ATWATER!
I repeat, Atwater.
Laroyce Hawkins is the gift that keeps on giving. He’s the pulse of Chicago PD and deserves way more screentime than he’s given.
The man acts with his whole soul, no matter the storyline. Even when the writers do him a disservice by introducing yet another terrible love interest and a romantic storyline that’s bound to go sideways, he still manages to deliver in a gripping, compelling, and emotional performance.
There has never been an Atwater-centric storyline that has fallen flat. He may not get as much screentime as his co-stars, but he outshines them all by barely lifting a finger.
This is my public plea to give Atwater what he deserves and more!
I don’t know how Atwater’s conscience is going to survive this disaster of a storyline. If Celeste wasn’t a potential love interest, this storyline would’ve been A+, but making her someone that Atwater has feelings for was an unfortunate choice.
Why does his romantic life always have to be entangled with his career? He already struggles with the weight of being a Black cop and the looks and sneers he gets from his community, a community that thinks he’s betraying them. But now to hear it from someone he cares about makes it even worse.
Especially because in this situation, he actually did betray her trust in order to catch the murderers.
Atwater should’ve been honest with Celeste from the get-go. And if he didn’t want to be the moment he met her, he should’ve never proposed working her to find out information.
It proves that Atwater is a loyal cop, but at what cost?
CHICAGO P.D. — “Burnside” Episode 905 — Pictured: Patrick John Flueger as Adam Ruzek — (Photo by: Lori Allen/NBC)
He attempted to use his power to help Lewis and eventually Eric, but the situation was way beyond him.
Celeste’s comments about two black cops being there when Lewis was shot and doing nothing about it, but that wasn’t the truth at all.
Atwater tried his damn best to protect Lewis from a system that’s set up against them. He tried to get Lewis out of it. He personally escorted him to prison so that he could give him advice.
He never could’ve seen Eric coming out of nowhere and shooting his friend point-blank.
Atwater made a good point when Lewis called him a sellout — what would have the narrative been if there hadn’t been a Black man advocating for him? What if there were no Black cops trying to evoke real change?
The pressure, unfortunately, falls solely on Atwater’s back on Chicago PD, but my hope is that Atwater is just the embodiment of many other Black cops (and cops in general) who want things to change for the better.
Was Lewis an accomplice? Yes. Did he know what he was getting into? Yes. But he also didn’t have much of a choice.
He was stuck in a pattern of violence known to many diverse, low-income neighborhoods. He was doing everything he could to survive, and that should’ve been noted in his files.
How can you try a 15-year-old as an adult when he felt like the world was against him and he would have died if he disobeyed the person that had control over them?
Lewis needed someone to have his back and give him a second chance — he didn’t need to be sent to prison for life.
At the end of the day, I think everyone knew that Atwater’s choices were sound. He has a responsibility to the badge, but that doesn’t mean he can’t try to make things better for his own people.
I think if he was upfront with Celeste about that, she might see his point of view. It’s a slim chance considering he used her when she put all her trust into him, but at least Atwater would’ve had a clear conscience.
Instead, he sat there feeling a whole world of guilt as Celeste called him a good and apologized for dragging him into this mess.
It was truly hard to watch. Plus, it didn’t feel authentic to Atwater. He may feel conflicted about his position, but he’s always been real. He knows what the right thing is no matter how hard the circumstances, so it’s uncharacteristic of him to sit there and lie to this woman when she’s being vulnerable with him.
He was scared to lose her since he knows he found a good one, but this is no way to start a promising and lasting relationship.
It’s only going to go downhill from here because Atwater won’t be able to lie to her for long.
There’s nothing worse than being lied to. Even if the truth is ugly, being lied to is even uglier.
At this point, it’s clear that in order for Atwater to have an honest romantic relationship, he needs to meet someone in his line of work that understands his struggle but also his desire to do better.
If not a cop, it needs to be a doctor or a nurse whose career is just as crucial and who uses her platform to better the community.
I seriously thought that Atwater’s next love interest would be the cop sister of Dylan from Chicago Med.
Wouldn’t that make the most sense?
Otherwise, Atwater needs to find a balance between being an activist and a cop — if there is one.
Also, is it possible that Atwater can get a storyline that doesn’t continue repeating itself? The conflict between being Black and the badge is understandable, but there’s so much more to Kevin Atwater that we can explore!
What did you think of the episode?
Are you digging Atwater’s most recent storyline?
Let us know in the comments, Chicago PD fans!