It’s rare that Chicago PD will opt for a voiceover to an episode, but Chicago PD season 13, episode 3 tried something different. And it certainly added a layer of chill to the story.
Caution: This post contains SPOILERS from Chicago PD season 13, episode 3.
I think it was pretty obvious that the voiceover was of the victim, Sasha, from the beginning of the episode. It belonged to a voice that we didn’t know, and there was a youthfulness to the voice that connected to the victim.
The question for many was why the series opted for this voiceover in this episode. How did it connect ot the overall story?
Sasha tells us of life in Canaryville in Chicago PD season 13, episode 3
With each voiceover, we got to know more about Sasha’s life and the area of Chicago that she lives in. Canaryville is the name of that part of Chicago, and it’s a very real part that has Irish-American roots and a lot of police homes.
There’s a haunting part of the voiceover, with Sasha explaining that canaries were place in coal mines, and they would sing their hearts out until they suffocated and died of carbon monoxide poisoning. It was a warning to the coal miners at the time. Death wasn’t horrible, but it still came, and it highlighted some of the feelings Sasha had living in Canaryvill.
Burgess finds Sasha’s cassette tapes
In fact, the episode had a 13 Reasons Why feel to it, as Burgess comes across Sasha’s cassette tapes.in her room while investigating her murder. She goes through the cassette tapes over and over again in the hope of finding a clue that solves the case. This is where the voiceover element comes in, as Sasha is telling Burgess (and us) her story.
It’s clear from the tapes that someone close to Sasha was involved in her murder. It was someone Sasha was close to and even trusted at one point.
While the tapes do eventually help Burgess and Ruzek find the murderer, there is another haunting message in there, and it connects to the two of them.
Is it time for Burzek to move?
Ruzek has called Canaryville his home for years. He hasn’t wanted to leave the place, happy with the life that he had, but what about Makayla? Is it suffocating for their daughter?
It certainly seems suffocating for the younger generation. Part of Sasha’s tapes focus on how she once loved the area, and how small it once seemed. But there’s a bigger world out there, and Sasha was contemplating leaving. She doesn’t want to leave her parents, but she wants to be free and be herself—whoever that is.
Burgess and Ruzek end the episode wondering if this is the right place for Makayla. Does she feel the same way? They head to bed without really an answer, but we get a glimpse into the life of them as parents, figuring out the best thing for their daughter, because she has to come first.
Chicago PD airs on Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.
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