At the end of last season, we saw Erin Lindsay getting in deep trouble with the Chicago Police department and getting a job offer to join a New York task force. We also saw that Jay Halstead was ready and waiting for Erin so he could propose to her, only she was never going to back. The episode picks up with Jay going over to Erin’s place to find it’s been emptied and she was nowhere to be found. All that was left for him to find was a picture of the two of them. Then it cut to Voight in what looked like theory talking about Erin’s departure and how it was the right thing for her to do. It was a good move having Voight in theory, because he was in prison, had to send his son to prison, lost his wife, son, daughter-in-law, grandson and now Erin, who was like a daughter to him. She might have even been his daughter with the way Bunny implied something happened between the two of them years ago. Either way Voight had lost so much in his life and a lot of it within the last five years, so man can just come out of that and be okay. I know Voight is this big bad guy and it’s like something get to him, but this is too much. The good news is that he does have a job to go back to, because that was an issue at the end of last year. If Erin was to stay with Intelligence then Intelligence would be no more. So, Voight made the best choice he could, save Erin and his unit, even if it meant he had to say goodbye to the last family member he had left.

Poor Jay, the women he loved had just up and left without a single word. He was going to propose and she didn’t even say goodbye to him or at least it was the way the episode made it seem. Now doing it that way is actually better, because it leaves it open-ended and if Erin does return you have a whole story just right there. Erin returns to Chicago and runs into Jay and they two need to sort things out and what her leaving really meant to Jay. Sometimes it’s better to have things wrapped in this neat little bow, but there are times it’s better to leave things unsaid and left open. You always want a way to bring back a character if there is a possibility of the character ever returning. While I’ll get into the more a bit later on, look at Antonio. Voight offered him a job back with Intelligence because Antonio had mentioned to Voight how he wasn’t too happy with his current job. Yes, we all know it’s because Chicago Justice didn’t get renewed, but it’s also better than Antonio just sitting at a desk and suddenly he’s back at Intelligence. That’s just why I believe that Erin’s exit was good, because is a storyline there if Sophia decides to return to the show one day, even if it’s just to guest star in an episode. The way Erin left also helped when it came to Jay’s storyline in the episode. He was already down and upset because Erin left without a word and now this little girl been shot and it was his gun that shot her. It adds to the emotion he is already feeling and you just see this heartbroken and devastated Jay trying to figure out how to deal with this all. He has his brother and his team’s mates, but the one thing he doesn’t have is Erin. Erin was his sounding board, as she was his from time to time. He was just lost throughout the episode and can’t help but wonder where this might lead him.

Some of the other key moments in the episode where Kim Burgess is back and she got some news for Adam Ruzek. Burgess seems to have moved on or rather found someone new while she was away from Intelligence. Ruzek doesn’t seem to be thrilled, but should be interesting how this affects them working together. Speaking of Ruzek, a situation with a possible suspect cause some tension between him and Kevin Atwater. I think that is going to be the most interesting, because Atwater understand far more what that possible suspect was feeling then Ruzek ever would. The two of them are friends and it’s going to be interesting to see how this affect their friendship and their partnership. The other thing that continued on from last year was that there are eyes on Intelligence, because they don’t want to have to deal with another incident like with what happened with Erin. Voight and his team are working to make sure everything is by the book and there isn’t another reason to get the unit shut down.

I have to say in all honesty that this was one of my favorite Season Premieres of the show. There was just so much happening within the episode and so much that happened before that has affected the team now. There was just a good mix of everything in the episode from the drama to the humor to each little storyline with the characters. You got to see them all deal with the events of what happened with Erin and this little girl shooting. A lot of things get set in motion within the premiere and you know that each little thing is going to play out at some point throughout the season. I’m going to enjoy following these stories and seeing just where it brings us to in the season finale.