Spoilers ahead for Episode 5 of Chicago P.D. Season 13, called “Miami” and available streaming next day with a Peacock subscription.
After Atwater was absent from Chicago P.D. last week in the 2025 TV schedule, the officer was back in action in “Miami” after a case he caught while on patrol turned out to require almost all hands on deck from the Intelligence Unit. He joined forces with Officer Fox, an old friend who was on the verge of taking a job with the Miami PD far away from the cold of the Windy City. By the end, she asked him to consider what he’d want to do if he left Chicago, and I’m a big fan of the answer he finally had for her.
Fox actually posed him that question early in the episode, but he was spared answering by a massive explosion rocking the street. Over the course of the case, the two worked so well together that I realized I’d love to have her stick around with the Intelligence Unit rather than relocating to Florida… which then made me nervous that she was going to die. She was in fact shot, but wasn’t too shaken up by the bullet to the arm, and her final scene with Atwater back at his place proved that she wasn’t that injured.
He finally gave her that answer, though. He told her:
Remember that question you asked about where would I go if I could leave Chicago? I honestly don’t know. I mean, I never really thought about leaving. Never really thought about what more that I want other than what I have. Because I haven’t really had the time. Between my Pops, my little brother, my little sister. Everybody’s all good, but I haven’t really had the time to think about anything else.
On the one hand, I’m sure I’m not the only fan of Atwater who’s happy to hear that he doesn’t really feel a drive to leave Chicago, which would presumably mean LaRoyce Hawkins leaving the series. In the span of just a few years, Chicago P.D. lost Jesse Lee Soffer as Halstead and Tracy Spiridakos as Upton, with Patrick John Flueger set to take a temporary leave during Season 13. One more longtime star stepping away would just hurt.
Atwater has been one of the steadiest presences on the show going back to the beginning; it would have been a bummer if he immediately started listing all the places he wanted to go that were far from the city. At the same time, he’s been somewhat stagnant in his career, with LaRoyce Hawkins stating more than once going all the way back to 2021 that Atwater is ready to make detective. It’s healthy for the character to realize that he can take the time to think about what he wants for himself, instead of prioritizing everybody else.
It doesn’t hurt that he provided a handy rundown about all the people in his life earlier in “Miami.” Updating Fox on his siblings, his dad, and his love life, Atwater shared:
My little brother and my little sister moved out, so they in Texas with some family right now… Lew ain’t doing that bad. He’s actually outside now, doing long-haul trucking, so it’s pretty much just me most of the time… I was talking to somebody for a minute. Didn’t really work out. She took a job offer in New York she couldn’t pass up.
Thirteen seasons in, and Atwater remains unlucky in love! Still, without – to quote Fox – a “Mrs. Atwater” and his family no longer relying on him for everything, maybe he’ll be ready to expand his horizons. I certainly wouldn’t mind seeing Fox again, and she did leave a note inviting him to “come visit Miami any time.”
As long as those visits to Miami would be to explain any absences from upcoming episodes rather than setting up an exit, I’m on board! Atwater will definitely be in the next episode, however, which is good news for Torres. Take a look at the promo to see why:
See what’s next for Atwater and the rest of the Intelligence Unit with new episodes of Chicago P.D. on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on NBC, following Chicago Fire (which has some interesting ties to P.D. this fall) at 9 p.m. ET and Chicago Med at 8 p.m. ET. You can also find the One Chicago series streaming on Peacock.
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