It was supposed to be just another explosive season finale. But the ending of Chicago P.D.’s Season 6 wasn’t just dramatic on-screen—it triggered real-life fallout that no one saw coming. The final episode, “Reckoning,” didn’t just unravel the Intelligence Unit. It unraveled one of its original stars—Jon Seda, who played Detective Antonio Dawson.
In the episode, Antonio is spiraling. His painkiller addiction—something that’s been quietly eating away at him—reaches a tipping point. When a suspect dies under suspicious circumstances, Hank Voight (Jason Beghe) covers it up to protect Antonio. What follows is a tense, emotionally charged climax filled with guilt, secrets, and betrayal.
But behind the scenes, something even more serious was brewing.
Just weeks after the finale aired, NBC made an announcement that sent shockwaves through the One Chicago fandom: Jon Seda was leaving the show. Officially, it was due to “creative differences.” Unofficially, rumors of tension between Seda and the writers had been swirling for months.
Sources close to production revealed that Jon Seda was deeply frustrated with how Antonio’s arc was being handled. Once a respected, sharp-minded detective and moral anchor of the team, Antonio had been slowly deteriorating—emotionally, physically, and narratively. His painkiller addiction storyline, while timely, felt forced to Seda. The final straw? That finale scene.
“He felt ambushed,” one crew member claimed. “That scene—where Voight covers up for Antonio, and everything just collapses—it wasn’t what Jon expected. He finished filming and didn’t speak to anyone for days.”
The emotional weight of the storyline took a toll. Cast members reportedly had mixed reactions. Some supported Seda, agreeing that his character had been reduced to a shadow of his former self. Others believed the storyline added necessary complexity to a character who was always seen as ‘by the book.’
Still, for Seda, it was a betrayal. Antonio’s downfall wasn’t just dramatic—it was humiliating. And it happened without much buildup or redemption.
Worse still, he wasn’t given a proper goodbye. There was no dramatic farewell episode, no closure. When Season 7 premiered, Antonio had simply vanished—sent away to rehab off-screen. No last case. No final showdown. Just silence.
This abrupt exit left fans outraged. Social media erupted with hashtags like #JusticeForAntonio and #BringBackSeda. Viewers felt robbed of a character arc they had invested in since the early days of Chicago Fire and Chicago Justice.
The producers, for their part, remained vague. “We loved working with Jon,” executive producer Rick Eid said at the time. “But sometimes stories take turns that don’t allow every character to continue.” A diplomatic answer—but one that did little to calm the storm.
Jon Seda has remained mostly silent about the departure. In interviews, he’s been careful with his words, calling his time on Chicago P.D. “a blessing,” but never denying that he had hoped for more. He moved on to other projects—but the shadow of Antonio Dawson still lingers in the One Chicago universe.
Ultimately, “Reckoning” became more than just a season finale. It was the end of an era—and a reminder that sometimes, the most devastating plot twists happen when the cameras stop rolling.
