…season 9 is over. Let’s get into this (excuse the grammatical errors)
I was going to make some long detailed post but…I’m tired so here we go.
1.Kevin Atwater deserved better. We literally got what, 3 Kevin centric episodes out of 22 this season?! How the fuck does that make any sense?! Where is his family? What happened to Vanessa and Jordan? Why hasn’t he taken the detectives exam? Why can’t any of his romantic relationships work? Season 8 was perfect for him with the blue wall battle and it was dropped to focus on UpStead and Voight. Season 9 picked right up after 8x16 and…nothing came of it for Kevin? No reflection? No contemplating if he’d stay with 21 when no one had his back? Kevin’s storylines shouldn’t just revolve around social justice/racial issues. He’s got way too many layers to him that could be explored. Tell the audience why he became a cop. Where does he see himself as a cop and being a black man in the city? What does he want out of his next relationship?
2.We did not need to see the second half of season 9 dealing with whether or not Kim and Adam would “make it work”. After everything Kim went through in 8x16 and what was supposed to happen to her in the beginning of season 9, they completely took that focus off of her and put it elsewhere and gave Marina fluff shit to work with. CPD writers love making someone come back to work after some traumatizing shit happened to them. Kim being bipolar with Adam about their “relationship” was not needed when so much more could have been focused on like her recovery, her ptsd, her relationship with Makayla, her relationship with the unit, her custody battle, and her getting closure on the Roy situation. To end Season 9 with nothing being done for her on that end was dumb as fuck.
3.The writing for Hailey and Jay only proved to me that the relationship should’ve never happened. Yes, I sound like a hypocrite because I shipped UpStead like crazy and it had potential but this season proved what we’ve always known about CPD writers and it’s that the writers can’t find balance to save their lives. Hailey and Jay should’ve been Olivia and Elliot, not a knock-off, poor version of Densi from NCIS:LA. Hailey and Jay have some serious trust and honesty issues. It started off with little lies such as Hailey lying about talking to her father in 8x05, and then it lead to a much bigger one with her lying to Jay (AND KIM) about killing Roy. Jay and Hailey are supposed to trust and love one another and the writers dropped the ball big time. For them to not actually talk about the issues at hand between them showed that the writers (Gwen) only wanted to appeal to fan service. By 9x09, we should’ve seen Hailey regretting her decision to lie to Jay. We should’ve seen Jay questioning if he could go through this again with someone he loved. We should’ve seen them actually working it out instead of sweeping it under the rug and acting like it never happened
Hailey is supposed to love and trust Jay since the “moment she met him” and she didn’t trust and believe that he’d have her back with this Roy ordeal? Clearly the writers didn’t have her tell Jay the real reason she went to New York either. And let’s be real, Tracy and Jesse make Hailey and Jay look really awkward sometimes. They don’t know how to flirt, hug, kiss; none of that shit flows the way it should and they are supposed to be best friends (dating) in real life. Let’s not forget that the writers literally made it look like Hailey and Jay weren’t even married for the second half. All they proved is that they were great partners and friends. I’ve seen better fanfiction written than the shit that was given on our screens.
4.Lack of continuity is ridiculous. Nothing was mentioned about Kim’s trauma with the shooting and being left for dead. Nothing was mentioned with Hailey’s daddy issues. Nothing was mentioned about Vanessa Rojas. Nothing else was mentioned about Kevin and his siblings, especially Jordan. Nothing else was mentioned with Kevin and his issues with the blue wall and the trauma he went through from Season 8. Adam was forced to take drugs and we didn’t see a withdrawal issue or anything. The stress he was put under with Kim being hot and cold towards him, not fully being a part of Mak’s life should’ve taken a toll on him. The storytelling makes no sense whatsoever.
5.Jay vs Voight storyline was anti-climatic. Jay wanting to “save Voight from himself” has been an issue since Season 1. Jay could’ve left, he chose to stay. Just like Hailey chose to follow Voight that night with Roy and then lie to Jay it. Jay being this passionate about “protecting Voight from himself” only happens when it involves the woman he loves i.e. Erin in season 4 and now Hailey from seasons 8 and 9. Voight is every since of the word “you can’t teach an old dog new tricks” and for Jay to act like he can’t stand the sight of Voight is both hilarious and eye rolling.
Voight has lost time and time again; Justin, Erin, Al…and he still hasn’t learned his lesson. I get that Jay feels like it’s never too late to save someone, but this season he was ridiculous. Then, for Voight to realize Jay and Hailey are married and he just lets it ride? Old school Voight would’ve shipped one of their asses, if not both of them, out of his unit, especially because Jay had such a superiority complex after 9x09. Voight letting Jay take charge more, especially when it came to cases that Voight wanted handled a certain way, i.e., this Anna situation showed that Voight felt he couldn’t really let Jay have it because Jay held it over his head that he too could make Voight’s life hell. Clearly they are going to bring back Season 1 Voight for Season 10 and it’ll once again be a battle between him and UpStead and who’s really in charge after the Anna ordeal.
In my opinion, season 9 was a let down when it had so much promise. I can honestly say I don’t think it should be renewed anymore after season 10, but this is the dick wolf universe and I wouldn’t be surprised if we get 20 more seasons lol.
