Chicago PD Season 12 Episode 19 Confirms Toya Turner’s Kiana Is the Gift That Keeps Giving
At the risk of redundancy, Chicago PD has struck gold with Kiana Cook this season.
It’s been a long while since this series has successfully fleshed out a character so well without necessarily distracting the rest of the show or characters or disrupting everything.
While Kiana had some hiccups during Chicago PD Season 12 Episode 19, it also served as a strong, insightful peek into the character while simultaneously solving an interesting case.
Natalia del Riego Was the Ultimate Scene Stealer
While I’ll happily get into the Kiana of it all, since it was one hell of an episode for her, I have to give some proper due to Promised Land‘s Natalia del Riego, who played Ruby.
She was electric onscreen, and I appreciate a guest star who milks their screentime for all it’s worth.
One thing Chicago PD Season 12 has lucked out with is a handful of incredibly talented guest stars who deliver strong, memorable performances in their respective installments.
She was genuinely fun to watch onscreen, even when Ruby was doing something irritating. From the moment she debuted with her snarky but hilarious quips with Burgwater to her antics with Ruzek and Kiana, she had so many standout, downright amusing, and impressive moments that I appreciated the character.
One of her shining moments was during interrogation when she rightfully called Voight out on his threats. At that point in time, she knew that he was twisting her arm and screwing with her, and she didn’t want to be taken for a fool or manipulated like police tend to do.
It was a moment juxtaposed nicely with Kiana addressing Voight’s problematic behavior once they got out of it.
Despite succumbing to his will (because really, what other choice did she have?), Ruby’s spunk, assertiveness, and more were genuinely endearing.
Ruby Challenged the Status Quo
It was nice to see a CI push back against the manipulation and games that CPD plays with them, especially on Chicago PD, where the cardinal rule is that they end up dead.
Even Ruby’s most frustrating moments were so layered that you could almost sympathize with her. Her love and devotion to Damone were almost heartbreaking because she knew he wasn’t a great guy, but she loved him anyway.
As frustrating as it was to see (and humbling for Kiana), there was something so tragically authentic and human about Ruby that she was throwing her life away trying to protect this man she loved and whom she felt she needed because he validated her and more.
For a guest star whose arc concluded by the end of the hour, Ruby was a surprisingly layered character.
Kiana is Imperfect, Which Makes Her Fit into Intelligence Even More
Some may have found Kiana’s behavior in this installment irritating because her approach to Ruby was almost unexpectedly naive.
As much as I loved Ruby, it was always apparent that she was lying to Kiana and that she would be more trouble than it was worth. From the first moment I spoke to her, she was misleading the police.
But Kiana has mostly been on a roll since we met her. She’s proven to have great instincts, is typically adept at reading others well, is intuitive, perceptive, and genuinely a great cop.
However, she’s also not infallible. None of them are. Part of the appeal of Intelligence, especially during this centric focus on certain cases, is that we get to see how flawed these wonderful humans are.
Every member of Intelligence has shortcomings or has screwed up in some way or made some bad calls. It’s part of being human and comes with the territory of a cop.
I loved that we’ve had a great deal of time to see how great Kiana is before we witnessed her a bit off during this case. It’s also a reminder that she’s a new addition to this unit, and despite her Tactical experience, this is a whole new ballpark.
There is always something new to learn or understand in this gig. I like that Voight gave her the room to run point with this case. She had the support of everyone in Intelligence, but she stumbled along the way with her first experience with a CI.
She’s not a perfect person or cop, and I enjoyed seeing her struggle a bit with something. The appeal of a well-developed character is seeing them evolve and grow, especially in the face of challenges and conflicts.
It wouldn’t feel right for her to be in a unit like this and not experience the same types of growing pains as everyone else has over the years.
As much as people gripe about Torres, too, that’s part of the appeal of having newer people on the unit finding their own way with the guidance of those who had to go through their own stuff before they figured it all out.
Kiana Continues to Offer a Refreshing Presence, Including Challenging Voight
It may be an unpopular opinion, but Kiana may be the first member of this unit to challenge and check Voight reasonably without coming across as self-righteous or overstepping.
And yes, I’m even including Dawson in that.
During that interrogation, you could tell she was visibly uncomfortable, but she saved face and reserved her comments until they stepped out.
Everything we’ve learned about Kiana confirms that she doesn’t stand idly by when she feels something is wrong and doesn’t address it or say anything.
It’s the whole reason she had a brick on her in the first place: She had the audacity to call out her partner for his behavior.
Voight respected that in her when he learned the truth then, and he did here as well. She didn’t overstep, disrespect him, or even make a big deal out of it.
But she called out the behavior, spoke her peace, and didn’t back down when he justified his actions.
She’s such a straight shooter, and it’s nice having someone on the unit who isn’t afraid to speak their mind and isn’t blinded by too many years of loyalty and complacency.
In that sense, Kiana already feels defined by the type of cop she is and which lines she won’t cross or allow anyone else to cross, and I like that we always know where she stands.
It even works, knowing that she fumbled her first CI. This great balance makes her stance feel more authentic and grounded.
I also love that the hour finally delivers some Voight/Kiana time, as it’s the only dynamic with her character that the season lacked.
Kiana’s Personal Moments Remain Intriguing, Especially as They Intertwine with the Team
Something else that works effortlessly is that Kiana is far more open about her personal life than most, so it spills over into things with the team without being overbearing.
It allows viewers to connect with her better and get to know her just as the rest of the unit does, without detracting from everything else.
Thus far, Ruzek and Torres are the closest to her, and we get the impression that she’s spoken to them about her mother in greater detail.
Interestingly, Torres doesn’t pry, but you could tell he wanted to know if there would be a point where she’d actually answer her mother’s calls and texts.
Ruzek is more blunt and outright about it. In fact, Kiana and Ruzek have the strongest dynamic regarding her character, and I appreciate the consistency and realism of that, given everything they endured together during Chicago PD Season 12 Episode 2.
Something like that will bond two people, and they have such a natural, effortless, and great chemistry that makes their scenes together pop and feel really lived in.
Their undercover work together at the club was particularly hilarious. It was probably the most fun Ruzek had undercover in a while — it felt like his early days of UC work.
It feels like there’s been a lot of relationship-building offscreen that translates well onscreen without us necessarily feeling like it came out of nowhere or was forced.
Kiante is Suprisingly Layered
Kiana and Dante also have a special dynamic. While the series hasn’t outright addressed the tension that could be between them after the Gloria fiasco, you see it in these subtle ways that I’ve come to appreciate.
The opener was particularly endearing. Torres is still struggling, and he still feels like a burden and struggles to navigate around Kiana at times, which is understandable.
But she’s also a sympathetic person who has seen him struggling and always looks pretty attuned to him. I loved how she reassured him about driving him around.
However, one thing that Torres keeps making apparent after everything is that he’ll never be in a position again where he doesn’t protect her or have her back.
Even when she told him to stay in the car as she checked out that robbery, there was no way he’d leave her uncovered. And he risked injuring himself further to do it; that tackle was pretty epic.
Torres will likely feel compelled to spend the rest of their partnership proving that he’ll always have her back, but it also means we can trust that he always will.
Tidbits and Things:
- Ruzek’s unofficial Bachelor Party via that undercover gig with Kiana made me giggle.
- There will never be a second when I don’t love Cookwater scenes. They just hit differently for me. Goodness, I love them.
- Whether you ship them romantically or just like their platonic partnership, Kiante really is such an endearing pair. Also, I love that she calls him Dante, and he calls her K (or was it Ki)?
- Speaking of Kiante, we know how guarded Torres is, and he’s always struggled to let people in. Another special element to that dynamic is that he’s always let his guard down emotionally and physically around Kiana. She may not fully trust him again yet, but he implicitly trusts her, which is fascinating.
- Listen, I know we’re supposed to side with the cops when we’re watching Chicago PD, but Damonte’s lawyer was a badass and handed them their asses perfectly. She was worth every penny.
- Burgess, our bilingual queen, I love how much she gets to speak Spanish this season.
- I don’t trust Kiana’s mother and don’t know how to feel about her returning the call, but I hope that woman doesn’t hurt our girl.
Over to you, Chicago PD Fanatics. Let’s discuss below in the comments!
Watch Chicago PD Online
Enjoyed this review? Help us out.
Drop a comment or share it — it’s free, painless, and helps keep independent TV coverage alive.
-
Chicago PD Season 12 Episode 19 Confirms Toya Turner’s Kiana Is the Gift That Keeps Giving
Toya Turner proves why Kiana is a great addition to Intelligence in Chicago PD Season 12 Episode 19’s stellar episode.
-
27 Damn Fine Cops & Detectives Who Can Arrest Us Any Day
No one ever wants to cross paths with the law, but for these cops, detectives, and agents, we’re happy to make a few exceptions. Check out our list!
-
Characters of The Week: Chicago PD’s Intelligence Unit Takes a Stand, A Will Trent Double-Hitter & More!
Our TV Fanatic brood compiled a list of our Characters of the Week. Did your favorite make the cut? Check it out!
-
Chicago PD Season 12 Episode 18 Corrects An Age-Old Flaw, While Torres Falls Victim to Reid
Reid ensnares a vulnerable Torres into his web during Chicago PD Season 12 Episode 18. Our review!
-
I’m Not Saying I Need Chicago PD’s Voight & Chapman to Kiss Soon, But I Think I Do
Chicago PD can’t just give tease Voight and Chapman if they aren’t going to followthrough. We’re impatient, venting, and pushing the ship agenda. Check it out!
TV Fanatic is searching for passionate contributors to share their voices across various article types. Think you have what it takes to be a TV Fanatic? Click here for more information and next steps.
The post Chicago PD Season 12 Episode 19 Confirms Toya Turner’s Kiana Is the Gift That Keeps Giving appeared first on TV Fanatic.
What's Your Reaction?
Like
0
Dislike
0
Love
0
Funny
0
Angry
0
Sad
0
Wow
0
