NFL
By: Mark T. Wilson
For 13 seasons, we’ve seen characters come and go on Chicago PD. A prominent character leaving is no big deal. However, what leaves a lasting impression for One Chicago fans is how they leave. With the news that Kevin Atwater is leaving The Intelligence Unit, viewers are wondering how his heartbreaking exit will play out.
Let’s look back at some of the characters who have moved on from Chicago PD. Alvin Olinsky, who was Hank’s best friend, well, he was killed off. Erin Lindsay was like a daughter to Voight, took a job elsewhere. The same goes for Jay Halstead and Hailey Upton. Hell, how can we forget the departure of Antonio Dawson?
But all those departures, only one, have been caused by death. This is a pattern the writers for Chicago PD must keep alive. Why should they kill off Kevin Atwater? Like, what would be the big payoff now or down the line?
One could go with revenge, but this show already has enough other players where hunting down someone for killing someone close won’t hold much weight. PD storylines change weekly, and now and then, we get a continuous one, but at times those are even stretched out.
The news of Atwater’s departure is crushing as viewers have finally had a chance to see something finally go his way in terms of a personal life. The main gripe surrounding some of the writing for PD has centered around the storyline, or lack of one, concerning the love life of Atwater. Everyone else on the show is either married, divorced, or shaking up, but Atwater has been mostly quiet on that front. And now, here he is working on a committed relationship with Tasha Fox, and they are expecting a baby soon.
This was supposed to be a defining moment for Atwater on Chicago PD, and to see if Atwater could balance his work and professional life like the rest of the characters on the show. But now, we’re being robbed of that.
Atwater’s lack of character development has been a long-standing issue with viewers of Chicago PD. And now that he finally has a respectable storyline, he’s leaving the show. While this choice may have been his, it still stings a bit. However, what fans from day one are hoping for is that Atwater doesn’t meet his demise.
That would be unfair to everyone involved, especially the legacy he’s leaving behind. With the news, fans do wonder how they will tie his story up. With Tasha saying she did not like it in Miami, how will the writers spin this? All Atwater has known is Chicago. Does he get a job offer somewhere else? Does Tasha get a job offer and Atwater decides to follow his new family?
How the writers pen this out will define Chicago PD as this show gets ready to come to an end. But the good news for all Kevin Atwater fans is that PD doesn’t have a pattern of killing off their popular characters. The door should be left open for him to return at some point, and Atwater deserves a happy ending more than anyone else.
