you could think about is that they were in the water, in Chicago, in the middle of the freaking winter.
It's a miracle any of them survived that ordeal at all, and Hailey, who is such an itty bitty thing, is lucky that she didn't suffer more severe hypothermia. It's been a brutal A.F. winter for all of us, but especially those of us who reside in colder climates.
Hailey already did the absolute most jogging in the middle of the night like some protagonist in a Lifetime movie. Nothing good comes from late-night jogging. But she got more than a workout and probably wished she had taken Kev up on that tire farm thing.
We've heard about the extensive stunts for this hour. Indeed, every second from the moment that car skidded past her until Hailey made it to Chicago Med was enough to have you on the edge of your seat.
The water scenes were the most gripping, and kudos to the stunt coordinator, Tom Lowell, Spiradakos, and her double, Kelli Scarangello, for those scenes. If you didn't get the chance to watch the behind-the-scenes footage for that, you should check it out.
My heart broke for Lisa as she clawed at Hailey and screamed, hoping that Hailey could heed her warning and save her, too.
Can you imagine the last image you have of someone is their desperate pleas for their life?
Hailey was running on pure adrenaline with that rescue, but even if she didn't spend a significant amount of time dragging a man who was damn near twice her weight soaking wet and limp to safety, it's doubtful she would've ever made it to Lisa in time.
The cold would've done a number on her and taken her out or down at some point, and she still would've had to exert herself to free Lisa's pinned legs from the car. Saving Lisa was beyond what a single person could do, and as much as this will stick with her, she has to remember that.
That's the man I saved. Instead of saving her, I saved him.
Hailey
It was surprising how quickly we discovered Blake was this terrible man. The hospital protocols and lack of security by his bedside when they knew he came in with a gun were irritating.
And I wondered about Dr. Scott. The staff stated that they had to disarm the weapon, and he wanted to call someone in to do it, which prompted Hailey to volunteer.
But is that a simple protocol thing for security? Otherwise, why couldn't the former cop turned doctor do it himself?
It was nice to have those little crossover moments from the hospital to the team gathering at the bar with Trudy to celebrate Hailey's tenth anniversary on the job.
I loved that Trudy was the one who showed up for Hailey. Seriously, it's something I was just lamenting -- the show hadn't previously done the best job at exploring the special bond that these two women are supposed to have.
Thank the Chicago PD powers that be that they're delving into this more. It was so damn good to have some extensive Amy Morton screentime! I've missed her so much.
And Morton and Spiradakos have such great chemistry together. Their scenes together were among the best of the hour.
Trudy's initial interest in throwing Hailey a party to celebrate her anniversary on the job was something that felt true to her character. After all, she's the mother hen of the squad, and they established that she's part of the reason Hailey got into law enforcement in the first place.
What better way to highlight her work on the job than her mentor honoring her in some way? It also gave us that feeling of family and camaraderie that the series has lacked for a while.
All of these people consider themselves family, such monumental moments like that are things that you'd expect would bring them together.
But then it shifted to Trudy's hyperawareness of how much this case was eating away at Hailey, and she was a true mentor and support system for her the entire time.
We got to learn more about the diner robbery that led to Trudy and Hailey meeting for the first time, and it was from Trudy's perspective.
Surprisingly, Trudy's experience with that case made her the perfect person to reach Hailey as she grappled with her guilt over this one.
For Trudy, it haunts her that he might have survived if she stayed with the previous owner whose place got robbed. She was right about these things, not reflecting on them as officers. Even if all the ideal circumstances fall into place, some things will always be out of their control.
You could tell that Trudy saw a lot of herself in Hailey, and it's why she lingered so much and checked on her often. I genuinely missed the mentor version of Trudy, and this hour was great for bringing that back to us.
It also gave us more of the Hailey and Kevin dynamic, which has been virtually non-existent throughout the series. It was not only refreshing that he was the one who checked on her often throughout the case, but it showed how natural and easy their chemistry is when they're together.
Hailey: Are we all checking on me now?
Kevin and Jay: Yes.
Hailey: I'm fine. Once we catch this son of a bitch, I'll be just fine.
Any fans of the series who have seen Spiradakos and Hawkins' easy chemistry offscreen know how great it is, so it's satisfying to see them take advantage of that onscreen for a change.
Honestly, it would be fantastic to keep this same energy with Hailey and Kevin. As much as I love the Ruzwater partnership, it would be cool if Kevin and Hailey got to partner more.
The others seemed to know when to push Hailey to get out of her head or take care of herself, but they also recognized when she needed space.
They also understood that the case became personal to her, and they didn't question that or try to bench her, even when she made "no, no's," like promising to catch Blake when there was no guarantee if she could.
In no time, we went from the implication that Lisa was with another man or into something she was keeping from her husband to this disturbing revelation that Blake was a serial rapist who had been stalking this woman for months.
The video footage of Blake attacking and sexually assaulting her was godawful. And then it got more disturbing by the second. Addie sharing that Blake would wave at her when she was in the car with her mom was eerie.
And like a serial predator, the boxes full of trinkets were among the most alarming of all. In part because it showed how many victims or potential ones there were.
Plus, we learned how he gained access to these women's belongings, sneaking into their homes and cars undetected and taking things they wouldn't notice was gone.
Forget SVU; they were heading into Criminal Minds territory when we saw his M.O. and learned that all his victims were at the same athletic center he'd joined a decade and a half ago.
It's enough to give you the heebie-jeebies about who is around you at the gym and the access they have to locker rooms and such.
It seemed as though Blake would get away for a bit, and they wouldn't be able to catch him. If not for the fact that his profile as a sex offender would have him sticking by his victims, he probably could've skipped town.
And go figure that the man found himself in a pool this time and nearly dying. I shudder to think what he would've done if Hailey didn't get the upper hand on him.
It wouldn't have been Chicago P.D if Hailey didn't have that moment of internal struggle where she considered leaving him to drown in the pool.
It took it full circle back to her rescuing him the first time. For the majority of the hour, she kept feeling like if she had known who and what he was back then, she'd have let him drown and saved Lisa first or only.
She got the chance to let that happen, but she chose the ethical option when it came down to it. It's doubtful anyone would've batted an eye if she did leave him there, but reasonably conflicted Hailey is infinitely better than dark, terminator Hailey.
Nevertheless, the team gathered to celebrate her, and it was a fun moment, but she still had that haunted look in her eyes.
Look, you can be the best cop in the world, but you can't control the laws of nature, they will fail you whenever they want to.
Trudy
The switch from how she appears now compared to how youthful and bright-eyed she was in her rookie photo plastered on the wall was a nice visual touch and representation of how the past decade wore her down.
She's gone through it since she joined the force. It's inevitable with the job.
"Still Water" was another standalone hour that could've gotten dropped anywhere into the season and didn't slot into the ongoing plots.
If you were eager to jump back into the Los Temidos storyline with Javier and Anna, it might have been frustrating that we didn't get back to that based on how they left things on Chicago PD.
And I definitely get that. I would love to revisit that sooner rather than later. So far, it's the most compelling longstanding arc this season.
But the series is on this pattern of sprinkling more centric, unrelated hours between plots this season, so it's doubtful that'll change. By now, you just come to expect it.
However, as a case-heavy standalone, it was a solid hour. And it does feel as if the tides are turning with the series bringing back some of its best elements.
It was a really good case. Hailey's personal connection to it wasn't steeped in her traumatic past while still developing and exploring her character more. They also didn't use the hour to tie into Voight or Halstead, so it felt hers distinctly with the bonus of exploring some different dynamics, too.
We got action, Spiradakos took us on a journey, and it was an engrossing case.
Over to you, Chicago PD Fanatics.
Did you enjoy this standalone? Were you thrilled by the Trudy content we've been craving for an eternity? Did the action live up to the hype?
By all means, hit the comments. And as always, you can watch Chicago PD online here via TV Fanatic.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.
