Chicago P.D. Season 11 Episode 11 Review: The Water Line

As a Kevin-centered episode, Chicago P.D. Season 11 Episode 11, “The Water Line,” shows what a great cop he is. He handles himself well undercover, during chasing scenes, and while interrogating suspects.

However, the episode also shows us he isn’t handling his guilt that well. After losing someone on Chicago P.D. Season 11 Episode 5, “Split Second,” he can’t shake the feeling that he could have done more to save this man’s life.

The episode does a great job of showing different instances in which Kevin’s guilt shines through his life. It is just another aspect of what makes him good at his job.

The guilt first starts showing when “The Water Line” jumps from scene to scene of Kevin visiting the man’s grave on different days. We see that at first there are just flowers on his grave, then the headstone appears.

We even see Kevin watching the wife and son visiting the grave, but he keeps his distance because the last time he saw them, the wife was very upset.

He has alerts on his phone for any criminal activity near their area. And Kevin also has another cop call him when the son gets in trouble at school.

He leaves an ongoing investigation to show up at the school and fight for the son not to get expelled. Even though we understand why he does this, he jeopardizes the current investigation, sending Kim to take his place instead.

But the guilt becomes even more visible when the wife shows up at the precinct and begins listing everything Kevin has secretly done for them, including paying for the headstone to be rushed and sending them groceries.

As good as he is at his job, Kevin hasn’t learned to detach himself from cases. He can’t quite understand yet how to let that guilt push him to be better instead of consuming his every thought.

Even though Kevin owns up to the fact that he left the current case to attend to something else, he doesn’t open up to the rest of the Intelligence Unit about what is truly happening. The only reason he talks about it is because Trudy witnesses the encounter with the dead man’s wife.

Trudy goes as far as interfering between the woman and Kevin when she shows up at the precinct. When the wife is about to pull something out of her bag, Trudy stands between her and Kevin, afraid it might be a gun.

She doesn’t hesitate to step in and defend one of her own when necessary. That is probably why Voight asks her to talk to Kevin about what is going on. She sees everything and can connect to them in a way Voight might not be able to.

Her conversation with Kevin is among the best scenes we have seen on Chicago P.D. Season 11. It is raw and honest, allowing Kevin to express his feelings as best as possible.

Seeing those scenes makes us wonder why we don’t see more of Trudy on the show. She knows what she is doing and how to handle the Intelligence Unit (including Voight’s volatile personality), and she doesn’t hesitate to stand up for them when needed.

With the season coming to an end soon and inevitably focusing on Upton’s departure, we wonder when it will be Trudy’s time to be front and center. If anything, her scenes on Chicago Fire have proven she is up for the challenge.

The case on Chicago P.D. Season 11 Episode 11, “The Water Line,” is quite forgettable, but we won’t forget that the episode is yet another wasted opportunity for the team to work together.

Chicago P.D. Season 11 has focused heavily on creating one-character-centered episodes, forgetting that the best storylines come from the entire team working a case. This time around, the scenes in which they collaborate are a few.

They are seen together in the squad room and outside the crime scenes but never really working together. It also seems there always has to be one of them missing from the episode to give room for the main character of the week to shine through.

On “The Water Line,” Adam is missing. We wonder who will be missing next week.

Will this theme continue on the season finale? Or will every character be present to say goodbye to Upton?

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What did you think of this episode of Chicago P.D.? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Chicago P.D. airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.

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