Chicago PD’s recent Atwater story was one of its best, but the episode ignored the plight of one of the series’ strongest characters. Atwater has been part of Chicago PD’s cast since the series’ beginning, so he deserves strong stories. Once or twice per season, the long-running police procedural offers an Atwater-centered episode, often dealing with his conflicted loyalties as a Black police officer who is seen as a traitor by some members of his community and deals with racism on the job.
Now that Hailey Upton has left Chicago PD. season 12 has gone in a different direction, emphasizing the ensemble aspect of the team as well as exploring the psychology toll these violent crimes take on the officers investigating them. Thus, episode 3 demonstrates that Atwater was under pressure in many aspects of his life and that the stress was getting to him. This was part of a strong story for him, but the episode dealing sidelined Ruzek rather than with the aftermath of Ruzek’s seeing Martel get fatally shot in front of him.
Val was introduced as Atwater’s new love interest. However, there was a twist: Atwater learned that Val was a forensic psychotherapist who worked for the police department when she was called in to consult on a case the next morning. This development makes things awkward between Val and Atwater, who did not tell anyone he had already met Val. Additionally, the two clashed on the job when Val recommended sending the sole witness to a brutal robbery/murder home to rest when Atwater wanted to continue pushing for answers.
Chicago PD season 12, episode 2 demonstrates that the aging police procedural can still produce high-quality stories that make it worth watching.
Expand article logo Continue reading Val is interested in Atwater romantically and thus cannot be his therapist. However, she observed a tense situation involving Atwater and one of the tenants in the building he managed; later, when he came to her home to apologize for an earlier outburst, Val correctly identified several of his issues, especially spending too much time on his phone putting out fires. Val’s support was more clear than that of a therapist treating a patient, as she kissed Atwater later, but her suggestions are likely planted seeds in Atwater’s head that he could follow up on with a more objective therapist.
Atwater is unquestionably overwhelmed and at risk of burnout. Val observed pressure coming at him from all sides when Miss Roberta and a victim’s mother both cornered him about their issues at the same time, and Atwater seemed to dissociate temporarily during that scene before snapping back to full attention and handling both situations. However, this strong story completely sidelined Ruzek, who has also been through a traumatic experience recently.
While the episode’s focus on Atwater was appropriate, it wouldn’t have taken anything away from him for Ruzek’s trauma to be mentioned.
Ruzek saw his partner get shot in the head in front of him and held her as she died, getting her blood all over his hands, yet in this story his entire role was to help search for the criminals who had shot all of Diane’s staff, While the episode’s focus on Atwater was appropriate, it wouldn’t have taken anything away from him for Ruzek’s trauma to be mentioned. Doing so would have been more realistic and respectful toward Ruzek’s character.
Chicago P.D. showrunner Gwen Sigan explains season 12’s shocking death, revealing how it will impact everyone on the team moving forward.
Now that she’s returned, it was egregious for Chicago PD’s Kim Burgess not to ask Ruzek how he was coping with the tragic events he had witnessed while she was out of town. , Ruzek could have easily weighed in on the discussion about whether Diane’s contradictory answers Additionally were due to lies or to memory problems because of her similar trauma. The fact that Ruzek’s trauma was ignored suggests he is headed for a fall later in the season when it finally catches up with him, but there should have been references to it in dialogue for continuity’s sake.
Ruzek and Burgess are supposed to marry by the end of Chicago PD season 12. However, Ruzek needs to address his trauma before the couple says their vows. If he fails to do so, it could cause serious problems in their relationship later. This would be a disappointing direction for their story to go in. It would also seem needlessly cruel if Mack, who had so much upheaval in her young life, had to deal with Ruzek and Burgess’ divorce because Ruzek didn’t deal with losing Martel ahead of the wedding.
Ruzek should deal with his trauma as soon as possible so that he and Burgess can finally get their happy ending after all the ups and downs their relationship has had over the years.
Hopefully, Chicago PD will center Ruzek’s trauma in his next episode. It didn’t seem believable that he was sitting at his desk helping with an investigation as if nothing had happened. Instead, Ruzek should deal with him
