Spoilers ahead for Episode 7 of Chicago P.D. Season 10, called “Into the Deep.”
Chicago P.D. is always the darkest of the three One Chicago shows, and it was safe to guess that revisiting an ongoing storyline about a sex trafficker in plain sight was going to take P.D. to even darker places than usual. In “Into the Deep,” Upton’s surveillance of Sean O’Neal finally paid off (after a LOT of sleepless nights), and the Intelligence Unit went all-in on the investigation… which included trying to hide it from Chief O’Neal. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to close the case after they ran out of time and ran into some obstacles, leaving me with some questions about key points while looking ahead to the rest of the fall season.
Would Intelligence Have Caught The Case If Halstead Hadn’t Left?
The team would have caught Sean in the episode if he hadn’t been tipped off, but it was Upton following her instincts and then almost constantly surveilling him that put them onto the case in the first place. While she did some phenomenal police work, it came out of burying herself in the job to avoid going home after her husband left. Intelligence may put some very bad people behind bars because Halstead was gone and there was no one to pull Upton back. Would they have eventually caught the case even if Upton hadn’t picked up some unhealthy habits to cope with Halstead's absence?
Will Chief O’Neal Help Intelligence?
Chief O’Neal evidently gave his son the heads up that CPD was going to raid him, and it looked pretty bad for him… until Voight realized that O’Neal thought Intelligence was investigating Sean for drug use. Voight dropped the bombshell that they were investigating Sean for sex trafficking children, and O’Neal reacted by shoving him up against a car and denying it. The look on his face showed that he was more than a little troubled, though, and I was left wondering if he’ll be willing to help the unit. He could want to help them out of the belief that he could clear Sean’s name, or believe that Sean truly is into something much deeper and darker than drugs.
Did Intelligence Lose Their Shot At Sean?
Between his dad tipping him off and seeing Upton outside his apartment by the end of “Into the Deep,” it seems fair to say that Sean knows that he has eyes on him, and it won’t be safe to go back into the trafficking ring. There are a lot of unknowns about the operation at this point, but if he can cut all strings from trafficking and start living a completely clean life on the surface, Intelligence may not have another shot at him. They had to let the young woman who was almost certainly a trafficking victim herself go after their time was up, and they seem to be out of connections to tie back to him.
Will Upton Get A Save?
After Upton seemed on the verge of snapping at Ruzek when he called off an undercover op to save a girl, Voight took her outside and called her out for wanting to “save something too badly right now.” She didn’t bother to deny it (or else was too sleep-deprived to even try), but asked why it’s wrong to want a save. It’s pretty clear that she needs to close this case and get the save for her own sake, but not clear what would happen next. If she does get a save, then that might motivate her to continue her unhealthy habits in the future. If she doesn’t… well, I just really, really hope that she gets a win.
Whatever happens next with the investigation into Sean O’Neal, fans may have to wait to find out. The promo for the next episode reveals the case will involve a serial killer rather than sex trafficking, but the fall finale is quickly approaching, and what better case for a finale than the one with the chief’s own son? And will Atwater ever make detective, after what actor LaRoyce Hawkins had to say?
See what happens next with new episodes of Chicago P.D. on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET, and revisit past episodes of Season 10 streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription. For some viewing options in the new year, check out our 2023 TV premiere schedule.
